After a pretty sleepless night of general grogginess I decided that I would stay one more night and then really look to leave on Tuesday. The plan today was to change a tiny amount of money for the remainder of my time in Ethiopia and then kick the cold to bits by drinking lots of water, eating "safe" fruit and doing absolutely nothing.
As the majority of the day was taken up with watching movies and daydreaming, I got to thinking about things that happen everyday in Ethiopia that wouldn't in England. The differences are obviously huge but here are some things that people thinking about coming here will just have to get used to basically.
People:
They like to shout at you or whistle at you. This takes a lot of getting used to as I personally don't like being whistled or shouted at but it can be quite funny sometimes. It's annoying when you stop to ask what the matter is and they either say something in Amharic that you don't understand or they just say "you you you" or "where you go" as if they have Tourette's. I'm told though, that it's the Ethiopian way and they just like to practice their one English sentence, so mastering a "deaf ear" and not replying to absolutely everyone will save you lots of time and hassle.
The people say "yes" to everything so you have to ask questions and point in directions that you think are the wrong way in order to get a different reaction. The chances of this happening are still very low as I wasted 20 minutes walking to a bakery that at least 5 different people said "yes" to my direction and I ended up at a hotel. They just don't listen basically and speaking in Amharic doesn't help either. Your best bet is to ensure you're in a good mood before you try and explain that you have no hot water or you don't want olives in your dinner as things could get repetitive and if you're like me, gestures will get louder and more animated! (that's what travelling is all about I guess!)
This being said, be prepared for social interaction as only knowing 3 English words will not stop Ethiopians coming up and talking to you and sitting down next to you. They are very friendly and it is very hard to get annoyed with them because of this. Smile and nod is a great reply to any conversation that they try and spark up. You never know, you may find a funny one that you can understand and it may lighten your day!
Service:
The service I have experienced has been pretty horrendous by English standards but the Ethiopian culture is to take ages, not communicate with you at all if they don't have something you asked for and generally be quite poor. It seems the people you meet in the streets at random would be the best at working in customer service but unfortunately they don't, instead its the guys that have been trained by sloth mutes that are the ones you end up constantly looking for as you've sat at your table of food for half an hour waiting for your drink.
Hotels
When I say I've been staying in hotels, this maybe misconstrued as I've been living a life of luxury for the last 3 weeks. This is far from the case and the prices are all relative but even the best hotels I've stayed in have been off the mark. Water (hot and cold) and electricity should not be taken for granted, (that comes with the country) and neither should Internet or an English TV channel when you get that luxury. The truth is that you'll probably get more enjoyment out of a really terrible hotel that you expect nothing more than the low price you pay compared to the expensive hotel that lures you in and only disappoints you.
Livestock:
If you don't like animals and more specifically farming animals then you may not enjoy the streets of Ethiopia or Africa in general. Donkeys, horses, cows and goats are just as common as cars as they're obviously used for transport (donkeys and horses that is) so If you're scared of any of them for whatever reason then probably leave Africa off the "to do" list. Equally if you really really love these animals to the point you get affected when they're whipped then be prepared to get upset. It's just the way it is unfortunately.
Food:
I haven't been to many other African countries to compare but if you ask me, Traditional Ethiopian food is built around the same base which makes it very hard to show variety. Other people have said that Ethiopia has a lot of variety compared to other African countries so I may be in for a shock later but its quite hard to get past Injera when you find yourself in a restaurant in Ethiopia. They also loves green chillis and if you find a meal without injera, it will be a miracle if it doesn't have green chillis as well. Due to this, almost everything will make your nose run or at least leave a burning sensation on your lips and tongue. The food isn't going to kill you though, you may feel like your going to die sometimes but you've got to try everything once, or in the case of injera, try it once with everything!
Reading this back may sound negative but it is not written in this same emotion. I am simply stating the way I've experienced a few things and this why we travel. Travelling and learning about different cultures helps to broaden our minds. This in turn helps us to be more grateful for what we have and to realise things that we can improve on about our lives.
I particularly like the Ethiopian greeting, to older people especially. A common greeting is to shake hands with the right hand and touch right shoulders. It shows a closeness and a brotherhood that echoes the true closeness experienced in African childhood and upbringing. When greeting an older person you shake hands with the right hand and the younger person supports their right elbow with their left hand. It shows a level of respect to the elderly which I like. A few of the teenage lads did it to me which made me laugh. Beirdre makes them think that I'm in my forties (which I don't think is old enough to warrant a special handshake) but I think if a teenager does it to somebody retired then the show of respect is good to acknowledge in the same way you give up your seat on a bus for the elderly.
So there you have just a few things to expect if you ever want to visit this very beautiful and diverse country. Ethiopia also have their own calendar and timing. Christmas is celebrated on the 7th January which is why I need to bust a gut to celebrate it when I normally do on the 25th December. Their daily timing is different also. As we are so close to the equator, the times of sunrise and sunset doesn't really change massively throughout the year. Therefore, at sunrise its 12 o'clock and sunset its 12 o'clock. Midday for Ethiopians is 6 o'clock so when you ask what the time is and they reply with 3 o'clock, you just have to add 6 or if you want to embrace their lifestyle, take it as 3 hours of sunlight and you have 9 left!
All that thinking tired me out so I had dinner, watched a few movies and then went to bed. Due to my extra day off I have a mad rush now to get to Kenya, and a decent place for Christmas. 8 days and around 900km to cover will get me to a town that i hope will be nice. I really have no idea (just like with everywhere i end up) but it should be fun trying to get there and I'm ready for it!
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