Merry Christmas from Ethiopia!!

American Christmas here doesn't really feel like Christmas.  I know dressings are just dressings, but I fell like snow and trees and carols from store fronts have been elevated to the Christmas time culture.  Even if the snow if fake.

Not having them here makes it real easy to have the holiday pass me by.  Unless your friend had an amazing package from America that contained this.

 

It might have been the first time I've slept in a room with a Christmas tree.

While I spent the holiday in Bahir Dar with friends, I was the only who hadn't been to the city before and done the touristy things - namely look at the Blue Nile Falls - so I went by myself.  The Blue Nile Falls is the largest waterfall in Ethiopia and the second largest in Africa.  Though, if that's the case the others on this continent must be really pitiful.

Our guide explained that because there are two dams now that divert water from the Blue Nile before it goes tumbling off a cliff the show is not as spectacular as the display on the back of a one bir note. Apparently the best time to go is rainy season (so, June-Aug) and catch a rare moment when the dams aren't using water for power making.

But really, I think seeing Victoria Falls last year just spoiled me. I'll never see a waterfall as impressive as that.

Dinner was at a local resort, complete with a roaring fireplace in two of four corners.  Just the simple reminder of home set me at ease, and I had a lovely time hanging out with my friends all afternoon and evening.  Here, you get close to people real quick.  It's hard to separate friends from family.  I'll miss them when we're all back in America. But then, I'll be able to call them more often too.

At this point, I have roughly seven months left in country.  It seems a lot shorter on this side than the other.  And as much as I may whine about this place to friends, I do think I'll miss it.

Because even the most random people on the street will shout out 'Happy Christmas' here as you walk by in a way to make you feel welcome.  Or 'Happy New Year' I got that too.

Videos!

Because you don't see my smiling face enough, I had to give you the option ^_~


1) Me in my house and compound. With a bit of cultural shenanigans for a holiday.  Watch me speak Amharic! Wash dishes! And jump a bonfire!

2) Me making coffee in a traditional setting, complete with costume. I swear, cultural dresses have way to many layers for an African country. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6NDKPfa1YA

Sorry, Blogger won't let up embedded this one.


Many thanks to Carlin at Ferengi No Habesha for making these two for me.

3) I love the trip to my site, its a great 30-40 minutes down a dirt road with hills and mountains. I don't think this stop motion video does it enough justice, but hey, local music!

Thanksgiving!

Last year, I went to the Hilton for Thanksgiving.

This year, I went to an homemade Thanksgiving party.  It was much better.


One of my PCV friends had connection through her parents to USAID workers and we stayed with them for the holiday.  It was so nice being able to cook in a real kitchen! With a maid who cleaned as we cooked. Which was very helpful as we made 6 pies, a corn casserole, cranberries, sweet potatoes with pecans, and stuffing.

Pumpkins pie, and we peeled the pumpkin ourselves.

 Part of Thanksgiving is making the food, something I missed last year and it was so nice to fall into a rhythm of domestic holiday work.

The food was wonderful, as was the wine. No local stuff for the holiday! There's a reason even the locals mix the red wine here with coke. And let's not get into the white.

Every dish was delicious, and the entertainment was also quite unique. The family hosting the dinner had two daughters with pet turtles, who they decided to pit against each other in a race.  It was over quicker than I expected. I didn't even have time to place a bet. ^_~

It was also quite a novelty to sit down and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I haven't seen a parade in years, and it made me forget for awhile I was in Ethiopia. Except for the fact that it was morning in New York and after dark in Addis.  Still, marching bands, and a Santa sighting, was a nice ending to the holiday.

That, and coming back to my digs for the weekend and just crashing. 

Mt. Chilalo

Dex, a G6, is my walking buddy. We've spent hours tramping around the Arsi Zone. So I couldn't say no to one last walk before he leaves on Sunday. Climbing Mt. Chilalo.

Chilalo is the 4th largest mountain in Ethiopia, and Assella sits right at the foot of it. It's just over 4000m.

We left just after 7 am, walking with our guide and then the guard we picked up.  Guards a necessary, foreigners have been attacked before and hyenas live on the mountain. And there's no true trail so a guide is also a must.

We went through the country side first, past farm land, and apparently it's acceptable here to pull up plants to eat them while you go along. Our guide just pulled pea plants from the earth, picked off the pods, and gave them too us.

It was a long hike, more so cuz we went at a slow pace and stopped a lot. 11 hours of hiking!  But it was beautiful!  There's a wonderful rock formation at the top, and a holy water spring. We saw some deer, but no monkey's sadly.

Despite the longer than expected walk, it was a wonderful day.  I just crashed at the end, and woke up this morning tired and achy, but totally worth it.