Parlate italiano?

Parlate Italiano?

I met some Itailans who are working for different Italian NGOs. I have been going to their club, Juventus Club, to play volleyball. They usually play volleyball on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Friday night we went out to eat dinner at Don Vito Ristorante and Pizzeria and then we went to a pub where we met other Italian nationals. A lot of Italians working in towns outside of Addis decided to come to the city this weekend to watch the soccer match between Italy and USA. Here I am with Olga DiBiaggio, an Italian from a town close to Udine in the north east part of Italy.

Faranji at Addis Ababa Staduim

Faranji at Addis Ababa Stadium: Foreigners at Addis Ababa Stadium.

Last Thursday we went to Addis Ababa Stadium to watch Baheru's (PCI driver) beloved team, Ethiopian Coffee, play against St. George's. It was a critical game for both teams which are fighting for the National Title. Unfortunately, Ethiopian Coffee lost 3-0. Baheru was very disappointed and didn't talk much on the way home.

From left to right: Aaron, Erin, Erina, Me, and Ricky. Ricky is Kurt's (our boss) son.

Chewata Foosball

Chewata Foosball: Playing foosball.

On our way back to the office we stopped at this place where they have five foosball tables. A lot of kids and teenagers will spend hours and hours playing there with their friends. I decided to join in and challenge on of the locals. Of course, I didn't have a chance. I was beaten pretty badly. Baheru, Erin, and Erina also joined in.

Children in Need

We found these three children on our visit to the orphans (behind me). The three little kids were playing outside the house while we were talking to the orphans. This community is located close to the city's dumspter. Children living in that area usually go to the dumspter to pick whatever they can find to eat. The local NGO through the sponsorship program has targeted this area to help bring food, cloth, and education to these children.

Visiting Welage Alba in Addis Ababa

Visiting Welage Alba (Orphans) in Addis Ababa.

Erin, Erina, and I visited two orphan children sponsored by either Ethiopians living abroad or foreigners. Both children have lost their parents to HIV-AIDS. The money given to the local NGO is used to buy clothes and food and pay for school. The orphans are learning to speak English also. When they graduate from high school they will enter a technical school so they can become productive citizens and bring income to their homes.

Kelay Setaye

View from the Top. Aaron and I at our house terrace. The terrace is on the third floor and has an excellent view of the south side of the city. It is also a nice place to go and relax. Picture courtesy of Erin Peacock, Aaron's wife.

Edsen Mewagate

Campaign Against AIDS. We took this picture when we visited Addis Ababa University. The campaign against AIDS is targeting young males and females at universities across the country. There is a higher incidence of AIDS among teenagers and young adults when it comes to age. If you take sex in to account, young women are more affected by the disease than men.

Film Mayete

Watching movies in Erin and Aaron's bedroom. We rented a VCD for 3 Birr(USD 0.34) and we watched it on Erina's computer. Since our TV channels are limited to ONE Amharic speaking station, we opted to rent some English-spoken movies. We watched Red Eye. It was a decent movie. Erin and Aaron's bed looks like a sandbox. They had to take the box spring out because it was getting uncomfortable to sleep on it.

Erin and Erina's Tinishu Guadeghaye

Erin and Erina's Little Friend. Erin and Erina with Sasai in Mercato. We found this little kid in Mercato while we were shopping for a blender and a water filter. Sasai sells plastic bags to the Mercato visitors. Sasai spoke some English and he showed us the way to some shops we needed to go. You can see a lot of kids working at Mercato in almost anything: selling fruit and vegetables, cleaning shoes, carrying loads of merchandise, etc...

Lion of Juda

The Lion of Juda is a very important symbol in Ethiopian culture. The Lion represents strength, power, and it is often known as the king of the wild.

On November 2, 1930, Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned king of Ethiopia, king of kings at Addis Ababa. Upon his coronation, he claimed for himself the titles of : Emperor Haile Selassie I (Power of the holy Trinity), Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, and King of the Kings of Ethiopia.

During his reign, the Emperor Hail Selassie took the lion of Judah as a symbol of power and strength. The Lion of Judah represents Haile Selassie, the Conqueror, the King of Kings as a lion, the king of all beasts. The Lion of Judah figured prominently on the old imperial flag, currency, stamps, etc. and it can still be seen on minubuses, shops and restaurants in the capital as a national symbol.

Ethiopia's new government inserted a star on the flag. The star on the current flag signifies that Ethiopia is the center of many international organizations and the headquarters of the African Union.

The statue of the Lion of Judah in front of Ethiopia's National Theathre.

Sources:

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

www.rastafarispeaks.com

Gela Metatebe

Kids taking a bath at a pond. Erina, Erin, and Aaron found these kids on their way to a village in Addis Ababa. Cows, which are usually walking around the streets of Addis, were also cooling off on a hot day in the capital. Picture courtesy of Erin Peacock.

Abrowagh Yaminoro

My roomates. From left to right: The married couple, Aaron and Erin, Erina, and me. Erin and Erina work with me in PCI. This picture was taken last Saturday on our way to Mercato. We were waiting for a minu bus. The bus fare is 1.70 Birr per person (USD ~0.20) to go to Mercato. It was a cold and rainy day in Addis Ababa.

Eri Silk Cocoons

Eri silk Cocoons. Eri silkworms (larva stage) will turn yellow and will stop eating to start the spinning process. The silkworm will be very mobile and will try to move to a dry, dark area in the room in order to spin. The silk cocoon serves as protection for the pupa. Cocoons are shades of white, cream and yellow depending on silkworm genetics. After a final molt inside the cocoon, the larva develops into the brown, chitin covered structure called the pupa. Metamorphic changes of the pupa result in an emerging moth. The spinning process will last from five to six days and a silk cocoon will be formed. The cocoon in the picture was left under the sun for three days to kill the pupa inside it.

My job at Project Concern International is to develop a value chain analysis of sericulture in Ethiopia. I am enjoying my job very much because is related to agriculture and specially marketing.

Jember Setetalk be Arba Minch

Jember Setetalk be Arba Minch: "Sunset in Arba Minch"

Arba Minch is a very naturally-gifted town. It is home of the Nechi Sar National Park which is behind the mountain seen in this picture. The town also has forty springs and two nice lakes: Lake Abaya (also seen in this picture) and Lake Chamo. Lake Abaya is in very bad shape due to the high levels of erosion in surrounding mountains which have been heavily deforested. The water is red-colored because all the rivers coming from the mountains carry loads of soil eroded from those deforested mountains. It is sad and a shame that such a beautiful scenery has not been well kept. Lake Chamo is in better condition.

Yemeda Aheya at Nechi Sar National Park

"Yemeda Aheya at Nechi Sar National Park" or Zebras at Nechi Sar National Park

While in Arba Minch I visited the Nechi Sar National Park located in the middle of two lakes: Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo. It was a 75-minute drive from Arba Minch to the park. We drove on a bumpy, and sometimes, muddy road. We got there at 5:30 pm and we didn't see any animals until the guard showed us where to go. But still we only saw zebras at the park. They were somewhat afraid of us but we got close enough to take pictures. We saw some monkeys and birds on the way to the park but I was disappointed because I didn't see any more animals. No hyenas! It was getting dark so we had to go back to the town. We spent approximately 30 minutes in the park. In the picture: Wallegline's son and me during our visit to the park.

Aheyoch in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has the second largest population of donkeys in the world behind China. Donkeys are the only source of transportation for many rural Ethiopians who represent 85% of the country's population. But interestingly, Ethiopian donkeys have the shortest life span in the world. People don't have the means to give proper care to this noble and hard working animal. But I guess it is understandable since they need prioritize on who to feed and donkeys will definitely be on the bottom of their list.

Gojo Bet

"Gojo Bet" or Rural House

It is very common to find these types of houses in rural Ethiopia. Yegetare Sewatch or rural people will choose a tree with a straight trunck and cut off all its branches. Then, they will use the trunck as a central pilar to build their house arround it. Cows, donkeys and sheep are the common animals found in any gojo bet. They will burn charcoal to heat their homes during winter.

Yamenged Laye Chegre

Yamenged Laye Chegre or Obstacles on the Road

This is a normal scene on your way to Arba Minch, Oromia Region. We couldn't go at high speed because of the road conditions and more importantly, all the animals and people crossing the roads without any regard to the cars and trucks riding on the road! It was beyond belief. People, they will just cross the road without looking if cars were coming their way. Cows, donkeys carrying sacks full of corn, dogs, and sheep were crossing the road also. We had to dodge them or stop and wait until they were on the other side of the road to keep going!

Arba Minch, Oromia Region

Arba Minch stands for Forty Springs. It is a naturally-gifted town located 502 km south of Addis Ababa. It takes 9 hrs to get there. I had to take anti-malaria pills because Arba Minch is a high risk area for malaria. Arba Minch University (ABU) has some similarities with Zamorano, my undergrad school. Students have to live on campus and the curfew starts at 10:00 pm. Students seeking a degree in Agriculture (ABU also offers Architecture and other degrees) have to work the land and raise animals which is similar to the learning-by-doing philosophy of Zamorano.

From left to right: Fiseha, Me, and Baheru. Fiseha is a professor at the university specialized in water technology. Baheru, who is Fiseha's brother, is PCI's driver. Background: Arba Minch University and Lake Abaya.