The Arrival

Dining on a cheese steak at world famous Geno's in Philly

World famous Geno's

Hotel lobby in Philly before boarding bus to NYC

Loaded bus to NYC

NYC view from bridge on bus

Another cool NYC pic

All our luggage at JFK

Hula hooping in the airport

PC friends passing time w/ cards

Our first steps outside airport in Addis Ababa

Boarding the bus to our hotel

Bernard & Bre on bus excited to be in Ethiopia

Our first Ethiopian meal...Cheeseburgers!!

1st day of training

Ben, one of the coolest dudes on the planet

Taking a walk

The herd from a distance

Herding cattle in the middle of the street

Ethiopian cattle

A couple of kids running the herd

 

View from a volunteer's balcony outside room

Wow, where do I start?  Oh, I know….I’M IN ETHIOPIAAAA!!!! It’s been a long journey but I’m finally here.  The flight was long, but not bad in any way.  We took a bus from Philly to JFK, which was cool b/c I’ve never seen NYC up close & personal.  It’s large & traffic was bananas! The drive took us a little over 3 hours.  It’s a little different flying international w/ a group of 20 people.  We had a lot of down time in the airport since we got through customs by 5:30pm & our flight didn’t board until after 9pm.  We ate, some played cards, some hula hooped (which can cause strange looks in the airport terminal), & we all made our last phone calls to family & friends.  I shouldn’t say last, that makes us seem like we’re on death row.  We said our see ya laters.   The flight from JFK to Frankfurt was over 7 hrs, then we had a 2 hr layover there, and finally the flight from Frankfurt to Addis Ababa, which was over 7 hrs as well.  Quick side note, we flew Luthansa, which is a German airline…the service & food were impeccable.  Everything is complementary, including wine if you drink, which I don’t, so I stocked up on juice.  We got in around 9pm local.  We were exhausted, but everyone’s adrenalin was pumping so much we got our energy back quick.  The Ethiopian staff was there to meet us when we got through customs.  Everyone was so nice & cordial.  We loaded up on 2 buses & headed to our hotel.  We couldn’t get a good look at the city b/c it was dark out.  We got in, met some more PC folk & had dinner.  They gave burgers to break us in slowly.  As hungry as I was I could’ve eaten my left arm.  My roommate is Wayne, same as in Philly.  The hotel staff have all been wonderful, making sure we’re comfortable & even helping us w/ the language.  One of the staff members called me Barack Obama, which I thought was funny.

The past few days we haven’t had time to see the city.  We’ve been super busy in cultural training & getting everything situated.  Learning about the conditions we will be living in, the security, the food & water situation.  I’ve enjoyed the food so far, but we’ve been advised things can change when we’re not dining at the hotel.  Mainly that our body may not be able to handle some of the preparation differences.  As far as water is concerned, we’re brushing our teeth w/ bottled water, so drinking it is out of the question.  Once again our fragile American bodies can’t handle the bacteria.  Ethiopia is also highly elevated, so you get winded quick.  I started dry heaving walking up 1 flight of steps.  Luckily I’ve been able to avoid elevation sickness.  We’ve also been put on Malaria meds, which is good b/c I saw 2 mosquitoes flying above my bed one morning fighting each other like I was their last meal.  My left arm is a little sore now b/c I got a few immunization shots today.  With all the things I’m on now I’m peeing purple.  It’s better than being sick though.  We’re here for another day or so, then we get to meet our host families.  We’re going to be divided up into 3 groups & train in different areas.  I have a local phone now.  Incoming calls are free for me, but will cost an arm & a leg to whoever calls me from the states.  I only have one more night of internet for a while, so I’ll do a post tomorrow w/ some of the Ethiopian facts I’ve learned.