First Impressions

First impressions of Ethiopia.

My first impression of Ethiopia is that it’s very green. I expected a dry dusty, brown country but from the air as you arrive Addis is lush and tropical. It is the end of the big rains and so this is as green as it gets. Although our experience today is that they aren’t quite over yet. We were out in the bus and the clouds came in, the heavens opened and within 20 minutes the roads had turned into torrential rivers.  However another 20 minutes later we were back at the Red Cross training centre and things are drying up again.  The temperature has not been hot, between 18 and 22 degrees I would think but the sun is fierce and 15 minutes in it is enough to pick up some colour.

Last night we went to a champagne reception at the British Embassy courtesy of the British Ambassador. The embassy is a beautiful colonial building in the centre of Addis with huge walls, three massive gates / barriers to get in. No cameras allowed so you will have to believe me when I tell you about the giant tortoises that roam the grounds (seriously) and the tropical gardens.  It was lovely if slightly surreal and I can’t help but feel a bit awkward given the surrounding poverty.  Certainly no signs of recession in the little bit of Britain, although there were no chocs, just yummy canapés.

Ethiopia is of course poor, and we still haven’t had much chance to get out and about on the streets. My impression from the bus windows is that its bad, but perhaps not quite as bad as Delhi. Everyone including the ambassador has told me that Haramaya Uni and Harar are some of the nicest bits of the country so I’m really excited about getting there and getting stuck in. We still have another full week of in country training before leaving to go to our placements – by which time I will be semi-fluent in Amharic (not). I have been told that my accommodation is so nice that I have broadband and sky TV (hardly roughing it) so I haven’t bought an internet dongle after all. This means probably no skypeing until after I get to Haramaya. There is wireless here with good speeds and I’ve even mastered enough IT skills to get myself connected to it but it is so intermittent that typing everything on word and copying and pasting is all you can do.

So while I wait for my next window I will tell you something about the food. Injera, the local traditional food is alright. It’s like giant pancakes in texture and comes in cardboard grey and  cardboard brown colours. It has a slightly sour taste which is balanced by the stews, some of which are totally delicious. They are kind of like Dahl, or meat stews. They also do great veg – mostly cabbage (probably the best cabbage ever), carrots, beans yum. Anyway internet up must post fast.... Jo x