Another Day In ParAddis

Even if the flight was a disappointment, it feels good to finally have reached "The Real Africa" as Egypt felt more like an extension of the Middle East. Having said that though Ethiopia is unique in every way and quite separate from the rest of
the continent. Together with Liberia the only countries in Africa never to be colonised (Mussolini's fascist Italy occupied it for a few years but never
managed to conquer) the population here is quite rightly a very proud one. The time and calendar here takes some getting used to, to say the least. We are
currently in December in the year 2004, and although we are 3 hours
ahead of G.M.T. the local watches will be 9 hours ahead seeing as the
day starts at 12:00 when the sun rises, at least that's how I think it
works.
After finding a room in Ethiopia's first hotel "Itegue Taitu" I
wandered the streets of Addis Ababa and before I knew it I had a new
brother, this soon turned into more but the 3 we have spent most time
with are: Amberber, Yonas and T.I. Our newfound brothers showed us the
ropes of the capital taking us to museums (one of which usually houses
our 3.4 million years or so old great great grandmother Lucy, however plastic replica-bones lie here now as she is touring the United States), the chaotic
hustle and bustle of Africa's biggest market "Merkato," and teaching
us the art of eating the local food injera which is a delicious,
spongy, rag-like pancake which accompanies every meal and replaces
cutlery. At night they taught us the art of drinking beer and tej
(wine made from honey) and how to dance using only your shoulders. One
of these nights may have been slightly overdone as it resulted in us
missing our early bus north, but hopefully we manage to catch the one
which leaves tomorrow morning...

In Camera Related News: I can confirm rumours that my camera is now fixed. I found a man in a tin-shack who said he'd look at it and after not finding him for a few a days, he finally showed up. And with great success he had managed to fix a camera which according to all Egyptians I asked was way beyond repair. However don't get your hopes up about pictures on here too soon as internet connections aren't exactly the most reliable around here.