Backtracking

After Addis Ababa, I flew to Dubai to catch my connecting flight to Sao
Paulo, Brazil. What I didn't realize until I looked at the flight map on
board was that we flew from Dubai, south over Ethiopia, passing right
over Addis Ababa. The plane shifted southwest around Tanzania and then,
after flying over Angola, crossed the Pacific towards Brazil. It was a
long flight, but Emirates has a lot of great movies, which I took full
advantage of:
Management, X-Men Originals: Wolverine, Up, The Ugly Truth, Winged
Creatures, Adam, Wall-E, and a half-a-dozen TV shows. Oh, I also read a
magazine.
Anyway, my trip to Addis has come to an end and the next trip begins,
but I do have some Harar Ethiopian buna beans in my carry-on and plan to
share some of the most excellent coffee on earth with my coworkers in
Brazil.

4 Hours to Dubai

On the flight from Addis Ababa to Dubai we had just enough time to watch
one movie and J and I selected "Julie & Julia". I have to say, it was a
great movie and Meryl Streep is outstanding in the role of Julia Child.
It had us laughing a few times, and we only stopped the movie once in
the middle--to scarf down our dinner. It was nothing like the recipes we
were watching be prepared in the movie, but the shrimp salad, lamb curry
and apple strudel (while not the most brilliant combination of food I've
ever experienced) were pretty good. After the movie, we had about 30
minutes, so J showed me her strategy to play Chinese Checkers, which
they had on their seatback entertainment system. A pretty fun flight all
around.
Arriving in Dubai, we dove into the extensive airport looking for J's
check-in counter, which we finally found at the other end of the
premises. The airport is absolutely massive, like a small city in and of
itself. It took some time, but we got her boarding pass and found the
right gate and I bid her adieu as she headed to Guangzhou on her way
back to Japan.
As for me, I took a seat in the lounge since I had about 10 hours until
my next flight, this time headed southwest. Nevertheless, I'll be back
in Ethiopia sometime early next year, so until then...

Last(ing) Impression

Bole International Airport is the first impression and the last
impression most visitors to Ethiopia have. What a shame then that you
are put through an exhausting regimen of security checks, and what an
irony that it reminds me of the security theater in America. After going
through security to get into the airport, complete with taking off belt,
shoes, emptying pockets, etcetera, we again had to go through security
to get to our gate. In between, we had to fight to get to the check-in
counter to send off our luggage (hopefully tagged properly this time),
and then wait in a long queue with line-jumpers to be processed by a
"reverse immigration" officer. We were told we would not be allowed to
take any more than $1000 USD and $200 Ethiopian Birr (about $20) out of
the country, but through all the security checks, it all just seemed to
be for show. After an hour or so, we reached our gate and lined up for
about the fifth time to board the airplane. The flight was half empty
giving us plenty of room to stretch out in the comfy Emirates 777 jet.
What a shame that this is anyone's last(ing) impression of Ethiopia. We
had a great time during our month in Addis and I look forward to coming
back in a couple months, but the fine experiences we have to boast of
from our visit are somewhat diluted from the final stretch that is their
airport.

Last Day

We decided to go down to Bole Road on Sunday, our last day in Addis. I wanted to take J to Limetree, a great cafe frequented by expats for its excellent food made from fresh ingredients. Limetree is also just above the Boston Spa, so I thought maybe it would be a good time to get a massage, but they only had Swedish, and J loathes oil massage so we skipped it. Up at Limetree, it was packed as usual with savvy Ethiopians and their European friends, but we found an open table by the window. I ordered a lime juice with mint and J had a sweetened lasse, and since we had just had brunch 3 hours before, ordered a sandwich and a veggie tortilla wrap to share. It turned out to be plenty of food and we both loved the sandwich: roast beef and walnuts with fresh cucumber and lettuce on brown loaf bread.
After Limetree, we tried to head over to the Addis Ababa Museum, where they apparently still have on exhibit the first telephone in Ethiopia and other such items of historical importance, but it was closed. We browsed in Book World, since a new branch had opened up next door, and then caught a mini bus toward our hotel. It stopped 3/4 of the way there, near the big Megenanga bus stop, so we walked around the corner and piled into another mini bus headed to Gerji. It was a fun day out on the town, but we both had some work to finish up before departure, so we spent the rest of the evening on our computers. Later that evening, J reminded me to do online check-in for our flight the next day, but the Internet was so slow, I ended up watching Swordfish and most of Die Hard 4.0 on cable waiting for all the pages to download as I changed our seat reservations so we could sit together. Well, at least I hadn't seen those flicks and they were pretty good.

Like Magic

On Saturday, we invited my Japanese friend P over to our hotel for
lunch. He is here on a one-year contract and is renting a house here,
but doesn't yet have much for his kitchen and eats out a lot. J thought
it would be nice to make him lunch and she had brought some things to
make miso soup and curry from Japan. The furnished room we are renting
while here is pretty nice and has a living room with two sofas and a low
table, so we decided to set up lunch there. P arrived around 12:30 and
we enjoyed a nice long lunch, then ordered some macchiato from the hotel
restaurant. P recently retired from his position at Ethiopian Airlines
so he told us lots of stories about his experience in the airline
business over the years. We really enjoyed his company and he even gave
us a laugh with a few magic tricks. He doesn't claim to be a
professional, but he has some good tricks up his sleeve and a practiced
sleight of hand. Then he told us that when he was first starting out
looking for a job, he had jotted the hobby down on his resume, and
passed his first interview with a big US airline when the interviewer
asked him to do a trick. After a few hours, P said he would get going,
so we bid him goodbye and I told him I'd see him in a couple months when
I come back. He headed down to his car and we could see him from our
balcony; unfortunately, P seemed to have locked his keys in his car!
Luckily, one of the hotel carpenters was nearby and showed P a trick of
his own: how to get a car window open without breaking it.

Toastmasters in Addis Ababa

As a member of Toastmasters International for some years now, at my local club in Tokyo, we have often had visitors from clubs overseas who were passing through town. I finally was able to get on the other side of that experience when I attended a Toastmasters meeting in Addis Ababa. I heard about the club from my friend P, who is also a member of my club in Tokyo, so on Wednesday night, J and I headed over to the Imperial Hotel where the meetings are held once a week. They had a meeting room on the first floor and some 30 people were already seated in the room when we arrived. We took seats ourselves and soon the meeting began with a round of self-introductions--20 seconds each person. Most members were well-spoken, and as the meeting continues, we heard some very talented speakers, including a prepared speech by a young member in his 20s that told us how he felt growing up pudgy in Ethiopia. He was now a rather slim, handsome guy but he showed a picture of himself at 14 and launched into his speech saying, "This fat, ugly kid is me," and continued with well timed, self-defacing humor. He told us when he was young people would accuse him of being the cause of the famine, and kids would follow him around and chant "du-ba, du-ba", meaning watermelon, watermelon. However, he wrapped up with a message that showed he was obviously very comfortable with himself, no matter how he looks. After his speech, another member took to the podium and said when he was young he was so thin that cruel kids would clap and chant when he walked by saying, "pasta, pasta!"
 J and I both enjoyed the entire meeting immensely and felt it was a great way to jump into a community of people and experience Addis Ababa. I will definitely attend again next time I'm in town.

Familiar Face

Last Sunday, J and I went to Entoto mountain to see the Maryam Cathedral
and Museum as well as the old palace of Emperor Menelik. We had taken
five mini buses to get there, but the scenery was well worth it. As we
were walking around, J noticed a familiar face; it was, Getachew, one of
the instructors from the training center. The day before happened to be
the day of St. Maryam, so he was visiting the cathedral with his friend
Kasahun. We were happy to see him and meet his friend, and they offered
to give us a lift back into town since Kasahun had his own car. We
quickly took them up on the offer, and since they hadn't see the palace
yet, we walked around with them again and talked along the way.
Afterwards, the four of us piled into the car and we headed down to the
Sheraton Hotel. The Sheraton is the best hotel in Ethiopia and the
compound offers a beautiful place to take a stroll, have coffee or even
listen to piano in the lobby. I'd never been there before, and I was
impressed with the elegance of the place. No doubt it would be a
comfortable place to stay, but in creating a little paradise in the
city, it lacked the distinctive and enjoyable character of Addis Ababa.
However, the hotel is open to guests who can pay for day use of the
pool, sauna or to go to the shops and restaurants on the premises.
As we neared the late afternoon, we stopped at La Parisian, a popular
cafe downtown, to have a drink together and relax while we chatted with
Getachew and Kasahun. It was nice to get to know them better and hear
about the region they were both originally from, further north in
Ethiopia. In fact, they had known each other for nearly 20 years and
work together a bit since Kasahun owns a driving school while Getachew
is trained as an auto mechanic.
When we finished our drinks, we said thank you and went our way, but we
were both glad we were able to spend some time with people we know here
away from the office and feel a little bit at home. Our morning trip to
Entoto turned out to be a truly fun day.

Hard Bargain

On our way to the Entoto mountains on Sunday we stopped at Entoto Market
to have a look around. A friend of mine in Japan, who had spent some
time in Tanzania as an undergrad, gave her first-born a Tanzanian name,
so I thought it would be nice to get a small souvenir for them from Africa.
Over the few weeks we've been here, whenever we go shopping, both J and
I are trying to improve our bargaining skills. There are stores that
boast price tags, but many places simply rely on agreement between the
seller and the buyer. We are usually able to talk them down a few
percent, and with the feeling that a native Ethiopian could still get a
much better price, we seem to hit a wall. Nevertheless, I don't get
myself up in arms over the fact that someone who does not speak the
native tongue and has not spent more than a few weeks here at a time is
going to be at a disadvantage when negotiating.
At Entoto Market, we tried a few new strategies, and ended up walking
out of a couple shops not buying anything. Most of the souvenirs here
are not for small children, so it was a bit of a challenge to find the
right thing in the first place. After a while we decided on a scarf knit
with African colors that they boy could use in the coming winter and,
hopefully, for some time to come. After talking the shopkeeper down a
few percent again, with one foot out the door, he was still not
relenting. So I did what I suppose every traveler must do; I calculated
the difference in the cost I would be paying in the US or Japan versus
the price I was getting here in Ethiopia. From that perspective, if you
are happy with the product for that price, you are better off getting
the item and enjoying it that beating yourself up over an imagined
inability to negotiate 50% off.
We left the last shop with souvenir in hand, quite happy, and then
enjoyed the rest of our day.

Entoto Mountain visit

On Sunday we headed out to Entoto, a low mountain on the north side of
Addis Ababa, about 300 meters above the city. Not only does this provide
an awesome view of the entire city, but getting away from the exhaust
fumes from the traffic in the roads below was, quite literally, a breath
of fresh air. Entoto hosts Maryam Cathedral, an octagonal structure
built about 150 years ago, as well as the Maryam Museum which features
religious garb and royal paraphernalia from the era of Ethiopian Emperor
Menelik and Emperss Taitu (1889-1913), of interest to tourists and
student groups alike. In fact, there was an enormous student group at
the exhibit that day, and they all sat on the floor--taking up almost
half of the one-room museum--to listen to what we assumed to be a
history lesson by a local priest. We were lucky to see the entire
exhibit before the speech started, so we headed on to Menelik and
Taitu's palace just beyond the cathedral. A self-appointed guide led us
through the compound and gave us excellent explanations in English about
the use of various buildings as well as how the walls and ceilings were
constructed.