The Streets of Addis Ababa

Eid is the Muslim celebration after Ramadan. I am equally as excited about Eid as the local people in Qatar because I can eat, In public, without being arrested. It is something to celebrate for everyone.

Axel had a few days off work for Eid so we decided to make a quick trip to Ethiopia. In the '80s I was always so moved by the UNICEF 'Feed the World' campaign. Images of Ethiopia were imprinted in my brain and I always thought, I wish I could visit there and help. When we debated over where to go for our vacation, Ethiopia was my first choice. Isn't it everyones?

The first image we saw outside of our hotel window

What surprised me the most when I arrived was it was nothing like the images I saw on TV. In fact, there were signs of positive development within the country and the Ethiopian people seemed to be pleased with their government and the direction of Ethiopia as a whole. It is still very third world, but in most ways, it was much more developed than Nepal. It was especially fun to arrive during Eid and see all the Muslim women praying. Ethiopia is 85% Christian and 15% Muslim. You would have never known it while we were there though. It seemed there were Muslims everywhere. I was just happy to see colourful abayas. The black ones in Qatar start making my eyes spin after a while.

Strangely, most people did not want their photo to be taken. I have noticed that collectively some countries love to have their photos taken and other don't. Ethiopians are in the latter category. I have a million photos with hands over faces. Thank goodness for my photography skills and a good telephoto (Read: lack of respect for privacy).

The bubble gum boys are my favorite and I can never resist their offer. By the end of the trip I had a lifetime supply of rubber gum that loses flavor before you can say the word 'banana', but giving them 20 times the price they were asking did my heart some good.

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Interesting facts about Addis Ababa:

* Only 3 million of the 82 million Ethiopian population live in Addis

* 14% of the homes have flush toilets and 70% have pit toilets

* Washington, DC and Johannesburg, South Africa are two of its sister cities.

I felt so at home in Addis. I am definitely a person who loves the third world. I honestly felt more comfortable there than I do in Doha. The smells, the people, the lively atmosphere, and the guarantee of the unexpected is my kind of place. It felt good to be back.