Last year we invited the two gardeners and their families to a Christmas dinner, but this year, Christmas was a bit hectic and we didn’t get to offer the feast to them.  So, we had Michael and Shawn stay late last Friday so the four of us could eat together.  Here in Africa things are relatively cheap, but a few things are not.  As an example, last month we purchased a turkey for Thanksgiving but didn’t use it then, so we used it Friday.  The turkey was very small, probably 6-7 lbs and cost about $80.  So we don’t buy turkeys very often.

Below are pictures from last year.  First is Micheal’s mother and step father and Shawn’s wife.  Then Shawn and his little Daniel.  And a picture taken outside after dinner.

Needless to say, our Gardener, Michael was ecstatic as he very much enjoyed last year’s meal.  Especially the pumpkin pie.  Terese points out that in Ethiopia, pumpkin is merely a large gourd that is cut up and cooked like any other vegetable, like zucchini and squash.  To have the large vegetable cut into pieces with spices added and baked in a pie is a very unusual thing.  They were a bit baffled about the cranberry sauce, but they did try it and liked it enough to eat one serving.  So Friday night’s dinner was a small turkey, fried vegetables with dressing, and cranberry sauce on the side.

Now bear in mind, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas (and Easter) two weeks after the Christian Faith in the States, so their Christmas is on January 7th.  Many Ethiopian Christians are very religious and take their Faith very seriously, and Shawn is one such person.  These are the Christians who will stop and sign themselves as they walk in view of a church, even if it’s 5  blocks away.  They fast everyday for 40 days before Christmas.  When not in the Christmas season, they fast two days a week.  Fasting is basically a vegan diet.  No meat or anything that derives from meat.  This include eggs, so although Michael indulged in the pumpkin pie, two pieces at first until Terese pushed the pie closer to him, Shawn on the other hand was unable to eat any.  The only thing he ate was the vegetables and the dressing.  He didn’t know the dressing had bird juice in it, and I didn’t say.

So after the Ethiopian Christmas, we are planning to invite both young men and their families over again and serve several chickens with various pies and cookies.  Because after their Christmas, they do not fast at all for 40 days, so they can eat anything we serve.  Then it’s back to the two days a week.

Chickens are easy for us to get, although expensive.  About 10-15 dollars a bird.  We’ll get at least 3 and let the families take the rest home.  Michael likes to help Terese cook, even to the point he wants us to adopt him and take him with us when we leave for our next post.  So when he felt guilty for Terese cooking this big meal alone, I made him come in and cut the turkey.  He wasn’t expecting that, but didn’t complain.  I left for a few minutes and came back, and found him trying to dismember the turkey the way we would chicken, so I showed him how we just basically fillet the dead bird.Then our meal with the two gentlemen. When we have the next feast with them and their families, I will post it.  In the meantime, I hope all had a good Christmas and will enjoy a healthy and prosperous new year.    D.

In great anticipation for the end of the world, friends of ours had a “End of the World” party on Friday night, the 21^st, on our rooftop terrace.  As you may have noticed, the world did not end, but kept on going like it didn’t know anything was out of the ordinary.  In reality, nothing was.  There were many pictures taken, but I cannot show many of them since they include faces.  But I gave the camera to a young girl who took many pictures, but for some reason, either she didn’t know how to look through a viewfinder, or just had a fetish for feet, she took several pictures without the faces. And then, there were acrobats!Then it turned out to be a trick!!And then, last but not least, is the Gardener from next door.  Shawn.

Well, unfortunately, there probably will never be another End of the World party, so it was nice to attend at least one.   D.

With my brother visiting, we ventured out beyond our safety zone.  There are many one-day trips we can make beyond the city, yet we enjoy our backyard so much it’s hard to get us away.

Lake Tana in Northwestern Ethiopia, collects water from that area of the country and the Blue Nile drains it into the Nile (White Nile).  It is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile.  About an hour and a half drive from Addis, a section of it runs through a gorge, aptly called the Blue Nile Gorge.  My brother and I drove there and took a mess of pics along the way.  Below are a few.

Below is a picture of the gorge.

Along the road, we encountered many of these laborers.  Where they were taking their load, we do not know.

Another scene we saw everywhere outside the city, are the donkey drawn carts.

We stopped at one location and was surrounded by people selling.  Not begging, but selling.

The area has many of the Gelada baboons.  Unfortunately, we had a vehicle about to crawl up my bumper, so we were not able to stop and take better pictures of the little heathens.

It was amazing to see so many people walking along the roads so far away from the city.  Walking sticks and something on their backs, was the norm.   Many times we saw a small herd of animals, cattle & sheep, which had a lone individual watching them.  Most of the time it was young kids.  Male and female.

One day, Terese joined us for a trip to one of the nearby craters.  We did not have time to actually get to the site before we had to be back at the city before sundown.  But the drive was incredible.  I never realized how beautiful Ethiopia was.

On a Friday afternoon, several people from the Embassy decided to go to the top of Entoto mountain to watch the sunset.  My brother has two passions among many, sunrise and sunset.  We went with them and again, the beauty was priceless.  Addis is about 8000 feet.  The top of the mountain was 10,375.  It was a bit windy on top as you would imagine.  The pictures below are from the sunset side.

My brother and I ventured to the other side of the mountain and took these pictures.

Then the sun slithered down leaving a smear in the sky.

Then a quick picture of the city of Addis below before heading down.

And to keep you in love with Africa, nature gives us little critters that make you smile.  Here is a picture of a little bird in our backyard.

Okay.  Kick butt and don’t stop.  Until next time.  D.

In October, we had a Halloween party on our roof.  The young lady who lives in the other side of our duplex invited a mess of people over for the party.  This is where you meet people at their core.  They danced on our roof terrace until the wee hours of the morning and you get to watch and enjoy their love of life.  One pretty young lady wore a beautiful headdress and when I asked her where she got it, she told me her native Afghanistan.  Her parents left during the Russo-Afghan war and lived in California.  She told me she speaks Dari (Persian) and her Afghan boyfriend speaks Pashto, both languages are spoken in Afghanistan, but the only language the two have in common is English.There were several friends of our neighbor’s boyfriend, who came from several different countries in Africa.  One particular heavy-set individual from Côte d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast) fell in love with me because I gave him cigars throughout the night.  I don’t know what he did with them, because it would have taken  him all night to smoke one, which is why I take only cheap cigars to parties.  He even stopped to give me a kiss on the cheek before leaving for the night.  These are incredible people and I am saddened because next Summer we will have to leave Africa.

In mid-November, I flew to Juba for a few days and returned right before Thanksgiving.  Juba is one of the sewer pits we travel to every few months.  It is the capitol of the new country that split off from Sudan a year ago, last July.  It is now South Sudan.  Mostly Christian, whereas Sudan itself is mostly Muslim.

We work at two different compounds in Juba, each one about 400 paces apart.  While there, I walk the distance about a dozen times a day.  Most of the roads resemble alleys in many poorer parts of an American city, except wider.  In that 400 pace walk, I estimated there are about 1000 empty water bottles strewn everywhere on that one street.  Juba is just getting into its hot months with temps consistently above 100 everyday, and will top out in the 120’s in a few months.  But during the rainy season, it rains hard almost every day.  So there are deep ruts on all the dirt roads in the city.  Some are actually 2 feet deep and all vehicles trudge around them while avoiding all the pedestrians and motorbikes.  Below is a typical street.

Friends of ours invited us to Thanksgiving dinner.  She is an incredible cook, whose meal fed many people.  A lot of it was not something I was familiar with, but everything was delicious.

Unfortunately, we didn’t stay late due to me feeling like crap.  Friday was the same with headache and chills.  That evening, in the mirror I happen to notice a strange red circle about the size of a dime on my forearm.  The next day, Saturday, it was darker and increased to the size of a nickel.  Turned out to be a spider bite acquired in Juba.  I cleaned it well, and rubbed some salt into it until I had a chance to cover it with antiseptic.  From then, it slowly healed over a period of a week. Sorry, no pictures.

Following that, I went to Djibouti City, Djibouti for about a week.  Djibouti is another sewer pit but the roads are better and the hotel is excellent.  My lovely wife joined me for a few days and was coddled by the hotel staff.  She needed it.  Below is a pic of the local inhabitants and then one of the sunset with the cranes at the shipyard.

We have four RSTs, (Regional Security Techs)  who are local men who work with us.  When I set up travel arrangements for them, I notice each of them seem to have multiple names, so the other day I asked them about that.  It turns out they retain their father’s given name.  Not his last name, but first.  And they may include a grandfather’s name as well.  So, my name would be Dwaine Quenton Theodore.  They have no last name like we do.  Ayten uses five names, so I guess it goes back to his great-great-grandfather.

We went to the little pizza place on the hill the other night and visited with Hywät.  Since she is attending medical school, Terese decided to give her a stethoscope she didn’t need any more.  It was a very noble and compassionate gesture.  Hywät reciprocated by giving Terese a pair of shoes.  They look ugly to me, but Terese loves them.My brother flew to Addis last week and set foot on African soil for the first time.  It was good to have him as we sat for hours discussing the problems of the world with fine cigars and cheap whiskey, plus it got me and Terese out of the city.  We took two trips through the countryside and saw some incredible sites.  I’ll sort through some later and post soon.  But I will post a pic now that was taken while he was here.  No, it’s not him, but a monkey that came to visit him.  Until later.  D.