Hotel Addis Ababa
Salam No!
Pseudo translation "It's all good, right?", 'salam no' is how we are now greeting our hotel staff, volunteer leaders, and other Amharic speaking friends.
Yesterday was our first day in country, which one volunteer appropriately described as surreal. Most of us slept 2 hours, got on the plane for 12 hours and did not sleep much, watched the day transform in to night and then back into day upon landing.
We arrived to a full day of attending sessions peppered with learning how to great the hotel staff and ask them where the trash is (not the trash with your poop in it).
The first and foremost thing we have unanimously learned thus far is that in lieu of toilet paper we are using 'soft', which does not flush down with the rest of your waste. Your used soft goes into a waste basket next to the toilet, where it will be taken out by some hotel staff at some point in the not-as-soon-as-an-American-would-hope future.
Volunteers reacted differently to exhaustion. One missed the last session and slept from 4 pm straight until the next morning. Some put their birr (Ethiopian currency - exchange rate is 20 birr for $1) to good use straight away towards some Ethiopian beer.
I hung out with a group until about 8 pm and then got a few things in order. I had to sleep well in order to meet another volunteer, Hannah, for a 6 am run. We ran a 4-mile loop one of the volunteer leaders told me about, which made use of rotaries as landmarks for when to turn.
Hannah and I both noticed roughly 7,500 feet of thin air within the first half mile. We took it slow and found running in the city to be very manageable. There were many glances, but most didn't think twice. The city had many joggers out, some people doing sprints up hills that are ordinarily littered with traffic during the day.
The monstrous Ethiopian Orthodox Church whose name escapes me at this point was blasting music and had worshipers ebbing and flowing from it.
The reality of this place: the poop bucket, the poverty on the streets, the friendly demeanor of strangers, is all exactly what I have been looking for (thus far). It's raw life. This place is making me very happy and I am looking forward to the many different poop bucket-like obstacles I will continue to face.
I will post a video tour of our accommodations once it uploads.
Pseudo translation "It's all good, right?", 'salam no' is how we are now greeting our hotel staff, volunteer leaders, and other Amharic speaking friends.
Yesterday was our first day in country, which one volunteer appropriately described as surreal. Most of us slept 2 hours, got on the plane for 12 hours and did not sleep much, watched the day transform in to night and then back into day upon landing.
We arrived to a full day of attending sessions peppered with learning how to great the hotel staff and ask them where the trash is (not the trash with your poop in it).
The first and foremost thing we have unanimously learned thus far is that in lieu of toilet paper we are using 'soft', which does not flush down with the rest of your waste. Your used soft goes into a waste basket next to the toilet, where it will be taken out by some hotel staff at some point in the not-as-soon-as-an-American-would-hope future.
Volunteers reacted differently to exhaustion. One missed the last session and slept from 4 pm straight until the next morning. Some put their birr (Ethiopian currency - exchange rate is 20 birr for $1) to good use straight away towards some Ethiopian beer.
I hung out with a group until about 8 pm and then got a few things in order. I had to sleep well in order to meet another volunteer, Hannah, for a 6 am run. We ran a 4-mile loop one of the volunteer leaders told me about, which made use of rotaries as landmarks for when to turn.
Hannah and I both noticed roughly 7,500 feet of thin air within the first half mile. We took it slow and found running in the city to be very manageable. There were many glances, but most didn't think twice. The city had many joggers out, some people doing sprints up hills that are ordinarily littered with traffic during the day.
The monstrous Ethiopian Orthodox Church whose name escapes me at this point was blasting music and had worshipers ebbing and flowing from it.
The reality of this place: the poop bucket, the poverty on the streets, the friendly demeanor of strangers, is all exactly what I have been looking for (thus far). It's raw life. This place is making me very happy and I am looking forward to the many different poop bucket-like obstacles I will continue to face.
I will post a video tour of our accommodations once it uploads.
Tim great to know after a couple days in, the running begins! They say don't drink the water, but you gotta at the higher elevations!
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