Blogs from Addis Ababa Region, Ethiopia, Africa - page 3

Geo: 9.02274, 38.7468... read more

It may be midnight to you, but here in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, it is 7:00 a.m. I am NOT bright eyed and bushy tailed! Our flight from Dulles was almost 13 hours long, but I dozed off for only a few minutes at a time...zzzzzzz...oops! Did I just do it again? Anyway our large jet was less than half full, so I had a window seat, Karen had the aisle seat, and there was an empty one between us. In fact there were numerous rows of three empty seats in a row, so Karen moved to one of them to try stretching out to sleep while I did the same across our row. Not much luck: the ride got very bumpy, which caused several kids to cry, and no nap... We were fed ... read more

Welcome back I walk out of the plane to bouncing metal steps leading down to the tarmac and as I take in the view, two pied crows fly overhead. And I know I’m back in East Africa. A surge of excitement courses through my tired, bedraggled body. I will have to count on these second (third, fourth, fifth…) winds to carry me through this long day. I’m in Addis Ababa, on the first day of a week-long sojourn in Ethiopia on the first group trip of my life. I’m traveling under the auspices of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in a program called Entwine which seeks to encourage young professionals (like myself and my twenty-some-odd hand-selected compatriots) to become more involved in JDC’s humanitarian endeavors. I have certain wishes for this trip but few ... read more

I don't know what it is about Ethiopia, but I am completely taken by it. Maybe it is the uniqueness of the culture—their own unique cuisine, their own music styles, their own dancing, their own language only spoken in that country. Going to Ethiopia reminds me of the first couple of times I went to Nepal. I just wanted to take it all in and could not get enough. It is strange and exciting and always full of adventure. This past week I was in Addis Ababa leading a qualitative research training for a maternal and child nutrition project. This is not actually my study, but I was filling in for a colleague who could not get to Addis quickly to lead the training herself. So I said since I was in the region anyway and ... read more

10th Nov ’12 Lalibela to Addis Ababa It was a morning flight back to Addis with the usual drink and a bun and soon we were back on a bus in heavy traffic after having seen one of our group off at the airport. Then there were more goodbyes as another two people were dropped off at their hotel and once we reached the Ghion again it was our turn to say our goodbyes. It was quite sad to be leaving the group, they are a lovely bunch of people, good company and good fun. Sue is an excellent tour leader who always went that bit further to ensure we got the most from our time in Ethiopia, her love and passion for the people and the country was inspiring and infectious. One of the most ... read more