Things people have said that have made me laugh today...

I love the way that many Ethiopian’s miss out important words in sentences or rearrange words in a sentence so that they have a completely different meaning to what they intended! Here are just a few examples of things people have said to me today...

·         ‘Fine you are’ and also ‘you are fine’ (instead of ‘How are you?). I wanted to reply ‘Thank you’ because it does seem a bit big-headed to agree with them that I am ‘fine’ but I think that would really confuse them.

·         Where are you? (when I pass someone in the street- I think they meant to ask, ‘where are you going?’) I always want to reply ‘here’. I also had today ‘Where you are’ phrased as a question to me... I really didn’t know how to respond to that one!

·         Are you here? ... Really? (When I bumped into a colleague I hadn’t seen for a while)....ummm... yes?!

·         ‘How was your picnic?’ (Instead of ‘how was your visit [to the north of Ethiopia]’)

I know I really shouldn’t laugh, especially as my Amharic is a million times worse than the above sentences, but sometimes it is little things like this that make your day!

La Bella Lalibella

Lalibella was incredible. I went for 2 days with my family last week. Although Lalibella is indeed ‘beautiful’ its name does not originate in the Italian for beautiful. Instead it comes from the name of the King of this region at the time that all the impressive rock hewn churches were carved out. King Lalibella’s name actually means ‘ one who likes honey’ in the local language. There are 11 rock hewn churches in all and each was as fascinating as the last. We just spent our whole time walking around them thinking ‘WOW!’ and ‘HOW?!’ The town itself was also really interesting. Many of the ‘mud huts’ were several hundred years old and at times it felt like we were walking around a medieval village. Although quite a touristy place I was amazed by the lack of hassle from local beggars etc. Even when children did ask for things they were so overly polite about it you felt bad for not giving in. After telling a boy I didn’t have a spare t-shirt for him he simply said, ‘’no problem’’ and walked away. I think the highlight of the two days for me was watching the sunset over Bet Georgis and then walking down the hill to our hotel surrounded by friendly children and watching my Mom entertain them by singing ‘There was an old lady who swallowed a fly’ (after she accidently swallowed a fly!).

because I couldn't have said it better...

here is a link to my friend Nancy's latest blog entry. It is about the funny way ethiopian's 'command' you do to things...

http://anadventureinaddis.com/2010/01/15/talk-sit-come-get-in-get-out-eat/

The beginnings of a social life...

For the first time since I got here I would say that last week I finally felt like I had a bit of a social life in Ambo. This week I have been invited to a local hotel for drinks twice. Each time we had a great evening of banter ( I am always really impressed when people can joke about in another language) as well as some quite intense debates on things like religion. We ended both evenings with a trip to the local butchers for a portion of shaklika tibs (I suppose it is almost like the Ethiopian version of going for a kebab after a night out!). I was also invited to my friends house for lunch to meet his brother who is visiting from New Zealand. Here I enjoyed the delights of Ethiopian Idol on the TV!

On top of that I’ve decided to join football practice which starts at 6am 3 days a week. When my colleagues invited me I was initially hesitant as I imagined them all to be really good and I didn’t want to be the only girl. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when they told me another female colleague played. I had my first football session on Thursday morning. After a very thorough warm up which made me so tired I was almost sick (having not done any exercise for months) I was really happy to find we settled down to quite a leisurely game. Although I am really rubbish at football and there was some considerable talent on each team I was glad to find that I didn’t stand out at the worst player. It was great fun, but I think I am going to need to start going to bed a bit earlier!

 

Battle of the Bulge...

Since I arrived I have been putting on weight at quite an alarming rate! I have been finding this quite depressing as I have been eating less than I normally do. (For those that know me well you will know that eating less food is indeed sad news. ) The only explanation therefore seems to be the lack of exercise. Amazing what a difference exercise can make! I didn’t even think I got that much exercise before but now that I am forced to sit at an office desk most of the day I can really feel the difference. I was finding it difficult finding a time and place to exercise as I am in the office for most of the day light hours and even going for a walk can attract so much unwanted attention it is sometimes easier to just stay in my house. However, when I found that most of the clothes I arrived with were no longer fitting correctly, and some just wouldn’t fit at all, I decided enough was enough!

Some volunteer friends gave me a copy of the Davina workout DVD for Christmas. Probably the best present anyone could have got me. It is great because it means I can now get exercise without having to leave my house and face the barrage of ‘you you’, ‘ferenge’ etc. So far I’ve managed two of her workouts and my thighs ache!

 My colleagues also invited me to join them with football practice before work on a Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Football practice starts at 6.15am and so if I’m really quick I can get away with setting my alarm for 6am and then rushing to the university football pitch. It is still dark at 6am although the sun is just starting to climb. It really feels like a different world at that time of day- quite beautiful. Every morning the Orthodox Church hold services between about 4.30am and 8am. I get the impression that people can just come and go to these services as suits them. Therefore at 6am the streets are scattered with silent worshippers heading to and from church. Both the women and men wear large white shawls to cover themselves for church. Some are short and only cover the head and shoulders but many are full length covering their entire body. At this time of day in the half light they look like ghosts floating by. By the time I get to the pitch the sun is up enough for us to start our warm up without worrying about tripping over tufts of grass etc (it is not exactly the most beautifully kept football pitch i’ve ever seen).

I’m not normally one for making New Year’s resolutions but I think this year I will need to. I intend to commit myself to at least 3 sessions of exercise a week and hopefully soon I will be able to wear all the clothes that I came here with. I certainly don’t have the money to go replacing my wardrobe.