F is for Fasting

Most of the country is Ethiopian Orthodox, and religion plays a big part of the culture here. More than I've seen any place else. Thus, fasting influences everything.

On a weekly basis, Orthodox followers fast on both Wednesday and Friday – no meat or dairy. It's in respect for Holy Wednesday and Holy Friday, but it's practiced year round and not just before Easter. It's not uncommon, at least in small towns like most PCVs are in, for restaurants to not even offer meat on these days. And it's just as likely to only be able to get vegetarian days on these days. If I want shiro (a chickpea powder dish) on a Thursday, 3 out of 4 times the restaurant will tell me they don't have it.

It does mean however during the big fasts, before Christmas and Easter, the price of eggs drop and I'm more likely to get milk from the local cow owner because demand is down. I have so much alfredo sauce during those times.

E is for ETV

ETV stands for Ethiopian Television. It is one of two channels public channels. The other is OTV, Oromia Television.

The main difference really is simply language, though they share a lot of programs. OTV had Oromifa programs. ETV has mainly Amharic, but also regional programs so sometimes the language is Afar, Oromifa, Tigrina, Somali, or a minor language from the south. And then occasional new in English twice a day – just before lunch and after I've settled into bed. But it's local concerns, not news from America or Britain.

There's not much in terms of programing, news and maybe a documentary or two. Dramas are sometimes on, but it's not back to back like a Friday night comedy line up. And there are British League Football games at night once in awhile.

What's mainly on TV though is music videos, traditional ones. Dancers and singers dress in traditional clothes, sing traditional songs, and do region specific dances. You can learn a lot about the different culture's just by watching the songs, and it's amazing how diverse Ethiopia is.

I think my favorite part of ETV though is the schedule. It's rather inconsistent. The 8:30 Wednesday night drama might not start till 9:15 and the schedule for programs might list something starting at 3:32.

D is for Doro Wat

Wat is a type of dish here. Essentially a one pot meal with a base of onions, garlic, burbere, and oil whose extra ingredients change: lentils, meat, chickpea powder, potatoes, tomatoes.

Doro wat though is special – it's only eaten for holidays. And fancy dancy important meals. But regardless, it's a rare dish. Doro means chicken.

It's the common wat base, onions, garlic, oil, burbere with a whole chicken and usually about a dozen hard boiled eggs thrown in. Depending on who makes it, it can be very oily, or very spicy. It's sometimes mixed with the local variant of cheese.

I guess I just get a kick out of chicken being the holiday, and most expensive, meat. Chicken was a cheap, biweekly meal in the states. Here, you can go to a fancy hotel and either get a meat stir-fry for 30 bir or doro wat for 70.

C is for Coffee

Ethiopia is coffee country, considered the birth place of it actually. Every one in Huruta tells me the good stuff is exported so what's in the market is only okay, but hey, I'm rather fond of it.

Coffee is such a huge part of the culture here that while I hated the stuff in America I have it all the time at site. There's a ritual called a coffee ceremony, and it involves roasting the beans, hand grinding them, and then boiling it in a clay kettle called a jebena. It's essentially an excuse to have people over to talk. In the States, you go to Starbucks. Here, you make your own. Much cheaper.

It takes awhile though, usually 90 to 120 minutes because roasting and boiling are done over charcoal and a coffee ceremony includes three cups of coffee. If you're in a hurry, you still have to have at least two cups.

You use the same grounds for all three cups, so the coffee gets weaker as you go along but it starts out what I imagine to be stronger than most American drinks. Each round has a special name, matching what locals call the discoverers of coffee.