Arrivals and Weddings!

I'm here, I arrived and I'm safe! It was touch and go whether we were actually going to be able to leave Heathrow due to the thunder and lightning but after a three hour delay, we eventually left. We landed in Addis at about 10.00am local time and came through immigration without a problem. Luckily, E and M (and baby bump!) came to meet me at the airport, so they could help me with the 10 tonne of luggage that I've brought …

So I'm here, rested (I slept like a dead person last night!) and starting to get to grips with everything. In fact, I was thrown into the deep end slightly – I'd only been here 10 hours and I'd already been involved in the ritual slaughtering of a sheep (for a wedding – it's not like it happens every day before lunch!), been yelled at by a drunk man, and danced like a crazy person at a family wedding.

Ethiopian weddings are a very grand affair! They generally last for three days, with the actual wedding bit as we would recognise it on the second day. I joined in on the third day, which is where the Bride and Groom's family get together and have a meal, and then there's lots of dancing. LOTS of dancing!

In my experience of family weddings, the little boys are generally skidding across the dance floor and shouting, and a few mums and their teenage daughters will be up dancing around their handbags, but it takes a while for everyone else – particularly grandmothers and the older generation – to join in. Not in Ethiopia. The oldest people in the room were up, drums slung over their shoulders, beating out a rhythm and leading the rest of the room in whichever tribal dance it is: Amhara, Tigrinia, Uragy (sorry about the spelling!).

And wow, the energy! The Uragy dance is probably the most energetic, with lots of jumping and leaping, but even the Tigray dance, which is mostly stepping round in a large circle, really takes its toll on your thigh muscles! I impressed everyone – and made everyone laugh – with my attempts at Ethiopian dancing, and I think I got the hang of it!

I wish I was better at writing, so that I could convey to you exactly how amazing, beautiful and energetic an Ethiopian wedding is. I have taken some pictures, which I will try and post as soon as I can, but even they can't really do it justice.

It was a great first night in Addis, and left me no time to be thinking 'Oh God, what have I done?'! I grinned so much my face hurt, and it reminded me how lucky I am that I have access to this 'personal' side of Addis. I'm so grateful to my Ethiopian 'extended family' out here!

So, this afternoon I start planning what on earth I'm going to do for the next three months! So I shall be mostly opening a bank account, visiting the orphanage, sorting out a phone … and finding some time to eat some injera! :o)

4 days to go ... and 'Ethiopia in the news'

Wow, I have about 4 days before I leave so I have come home to my mum’s house for the hardcore organising and preparing to begin! Today I’ve been to the dentist, the doctor (various vaccinations – ouch!) and the hairdresser (new hair - nice!) and tomorrow I will deal with the bank and other administrative nightmares. Everything I own is currently in boxes in my mum’s living room, waiting to be sorted and then packed …

However, the really important news is that I have a shiny new work visa in my passport! This means I will be able to work and earn money once I’m in Addis and I won’t have to come home after 2 months. Hurrah!

So, everything is a lot more organised than it was last week, thank goodness. I’m still Little Miss Mood Swing, but people who have done all this before tell me this is completely normal! :o) I’ve said my goodbyes to London and to as many friends as I could – I’m sorry to those I haven’t managed to see, and to those I met, but was pretty much asleep at the time … I miss people already.


>>> Ethiopia in the News

Despite what you may have read in the media, the whole of Ethiopia is not in the grip of a famine. There is currently a food crisis in Ethiopia, but as far as I know it is mostly affecting the rural areas, particularly the Afar region. It’s not affecting the children of the orphanage at the moment (apart from the fact that food prices are rising, like everywhere else in the world), and sadly Hanna’s Orphanage aren’t in a position to be able to help the others who are suffering. However, there are lots of charities who can, so feel free to donate to them.

The media often seems to forget that Ethiopia is a big country (over four times the size of the UK!) and so what happens in the north of the country isn’t necessarily happening in the South. In fact, if you’re the Metro newspaper, occasionally you forget where Ethiopia is and you write an article saying it’s a West African country … sigh. I worry that giving people the impression that the whole of Ethiopia is experiencing a famine will discourage anyone from visiting, which of course will affect the tourism industry which is so important to the economy.

So do keep planning your trip!!

'Faranj' goes to Addis ...

(that really should have been the title of my blog ...)

I have exactly 10 days left before I fly to Addis and become a 'faranj' (foreigner) in Ethiopia ... and panic has set in!!

This blog will give you the chance to keep an eye on my adventures and, more importantly, what your donations are doing to help the children of Addis Ababa.

Do feel free to send me an email at honeyjenny@gmail.com, and if you would like any more information about Hanna's Orphanage (reg charity: 1119773) please look at www.myspace.com/hannasorphanage

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