Trip 1 - Day 3 - Part 2

We landed very safely in Ethiopia in the early afternoon on March 11.  We left the comforts of business class and entered the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.  Quite a stark contrast between this and the Dubai airport.  There was nothing "fancy" about it, the airport workers were not in uniforms, more like jeans and t-shirts, and we were quite unsure about where to go first. 

As you may know, we were very conflicted about how to obtain our visa before this trip.  There was the $200 option that was recommended by our agency and required sending our passports to Washington DC and there was the $20 option at the airport.  We decided to go with the $20 option and are SO GLAD WE DID!!  We walked into a very small room where there were CPUs on banquet tables, guts exposed, women behind the banquet tables in suit jackets, and a few miscellaneous workers interjected here and there.  We were asked for our passports and the little card that they had us fill out on the plane (still not sure about the purpose of this card, especially since the lines are so small you can hardly write more than four letters) and $20.  The had-to-be-crisp $20 bill was shoved into the pocket of the suit jacket and our visa was issued.  Done and done. 

We then exchanged some USD for birr - $1 to every 16.67 birr.  Easy peasy.

And then we went through passport control.  Also very easy, and, as usual, the Ethiopian workers were VERY kind, polite, and had very warm smiles.

After passport control we rounded up our luggage...ALL THERE!...and headed to customs.  This was a little more tricky.  Everything had to go on the conveyor belt and through the x-ray machines...AGAIN. Who's extremely large, heavy black suitcase???  Ummm...mine.  And then they took it and my passport off to the left.  Daddy helped wrangle the other bags off the conveyor belt and headed over to where they took my suitcase, but more importantly MY PASSPORT!  They made Daddy open it up and were questioning the small electronic device tucked carefully inside.  "It's a printer," says Daddy.  The look of doubt on the customs worker's face was priceless.  "A printer?" in broken English.  "Yeah...see...you put the paper here, the ink goes here, and it prints photos."  I'm not sure that he really believed Daddy, but he was going to let it go.  We were informed ahead of time that we needed to get receipts for all of our electronic devices (cameras, video cameras, PRINTERS, etc.) when we came into the country so that we could take them home with us when we left the country.  "Can I get a receipt?" asks Daddy.  "No."  "But I need a receipt, don't I?"  "No."  Alrighty then.

Ahhhh...there's our driver...with the Holt International sign...as promised.  Oh happy day.

Kansas City didn't get any receipts either.  Guess there wasn't anything that couldn't be replaced later.

We headed out to the parking lot to the minibus and waited for the driver to cram the eight pieces of luggage, four people, and four carry-ons into the little bus.  Done.  While we were waiting we were approached by our first beggar.  He was on crutches and was missing a leg, or two.  Very hard to see.

Off we went.  What I didn't realize until our trip to Durame the next day was that this driver of ours was INTENSE!!  I wish I had taken a picture of the determined look he wore on his face 24/7.  We left the safe and controlled setting of the airport parking lot and entered the streets of Addis Ababa.  HO-LY-SMOKES! 

I could write a whole blog post on the driving alone.  But, since this is already dragging on and on I will try to make it as short as possible.  There are people EVERYWHERE.  There are animals (goats, cows, donkeys, sheep, wild dogs) EVERYWHERE.  There are lines on the roads, but only as a guideline, not very often adhered to.  The horns, blinkers, headlights, and hazard lights on the vehicles are used often, purposefully, and with great meaning.  The center divide of the four lane highway acts as a hurdle for the track runners of Ethiopia.  People hop the iron fence, run across two lanes, hop the cement divide, run across two more lanes, and then hope another iron fence ALL THE TIME.  Being a passenger on the streets of Ethiopia is an experience in and of itself.  The pictures simply do not do it justice.

There was also some big hoopla going on about someone very important coming through town so there were very young men wearing blue/grey fatigues carrying AK-47s all over the place.  Very welcoming.

We turned at the Embassy of Cuba sign onto the dirt road that would lead to our hotel.  We stopped at a gate, honked, and waited for the "security officer" to open the gate.  The hotel was a beautiful sight compared to what we saw on the way there.

Our Room

 



Our Bathroom - the spray nozzle next to the toilet was standard.

The staff at the Jemimah was incredibly welcoming and hospitable.  We could not have been happier with our stay here.  And...in the "backyard" they are building THIS:

Traditional "hut"



Less than four months of construction



Super thick "thatch" roof

Woven roof & eucalyptus ladder (standard)

Unbelievable!!

The walls are woven mats.

Our view from the hotel was a little different:

"Shanty town" (from our balcony).  This is someone's home!

The contrast between the "guesthomes" and real homes was unreal.



Some gentleman walking down the road.



Our "minibus."

Notice the mud wall - very common.  The satellite dish is a nice touch too.

After settling in for a few minutes, we hitched a ride with Daniel (our new favorite driver and friend) and two other families to the Fistula Hospital.  Again, if you haven't watched A Walk to Beautiful, do it NOW!  We went to THE hospital.  Incredible work being done here, folks.  Holistic, amazing work. 

Patient's outside the main ward (taken from website)

To learn more about Hamlin Fistula Hospital go to their website: http://www.hamlinfistula.org/

Some pics from our driving around on this day:

A roadside store.

Yay for Coca-Cola!

These are the guard rails that people hurdle to cross the highway.

Two men on a motorbike w/o helmets = very common sight.

See the person on the left getting ready to run?  Unbelievable.

Guard tower - another common sight - not sure what they were guarding.

The Starbucks equivalent.

After touring the hospital and shopping in their gift shop (The women who are treated at the hospital are taught a "skill".  The proceeds from the items they make that are sold in the gift shop go directly to the women who make them. Score!), we rested at the hotel a bit (it had been a long day!), and then Daniel picked us up again to go to The Crown Hotel for a traditional dinner and show.



Traditional handwashing before dinner.



Live traditional music and dance.  Incredible!

This is not a very good picture, but this is the dome inside the restaurant.  It is painted with a mural that depicts each tribe and their traditional dress.



Coffee being served after traditional coffee ceremony - a must.





After dinner we went back to the hotel and crashed.  Big day tomorrow!!