Enkutatash (Happy New Year)—Part I

Travel Advisory: Attention Lambkin, the lost sheep of Little Bo Peep, Baa Baa Black Sheep and others of your kind. Travel to or through Ethiopia during times of Orthodox holiday, government holiday, or even Hallmark Holiday is not advisable. Risk of abduction, dismemberment, and death is guaranteed. Many have tried…all have died. Due to total annihilation of our lawns, the US Embassy as well as the British Embassy, Irish Embassy, and Scottish Embassy will no longer provide refuge or asylum should you find yourself in grave danger.

It’s pretty much safe to say that it sucks to be an Ethiopian sheep. They are hauled around by one leg….hoisted to the rooftops of various vehicles where they lay hog-tied with head lolling over the side while the mini-bus hurtles helter-skelter down the road at dizzying speeds…and even carried backpack style (seriously…I have seen this!). And if you thought that sheep transport methods sound awful then I shudder to tell you about the holidays. Ethiopian holidays are not something that a sheep anticipates with excitement like that of a child on Christmas morning. This morning, New Year Day 2001, my wake up call was not that of an over zealous rooster, but a chorus of very panicked sheep repetitively crying…”not a good day…definitely not a good day…flee if you can…run and don’t look back….every man for himself!”

Unfortunately, for the sheep anyways, there were few, if any, survivors by day 2 of 2001. I alone participated in 3 sheep slaughterings. One was a given, but I had not prepared for three. I had been invited to spend the day with Tambarat, Gigi, and her extended family. Our first stop, Gigi’s parents’ home. It was there that I learned yet another Ethiopian tradition…and I must admit that this one took me aback. Prepare yourselves…it is customary that the sheep is slaughtered within the home! I of course couldn’t resist asking “why?” and yet I should have anticipated the answer. “It is TRADITION, of course!” So…as per mode of transport #1, the poor little sheep was drug into the living room by one leg and slaughtered as the kids played, the TV droned on and I calmly sipped my Pepsi. While the men commenced with the quartering, the women sliced, diced, and fried meat that couldn’t have been any fresher, and in less than 30 minutes from start to finish we were eating. Knowing now the speed at which this process can be done, what in the world takes OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE so long to get a meal on the table??




Sheep #1 at Gigi’s parents’ home



Amela, Gigi, and Me get the meat ready for the frying pan



Yemegne is on frying duty



Sheep #2 at Tadeseh and Yemegne’s home



Sheep #3 at Getachew and Semegne’s home

Abi Turns 3!

I know that Abi has built quite the fan club, so I thought you’d perhaps like to attend his 3rd birthday party with me!

As usual, I’m the last to know anything of importance and found out the morning of his party that my attendance was requested that afternoon. Good thing I don’t have work!
So I promptly raced to town bound for Gigi’s shop and the display of birthday hats she has. I purchased a birthday hat, a candle and then raced back home to wrap a couple of gifts in wrapping paper saved from my birthday. Fortunately a good friend (who is a huge Abi fan) had just sent a package with items for Abi. What perfect timing!

Aselef and I then headed to Souwnet’s third “new” house in as many weeks. The good news about this house is that it is a stone’s throw from mine. THANKGOODNESS! Souwnet had borrowed from Aselef all the necessary items for an Ethiopian birthday party—namely bunna, cups, and a jabena! (yes…even a 3 year old celebrates by having a cup of joe!). I pulled out Abi’s birthday hat and his eyes lit up like the rising sun. He was SOOOO excited and we hadn’t even gotten to the gifts! When I gave him the 2 wrapped packages he thanked me with his version of “amesaygenalo” and sat them aside. He had no clue what to do with wrapped packages! In a language that only Abi and I share and understand, I provided instruction and he followed like a pro. The first gift that he opened was a package of gummy worms (I had to inform him that they were candy). As soon as he understood that he had just been gifted with “carameylas” he insisted on tearing into them. What followed was the most priceless and humorous 5 minutes that I’ve experienced since being here and I’m so disappointed that I didn’t get it on video.

I removed one lone gummy worm from the package and he freaked out. He was literally scared to death! As he frantically backed away from me and the wriggling worm, he screamed, “it bites me…it bites me.” At this point, I’m practically in tears from laughing while at the same time trying to explain that it won’t bite…you BITE it! I then had to demonstrate that it was toothless by eating half the worm. This gave him the courage to reach out and touch it only to freak out once again from the texture. This time the worm went flying and we were again back to, “it bites me!” After a lot of coaxing and further demonstration, Abi bit into the first gummy worm of his life and his eyes lit once again.

I have to say that Abi is the bravest Ethiopian I know. He is willing to try anything and everything I throw his way. When Aselef turns up her nose or Souwnet backs away, Abi raises his eyebrows and jerks his head upward as if to say “bring it on!”

Happy Birthday my dear little friend!!!!!

Visiting Awramba

Tucked 2km off the main dirt road between Woreta and Debre Tabor is a unique little village known as Awramba. Frankly, I’d never heard of it. Nor would it have made my destination list had it not been for Megan’s desire to buy hand-woven goods and our good fortune to be riding again in her German friend’s vehicle.

Awramba is a world to itself. The community was begun in 1985 by an Ethiopian man who believed that the only way to rise from poverty was not through dependency upon others or through prayer, but by education and hard work. Amramba is the only known atheistic society in Ethiopia. And it is the only place in Ethiopia where I’ve experienced a true equality between men and women.

As usual, I had no idea what to expect. “Clueless” is the best way to travel because then you are never disappointed! Anyways….the community is charming. It’s clean, quiet (no gaggle of kids chanting “you, you, you” or “you, money”), and well-run. I only wish that some of the same principles would be adopted by other Ethiopian communities.

The community has its own pre-school that is attended not only by 4 year-olds, but by adults who would like to learn to read and write. The kids of Amramba take advantage of government education for primary school and beyond and ultimately have a choice whether or not to spend their adulthood in Awramba. Some leave, many return.

The 100+ families in this community are quite progressive. They’ve constructed 2 libraries, a hostel (for visitors), and a fabulous nursing home. The concept of a nursing home does not exist in Ethiopia and consequently there are many sick, elderly people who are left by their families to sit and beg along the streets during the day. In Awramba, the elderly are not only respected (as is true in the rest of Ethiopia), but are cared for by everyone in the community.

Awramba’s income is primarily generated from weaving. I had no idea the cachopony that results from shuttles being flung back and forth across 20 looms. For a moment I thought we were entering an arcade! The adults in Awramba work 6 days a week and then have the 7th day to do their own personal work or to rest (not everyone is at the same level financially due to how each individual chooses to spend their 7th day).

Overall, it was an enlightening visit, and once again, I left with a few less birr in my pocket. I couldn’t resist a beautiful hand-woven cotton robe to remind me of this fascinating place.



Amrumba’s schoolhouse.


The original library

The new library. The “bookshelf” is entirely constructed from a mud/manure/straw mix. Creative, eh?

No problem with bringing your child to work here!















This woman kindly opened her home to us. She’s working on her own personal weaving. The little guy was breastfeeding while we were there, but stopped long enough to give me a wave on our way out.

Blue Nile Falls

I love spontaneous trips and when Megan’s friend from a German NGO invited us to join her on a short road trip to Blue Nile Falls, I couldn’t resist. Traveling in a private vehicle is a true treat and one would be crazy to pass the opportunity up!

The Blue Nile Falls are located just south of Bahar Dar and used to be quite the destination. Lately, however, the falls have gotten a bad rap due to the construction of a hydro-electric plant, which diverts nearly 95% of the water. The locals have always referred to the falls as Tis Abay (Smoke of the Nile) because of the spray that clouds the air as the water thunders over the falls. Nowadays that name might not be so fitting. In fact, my fabulous Bradt Ethiopia guidebook refers to the falls as THE CLIFF FORMERLY KNOWN AS THE BLUE NILE FALLS.

Given all of this information, I went with ZERO expectations. Thunderous or not, it was an opportunity to see a new part of the country. Much to my surprise, I was pleasantly surprised! Of course, I have nothing to compare the falls of now with the falls of yesteryear, but I found them to be impressive. It’s not Niagra, but Tis Abay is beautiful in its own way. Just the sound of moving water was music to my ears.

On our hike up to the falls, we walked through a very tiny village that was lined with handcrafts for sale and manned by “less than bashful” children. In fact, I’m pretty sure that these children must have taken “Entrepreneurship 101” at the local school because they had their spiel down to a science. We heard a chorus of, “My name is Tigist/Hannah/Mehiret. I go to school. You will buy from me when you turn back. I wait you here. My name, again, is Tigist/Hannah/Mehiret.” Given that it had started to rain on the return hike we didn’t know if the “I wait you here” promise would still apply, but rain is not a deterrent for these little businesspeople. As we came in sight of the village, we heard the patter of running feet and the cries of “you promised to buy from me, remember.” We walked away from this village with a few less birr (the local currency), a few more trinkets, dirty shirts from over-zealous children trying to divert our attention away from the competition, and a feeling that we had just run the gauntlet and lived to tell about it!

It’s the Little Things

It truly is the little things that brighten my day and make the distance between Ethiopia and all the things and people I left behind seem not so far apart. It’s the routine Sunday night phone call from my parents, the surprise package from a good friend, a “blooming” card from my sis, a newsy email, an old (but new to me) PEOPLE magazine, and the list could go on and on. I love all of these things, but there are times when I crave a taste of home. Injera will never serve as comfort food!

The other day Straw arrived and brought with her a taste of home that we never would have believed possible….CHEESECAKE! Her dad sends the most amazing care packages and Straw so generously shared her treasure with us. I did make a small contribution to our impromptu party. Somewhere along the line I acquired a can of cherry pie filling. How fortuitous!



Smith, Me, and Megan


The Kristens’ (Smith, Me, and Straw). A very big thank-you to Straw’s dad!!!!

Another Year Older

Having a summer birthday meant never having the privledge of bringing cupcakes to school, but it did mean that I would often celebrate my birthday in unique locations. I fondly recall celebrating my 11th birthday in Traverse City, MI at a McDonalds where “Shang-hai chicken nuggets” were served with complimentary chop-sticks. And then there was my 13th birthday which was celebrated in Yellowstone National Park with a most unusual but welcome guest…a wayward buffalo. I’m fairly confident, though, that I never dreamed I’d celebrate a birthday in Ethiopia! I’m so blessed to have such great friends and family on 2 continents who went out of their way to make my birthday a special one!




















Gigi wanted to learn how to make zuccini and banana bread so we decided that they would serve as my birthday cakes. Even Tambarat got in on the baking action!














Celebrating at Gigi’s house with (from left to right) Belete, Tadeseh, Yimegne, and Tambarat.