This is Katie....making my first appearance on the blog! Our time is flying by here, and has been filled with so many wonderful adventures and experiences.
This weekend Sara nad I traveled to Awassa--a beautiful lake town about six hours by car from Addis Ababa. We went with five other Americans from the house we are staying at. We had an awesome time, filled (as always!) with various escapades that can only come about in Africa. The trip there in particular was pretty crazy.
To get to Awassa we had to contract a minibus (OK side note...just found out the minibuses found in Addis were a gift from the Soviet Union in the 80s. It has been pretty amusing seeing all the ways these minibuses are tied together to keep from completely falling apart. They have definitely all seen better days...and so far the record for folks smashed into one is 21. There is room for 12! So after we haggled with the driver for a bit, we began the trek to Awassa. We picked up a "special driver," who had a talent for crossing lines into the incoming traffic lane to pass the other cars. And that was ok, except for the few times I could have sworn we were going to be smashed, and the time he had to pull off the orad on the left side so we didn't get hit by an oncoming car. After driving a couple of hours we stopped in a town to get a snack, and our drivers headed off somewhere, unnoticed by us. After a few minutes, two other men hopped into the car and started driving, and not in the direction of Awassa. Our group agreed were were bing hijacked, but the two men assured us they were just taking the car to wash it. Which, after driving us about the town for at least 15 minutes, they did. Later our drivers re-appeared and we headed out. Four hours later we came to a division in the road, the left leading to Awassa and the right to a town called Sashamanne. We turned right. Shashamanne is known as the capital of Rastfarianism...those are the guys who love Bob Marley and believe Haile Selassi is their saviour. I thought it would be a chill Jamaican-feeling town, but I assure you it was not that. There our drivers told us we had to get out and find another bus. By that time we were not too happy with our drivers, but after a bit of yelling and finger wagging we got them to help us find another bus and eventually got to Awassa.
Wow that was a lot to write just about the ride up...so I will spare you most of the details about the rest of the trip. It was great though----saw some hippos, ate some great fish, and breathed fresh, pollutant-free air for the first time in a month.
My time in Ethiopia has been amazing...cannot believe I only have two weeks left! Anyhow, hope everyone back home is doing well. We would so appreciate ya'll keeping Sara and me in your pryaers and I can't wait to share more of our adventures with you in person when we get back home!
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