Training prep, a little shopping & a LOT to be thankful for

Thursday morning, our co-worker from the Nairobi office arrived and that meant work needed to get done.

We started the day off with a trip to the Ethiopian Heath & Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI) to make sure all of our training material had arrived. The company had shipped the training binders to Ethiopia several weeks before, but on past trips they had gotten hug up in customs, sometimes not arriving until the majority of the training was complete!

Thankfully, all of our boxes arrived. Included in this shipent were the Trainers Toolkit, LaboratoryWorkbook Binders, Postal Couriers workbooks, Trainers Guide Workbooks, and some tote bags to give each of the participants.

We will have 44 participants in Adama the first week of training, so we needed to put aside 44 of both the Trainers Guide binders and the Laboratory Workbook Binders. Week 1 was going to be spent training the Laboratory technicians on the importance of a quality system in regards to laboratory samples & specimens. Week 2 we would be travelling to several different labs doing assessments and giving recommendations for improvements. The last week, several of the participants from the frist week would then be performing the training themselves to new students in their own regions. We would participate in that week by observing their training & participating when needed. More to come on those weeks as they occur.

Right outside the EHNRI building, there were some beautiful flowers in bloom. The weather here in Addis seems very simliar to San Diego. Moderate temperatures year round. Its been in the low to mid 70's the last few days, and then in the low 50's at night. Very comfortable.

In the afternoon we had lunch at The Lime Tree. The atmsphere was very inviting and the food was delcious!

Meat FirFir with Injera

Beef Tibs

Chicken Tahira (curry)

Later, we went to a market place to do some shopping. There were beautiful scarves, handwoven baskets and many gorgeous wood statues.

In one of the shops, three small children greeted us. All very shy but their mother was happy to allow me to take their pictures.

It took a lot of cajoling to get this young boy to break a smile...but I was finally successful!

Right outside the shop was a traditional coffee ceromony.

Back at the hotel we noticed a palm tree with several bird nests.

Since it was Thanksgiving back in the States, we decided to splurge and go to the Sheraton Hotel for dinner. This hotel was very beautiful...obviously THE prime place to stay while in Addis.

There was a gorgeous fountain in the back of the hotel, a colorful light show timed perfectly to music.

 

Dinner was a buffet with so many different choices. Our first selection was a delicious French wine.

  

The Turkey was cooked to perfect, and even thought I don't really like Turkey I decided to have a small slice to celebrate the holiday.

Just a small sampling from the dessert bar was enough to fill me up.

On our way out of the lobby, we found a detailed miniature replica of the hotel property. This place was HUGE!

A full day and we are all exhausted and heading back to the hotel to rest up before tomorrow.

Addis Ababa - Wednesday 11/23/11

I woke up in the morning feeling relatively refreshed despite the time difference. What a wonderful thing that little pill named Ambien is. :)

I stepped out on the balcony and was greeted by the acrid scent of a fire. The air was thick with smoke, and my first thought was a brush fire. Later I found out it is common to have a day like this...where everyone burns their trash piles, polluting the sky with thick brown smoke.

We are staying at the Hilton. Its a relatively nice hotel, although extremely expensive and out dated...its clean and safe. Two relatively important things when so far from home.

The grounds are nicely maintained, and there are all the amenities...a large pool, mini golf, and a well equipped gym.

Changing Cabin (in case you couldn't tell)



This will be our home until Saturday when we all head out to Adama (Nazaret).

After sorting out a bit of a room misunderstanding (the hotel cancelled all three of ours reservation for the first night...still haven't figured out why?), a driver picked us up for a tour of the city. We scrambled through a sea of insane drivers. There are two lanes on the roads, and for the most part all the drivers keep to their own sides, but that's about it when it comes to etiquette on the roads. There are few stop signs (although nobody really stops at them) and even fewer traffic lights (and those that are up dont seem to work at all).

Our driver, Sampson, was a seasoned professional though. Weaving in and out of the madness without instilling too much panic in his passengers.

We travelled past the Palace, the Piazza, the University of Addis Ababa, Yekatit 12 Monument.

We also saw the American Embassy as well as the Canadian Embassy. Both massive structures that were well guarded and beautifully constructed.

We finally moved out of the city and up to Entoto Mountain where we were greeted with a beautiful view.

Along the way, we encountered numerous women carrying heavy loads of cut Eucalyptus branches on their backs. These women hike roughly 18 miles a day (based off a little bit of googling) and can carry up to 70 lbs on their backs. There were women of all ages participating in this daily ritual.

Some of the women had donkeys to help carry the load. This woman in particular came up to Joy after she took a picture of her donkey's demanding to be paid for allowing her photo to be taken. When Joy offered her 6 Birr, she refused...demanding 10 instead (a whopping 58 cents). It makes you think twice about bartering at all when you think of how little that really is)

As I was searching around the internet for more information on this way of life, I found this website...where you can 'give a donkey' to help these women. I can't verify the validity of the website, but it may be worth looking into.

At the top of the mountain we stopped at the Entoto Mariam Church. For a 50 birr entrance fee each, we were welcomed to explore the church and surrounding buildings. Our self appointed tour guide (despite the fact that we told him we weren't interested) proceeded to show us around the property and explain the purpose of the buildings.

  





On our way back to the hotel, we passed by the African Union bulding, an incredibly huge, beautiful building...a very generous gift from the Chinese government, who apparently sees a lot of growth potential in Ethiopia.

After a long day, it was nice to get back to the hotel..relax near the pool with a drink and then head up to the room for a nap. Thursday, Deman arrives from South Africa and we begin to do a little work in preparaion for our journey to Adama

Fun Facts about Ethiopia

1) In Ethiopia it is now 2003, they use the Julian calendar with 13 months a year. New Year’s Day is on 11th September and they celebrate Christmas on 7th January. Each of the 12 months all have 30 days, the balance of 6 or 7 days depending whether it is a leap year is the 13th month.
2) As Ethiopia is near the equator it gets daylight at 6am and dark by 6pm every day all year. They tell the time as 12 hours by day and another 12 hours for night. 7am is then 1 o’clock day, 8pm is 2 o’clock night. Arranging a meeting can be confusing!

3) The oldest hominid skeleton dated over 6 million years ago, is from Ethiopia.

4) Frankincense comes from Ethiopia. One of the three kings to witness Jesus birth is reputed to have been an Ethiopian, bringing the Frankincense.

5) There were Jews living in Ethiopia centuries before Christ and Christianity came to Ethiopia in the third century AD. The original Ten Commandments or Holy Ark of the Covenant is reputed to be in Axum, Northern Ethiopia - where it is closely guarded.

6) Lalibela, deep in the mountains in the centre of Ethiopia country, has a collection of eleven 13th century underground rock-hewn churches - reputedly built by many angels. A World Heritage site often termed the eighth wonder of the world.

7) Ethiopia was the only African country to defeat an European power (Italy) in the 1896 “Scramble for Africa” . Ethiopia is the oldest independent African state & was never colonised.

8) Ethiopia is as big as France & Spain together, with an estimated population of over 80 million - although reputed to have more livestock.

9) Half of the country is mountainous and over 6,000 feet - that is twice as high as the highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis. Other parts are actually below sea level.

10) Before Emperor Haile Selassie was crowned, he was called Duke (Ras) Tafari. This is the source of the name of the Rastafarians, who revere him as the direct descendant of King Solomon. “Haile Selassie” means Holy Trinity.

11) The alphabet used in Ethiopia is derived from Hebrew and Sabean and is called G’eez. It has nearly 300 letters - including seven vowels. All spelling is phonetical.

12) The Queen of Sheba journeyed from Ethiopia in the 9th Century BC to see King Solomon in search of knowledge and is recorded as saying “Learning is better than treasures of silver and gold, better than all that has been created on earth...and afterwards what can be compared to learning?”

13) The Greeks and Persians called Ethiopians the “Habasha” meaning the burnt people. An earlier name for Ethiopia was Abyssinia (said to be derived from Habasha), meaning land of the burnt people.

14) Coffee, grown on trees, originated in Ethiopia - in the region of Kaffa.

15) The Blue Nile rises in NW Ethiopia joining the White Nile (from Uganda) at Khartoum, Sudan and providing over 85% of all the water in the Nile flowing through Egypt.

16) In 14 Nov 1879 Ethiopian Prince Alemayehu, (orphaned son of Emperor Tewodros) died in Leeds, UK allegedly of pneumonia. He was being cared for by Queen Victoria and is the only non British royal to be buried in the Royal Chapel at Windsor Castle.

(these fun facts found were on the website: http://www.a-cet.org/about_us.php?pageID=16-things-about-ethiopia)