Ethiopian colon

I defy anyone to travel in Ethiopia without some sort of intestinal distress - it's a great testing ground to push your colon to the limits. If the (ho hum) traveler's diarrhea doesn't get you, the oil-heavy (but delicious) stews will throw you for a loop and the fiberlicious injera may give you a run for your money. There's bumpy roads to contend with, long drives with no break, bathrooms that are really not an ideal location for your meditation (hole in the ground, crack in the door, no toilet paper, bug brigades). And to top it off, several cups of VERY strong coffee. Oh, and throw in a little lactose intolerance and a lot of milk to compliment the coffee and you've got a recipe for disaster.

All that said, I have to say I'm pretty proud of how our intestines have held up. Of course, we've still got a few days to get past the incubation period...

Our friends

Erica and I are still in Lallibella as we somehow wound up planning an inordinate amount of time to spend here. Luckily, this is a fantastic place to spend a few days. The town has about 8,000 residents, beautiful scenery and some of the nicest people in the world. We feel like we've had a chance to get to know the sounds and smells and kids of the town and have really enjoyed the chance to make real connections.

Everyone is quick to tell us that times are changing, more girls are going to school, and the government is prioritizing college entrance for women, but most of our interactions are still with local men. Ethiopian men - or at least the ones we have encountered here - are industrious, persistant, gallant, funny, cute and incorrigible flirts. Our 28 year old guide impressed us with his knowledge of local history and patience with tourists dumb questions and made sure we were treated well and served first at local establishments and even offered to come shopping with us to ensure we wouldn't be given unfair prices. A 10 year old boy led the way to the monastery at the top of a mountain, taking our hands to help us up steep inclines and looking back with concern, racing to our side any time it sounded like we were losing purchase. The 40-something hotel owner stays up til all hours talking with us about life in Ethiopia and his travels abroad, checking to see that we slept well the night before. The boys at the corner ask us every morning if they can shine our shoes and when we say no (then no, no, no, no thank you) they ask if we might reconsider tomorrow.

We've really had a good time, but I have to admit it takes a little of the fun out of flirting when you realize that half the guys are interested in moving to America as your husband or son!

Houston, we have a chigger

Meskel is the national flower of Ethiopia and amassay genalo is thank you in Amharic. In Tigrigne, another common language in Ethiopia (I think there are 50 or 60 in all) chigger means problem.

Erica and I visited the local tej (honey wine) house, Torpido Tej, with our guide Birhan and learned that the sister of the owner, Askeret, lives in Seattle. Askeret was very excited about this coincidence and invited us back the following day for a coffee ceremony. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is very important and we see it being played out all over the place - fields, hotels, family homes. A woman wearing traditional clothes first stokes a small fire of hot embers. Green coffee beans are placed on a metal tray and washed several times with water. That accomplished, the tray is placed over the embers and we hear the crack and sizzle of the beans being roasted. Around this time, a basket of popcorn, cooked in oil and sprinkled with salt is brought out for us to munch. Once the beans are roasted, the metal tray and smoking beans are brought before each guest and the smoke is blown into your face twice. Seriously, a heavenly experience. The beans are then ground, then coffee is brewed in a small pot over the embers. Small cups of coffee are passed out and you add sugar and drink the best coffee you've had in your life. Once the first cup is finished, the cups are removed, washed and then filled with the second brew. This is then repeated a third time.

Askaret asked us to bring back a small amount of grain for her sister in Seattle and we were happy to comply. We stopped by Torpido Tej again today following a brutal hike (>1,000 meters elevation gain in the blistering sun while being passed by sixty year old women in bare feet with 50 pounds of grain on their backs) to pick up the grain. We were invited again to coffee ceremony and certainly couldn't say no. As we were sitting in the dark Tej house I noticed a bug on my hand and I asked Erica, my resident bug expert, if it was a flea. We were discussing the matter discreetly as a woman about our age was tending to the roasting coffee beans and Askeret was talking with a friend nearby. Erica leaned over to pick up the flea (it was a flea) and it promptly jumped down the front of her shirt! A giggle came from across the tej house and we looked up to find that the coffee roaster had seen the whole escapade.She promptly translated to Askeret and her friend what had transpired and we all shared a laugh, even though we didn't share a language.

Animals in the road

In every road in Ethiopia, from the most urban six lane causeway to the single lane dirt road, you're bound to come across goats, donkeys, cows, horses, and every other mammel in the country. One of the tricks of driving is to know whether the animal is likely to scamper towards or away from the vehicle, the speed at which they'll move, and how to bisect a column of animals. I wonder if those subjects are covered in driver's ed.

Birhan let us in on a trick: donkeys have paid their fare, goats have not, and dogs want their change. So the donkeys have no concerns and aren't likely to yield - you need to go around. Goats flee like the car's on fire, or like they're racing away without paying for a ticket. And the dogs go chasing after the vehicles because they're owed some change.

Ethiopian fable

During yet another looooong car trip on a very bumpy road, we asked Birhan to tell us a story that children hear and were entertained by the following:

A man went to a wedding ceremony and was turned away at the gate. He was very poor and his clothes were in poor repair and despite his invitation, he was told that he wasn't presentable enough to attend. So he went back to the street and paid to rent clothing that would get him in the door. The trick worked and he was able to celebrate. When dinner was served, he picked up some wat (stew) with his injera and proceeded to smear it on his clean clothing, over and over again. "What are you doing?!" the other guests exclaimed. The man replied that as it was his clothing that was really invited to the wedding, the food must also be intended for the garments.

'Hey Obama!'

Erica and I are constantly asked where we're from by the local folks. When we reply 'America', nine out of ten times the person breaks into a huge grin and says 'hey Obama!' I've had three different people tell me now that they like Obama 'not for the color of his skin' but for his ideology and plans. Maybe that's true. But it's sure a big damn deal for Africans that he is our president. And it's nice to be proud of my country again.

"Like a Nilla Wafer crossed with a mothball"

My description of the 'Glucose Cookies' we purchased at the local grocery store

Bill Clinton peed here

Salam! Erica and I are enjoying time in Lalibella, a very holy city in Northern Ethiopia. We're up high in the mountains (~2700 meters) among cliffs and crags and very large rocks. King Lalibella was brought here by a dream and, according to oral tradition, built 11 churches in 22 years. These are not just any churches however. The builders carved down into the volcanic rock and then into the remaining monolith to make cathedrals that rival European counterparts in terms of columns, paintings, arches, tunnels and stairs. Our guide, a very modern Ethiopian guide in his mid twenties, informed us that the churches were built with the help of angels.

We're staying at a more upscale hotel here - meaning hot water, clean sheets and an extravagant $40 per night. When we were inspecting the room, our host informed us that it was the same room Bill Clinton used when visiting Lalibella with Chelsea last year. He didn't stay overnight, which is good since the room has two twin beds... but I was told that he did use the facilities.

As part of our hotel price negotiations, our host, Massaye, invited us to a new years celebration with his friends out in the courtyard of the hotel last night. Grass was strewn about (an important step for any sort of ceremony here), mutton was cooked over the fire, a man played the traditional one-stringed Ethiopian instrument that I can never remember the name of, several of the guests danced (a combo of head and neck moves making them resemble chickens charging at each other), and we had a fantastic time. One of the guests has a brother finishing his MBA at the UW and another girl we met is about to start her senior year at UW in the undergraduate public health major. Small world! We drank a few too many of the local beers and stumbled into bed at the wee hour of 10:15. Tonight we go to a local tej bar with our guide Birhan to try the honey wine.

Dirty Old King

So the story goes: the Queen of Sheba traveled from Ethiopia to present King Solomon of Israel with treasures from her kingdom. He was impressed with her gifts and her beauty and said to her 'you may stay with me, but if you take anything from my palace I will be able to take something equally dear from you.' She assented.

That evening he arranged to have a very spicy meal served to his guests. The queen awoke in the middle of the night filled with thirst; she reached for a nearby glass of clean water and drank. King Solomon awoke (she was apparently put up for the night in his own chambers) and accused her of stealing from the palace. She explained 'but it was only water.' 'Clean water,' returned the king, 'is the most precious thing on earth.'

And so he asserted his right and she wound up returning to Ethiopia pregnant with Menelik, which means 'son of a wise king.' He and his descendants ruled Ethiopia for the next two thousand years.

Oral history

I've been reaching back in the recesses of my brain to recall Sunday school lessons in order to better understand Ethiopian history. Or more accurately, Ethiopian oral tradition. Ethiopia was founded by Noah's son Cush, the Queen of Sheba (Ethiopia) had an affair with King Solomon, the Ark of the Covenant is kept here in Axum, King Basil (AKA Balthazaar) was one of the three wise men to visit Jesus, etc. Oral tradition also describes the rise and fall of empires here in Ethiopia, the feats of Kings and Queens, kindness, bravery, and above all religious devotion (although the subject changed from Judaism to Christianity to Islam over the past few thousand years).

Erica and I traveled back in time to Axum, an important city on the international scene from about 400 BC to 600 AD or so. Yesterday we toured tombs of kings (one complete with a coffin that's supposed to hold the remains of King Remhei), stelae fields (think the Washington Monument, but shorter and intricately carved), a palace thought to be home of the Queen of Sheba, a tablet from 400 BC which documents in three languages the exploits of a local King, baths, and churches.

Archeological excavation of Axum started in 1902 and has continued in bursts over the past century. They estimate that 5% of ancient sites have been explored so far, leaving much to be discovered by future Indiana Jones'es. Historians have learned a lot about Ethiopian history based on the technologies and treasures left behind. Some of the finds have reinforced traditional stories, although the majority of evidence would seem to contradict long held beliefs. For example, the palace thought to be home to the Queen of Sheba was actually constructed a few hundred years AD, long after her reign.

When I consider the richness of Ethiopian oral tradition and the important role it plays for the people here, I wonder if there is anything to gain from further application of science. I'm afraid that these fantastic stories will be exposed as just that - fantastic stories. And will the benefit be worth the cost?

Our guide yesterday provided an interesting perspective in response to a sceptical Belgian: "the oral history may be a man's creation, but science is also man's creation."

"I mean, how shittty does your life need to be that you would flee to Sudan?"

Erica, speaking about an Ethiopian guy we met on the bus to Debark

Donkeyjam

A term used to describe the presence of more than 3 donkeys on the road, or alternatively, a single donkey who refuses to yield the right of way.

Up up and away

From Gonder we traveled by bus up to the Simien Mountains. The bus ride was about what you might expect - lots of people crammed into a small space, Erica and I with our packs on our (very limited) laps, chickens, occasional whiff of vomit, red fringe hanging from the windows, and a large poster of St. Mary staring back from the front of the bus. The countryside was beautiful however and we probably needed to have a few things jostled loose.

The Simien Moutains were formed by ancient volcanic eruptions which were then carved away by large glaciers and rivers. There's a very large National Park and we took a van in to the Simien Lodge, which hosts 'The heighest restaurant in Africa' at 10,000 feet. The landscape is very very green, thanks to the recent rainy season, with green groundcover punctuated with purple, pink and yellow wildflowers. Rocks and trees full of personality complete the picture.

We took a hike along the ridge of one of the mountains and stared into the canyon below while large birds (falcons? vultures?) circled overhead. A highlight of the hike were the Gelada baboons (which are not technically baboons) who were gathered in family groups grooming, eating and playing. They sleep on the sheer cliff face each night for safety from leopards and hyena and are proficient rock climbers - they apparently have the shortest, strongest fingers in the monkey world. They are not however very good tree climbers and I saw a couple make very ungraceful descents. It was amusing to see that the local goats grazing nearby were also climbing the trees with slightly more success.

So you think you can dance

Our guide in Gonder demonstrated modern Ethiopian dance for us and explained that the basic dance move migrates from head to toe as you travel North to South in the country. In North Ethiopia, the head and neck drive the dance. A little further south, in Gonder, you do the shoulder dance. South again, in Addis Ababa and surrounding area, the chest and trunk are the focal point. Then the hips and bottom, and finally in southernmost Ethiopia, people stomp their feet.

The Camelot of Africa

Erica and I flew over the Nile River on our way from Addis Ababa to Gonder, which is in northwest Ethiopia. Gonder was the capitol city of Ethiopia from about 1500-1850 and among the donkeys and horse drawn carriages and village markets, there is evidence of its international importance. We visited the palace complex which houses six castles, a library, turkish baths, and lion cages. Or I should say used to house, as a number of the buildings were damaged first by Italian occupation in the 1930's, then by British bombing raids intended to oust the Italians. The castles mix design elements seen in Portuguese, Italian, and Moorish buildings and were built by the succession of kings (and a queen) who ruled Ethiopia at that time.

One of the kings built the turkish bath on a recommendation from a French physician, who had been imported to Ethiopia to help cure the king of scabies. (Something I may need by the time I get home...)

Another king had a bell hanging outside of the castle door that could be rung by any citizen who needed the king's intercession. According to lore, one day a peasant tied his donkey up near the bell and went off to a bar to get some food and drink. The donkey was lame and tired and holding a very heavy load. He got tangled in his rope and kicked the bell while struggling to get free. The king sent men to respond to the bell and when he was told that the donkey had kicked the bell, he stated "perhaps the donkey needs some justice" and asked that it be brought to his court. The king inspected the donkey and found that it was lame and underfed and had sores on its back under the heavy load. He had his men go out to find the owner and the king told him "you are treating your donkey very poorly. Now you will need to hold this heavy load on your back and wait while the donkey drinks and eats its fill." The king then instituted animal rights laws, forbidding people from putting a load on a donkey with a sore back and also forbidding them from carrying chickens upside down.

Unfortunately, the chicken upside down law did not last. I think every fourth person on the street here is walking around with a chicken like it's a fashion accessory, often dangling by its feet. They bind two chickens together at a time for easier carrying...the record I've seen so far is a person carrying six chickens in one hand in such a fashion.

Gonzo Africa

One of my favorite things about traveling in Africa is how amazingly weird it can be. In any other place, you may take a second look or wonder about a sight you see, but here? It hardly rates a questioning look. Rusty old army tank on the side of the road? French men wearing camo uniforms wandering through Addis? Beef stroganoff on the menu right next to the Doro Wat (traditional Ethiopian food)? Kids gathered around a foosball table placed outside in the middle of a random dirt road? Live chickens dangling upside down from the roof rack of a minibus travelling 60 km/hr? Christmas music in the bar? Ho hum, it's all to be expected here where anything should be expected.

Internet woes

Hi all!

We've been having some internet troubles... If there is an internet cafe, the power is out or the place is closed or the phone line is not working or it's a holiday or the internet plain doesn't work. But we've been having good times and travels and I plan to update the blog a little more in the near future.

Dirty money

The Ethiopian currency is the birr, valued at 12.5 birr per USD. Erica and I were dismayed when we first exchanged our crisp dollar bills for the limp, crumbling, dirt colored birr notes. Seriously, it looks like every bill has passed through every hand in Ethiopia. We have, from time to time, received bills that appear to be fresh off the presses, with under 10 creases and a discernible color....but this is a definite exception to the norm. I think we've gone through an entire container of hand sanitizer just for the post-money touching cleaning ceremony.

Post-its from Addis Ababa

I'm too jet lagged still to really organize my thoughts. Here in no particular order, a few experiences from the "New Flower" (which incidentally smells a lot like car exhaust).

- Deformities, wounds, and missing limbs - with the prosthesis set alongside - are on prominent display, sprawled along the sidewalks in Addis. The poverty here surrounds and weighs upon the travelling faranji (white person). But the desperation is tempered by the quick humor and general politeness of the Ethiopians. A tentative smile toward one of the many many people out on the street is guaranteed to get you a huge grin in response. For all of the miserable things happening on the street, Erica and I have been remarkably unhassled and generally treated with respect and curiosity.

- Ethiopians commonly pick up and hug or kiss children, even if the child is unknown to them. The kids here are rambunctious and giggling and everywhere.

- Coffee...mmmmmm. Ethiopians are proud of their claim to be the first to discover the powers of coffee - according to the myth, a goatherd noted that his animals got very frisky after eating the beans of the kaffa plant. The traditional coffee is thick and strong and looks like liquid tar. Mix this with twice the portion of hot steamed milk and a generous amount of sugar and it is delicious. I just wish they had to go cups.

- We went to a fascinating ethnological museum today, which included displays about the evolution of Christian religious paintings (moving from the "Masters of the Sagging Chin" to the "Masters of the Eyebrows" and the "Masters of the Dark Eyelids" - I swear I'm not making this up). Traditional musical instruments including drums composed of gourds, tortoise shells, and a china plate. A display on medicinal plants which included tamarind - which apparently is helpful for hemorrhoids in addition to being a laxative. A stuffed abyssinian lion. And the emporer's bathroom.

- It turns out that I DO like Ethiopian food, or at least the foods I've sampled so far. Foods generally consist of a curry or stew ('wat') or meat ('tibs') which is served on injera, a flat bread made from a grain called 'tef.' Tef is only grown in Ethiopia and injera is THE indispensible Ethiopian food. It acts as a placemat, plate, napkin, utensil (you eat with your hands, scooping up the main course with the spongy bread), and I'm pretty sure you could use it as a frisbee as well. There's a lot of protein and iron in tef, which combine with the meats and eggs used in the main courses provides an Atkins-approved meal. Vegetables are scarce and fruit is used for breakfast or dessert.

- We went out to an orphanage today to drop off the 200+ pounds of formula, shampoo, and other items we carted from Seattle. There were several college students from WA volunteering there and we got a tour of the bedrooms, courtyards, kitchen, and classrooms. The kids ranged in age from 1 week old to maybe mid-teens and most are just waiting for the paperwork to be finalized before their adoptive families come from the states to collect them. We met a toddler born without arms, and a child with autism, and a girl with polio and another with cerebral palsy, and of course plenty of 'normal' children who all have families looking forward to giving them a new home and life in America. International adoption is the subject of a lot of complicated discussions about what is best for kids and country, but those are easy to ignore when you see the children laughing and playing and working over their exercise books.

Tomorrow we go to Gonder and off to the Simien Mountains where we'll stay in a lodge and commune with Gelada baboons and ring in 2002. (The Ethiopian calender will need its own entry at a later date...)

Ethiopia!