One thing I've always said when traveling is, "It's all about the people." Really, the locals can totally make or break a place for me. After day 1 in Ethiopia, I wasn't feeling too confident.
Luckily, my 2nd day was a lot better (or so I thought...)
The crapy/great (depending on how you look at my situation) had wi-fi! I was so stoked. I called my mom, dad, Tara, and Jay. Tara sounded pretty shocked to hear my voice all the way from Africa. It sounded like I was just down the street.
Ugi (the Korean guy & Addis travel buddy) started the day at a famous bakery. I had a great cappuccino and awesome chocolate croissant. The best part was the price- $2.50! I was on a tight budget since I'd had to pay a fee to get money from a bank, and it was a big hassle. We then went up to the Ethnological Museum which is in the University of Addis Ababa. One of my favorite things to do is take pictures of what people are selling on the streets. Here, there was a lot of toilet paper! Yep, sellers would buy the rolls, then tear off a few sheets and sell the sheets. I really wanted a picture, so I decided I'd buy one. Well, the kid was not happy about me trying to take a pic. I didn't even want him in the picture, just the TP! He was a punk and I walked away with no picture (or TP) and he got nothing! FYI- the Toilet Paper cost 1 birr. $1=16.88birr
Then a guy walked up next to us, and against my better judgement, I engaged him in conversation. He had a really good accent and was dressed well. He told us that he worked for an NGO called "GOAL" and he was in town for a meeting. He'd studied at the University and was on his way up there. He was nice and spoke good English. It was nice to have a guide around the museum, which had a lot of historical Ethiopian tools and what-nots. We then had lunch at a very local place (which smelled terrible, and I'm probably lucky I didn't get sick!). We had injera (the spongy crepe looking stuff). with minced meat and a hard boiled egg, lamb, a red sauce and 2 cokes. It all cost less than $5.
Then Elias said he wanted to take us to a local shop that sells the best "chat" which comes from his home-town region. Poor Ugi got dragged all over. I was feeling comfortable with Elias, and Ugi was there, so I agreed to go. It was a VERY local place, probably 5ft wide by 10ft long. There were 8 other men sitting on stools and eating chat. Chat is a green leaf that you chew and swallow. It's pretty bitter, and tastes better with peanuts and a coke. Here's a wikipedia article that explains it better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat
It's a "man's thing" to eat, and gives off similar effects to tobacco. I ate maybe half a bag or less and didn't feel anything. I was very cautious not to eat too much. The owner of the shop came back with a water bottle full of home-made "tej" which is Ethiopian honey-wine. It tastes funky, but not as bad as Malawian chibuku smells. I had a great time, it was something I would have never been able to experience if I hadn't talked to Elias.
We were in an area that distributes all kinds of good to go out to villages. I got to see honey in huge bags, which was very cool.
When we were heading back, Elias asked if I'd bought any coffee to take home. I told him I had, from "Tomokoa" and he said, "ah, that's tourist coffee!" which, yes, I knew. I gave him 120birr ($8) and he said he'd get some really good coffee and drop it where I was staying. At the time of writing in my journal, I said I was 99% sure he wasn't going to just take my money. But I also figured, what the heck, it was only $8, no big deal if I didn't get any coffee.
Fast forward 4 days.... I get to my hostel and ask if anyone dropped off any coffee. NOPE! Oh well, I figure, I wasn't too bothered. It wasn't until the night I was leaving that I talked to another guy staying at the hostel and found out that Elias is a total scam artist! I couldn't believe it. This guy and I had EXACT experiences/ information on Elias, expect that Elias was gonna buy him some tickets to a soccer game. I was so mad! Not because of the money (I mean, he did earn that $8, with all he paid for and took us to do that day) but because I NEVER TRUST ANYONE and the one person I did trust, totally screwed me. Thanks Ethiopia, Thanks. I know I can't generalize like that, but most people I came into contact with were pretty bad. Total bummer.
Luckily, my 2nd day was a lot better (or so I thought...)
The crapy/great (depending on how you look at my situation) had wi-fi! I was so stoked. I called my mom, dad, Tara, and Jay. Tara sounded pretty shocked to hear my voice all the way from Africa. It sounded like I was just down the street.
Ugi (the Korean guy & Addis travel buddy) started the day at a famous bakery. I had a great cappuccino and awesome chocolate croissant. The best part was the price- $2.50! I was on a tight budget since I'd had to pay a fee to get money from a bank, and it was a big hassle. We then went up to the Ethnological Museum which is in the University of Addis Ababa. One of my favorite things to do is take pictures of what people are selling on the streets. Here, there was a lot of toilet paper! Yep, sellers would buy the rolls, then tear off a few sheets and sell the sheets. I really wanted a picture, so I decided I'd buy one. Well, the kid was not happy about me trying to take a pic. I didn't even want him in the picture, just the TP! He was a punk and I walked away with no picture (or TP) and he got nothing! FYI- the Toilet Paper cost 1 birr. $1=16.88birr
Then a guy walked up next to us, and against my better judgement, I engaged him in conversation. He had a really good accent and was dressed well. He told us that he worked for an NGO called "GOAL" and he was in town for a meeting. He'd studied at the University and was on his way up there. He was nice and spoke good English. It was nice to have a guide around the museum, which had a lot of historical Ethiopian tools and what-nots. We then had lunch at a very local place (which smelled terrible, and I'm probably lucky I didn't get sick!). We had injera (the spongy crepe looking stuff). with minced meat and a hard boiled egg, lamb, a red sauce and 2 cokes. It all cost less than $5.
Then Elias said he wanted to take us to a local shop that sells the best "chat" which comes from his home-town region. Poor Ugi got dragged all over. I was feeling comfortable with Elias, and Ugi was there, so I agreed to go. It was a VERY local place, probably 5ft wide by 10ft long. There were 8 other men sitting on stools and eating chat. Chat is a green leaf that you chew and swallow. It's pretty bitter, and tastes better with peanuts and a coke. Here's a wikipedia article that explains it better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat
It's a "man's thing" to eat, and gives off similar effects to tobacco. I ate maybe half a bag or less and didn't feel anything. I was very cautious not to eat too much. The owner of the shop came back with a water bottle full of home-made "tej" which is Ethiopian honey-wine. It tastes funky, but not as bad as Malawian chibuku smells. I had a great time, it was something I would have never been able to experience if I hadn't talked to Elias.
We were in an area that distributes all kinds of good to go out to villages. I got to see honey in huge bags, which was very cool.
When we were heading back, Elias asked if I'd bought any coffee to take home. I told him I had, from "Tomokoa" and he said, "ah, that's tourist coffee!" which, yes, I knew. I gave him 120birr ($8) and he said he'd get some really good coffee and drop it where I was staying. At the time of writing in my journal, I said I was 99% sure he wasn't going to just take my money. But I also figured, what the heck, it was only $8, no big deal if I didn't get any coffee.
Fast forward 4 days.... I get to my hostel and ask if anyone dropped off any coffee. NOPE! Oh well, I figure, I wasn't too bothered. It wasn't until the night I was leaving that I talked to another guy staying at the hostel and found out that Elias is a total scam artist! I couldn't believe it. This guy and I had EXACT experiences/ information on Elias, expect that Elias was gonna buy him some tickets to a soccer game. I was so mad! Not because of the money (I mean, he did earn that $8, with all he paid for and took us to do that day) but because I NEVER TRUST ANYONE and the one person I did trust, totally screwed me. Thanks Ethiopia, Thanks. I know I can't generalize like that, but most people I came into contact with were pretty bad. Total bummer.
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