http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicethiopia/Picassa#
ps: Note the new very little link to the left...
jeudi 20 août 2009
lundi 17 août 2009
Last week's message that i didn't manage to send...
A week end outside Addis
Friday after work (remember I finish at 2), we decided with Tim to go to Merkato, the supposed-to-be largest market in Africa. Hummmm it is totally huge. I think we have seen something like 20%. The rumors say you can find everything, from camels to Kalashnikovs. I hope I can find them one day. It is full of hustlers that jump on farenji (white men) to take them to visit the market. We definitely rejected (or escaped) them and wander all alone in this crazy place. Some areas are not used to receive farenji I think and people were looking at use strangely (like in the car spare-parts area, not much tourists!). We had ten macchiato in different very small cafes where you really wish you would not need to try the toilets. One was smelling roar meat very strongly, terrible. Or should I be honest and say it was stinking dead animals? Anyway, we walked for more than four hours, got lost, found our way, got lost again, bought some earrings and scarf (hoooo how much bargaining you have to do if you don’t want to be the stupid-used farenji and get a decent price!). It is a crazy place and I think I will spend lots of Friday afternoons discovering this huge area of the town, with billions of people doing business, running around, shouting and so on. It is a dirty smelling place but I like it. This looks like Africa more then any other places in Addis.
This week end, we don’t stay in Addis. Need to take some fresh air. On Friday night, we decide to have a quiet night just the two of us, restaurant and dodo. We chose a restaurant not far away from home. We do our lazy people and take a taxi (raining too much and too long day). I want to brag about my ahmaric (which is slowly coming to basic shape) so I give the taxi driver one of the number I know. “Haya birrs to go to Almendi restaurant?” he answers straight away “No problem”. Weird. Usually you discuss, you don’t just accept! Actually Haya is 20, and it was just wayyyy too much to go to the restaurant very close from home. The guy was nice and he said once there, really the price I gave was ridiculously too high “Ok, give 15”. I think he had pity. Now I will learn more numbers in Amharic! Moreover, the restaurant experience was a disaster. The waiter put us in small room (Arabic style) with mattresses on the floor without asking us if we wanted a normal table to eat. Then no one was coming to take our order as if either they had forgotten us or if they wanted to let us “in private”. Weird. We finally manage to order food. We try to find vegetarian things on the menu and end up with two desert: a banana/eggs stuff and and big pancake with honey. We were starving and we’ve been disgusted quite fast with so much sugar! We asked for a salad and a chicha “Possible possible”. The chicha never came and the salad was half a ball without sauce (not even oil, just water) that they charged us 25 birr (should cost 5 birr). So yeah, I don’t think we’ll be back there but it was fun. On the way back home, we stopped in a gloomy restaurant and ate good old injera and finally got full from food!
So Tim and I decide to rent a motorbike. Saturday morning, we go to “Stadium” and bargain for more than two hours to get a good bike, not destroy or with only half of the features working on it. Long time, long discussion, long bargaining. Then an hour more to get two helmets (yes two not one… so hard!). We finally manage to get everything, even a written contract on the condition! Amazing. While taking our breakfast, we observed a fire in the building in front. We had the opportunity to see how long the fireman are to come and how bad it looked. Many people were around, some helping other just looking. It was impressive.
Then on the road. We drove till Debre Zeyit, almost 40 km from Addis, to the east. It is an area with seven crater lakes. We arrived and chose the best view on one of the lake to eat. We met a couple of interns from ECA and had a nice time on a terrace with a beautiful view on the crater. Then we went to see other lakes and we looked for a hotel for very (too) long. We ended up at a women’s place I met on the road. A crazy little woman married to a farenji (not at home this day) who is building a beautiful traditional lodge on the edge of the crater. We stayed in one of the bungalow that was finished (I think she just let us her own room actually). We had a nice evening talking around the fire with her and her younger sister. It was a great evening. She was crazy and it was fun. Next time I go, I sleep there for free she said, nice! Only problem, we ate there, the food was great and the lemon juice also. Made of tap water? Of course. Did I drink it? Of course. Did I throw up all night? Of course. Was the bed on top of a mezzanine that you had to climb with a ladder? Of course. Were the toilet without running water? Of course. Did I think about taking any medicine with me for the week end? Of course not. Soooo sum up: awful night and slow motion Sunday. No waking up early and going around the lake as planned, not riding to the next city and have hot spring bath. We just stayed in bed until 12, I drunk lots of Coke and we walked around a bit and drove back home. What a shame. Never again this water, I have been very stupid. I know it now. The week end was good anyway; we met nice people and enjoyed the views. I am feeling better and the poisoning didn’t last more than a night (I have sore muscles from the action though!).
I took few days off (come on, I am not paid, I can do it!) and we are going out of town for the week. I think Tim will stay one more week and will let me go back alone to Addis on Sunday. I will probably join him where he is the next week end.
Friday after work (remember I finish at 2), we decided with Tim to go to Merkato, the supposed-to-be largest market in Africa. Hummmm it is totally huge. I think we have seen something like 20%. The rumors say you can find everything, from camels to Kalashnikovs. I hope I can find them one day. It is full of hustlers that jump on farenji (white men) to take them to visit the market. We definitely rejected (or escaped) them and wander all alone in this crazy place. Some areas are not used to receive farenji I think and people were looking at use strangely (like in the car spare-parts area, not much tourists!). We had ten macchiato in different very small cafes where you really wish you would not need to try the toilets. One was smelling roar meat very strongly, terrible. Or should I be honest and say it was stinking dead animals? Anyway, we walked for more than four hours, got lost, found our way, got lost again, bought some earrings and scarf (hoooo how much bargaining you have to do if you don’t want to be the stupid-used farenji and get a decent price!). It is a crazy place and I think I will spend lots of Friday afternoons discovering this huge area of the town, with billions of people doing business, running around, shouting and so on. It is a dirty smelling place but I like it. This looks like Africa more then any other places in Addis.
This week end, we don’t stay in Addis. Need to take some fresh air. On Friday night, we decide to have a quiet night just the two of us, restaurant and dodo. We chose a restaurant not far away from home. We do our lazy people and take a taxi (raining too much and too long day). I want to brag about my ahmaric (which is slowly coming to basic shape) so I give the taxi driver one of the number I know. “Haya birrs to go to Almendi restaurant?” he answers straight away “No problem”. Weird. Usually you discuss, you don’t just accept! Actually Haya is 20, and it was just wayyyy too much to go to the restaurant very close from home. The guy was nice and he said once there, really the price I gave was ridiculously too high “Ok, give 15”. I think he had pity. Now I will learn more numbers in Amharic! Moreover, the restaurant experience was a disaster. The waiter put us in small room (Arabic style) with mattresses on the floor without asking us if we wanted a normal table to eat. Then no one was coming to take our order as if either they had forgotten us or if they wanted to let us “in private”. Weird. We finally manage to order food. We try to find vegetarian things on the menu and end up with two desert: a banana/eggs stuff and and big pancake with honey. We were starving and we’ve been disgusted quite fast with so much sugar! We asked for a salad and a chicha “Possible possible”. The chicha never came and the salad was half a ball without sauce (not even oil, just water) that they charged us 25 birr (should cost 5 birr). So yeah, I don’t think we’ll be back there but it was fun. On the way back home, we stopped in a gloomy restaurant and ate good old injera and finally got full from food!
So Tim and I decide to rent a motorbike. Saturday morning, we go to “Stadium” and bargain for more than two hours to get a good bike, not destroy or with only half of the features working on it. Long time, long discussion, long bargaining. Then an hour more to get two helmets (yes two not one… so hard!). We finally manage to get everything, even a written contract on the condition! Amazing. While taking our breakfast, we observed a fire in the building in front. We had the opportunity to see how long the fireman are to come and how bad it looked. Many people were around, some helping other just looking. It was impressive.
Then on the road. We drove till Debre Zeyit, almost 40 km from Addis, to the east. It is an area with seven crater lakes. We arrived and chose the best view on one of the lake to eat. We met a couple of interns from ECA and had a nice time on a terrace with a beautiful view on the crater. Then we went to see other lakes and we looked for a hotel for very (too) long. We ended up at a women’s place I met on the road. A crazy little woman married to a farenji (not at home this day) who is building a beautiful traditional lodge on the edge of the crater. We stayed in one of the bungalow that was finished (I think she just let us her own room actually). We had a nice evening talking around the fire with her and her younger sister. It was a great evening. She was crazy and it was fun. Next time I go, I sleep there for free she said, nice! Only problem, we ate there, the food was great and the lemon juice also. Made of tap water? Of course. Did I drink it? Of course. Did I throw up all night? Of course. Was the bed on top of a mezzanine that you had to climb with a ladder? Of course. Were the toilet without running water? Of course. Did I think about taking any medicine with me for the week end? Of course not. Soooo sum up: awful night and slow motion Sunday. No waking up early and going around the lake as planned, not riding to the next city and have hot spring bath. We just stayed in bed until 12, I drunk lots of Coke and we walked around a bit and drove back home. What a shame. Never again this water, I have been very stupid. I know it now. The week end was good anyway; we met nice people and enjoyed the views. I am feeling better and the poisoning didn’t last more than a night (I have sore muscles from the action though!).
I took few days off (come on, I am not paid, I can do it!) and we are going out of town for the week. I think Tim will stay one more week and will let me go back alone to Addis on Sunday. I will probably join him where he is the next week end.
lundi 10 août 2009
Enfin des Photos!
Hoping that this time it is working!
http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicethiopia/Picassa#
http://picasaweb.google.com/Alicethiopia/Picassa#
vendredi 7 août 2009
Another week is gone!
Et bien et bien. Sorry I didn’t write for a while. Here is alittle sum up.
Last week end, we have been out with my roommates. We were supposed to go dance salsa (or just accompany our girl roommate to do so while drinking Saint-George, the Ethiopian beer). The salsa club was dead and our Ethiopian friend told us we had to experience this Memo club, a very famous club (not to say the most famous club in Addis). So Why not? Few observations. First, Music was quite “so so ”, a mix between Ethiopian (good), American (so so) and other African music. That was fun. Then, girls. Yeah it is an important think to observe over there. All those absolutely beautiful and hot Ethiopian girls who wriggle their hips to the frenzied beats in the middle of the dancefloor. Wahou. But euh nop “wahou”. They are all prostitutes. Even my American friend who looks very much like she is Ethiopian got some nice nice offers …You can’t really be an African girl in a pub dancing alone if you are not a prostitute. So it is totally bewildering. Then I think we forgot ourselves a bit.. because we ended it up at 6 o’clock in the morning eating injera and fifir in the restaurant of the club, totally starving and exhausted by this night of crazy dancing. I didn’t enjoy a club that much for years (yeah, I am getting old).
The next day, as you can imagine has been a chilling day, good breakfast in a small cozy delicious place, then just a normal Saturday hanging around and not doing much. Ho we actually had a mission which was finding a badminton racquet to play in the garden (ours is dead). We dragged ourselves till this shop where it was just too expensive and achieve our mission but renouncing to this insane purchase (450 birrs). Tim was supposed to arrive at midnight this same day. I was hang over and pretty tired when everyone went to bed, leaving me alone in the dark, without electricity, without battery in my cell phone to set an alarm. Just myself, my book and my tiredness. Awful. I was burned out. Electricity is back, I switch on my cell phone, read Tim’s message: two hours delay. Haaaaaaa I watched a movie and went at the airport at 2 o’clock, stood up a little hour more, and finally found him. That was hell of a long day, but I was happy. Tired but happy.
Since then, we are having a little routine: wake up at 7.30, go to work, leave him wander in Addis until lunch when he comes to eat in small workers Ethiopian restaurants (9 birrs a lunch for the both of us, just amazing!), then he wanders again and come and pick me up at 5.30. Some days he manages to walk around, visit and see things. Sometimes he gets stuck at the terrace of a café, soaked wet, cold trapped by the pouring rain. But I think it is part of the Addis experience, so he is leaving it. It is good.
Ho we went to an Indian restaurant (couldn’t resist), very good and famous one where we filled ourselves with souvenirs of two years ago.
This week end we are planning to get out of town, with bikes or car, to we don’t know where yet. But who cares, we’ll just figure it out soon. Can’t wait to breathe some fresh and pure air. Addis is congested and the air is not nice.
Work is good, i continue working on my project, i am slowly quiting the Spider solitaire addiction and learn a lot of things on AFrica. I like it.
Life is going on as normal around here, I feel home and it is good to have “the visitor” around here. He looks funny because he totally sun-burn at the beginning of the week. I think Ethiopian wonder what kind of guy he is, too red to be white, not enough to be black… just strange Swedish!
Last week end, we have been out with my roommates. We were supposed to go dance salsa (or just accompany our girl roommate to do so while drinking Saint-George, the Ethiopian beer). The salsa club was dead and our Ethiopian friend told us we had to experience this Memo club, a very famous club (not to say the most famous club in Addis). So Why not? Few observations. First, Music was quite “so so ”, a mix between Ethiopian (good), American (so so) and other African music. That was fun. Then, girls. Yeah it is an important think to observe over there. All those absolutely beautiful and hot Ethiopian girls who wriggle their hips to the frenzied beats in the middle of the dancefloor. Wahou. But euh nop “wahou”. They are all prostitutes. Even my American friend who looks very much like she is Ethiopian got some nice nice offers …You can’t really be an African girl in a pub dancing alone if you are not a prostitute. So it is totally bewildering. Then I think we forgot ourselves a bit.. because we ended it up at 6 o’clock in the morning eating injera and fifir in the restaurant of the club, totally starving and exhausted by this night of crazy dancing. I didn’t enjoy a club that much for years (yeah, I am getting old).
The next day, as you can imagine has been a chilling day, good breakfast in a small cozy delicious place, then just a normal Saturday hanging around and not doing much. Ho we actually had a mission which was finding a badminton racquet to play in the garden (ours is dead). We dragged ourselves till this shop where it was just too expensive and achieve our mission but renouncing to this insane purchase (450 birrs). Tim was supposed to arrive at midnight this same day. I was hang over and pretty tired when everyone went to bed, leaving me alone in the dark, without electricity, without battery in my cell phone to set an alarm. Just myself, my book and my tiredness. Awful. I was burned out. Electricity is back, I switch on my cell phone, read Tim’s message: two hours delay. Haaaaaaa I watched a movie and went at the airport at 2 o’clock, stood up a little hour more, and finally found him. That was hell of a long day, but I was happy. Tired but happy.
Since then, we are having a little routine: wake up at 7.30, go to work, leave him wander in Addis until lunch when he comes to eat in small workers Ethiopian restaurants (9 birrs a lunch for the both of us, just amazing!), then he wanders again and come and pick me up at 5.30. Some days he manages to walk around, visit and see things. Sometimes he gets stuck at the terrace of a café, soaked wet, cold trapped by the pouring rain. But I think it is part of the Addis experience, so he is leaving it. It is good.
Ho we went to an Indian restaurant (couldn’t resist), very good and famous one where we filled ourselves with souvenirs of two years ago.
This week end we are planning to get out of town, with bikes or car, to we don’t know where yet. But who cares, we’ll just figure it out soon. Can’t wait to breathe some fresh and pure air. Addis is congested and the air is not nice.
Work is good, i continue working on my project, i am slowly quiting the Spider solitaire addiction and learn a lot of things on AFrica. I like it.
Life is going on as normal around here, I feel home and it is good to have “the visitor” around here. He looks funny because he totally sun-burn at the beginning of the week. I think Ethiopian wonder what kind of guy he is, too red to be white, not enough to be black… just strange Swedish!
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