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Published: August 23rd 2008
Addis street
Down from Piazza to Winston Churchill St. Notice Italian colonial balcony..Ethiopian Airlines finally fixed their plane and we got airborne on the Sunday, four days and one wedding after our intended departure for Addis.
The whole journey was smoothed out by Judith, a fellow Ferengi working on a Finnish sponsored water project in Beneshangul-Gumuz who has a car and driver in both Assosa and Addis - who kindly offered to give us lifts to the airport in Assosa and from the airport in Addis.
Judith is the person who brought about 200kgs of cheese from Nairobi last month and gave us the feast of our lives at her house along with 2 boxes of real South African red wine! She is also getting satellite TV along with Antero, her Finnish colleague, so is definately someone worth knowing 😊
We also met a really nice IRC (Internation Rescue Commitee) Security Consultant at the airport from Oz, called Bill. It's always worth chatting to the Ferengi's at the airport as you get to find out what is going on in the area - whether it be mining for gold, refugee work at the UN camp or advising on evacuation plans; it's
Door to the Mega Bet
I'll lay odds on this being some sort of Theatre? not like Ferengis come to Assosa for the craic!
Bill was working mostly in the Somali region of Ethiopia (where VSOs are not allowed to go) and had spend 3 years in Afghanistan and before that Kosovo. No wonder he chain-smoked Marlboro reds...
Although we were so disappointed to miss Aynsley and Jordan's wedding in Addis we did have three days of trying to cheer ourselves up with beer, wine and TV shows on the laptop; the latest joint addiction (Sara is hopelessly addicted to Brothers & Sisters now - I've even caught her blubbing) being the Chronicles of Sara Connor - a Terminator spin off, 15 years after the cinematic masterpiece that was Terminator 2.
The nice touch in the Chronicles is that the kick a*se 'good' terminator is River from Firefly - a 5 foot ex-ballerina...she even does the classic Arny line that graces the title above. Have yet to hear her do a **** you ******* (expletive deleted) but hope springs eternal.
Fly with us if you want to live a little Everything
Saddam's Supergun
Shh, don't tell George Bush :) went smoothly at the airport.
No rain. No shortage of aircraft. No mechanical faults...
...well not until the aborted take off...
Runway disappearing fast, rocky savannah approaching even faster and, uh, excuse me, we don't seem to be getting airborne??
Suddenly the engines spin down and we slow to a halt before a quick 180 and back to a squad of bemused-looking Ethiopian Airlines workers at the other end of the runway for take 2. The pilot leans out of the window and tells his mate he forgot to ask him to put a tenner on the favourite each way for the 2.45 at Newmarket...
Finally airborne we both put out of our minds the thought that this trip to Addis is doomed and I thank the pilot for clearing the, ahem, "intestinal blockage" that seemed to have been caused by the doxycycline anti-malarials I have recently switched to.
Qonjo Lejoj (beautiful children) So we land at Addis and hop into Judith's driver's car. He has a people carrier and his little daughter with him. His little 'mimi' (baby girl) is so pretty. In fact Ethiopian children are so cute - I think
Soviet 'Red Star' monument
Former President scored 9/10 in spelling test. I'm going to have to check Sara's handbag before we fly back to the UK in December 😊
Judith kindly drops us off at Marsilas - the Comet Building roof-top pizza house and we partake in the usual Addis welcoming ceremony - beer, chips, pizza and more beer - with Aynsley, Jordan, Gordon, Jackie, Allan and Amy.
Bursting at the seams we head off to stay with Kevin - a VSO from Dubs in Ireland who is putting us up for the duration. He is off in 3 weeks but maybe we'll get to see him sometime in Limerick in December - he has family there.
Wow, so this thing does do video after all!!! As you can probably tell I am not a natural when it comes to photography. If it looks good it's more by luck than judgement. So having at last found out what all the buttons do on my 50 quid HP cheapo camera I was delighted to find it can do videos!
You may be less than enthusiastic, however please enjoy the first batch attched to this blog 😊 I have a few more of storms and hail in Assosa
Ethiopian Television Centre
Next to the Ministry of Information. How convenient. that I can inflict on you at a later date.
13 Months of Sunshine Er, yep, it gets a bit wet. Addis has this strange microclimate where you can be knee deep in flooded drains while less than a mile away your buddy is supping a beer in hazy sunshine in a beer garden. To be fair I have seen African rain before but, boy, it puts our annoying English mizzle to shame. This video was taken after the rain stopped (I'm pretty sure my camera ain't waterproof).
We had just climbed out of a line taxi after a near blind slide across the 14 lane free for all that is Meskel Square. We had a full house its-raining-so-pack-em-in-cos-the-cops-cant-see cabin - I was sitting on top of a hundredweight of charcoal and Sara was 5 up on the back seat! Who cares - we were grateful for the ride.
Addis from Cloud 9 While Sara was pampered in the Boston Day Spa on Bole Road, Bekema and I went shopping for PC bits before finding a pool hall on top of one of the new Addis high-rise shopping centres.
Ethiopian pool tables are Uk
Stalled on Bole Road
Best you breakout that WD-40 my old luvver. sized but have US size pockets and the standard game is not the usual 15-ball spots/colours, but some strange variant where the balls are lined up at equal spaces along the cushion. You try to pot in 1 to 15 order, though plants are allowed.
Understandably I can't understand the tactics and get one hell of beating whenever I play. You play in 4's but not as a pair. The two lowest scoring players (points are awarded equal to the value of the ball you pot) have to pay the cost of the game (about 4 birr each).
So while Bekema and 2 strangers cleaned me out I decided to video the view from the roof. You can even see my reflection in the window if you look closely. I'm that good.
Get Fam Addis Vista This one is from the balcony of the Get Fam pizza place in the Get Fam building, opposite the Comet Pizza place mentioned earlier. We had arranged to meet Sherri, our Canadian friend from Assosa, for lunch and you can see her shooting the breeze with Sara at the start of the video.
Sherri works for SIL a language
Cloud 9 shopping centre
Best tiramisu in Addis! based organisation. She has been in the 'Opia for 2 years now and spent the first year learning Amharic. Needless to say she is perfect.
We picked up a good language tip over lunch. Being English we like to say 'please' (usually about 50 times) whenever we make a request and - per the formal Amharic lessons - to say please you say
ebarka to a man and
ebarkesh to a woman. If you need to bill you might say
ebarkesh hisab or
the bill please. Sherri informed us that no one uses ebarka or ebarkesh and if you really need to say please (it's not necessary) then say
istee. Ebarka and ebarkesh are only used if you are begging!!! No wonder the Ethiopian's have been laughing at us...
Oh yes, the video.
View is of Haile Gebre Salassie Street, looking towards Meskel Square, the (kind of) centre of Addis. As the camera moves round you can see the Entoto Hills in the background and then the Comet Building opposite with the Pizza place on top. Finally the road heads off towards the Hiya Hulet crossroads.
Crosstown Traffic Just a flavour. Check the white
Sara & Bekema
He can stand under her umb-er-ella ella ella eh eh....ella 4x4 flatbed with the hardtop cover trying to turn left. Phew that was close!
Mirror. Signal. Maneuveur.
Line Taxi Ettiquette This is my favourite. Watch the leftmost line taxi.
When you want the taxi to stop you shout "waraj alleh" (there is a stop). The thing is if you have paid for the full journey you must get your money's worth. If someone else stops the cab 20 yards before you wanted to get off, you don't get out. You let them get off and once the taxi starts again you shout "waraj alleh" 20 yards further down the road!
Ethnicky Jazz...and all that snazz So we were on holday! Taking a break for the first time since we arrived. ICT is no holiday and being recalled for security reasons ain't no picnic either.
Sara spent the Monday with Aynsley, mostly at the Boston Day Spa being washed, massaged in a jacuzzi and sauna.
She came out feeling refeshed and energised, if a bit poorer. The place is Ferengi central. As we picked Sara and Aynsley up we had to fight our way through a huge crowd of Americans and prior to
Sara & Aynsley
For those about to spa...we salute you. that, Chinese. They say Bole Road is not Ethiopia and they ain't wrong!
Fortunately Paul and Courtney were also in Addis for a few days sorting out materials for the hospital they are building in Kamashi (part of Beneshangul-Gumuz) and they joined us for a curry at the "Curry House Near the Rwandan Embassy". It was fantastic once again.
Tuesday we did VSO-related chores and had lunch with Patricia, the Country Director. It was interesting to hear the plans for BG region and get the low-down on the PO (Programme Office) news from Addis. An English MP had just spent 2 weeks as a short-term volunteer at an HIV & AIDS organisation so we wanted to know how that had gone.
After a brief detour to buy Ferengi food at Get Fam supermarket (cheese, chocolate, SA wine etc) we headed off to the cinema to see Batman. I had bought a tin of canned pears on a whim - it's strange what tastes you think you miss - much to Sara's annoyance.
Hmm, now where did I put them? Feeling strangely peckish...
Batman was rubbish. Mainly because it was called The Mummy 3. We missed
Just smile Bekema...
...before she asks you for a foot rub... Batman by an hour, but 2 hours in a comfy seat with popcorn is great, regardless of the movie. To be fair there were big furry Yetis and armies of the dead fighting with spears, so it clearly had some redeeming features.
In the evening we walked to the 'Yemenese on Bole Road' (have you spotted a common theme with our place naming? we haven't got a clue what these places are called) with Paul and Courtney and ate the fantastic Yemenese bread and hummus until we felt sick.
The following day we went back to the flicks again and watched Batman. Went on a bit but entertaining nevertheless. We said goodbye to our friends in Addis at the Pride Bar (where else?) before grabbing some grub at Delicious Dishes.
Allan kindly gave me my winnings from coming last in the Euro 2008 sweep stake. I knew Greece would do me proud. They netted me a grand total of 70 birr that Allan presented to me in 70 of the tattiest 1 birr notes you could hope to see. The Addis guys had kindly been trading in their crummiest, dirtiest and smelliest 1 birr notes just for
Ice cream van in Addis
Took wrong turn on way to Ashton Court festival... me. But don't worry guys. I'm gonna get ya. Don't you worry...
Honey, we're home The Olympics have started. The Ethiopians are mad for it. The TV in the Shai-Buna bar has been surrounded daily by keen sports enthusiasts. It's not just the middle distance running that interests them. I regularly see the Federal Police guys glued to the men's high jump or cheering on some French woman hammer thrower.
I did catch the women's 10,000m which Tirunesh Dibaba won. That was crazy. The entire coffee bar was jumping around and clapping for the last two laps as she claimed gold in awsome fashion. Her final lap, bearing in mind she had just done 23 other laps, was fast enough to qualify her for the final of the 800m! In fact she would have been the fastest qualifier!!
The Premiership has started again. I have had to bite the bullet and subscribe to Arsenal TV Online. I really struggle going to the DSTV places to watch the games. In the UK I'd watch the game with buddies or at least people who weren't taking delight in Arsenal's misfortune. In Ethiopia it is common for the Man
Putting in the Hard Yards...
Metre of beer at the German Beer garden. U, Chelsea and occasional Liverpool fan to pitch up for the Arsenal games just to cheer the opposition. You end up with some 19 year old Chelsea fan who hasn't got a clue (i.e. a true Chelsea fan) sitting behind you and some Man U joker in front hooting with laughter at every mistimed cross or when Adebayor misses an open goal (and they certainly get value for money there!).
I have asked Bekema why there are no dedicated Arsenal DSTVs or Chelsea DSTVs or whatever, but he said the owners cannot afford to be selective. Arsenal may only have 1 game a week, so they have to show all 3 games on Saturday, 2 on Sunday and Monday's game with total impartiality.
Unfortunately Arsenal TV Online only shows highlights and at 56k it took me all of Monday to get 11 minutes of highlights of Arsenal vs West Brom. In all honesty they struggled to string it out for 11 minutes! You can't get Match of the Day online outside of the UK either. Might just have to get thicker skin and get back down DSTV again after all.
Bu-Hey and Out We have just
Sara & Sherri @ Getfam
Would you adam and eve it? That's an egg & cheese croissant. experienced a very curious traditional 'celebration' in Assosa. Known as 'buhey' it takes place annually, this one being the male buhey. Small boys gather in groups and move from door to door clapping, shouting 'Hoy-eh hoy-eh' and shaking a stick with beer bottle tops attached.
It's a bit like trick or treat in the UK. You are supposed to give them money or food and then they move to the next house. This goes on for 5 or 6 days.
The first day we got a visitation we were totally perplexed. We get the odd person selling charcoal or injera knocking on the gate but these guys were straight through the gate, bold as brass (not the done thing we are told) and were giving us the 'hoyeh' treatment right outside on the front porch.
We went out and tried to communicate but the kids rarely have good English (yet) and struggle with our awful (begging) Amharic. Ultimately these little exchanges end with one of the kids shouting 'Birr' or 'money'.
We refuse and shepherd them out. Not because we are tight, it's just that we don't want people begging at our house and we don't
Purple Rain
Can't see anyone laughing. want to give out any money because otherwise they will be back the following day and the day after; and then their mates will be back with them.
We have seen it happen.
You end up with half the kids in Assosa camped outside your house waiting for handouts.
Anyway we spoke to Mulatu about this as the kids seemed cute and clearly expected something in return for their efforts. He explained the celebration, though we are not entirely sure what it celebrates.
Apparently in the rural areas, the men arm themselves with whips and lash passers by, seemingly at random. This lashing even extends to inter-village lashing, where teams battle it out to win a special bread baked for the occasion.
This activity is not restricted to just the Christians; the Muslims have a buhey festival too; but it doesn;t clash with the Christian one so, no, there are no Christian-Muslim whipping sessions. We did ask.
There is also a women's buhey later in September. It's far less violent. Girls pick flowers and leave them on doorsteps in return for money.
I suppose we can't really pass judgement on the festival. In
Big Church
By the roundabout at the end of Hiya Hulet. Cheltenham where I worked grown men used to chase huge blocks of cheese that were rolled down a hill, often resulting in broken limbs and worse!
So, given that we always humour the trick-or-treaters in the UK with mini bars of chocolate - most of them unclaimed as in Fishponds the kids are too busy stealing things to dress up as wizards - we agreed we would give the next set of 'buheyers' a treat.
Right on cue up popped a gang of youths banging on the door. Hoyeh-Hoyeh (rattle-rattle-rattle). Out goes Sara with 2 x 1 Birr notes. Whoosh. The money disppears and the kids shuffle off...
...only to return 3 minutes later for another try.
. Hoy-eh, hoy-eh. .
That was 4 days ago.
Since then we have been hoy-ehed, rattled and clapped sensless. We've even had adults turning up, fortunately without whips, pushing their kids in front for a punt at the Ferengi coin.
No doubt the first bunch bigged the story up into 'the Ferengis gave use TEN Birr' (not two), which became 'the Ferengis are giving out FIFTY Birr notes' and by the time it reached the villages the story was probably that we were handing out 100 dollar bills...
...fortunately buhey ends tomorrow. Only 12 hours to go...
hoy-eh hoy-eh hoy-eh hoyeh...
hoy-eh hoy-eh
bang!
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PeteJ
non-member comment
Goodness!
I dunno! You get to see the footie live out there, and then you complain that you have to sit with ManU fans! Spare a thought for a Sunderland fan in Bristol trying to find a (decent) pub showing the Liverpool game last Saturday tea time when it clashed with Bristol City v Derby :-)