Blog 22nd October-9th November
on J and M in Assosa (Ethiopia), 18/Nov/2007 18:02, 34 days ago
Blog 22nd October - 9thNovemberDuring these three weeks we have been away a lot from Assosa as we left on 23rdOctober to fly to Addis. Since our last trip there have been big changes in Assosa airport as they have now got electricity. However the security has become even tighter– we had to drink out of out water bottles and could not carry our bottle of whiskey, shoes or anything breakable as hand luggage.On Wednesday 23rdOctober we gave a presentation to VSO staff at their own request as to why we have British passports but come fromIreland. An interesting one. We were accompanied by another volunteer who has also a British passport but was born in theRepublicofIreland. Despite Jeremy’s wonderful presentation, I am not sure the Ethiopians were any the wiser but they were most interested particularly on the rapid economic development ofIreland. We finished off with a drop of Black Bush and Baileys which seemed to go down well.Thursday and Friday we had some meetings on behalf of the MI and caught up with VSO colleagues.On Monday 29thOctober we set off with our guide Tameru this time to the east of the country. We spent Monday traveling toAwashNational Parkwhere we saw oryx, gazelle and dik dik plus lots of birds. TheAwash Riverruns through the park and there are wonderful Falls from it. Also beside the river at a camp site we spotted a crocodile asleep and many baboons. On Tuesday we visited an Afar village which was just off the Dijbouti road which is the best road inEthiopiaas all their imports have to come in this road, it is the only access to the sea forEthiopia. The Afar people get a bad press as they carry Kalashnikovs like umbrellas and kidnap people but we find them charming and helpful. They have an incredibly hard life as the climate in the Afar is very hot and dry and they have to travel long distances to water their animals. However they have many camels which apparently are worth 5000 birr (~£250) each. Unusually for the Afar people this is a permanent village and as a result of a government incentive they grow cotton and the region is covered in fields upon fields of cotton. They also grow vegetables with water diverted from the river.On Wednesday we drove further east to the town ofDire Dawawhich could be inEuropewith its tree lined broad roads and where the locals speak French to you rather than English. The town was built about 100 years ago when the French were building the railway to Dijbouti. Sadly this railway is no longer functional but I think there are plans to restore it as a tourist route. After lunch at Dire Dawa we drove the short distance to Harar which is completely different to anything we have seen inEthiopiaalready.It is an Arab city and apparently was influenced by theYemen. It makes the best coffee and we saw round a small coffee processing factory. Also Harar is famous for its beer and we were lucky enough to see round the very modern efficient clean beer factory. On Thursday we explored the narrow streets of Harar and visited the sights including Rimbauld’s house ( a French poet) and another Museum and Library.‘Chat’ is of a very high quality in Harar and the story is that nobody works in the afternoon just chews ‘chat’. Certainly we saw more poverty here with people lying all over the streets totally incapable. ‘Chat’ is not cheap at 5 birr a bunch.During our exploring of Harar we met an English group of about 20 people who were with a company called‘Explore’ and we were very entertained when in the evening we ended up in the same restaurant and some of the party ordered ‘mixed grill’. I could just imagine then drooling while waiting for this to arrive and then the gross disappointment when it arrived. It is actually bits of everythingfrom the menu on injera not a mixed grill as we might know it. An easy mistake. On Friday we drove back towards Addis and stopped for the night in a place called Debra Zeit which had been recommended as it has a number of crater lakes nearby. The hotel we stayed in is built on the edge of one of thelakes and has a magnificent view.Saturday we visited the other crater lakes in the town and then returned to Addis to meet up with a friend who had recently moved from Assosa to Addis.Sunday we attended Suzanne’s wedding, one of the VSO volunteers who came toEthiopiaat the same time as us. It was an amazing event, starting at1pmwith about an hour of photographs in theTropicalGardensin Addis. Then the bride in a very western white dress and the groom in a very smart western suit plus the 4 bridesmaids in a lovely shade of green and the best man and groomsmen with matching suits and waistcoats all took their places at their tables to a lot of music. Prior to this the best man led all the‘supporters’(about 20) in what we now realize is traditional wedding singing and dancing. There was no religious ceremony but a number of Orthodox priests attended the event and one said prayers in both English and Amharric. There were about 500 present and the food (including the local delicacyof raw meat) suited all tastes and was very good. We were also served water, soft drinks, Tej (a local traditional honey wine), beer, wine and then whiskey. After the meal there was a lot of dancing and then the couple cut the cake and exchanged rings over champagne. Suzanne’s parents had come fromEnglandfor the event and seemed to enjoy the occasion although rather exhausted by6 pmwhen that part finished. At that time the bridal party and relatives (about 50) left for a meal at a very up-market Lodge on one of the crater lakes at Debra Zeit.It was one of the most eventful and enjoyable weddings I have been at particularly as you had no idea what was going to happen next. Also on reflection there were no speeches to endure and the fact it was outside in beautiful gardens with lots of sunshine added to the day.To us compared to Assosa this seemed quite a westernised wedding but our friends in Addis assure us that that was quite usual if perhaps more lavish than some.It was a great end to our trip and we flew back to Assosa on Tuesday. The highlight of that trip was that we got to shake hands with the President of BG Region!Also while in Addis on our last day we met an Englishman who has lived in Addis for 9 years and who has set up a community walking project near Lalibella as a way of giving sustainable support the local community. It in mentioned in an article aboutEthiopiain the Travel Section of The Saturday Telegraph for13/10/07and on www.telegraph.co.uk/travelgalleries.Now we are back in the MI and life continues. I am pleased to report that the training continued in our absence as last week there were 22 people who attended a course on‘Records Management’ and 2 other courses are planned for the following 2 weeks.Over the last few weeks Jeremy has had an interesting encounter with a worm. Before we left for Addis he had an unusual mark on the end of his second toe. It was not infected or painful so apart from worry about it we did nothing. Then just before we left Addis he asked at a clinic and they said it was a worm and you should take it out with a needle and that it was quite common in the rural areas. This was reassuring on one level but disconcerting on another. Anyway we decided to leave it until we got back to Assosa. There we showed it to Mulatu who took one look and pronounced that it was a worm and demanded a needle. Apart from the fact we had to constantly remind him to disinfect the needle particularly after he had wiped it on the step, he removed the offending worm efficiently and had obviously done it before. He said there would be no ill effects from this worm even if not removed. Time will tell!