Leaving Ethiopia

Well it's time to move on again. There's been plenty to think about here in Ethiopia, from the misperceptions that we build up of countries thanks to the media, to religion, aid, poverty, right up to highbrow matters such as: whether we have got enough loo roll; how far the next loo is if I need to make a dash for it; whether that spot on my finger could be a sign of a deadly disease (the Lonely Planet does a good job of scaring the life out of you). Anyway, some thoughts on leaving this place.

Things we'll miss:

The good, the bad and the ugly

1) Unfailing generosity and hospitality. So far this trip we have been invited into the offices of both the director of the ethiopian electricity corporation and the head of marketing of the ethiopian insurance company and fed coffee and biscuits just because we looked a little lost on the street.

2) Being able to get a bed for the night and a good meal for less than a tenner.

3) 35p beer (and it's even St George so we get the added and priceless value of feeling patriotic too)

4) Communal eating - everyone eats from a central plate with the sauces placed on top of a large Injera (large pancake basically), using other Injera  as cutlery. No washing up either!

5) Historic religious sites. Now we're not culture vultures but have been so surprised and impressed by these ancient places. And some say sub-saharan Africa has no culture!

6) Breathtaking mountains and alpine vistas, unexpectedly lush and tropical in many places

7) Mixed mango, orange, melon and avocado juice (the pleasure of which was undermined slightly by the fact that we usually enjoyed it at one of the busiest intersections in the capital)

8) Random typos and names: Tossa water, African Queens bar, assorted fisting food, Bati Beer, Trust Condoms, as well as Ethiopian names such as (English translation): Cabbage, Umbrella, Forever and Million.

9) The endeeringly oblivious donkeys, cows, sheep, goats and chickens who take a stroll into the middle of the road infront of speeding oncoming vehicles. Chickens are the most amusing and have made us wonder: does the choice of a chicken in 'why did the chicken cross the road?' come from the fact that chickens are chicken or that chickens cross the road more than other animals? Food for thought.

10) The sense of adventure - although many adventures face us in the future Ethiopia is pretty untravelled and all the more exciting for it. Can't understand why people don't come in their thousands. It has everything.

11) Strangely, bus journeys for the snap shot of real life here - and often the bits you don't want to see.

12) The smell of incense and the coffee ceremony.

Things we won't miss:

1) Or names and even just the sight of us seemingly meaning "one birr" or 'money' in Amharic - and the subsequent realisation that all these constant requests are starting to chip away at your patience and compassion.

2) Being mistaken for being French or American.

3) Feeling what it must like to be a goldfish or zoo animal - the constant staring on buses and worrying tendency of even the bus driver to try to make it out of his seat to watch you play travel scrabble.

4) Teenagers with nothing to do but surround you and stare or laugh.

5) The poverty. Although we will continue to see some upsetting levels of poverty in the rest of Africa, Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Sometimes this can be shocking, sometimes what is more shocking is how quickly you get desensitised to it.

6) Charities. Although undoubtedly driven by the will to do good, every 10km or so you seem to see places or projects sponsored by every charity imaginable. You sometimes wonder about the negative effects of all these groups with their different theories on how to 'help' must have on communities. Many blame the worsening culture of kids asking for money on the fact that they have come to associate Faranji with money, as well as the dangerous dependency and erosion of traditional methods of surviving that results. I'm not saying they're bad, just something to think about.

7) Not being able to show affection to eachother in public. Men walk around hand in hand, arm in arm, despite this society being fiercely homophobic, yet couples can not do so. We did notice in Ethiopia that young women did get away with holding the elbows of men but desisted from doing this after realising that this might actually mean that Chris was my pimp.

8) The constant slagging off of Van Nistelrooy even by Utd supporters..big up the horse's head.

Something we have missed and which we will save for our return one day is Chris's initiation to manhood which is, apparently, incomplete until he has jumped on and run across the backs of 20-30 cows.