Holiday Time

We arrived back from Addis Ababa yesterday from the VSO HIV and AIDS workshop. The workshop was very good and worth the journey. We had to travel by bus 10 long hours up and 10 long hours back, but we had hired a mini bus so it was not too bad. AIDS and HIV are really prevalent here many of the teachers we work with have AIDS some know they have others are just sick or die so you suspect it, but in a country where people don’t think of the future its hard to know how it will be prevented, it is possible to die here from many many things any day of the week and so AIDS is just another threat. On of the women who was at our Christmas party died during the week having her appendix removed and she has three young children and a young husband, but death is a regular thing here.

Last weekend was Ethiopian Christmas so on Saturday we went to one of our female colleague’s house for dinner and watched traditional dancing videos and had a coffee ceremony. Then on Sunday we went to our male colleague’s house for dinner but at 10:30 am!! I think they had a lot of guests to fit in during the day, where again we had lots of sheep to eat and lots to drink – their home brew beer and gin and the coffee ceremony. So it was all very pleasant.
This week we worked in Kombolcha on Monday training teachers, it was our first time to train there and the teachers are very good and the classrooms well organised. Then on Tuesday it was Ied Arafa a Muslim holiday so we had no work and then Wednesday we headed to Addis.

The price of eggs has risen dramatically from 50 cents to 1 birr because all the chickens or nearly all the chickens have been killed because of the two holidays last week, with another holiday this week who knows how much we shall be paying for eggs next weekend! This week the holiday is Timkart and seemingly will involve lots of singing in the streets and processions to different churches so I am looking forward to that.

So no real other news, I got a new electric stove so I have to head into town to get an adapter for it, but after all the travelling of the last few days I am very tired so I am trying to get the energy to go into town, as a trip to town involves talking to about 50 people I will know and meet along the way and also every child will shake my hand which is lovely but tiring there is no nipping out to the shops quickly around here.

I hope you are all keeping well,
Ciao,

Orla