Blogs from Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa Region, Ethiopia, Africa - page 10

Going Home On the last morning I have a few hours to kill before I have to go to the airport. I have not yet seen a fridge magnet or a local football shirt anywhere so I set off into the center of Addis (by turning left out of the hotel!!) in search of these. I think it's a sign that the Ethiopian tourist industry is only just starting that they haven't started making tacky fridge magnets yet. I think I do really well to eventually find one. I've wandered around a lot of shops and been led on wild goose chase by someone who tells me he knows where all the fridge magnets and football shirts are and it's always just around the next corner. I eventually get offered three identical fridge magnets in one ... read more

My mom has informed me that my blog entries are overly negative (or always end on a bad note) so I've resolved that this one will be only good...which is easy because I can't think of anything bad that has happened in the last week. In Kampala I stayed with a young Rwandan man who grew up in Uganda and had strangely worked on the film crew of Last King of Scotland and so had pictures with all the stars. He seemed to hang out mostly with ex-pats though so I got a very ex-paty view of Kampala, going to a horror movie night for halloween and eating veggie burgers (and bagels!). I also spent a good amount of time wandering aimlessly around the city as is my way. Kampala is probably the most terrifyingly congested ... read more

Sevastapol At breakfast on Sunday we are joined by 2 more members of the tour group who have just arrived from the airport. Matt has not slept in over 24 hours but still decides to join us for a stroll around Addis Ababa. Jane votes for sleep. Nick and I have both read Philip Marsden's book, "The Barefoot Emperor" about Emperor Tewderos. We are both very keen to find the replica of Sevastapol - this is the cannon he built and then had transported (by building all the necessary roads) to his mountain fortress at Maqdala. We think that the cannon itself is still at Maqdala because no-one has ever tried to move it but there is a replica on a traffic island somewhere on Churchill Avenue. Unfortunately the rest of the group don't know me ... read more

Flying to Addis Ababa The first day, getting from home to Addis Ababa, was always going to be a long one. But it's even longer than it needs to be because of the choices I have taken. The cheapest flight my travel agent could find was with Emirates so I have flown further East than I needed to in order to spend some time waiting in Dubai before coming back West to Addis Ababa. Secondly I've broken my journey a couple of times within the UK. I've stopped off in London for a couple of hours to have lunch with Martyn and then got to Gatwick early enough to check in my bag and sneak out to go and share a pint with one of my travelling "buddies" who lives very near Gatwick. The flight with ... read more

I returned to the states about 2 weeks ago and Susie and James returned about a week ago. Since returning back, I have settled in at home, spending time with my mom and visiting friends and family. I have also had a chance to process the lessons I've learned in Ethiopia and how I can apply those lessons to medical school. Perhaps the biggest first-hand realization I had is that I am not the owner but a steward of all the resources and opportunities I have. I have been meditating on what it means to be a good steward over these things, and how to develop them for the sake of God and others. Susie and I have moved our furniture into our apartment for the fall semester. Second year of Medschool starts for all three ... read more