Quick updates:
Saturday was Gondar University's graduation ceremony, and a few family members and I went to see Birtukan (Ruth's aunt) graduate with a degree in midwifery. There were 3,500 graduates and 15,000 people packed into an outdoor stadium. We arrived a few hours early in the morning so Ruth & I entertained ourselves with people watching as everyone entered the stadium. Everyone was wearing their best clothes, ranging from very traditional dresses to very interesting ensembles (like a brown velvet tuxedo with no shirt and fishnet tights that turned into glove/sleeves). The ceremony was about 4 hours long, but then it was partying for the rest of the day with family. Lots of eating and coffee drinking. We went to Burtukan's house to eat, and then it started pouring- I mean, really raining and so we all stayed in there for a few hours. I made friends with this adorable old man who kind of looked like Nelson Mandela. He knows a little English and we thought each other were the funniest thing in the world. He like to just make me say something in Amharic and then guffaw. We only refer to each other as sister and brother. We are going to buy a donkey together and name it Hiyiah (Amharic for donkey) and ride it around the countryside.
Yesterday morning we drove 5 hours to the Simien mountains on a safari of sorts. We saw lots of monkeys & Ibex (these Ethiopian antelopes with GIANT curved horns). It was a little sketchy at times with the dirt roads on the edge of a cliff. In the middle of the drive deep into the countryside, all of the sudden there was a 5 mile stretch of perfectly paved asphalt road. Then there was a huge factory that had a Chinese flag waving high above it. I have no idea what they are doing there but they are building a very nice road to get there.
We stopped in a small town to pick up a guide to lead us around and a scout, which just means a guy with an AK-47 just "in case." I'm not sure in case of what. The scout, who was a 70 year old adorable man, and I really got along and had some beers after we got back from the trek. When we finally got to the top of the mountains, we couldn't really see anything because there was a wall of rocks. So, we walked to a small hole in the rocks our guide called "the window" and laid down to see thousands of feet of green jungle straight down below us. I think there is a Planet Earth on this place and the leopards that live there, but seriously, it was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. We hiked around a bit and didn't see a soul: only waterfalls and ibex and monkeys.
I am off to grab my daily macchiato with Alem before we head to our friend Solomon's clinic where he works as a lab technician. He is going to show us the HIV/Malaria diagnostic tests he does for patients in Gondar. Tonight Mama is teaching me how to cook injera & wot, and I am going to do the coffee ceremony for everyone (which means roasting the beans, grinding them and heating into coffee). My expectations for delicious beverage are not high.
Ciao!
Steph
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