Leather & loogies

After Ethiopian Airlines (CURSE THEM) denied me access to my flight Monday morning, I did eventually make it to Addis Ababa on the same flight on Wednesday. So 2 days were lost for exploring "The Diplomatic Hub of Africa", but at least I got some extra quality time with my Nairobi family+friends.

I have ceased to form preconceptions of the new places I travel because, honestly, they're ALWAYS wrong. Forming opinions while traveling is so intensely personal that it's just useless to try and guess your reaction ahead of time. For example, most people arrive in Nairobi believing that it's a terrible, dangerous, ugly place. With that mindset, they will struggle to discover the beautiful, buzzing, metropolitan city that I have grown to love! My point is: preconceptions are pointless. Addis on Wednesday morning was a blank slate.

I arrived at 5am, so my taxi drive through the streets of Downtown and Piazza gave a very different feel than what I experienced during the daylight. It could have easily been the LES of NYC in the pre-dawn gloom, what with the billions of coffee shops, bars, cafes, etc. Only everything was in Amharic, which kind of looks like hieroglyphics to an untrained eye. I was dropped at my hotel, the Taitu, in Piazza and immediately shown to the room I was sharing with H&M, my impromptu travel companions. I crashed instantly.

The next thing I know, it's 9:30am and H&M are buzzing around because they are, unfortunately, morning people! I dragged myself out of bed, took a freezing cold shower in the shared hallway bathroom (the Taitu hotel is historical and perfectly located, but definitely nothing plush!), and then we walked briskly through the morning rains to a breakfast cafe around the corner. I immediately began the Ethiopian Food Massacre of 2011 with a cinnamon spice latte and a large plate of Fetira, which is basically a flaky pastry crust, with fried egg on top, rolled up and sliced into little cinnamon bun-type things, and drizzled with fresh honey. Out-friggin-standing.

When we emerged, very full and with a significant caffeine buzz, we began our long walk toward the University of Addis Ababa, where the Ethnological Museum is located. It was very interesting to walk instead of using a faster means of transport, mostly because we got to stop along the way at all the various little shops we encountered, and of course for a mid-morning pint of St. George's, one of Ethiopia's many local beers. This is not the museum where Lucy, our tiny ancestor, is housed. That was around the corner at the National Museum actually. It is instead a former palace smack dab in the middle of the Uni campus, which itself is gorgeous, with lush gardens, palm trees, fountains and memorial statues.

We got lunch at a random local cafe; Lamb tibs, injera, and shiro followed by a decadent chocolate frosted doughnut (don't judge, fellow Bostonians, I'd like to see YOU go 4 months without Dunkies!). Then we made our way back to the hotel, where we met up with some fantastic Ethiopian friends for a night of Ethio-jazz music at Jazzamba, a hugely popular club attached to our hotel. We ate Ethiopian pizza (courtesy of the former Italian occupation), drank Caiprinias, and enjoyed the spoken word (in Amharic, obviously), the intro act, and the main performance. I learned that Jazz has become incredibly popular in Ethiopia in the past few years, and now there are several well-known singers in the country who people go absolutely mad over. Though it sounded to me a lot more like a jazzy version of R&B. Either way, tt was a wonderful first night.

The next day, unfortunately, H&M had to buy their bus tickets to the North, which took up much of the morning with a visually unstimulating walk to Mescal Square, where the former Communist government used to hold rallies. On the way, I experienced a very unwelcoming event: I got spat on. And not a small "pu-tooey!" kind of spit...I'm talking huge, phlegmy LOOGIE on the back of my sweater. A very kind man tried to help with a miniscule piece of tissue, but it was no match for this monster of mucus. DISGUSTING. But then we walked down Bole St/Africa Ave, which is the busiest street in the city and was fascinating to explore, and spent a significant amount of time in leather shops browsing genuine leather jackets and bags at a fraction of their US prices.

Addis struck me as a strange mixture between Kuwait, Cairo, and Soviet-era Eastern Europe...with a Chinese perspective on spitting etiquette. It's odd because Addis is supposedly one of the safest cities in all of Africa, and I live in Nairobi, aka Nairobbery; but I felt way more on-guard and tense in Addis than I ever do in Kenya. It was disorienting to be in a place where I couldn't speak Swahili, and English often proved useless as well, so the mutterings of people on the streets, which I'm sure were completely non-threatening, actually made me quite nervous. I also kept thinking I was in another conservative Muslim society, when actually Ethiopia is mostly Christian and comparatively liberal to what I become accustomed to. There were tons of bars on every block, women dressed in super-tight skinny jeans and stylish boots or heels, and men and women blatantly holding hands and cuddling in broad daylight! You know you've acclimated to a conservative society when HAND-HOLDING seems risque. In fact, I'm currently writing from my 24-hour layover in London, and I have to admit that I have been passing judgement left and right over mini-skirts, high heels, and PDA. Oy vey.

Anyway, on Thursday night H&M retired early because of their pending 5am bus trip North. I, however, decided to go solo at a club called Yod Abyssinia (recommended by my Ethiopian friend) for an evening of cultural dance and singing performances. The dancing included a lot of chest and groin thrusting, which many locals in the audience stood up and joined in on. The singing was very beautiful, and also caused a lot of dancing in the audience. I have definitely added Ethiopia to my list of Places That Are Way More Fun Than America.

Friday, I was on my own all day, and I really enjoyed the freedom to set my own agenda and go at my own pace. Solo travel can be pretty awesome! I do wish I had had time to visit other parts of the country though. On my next visit, I will definitely hit up Lalibela, Gonder, the Lower Omo Valley, and, hopefully, the Danakil Depression, which is the literally the hottest place on the planet, with summer daytime temperatures exceeding 140 degrees.

Early on Saturday, after completely forgetting that Ethiopia is not a member of the East African Community (and therefore my Single Entry Kenyan visa was no longer valid), I successfully sweet-talked the Kenyan immigration lady into only charging me for a transit visa, instead of the significantly more expensive tourist one, so at least I had one instance of travel luck! I spent 2 wonderful days with family and friends in Nairobi, and currently, I write from Belushi's Pub, immediately downstairs from my hostel in London. Tomorrow, Inshallah, I return to Boston, and in 2 weeks time, I start grad school!

Dear readers, it's been an educational, turbulent, and utterly fantastic summer. I cannot express enough how grateful I am for all the good things I have experienced, and how sobered I am by all the tragedy I have witnessed. I have so many new plans and ideas circulating in my head, and I feel like I have matured significantly in these 4 short months. I fear the culture shock of returning to the US, the shock of starting an intensive course of study, and the shock of winter weather again in just a few months' time! But at least I know, at the back of my mind, that it will not be long before I am globe-trotting again. Wanderlust will prevail!

With much love, I finish by saying, in much improved Swahili, 'nimekukosa sana sana', which means 'I have missed you so very much'.

Cheers mates.