Fish Fry:
For lunch one day we got to go just outside of the compound (on the other side of the container bridge) to eat some fresh tilapia. For about $6 USD, a lady went and caught about 32 tilapia and fried them for us. And it was AMAZING. I tried to fry some tilapia when I got home and it just didn't taste the same. One of the hard parts about eating there was that this lady was just frying the fish under a tree with everyone else around us. We drew enough attention as it was being Americans. But for us to be eating as much as we were, there was a little bit of a commotion. On top of that, we attracted the dogs. This might not seem like a big deal, but when 90% of all dogs there test positive for rabies, it was nerve racking. This was probably the only time I was actually scared. I had 3 or 4 dogs licking their lips around my ankles. I tried to ignore them, but the thought of getting rabies just plagued my head. But I just kept on eating, and that helped take my mind off of things.
Getting Gas:
After getting one of the water pumps up and running again, it was discovered that the compound was out of gas for the pumps and generators to run off of. So Pirtle and Josh rode out with Shane to pick up a barrel of gas. They stopped at the market where their senses were blown away, and not in a good way. Imagine a lot of body odor, mixed with sweat, mixed with rotting food and you have an idea of what was going on. Then, of course, as they were sticking out in the crowds, a torrential downpour came upon them. So they took shelter in a barber shop and just hung out for a while. After the shower passed by, they were back on their way with a new appreciation for refrigeration.
Famine Relief:
SIM was providing Maize seeds for some famine relief. I got to go with Robert, Chad, Amanda and Laura to take pictures. Otto Bruhanu was leading it up, so it was good to see him again. After being as much of a distraction as possible with my cameras and crawling all over the place, the mayor of the town invited us to grab some drinks at the 'bar' next door. So we sat and had sodas while he and his friends had some beers. It was kind of weird to be sitting and having drinks with the mayor while poor and starving locals were outside collecting maize seeds for planting. After some intriguing conversation, we were heading back home with a slight pit stop (by pit stop, I mean Laura got stuck in the sandy road and we had to get her out).
Bishangari:
One of our treats was to go out to the Bishangari Resort, about 30 minutes outside of the compound. This was a totally different scene than what we were used to with rocky, craggy beaches and lush accommodations. We actually got to see other Westerners at the restaurant, as well. Flat Stanley also accompanied us out here to take pictures with us. It was a wonderful evening to just relax with the Smiths.
Coffee Ceremony:
Ethiopia, being the birthplace of coffee, has a long standing tradition of making coffee the way it was made originally. This meant that the beans were picked, roasted over an open flame, pounded to a grind, then served with popcorn. The process usually takes a couple of hours. But Yonas had us over and used previously ground coffee to serve us. So we just got to hang out with him and his wife and talk. This was one of my favorite times because we got to learn so much about Ethiopian culture with a very educated Ethiopian. Plus, Yonas is one of the friendliest, most lovable people I know.
Hunting:
We brought Shane some new crossbow bolts for his crossbow, so of course we had to use them. The baboons were mean and large and needed to be scared off. But they were also smart, so it wasn't easy to pin one. After some walking around, Shane, Chad, and Victoria shot off a few bolts at baboons and warthogs, but with no luck.
Termite Mounds:
Another source of great entertainment, anywhere in the world, is blowing stuff up. Since termites build such great, cavernous mounds, a little gasoline and a match goes a long way. So we all drove around and experimented with the right amount of gasoline that it takes to make a mound exploded. Justin, Chad and Shane got great explosions, while Amanda, Pirtle and myself just had some good fires. If you're ever near a good sized termite mound, you should really try this.
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