Field Trip: Day One

This morning, my colleague T and I left Addis Ababa to join a group of students on their field trip to Southern Ethiopia. Dereje picked us up at the hotel and we had breakfast together at Mac Addis (french toast!) before leaving for Nazaret, about 120km east of the capital. Our first stop was the Nazaret Water Treatment Facility (previously here), where we received a thorough tour, starting at the pump station at the Awash River, looking at the sediment tanks where they mix in aluminum-sulfate, and then the aerator tank before seeing the control room and testing lab.

Before continuing on to the next location, Dereje took us to a restaurant for lunch. There must have been some dignitary visiting town, because there were military police stationed everywhere; there were even some MPs in the restaurant we went to having lunch and some beers. We grabbed a table and ordered kitfo, which is minced beef with butter, berbere spice and thyme, with injera and bread. After lunch and a macchiato, we piled back in the car and headed south toward Ziway. Despite the after-lunch caffeine, I quickly dozed off in the car for about an hour. When I awoke, we were already near our destination.

We drove through the town, along Lake Ziway, past a large, new hospital, a school, and a few acres of greenhouses which looked like they were growing flowers for export. We arrived at the water treatment facility for the tour. Ziway is at a much lower elevation than Addis Ababa, so they use surface pumps to pump water directly from the lake. It is pumped over to a huge, elevated aerator pool where the water springs up at the highest point, and then flows down a series of "steps", almost looking like a fountain.

After that, we looked for a hotel, finally settling on the third place we visited. The rooms are simple with a bed, desk and private bathroom with hot water showers, but a real steal at only 45 birr per night--less than $3! After checking in, we met the students again at a nearby restaurant and ordered kitfo, and tibbs (marinated cubes of beef) for the group. We pushed all the tables together so all 27 of us could sit together. When the drinks arrived, I stood up and made a toast, teaching them the word kampai ("cheers" in Japanese). At the end of the meal, a student representative stood up and gave a speech to thank us. The bill only came to about $1 per plate, including drinks, and everyone said they were stuffed, myself included.

At that, we called it a night. Tomorrow we have an early start to Shashemene and Awasa, another 150km south of here.