Surprising things that might happen to you in Ethiopia:

- You might discover a grand prix

One Sunday morning a few weeks ago, I was walking down Bole Road to meet a friend at the Ghion Hotel when I noticed that even though it was Sunday the road was unusually quiet. All become clear when I turned the corner and discovered what appeared to be the Grand Prix going on in Meskel Square. Small, brightly coloured cars with 'go faster stripes' were being driven round a professional looking track at alarming speed, and crowds of Ethiopian men packed the streets and sat on top of walls to watch it all going on.

There was no way I could get across Meskel Square without being either run over or arrested by the many policemen who were hanging around, so I had to give up the idea of meeting my friend. Instead, I spent a few bewildered minutes watching these cars screech around the track before making my way home. I later find out that car racing is a completely normal part of Ethiopian life, and this particular race takes place every year (run, I think, by a group of Italians). Not what I expected to find that day, though.

- You might get a doughnut when you wanted a coke – or a macciato when you were promised a mango juice

N sat a table at Saay Pastry, waiting for me to finish in the internet café. After a long search for mango juice in Addis, she was very excited when the waiter confirmed they did have mango juice. Fabulous! A while later, the waiter reappeared with a beautifully presented macciato and placed it on the table in front of her. When she pointed out this was not a mango juice, the waiter agreed. So N drank the macciato.

At the same café about two months later, I had the following conversation:
Me: "und coca? Cass casa? (one cold coke please!)"
Waitress: "eshe (okay)"
Waitress walks away to get order, then turns to me:
Waitress: "one doughnut?"
Me, mildly confused: "No, one coke"
Waitress walks down a few stairs: "Two doughnuts?"
Me, even more confused: "No doughnuts. Just one coke?"
Waitress: "doughnuts?"
Me, completely bewildered: "Coke … coca. Pepsi!'
Waitress: "ahhhh, Pepsi! Yes!"
Sigh.


- You may discover a fashion show populated by girls wearing balloons and not much else

I went to meet U. for dinner at Lime Tree restaurant which is a real 'hangout' for Farangis, but normally fairly quiet. So I was surprised to hear booming music and shouts and cheering as I approached. The cheering wasn't for me, sadly, but instead for whatever was going on
in a huge marquee outside the building. I shifted around so I could see what was going on, and was surprised to see Ethiopian women strutting along a catwalk … dressed in bikinis and balloons. Balloons.

It looked for all the world like a fashion show – but one for clothes made out of balloons. Everyone watching was very stylish and well dressed, and clearly the event was a big success!


- A goat might fall on your head

On one of the last days of our trip to the south, we visited a Salt Lake at a town near the border to Kenya. It was deep down in a crater, so we started early and did the half an hour walk down the mountain before 7am. It was quite slow going down, with many unstable rocks, but of course it was much harder climbing back up and it took us a good hour.

N. led the group, with U. somewhere in the middle and, true to form, me miles behind, sweaty, red, and out of breath. The path went up the mountain in a zig zag, and as N reached one corner, she could hear a 'scrabbling' above her head. It didn't sound like it was another person following the track, and U and I were way behind so it wasn't us. All of a sudden, there was a crash and a goat fell from the path above and landed beside N – causing both of them a considerable amount
of shock, I would imagine.




It's a good job the goat didn't land directly on her, if only because nobody wants to have to fill out a travel insurance claim with the reason for injury being 'goat fell on my head'.