Catch-up Post #2: First Time in Africa - Ethiopia

I'm really disappointed in myself for not writing regularly whle I was in Addis Ababa - I had so MUCH to write about. Six weeks have passed and now I'm attempting to record what I remember below:

I felt a little nervous before going to Ethiopia because it is one of the poorer countries on the continent and based on what I'd heard from well-traveled people, developing countries in Africa were far behind Latin American countries. I was sort of expecting Addis Ababa, the capital, to be drowning in destitution - especially because I always remembered this country as the poster child for impoverished African countries. I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to handle the "new poverty" that I'd heard so much about since I was leaving Latin America and specifically, the Dominican Republic - land of Ikea, luxury cars, and Cartier stores. Despite my apprehension, I was super excited about leaving the Americas and finally going OVER a SEA to arrive at my destination for the first time.

I finally arrived in Addis at about 9:30 p.m. on May 31st and my friend and colleague picked me up from the airport and took me to her home. Two things stood out to me on that 10 minute ride to her home. 1) There was a line of homeless people lying on the street outside the gates of a church. I have certainly seen homeless people before sleeping in urban U.S. cities; however, I don't think I'd ever seen so many at one time. 2) Although my friend lives in a really nice home, in a presumably safe and nice neighborhood, I couldn't tell that her neighborhood was nice by looking at the surroundings. In every place that I've traveled (and again, it had only been limited to the Caribbean and Latin America prior to this trip) the difference between middle - upper middle class neighborhoods and poor neighborhoods is painfully obvious.

I spent 30 days in Ethiopia and left with a completely different view of one of Africa's poorest countries and frankly, of the entire African continent - which cannot and should not ever be put in one big box. The following phenomena left the biggest impression on me:

* The capital city was so full of life - even at night. There were tons of small businesses everywhere; lots of people on the streets selling everything from maps to produce, to pirated Sam Cooke, Lionel Richie, and Michael Bolton cds; several new buildings were being constructed; an incredible number of diplomats and expatriates live in the city and the African Union's headquarters is there; the coffee shops were almost always crowded with young people; and there are plenty of restaurants, bars, dance clubs, and places to go for live music.

* Ethiopians seem so serene by nature. From the people that I worked with to the taxi driver we used consistently to the random folks I encountered, they struck me as a peaceful group. It was common to see heterosexual men (and women) holding hands in public, there is a low rate of violent crime, and I believe Christians and Muslims live in relative peace together.

* Orthodox Christianity is alive and well. There are tons of churches throughout the city; most of the places of interest for tourists are churches or other sacred places; fasting takes place twice a week and for several additional days throughout the year; people kiss the walls and grounds of the churches as they pass by; many women cover their hair; most of the females I saw were modestly dressed and even the prostitutes' clothing just reminded me my younger days when I dressed "up" for the club.

My short time in Ethiopia was luckily long enough for me to dispel a couple of long-standing myths for me:

* SOME PARTS OF AFRICA EXPERIENCE VERY COOL WEATHER. Addis Ababa is more than 8,000 feet above sea level and I wore a jacket heavy enough for autumn in Washington, DC on most days. I slept under three blankets at night and I would have looked like a fool had my friend not warned me that it was too cool for linen in Addis.

* MALARIA IS NOT A SERIOUS HEALTH THREAT IN EVERY AFRICAN CITY. Thanks to the altitude, I didn't need to take anti-malarial drugs nor did I run the risk of contracting malaria in the city.