Blogs from Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia, Africa

7 mars "Un homme affamé n'a souvent qu'à se lécher les doigts" Proverbe Éthiopien (Toujours à Bahir Dar) Il est 9h00AM et je quitte mon auberge pour rejoindre la station de mini-bus de Bahir Dar. C'est un 20 minutes de marche qui me sépare du chaotique enclos à transporteurs. Malgré que je sois sur la route historique et que les villes que j'ai prévu à mon itinéraire sois aussi les arrêts prévilégiés de la majorité des touristes en Éthiopie, clairement, encore peu d'entre-eux osent sortir de leurs tours organisés. On m'offre beaucoup d'attention sur le chemin de la station. Les regards se tournent vers moi et me fixent sans gêne comme si j'étais infecté par une quelconque maladie de peau. Les passants, les shoe shine boys, les vendeurs de montres ou de lunette-soleil bas de gamme, ... read more

Arrived 10th Feb Saturday morning in Gondar, one of the ancient capitals of Ethiopia, developed in the 16th cent up to the 18th.After two hours sleep on the plane I could do little more than have a juice drink (layered mango, guava, avocado and pineapple) before I had to lie flat and close my eyes. Saturday evening meal was a buffet in a local restaurant which was as lovely as the food in Iran (my favourite world food). Even the carbohydrate staple, injera, which I’d heard was as inedible as nsima (Malawian staple) was ok. Slightly sour as it is made from fermented tef flour (a type of rye grass) but a most unprepossessing colour – a sort of grubby dishcloth shade. It is made into a pancake which can wrap around meat or veg, or ... read more

Traveling from Bahir Dar to Gondar is a shocking change in scenery: we went from a muggy, tropical atmosphere to a mountain town in just three hours. We barely missed the 7AM bus, but after a fist fight or two between bus station touts, we found a minibus and headed to the foothills for 60 birr per person (about $3, and the same price as the bus would have been). I woke up with a bit of a stomach bug, so the winding rode made for a difficult ride. I started to feel more and more ill along the way, and by the time I arrived in Gondar I was running in and out of the bathroom every few minutes at the house of a Peace Corp volunteer friend of Hannah's. But after a day of ... read more

CUSO needs the help of all friends of volunteers. Please see attached link. The best part of helping CUSO with your tax deductible gift is it's generously matched by Government of Canada. A small gift can do a heckuva lot. ... read more

I began my CUSO International volunteer appointment in Ethiopia in April, 2013 believing it wouldn't be long before I opened a blog and began sharing stories and photographs with friends who asked me to stay in touch. Telling about experiences here always seemed less important than, well, doing them. At any rate, some 9 months later than expected blogging begins on December 26, 2013. I chose the title, "view from the roof" because the city where I'm located, Gondar, is close to the beautiful Simien Mountains frequently referred to as, yep, the roof of Africa.... read more