Addis Fun Time with Debra and Melissa

I spent three glorious days in Addis.  In the past, I've only gone for Peace Corps business, so this was my first time to simply spend time in the city with friends. Melissa was in town for a dentist appointment, and Debra to pick her sister up from the airport to start her trip here.

The journey into Addis was a bit of an adventure. Sunday was Ethiopian Easter and I wasn't too sure if buses would run so I was at the station at 6 am.  Morning buses usually aren't interrupted, it's the mid-day ones that are, and the buses made good time due to little traffic. I was in Addis city proper by 11.

We had a grand ole time just exploring the city and having good food. We went to a Canadian place that took the theme to the extreme (the bacon cheeseburger was called Ottawa Senators), and discovered a Jamaican Grill that had the best jerk chicken I've ever tasted. We almost witnessed a drug deal, which we figured just added to the atmosphere: good food, music that reminded me of playing laser tag, and weed smoke.  Also had some really good Korean food, made double good by the fact that a Korean doctor joined in on our pre-food Uno game and then said we made excellent choices for lunch.  There was also a lot of sweets: cheesecake (twice), brownies, ice cream, and a chocolate version of Candyland Melissa got in a care package.

I loved just having the time to walk/bus around Addis, get to know it more and find things to do that weren't near the two hotels Peace Corps uses or the office. I feel more comfortable going there now, where as before I hated going into the city. But as Debra and I hopped from guest house to guest house (Melissa got put up in a hotel by Peace Corps, whose free wifi we used a couple of times) I now know several cheap places to stay, how to get there, and know what to do in the area.

It was a glorious vacation, a nice get out of Huruta trip and see friends type of deal.  I even felt good after getting to Huruta, despite it taking two hours for me to get from my hotel to the bus station and previous such journeys.