9000MilesFromNormal: An Ethiopian Type of Day

I did not have much to do today, so I thought I would be a little productive and go around town taking some pictures to give you an idea of what Asella is like. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it was a rainy day so you cannot see the mountain backdrop Asella normally has.

I expected this jaunt to just take an hour or two, depending on if I got distracted at any point. It was a 4-hour adventure when it was all said and done. To begin, I stopped at a café to get some coffee and read a bit. As I was enjoying my book, The Best American Travel Writing (I’d really recommend it if you find travel interesting), it began to pour. In Ethiopia, no one walks when it is raining so I was forced (yes forced!) to enjoy my coffee and book at a splendidly slow pace.

Eventually I had to move on. I took more pictures, received more funny looks and decided to reward myself with another cup of coffee at a certain point- an aspect of the lifestyle here I have grown to love. As I sat down, I noticed there was a soccer game on. It turns out that it is currently the women's 20-and-under World Cup. Sure enough, the United States was playing Korea in the semifinals. I decided to stay until half time and then move on. But after half time, it was still tied 0-0 so I felt it was my duty, as an American, to stay and support my team. The US scored and I managed to keep the celebration reasonably quiet. If you have ever watch sports with me, you know that I cannot keep quiet and I squirm in my seat ANY TIME something remotely intense happens. Eventually, Korea scored the tying goal. Unknown to me, about half the café was watching me watch the game. And again, if you have ever watched sports with me, you know when the other teams scores; there is an instant stream of profanity that leaves my mouth before I even realize what I am saying. Oppps. I don’t think that is what Peace Corps had in mind when they preached to share American culture.

Once everyone saw how invested in the game I was, other people started watching and it got to be pretty fun. At the end of regulation, it was still tied 1-1. In the first extra time, our ladies score and that was enough to give them an eventual 2-1 win ('Merica!). Then, I suddenly remember what I set out to do today and took some pictures like I had planned.

This is the road right outside my compound

This is the never ending hill I have to walk up to get to the main road. It is probably a good half mile long. It will either have me in perfect shape by the end of two years, or kill me.

These are parts of the main road, it is asphalted with bajajs* everywhere

(*the small, blue 3-wheeled vehicle in the picture)

Here is some of the chaos that is the market.

Here is where I get all my produce

A muddy alley way. There are little "shops" all along the sides.

This is my favorite little alley of the market. It is fully enclosed by metal sheets. The narrow alleyway is exactly what I expected an African market to be like. It is not wide enough for two people, you have to duck to avoid hitting your head on things. Just charming!

And then here are a few just about town...