I would like to cast myself as a sort of reluctant hero type, jetting off to save the world, but know that the reality is far from the truth, well the hero part anyway.\u00a0 Reluctance definitely plays a big part.\u00a0 For example I was reluctant to give up the safety net of fellow furenji (as we foreigners are affectionately known here) and head to my placement.\u00a0 This led to my spending last weekend, a long weekend thanks to the Ethiopian public holiday of Meskel, in the company of several volunteers who have the good fortune of finding themselves based in Hawassa- the great lakeside town of southern Ethiopia.\u00a0 This place positively bustles, with high-end hotels and quite possibly a higher density of furenji than anywhere else in Ethiopia.\u00a0 Certainly the VSO volunteer to Ethiopian ratio is higher than anywhere else, although there are more volunteers based in Addis.<\/p>\n
Hawassa has supermarkets, flash restaurants and a plethora of sights and sounds to amuse the eyes and ears.\u00a0 Great Hippos occasionally surface on the lake and there are hills to climb replete with following crowds of children crying \u201cyou! You! Furenji!\u201d followed swiftly by \u201cmoney, give me money\u201d or slightly less demanding requests for chocolate or pens.\u00a0 None showed the inventiveness of the girl in Addis who demanded 5000 Birr (about \u00a3160) with a beaming a smile, but they did show us a goat path down the hill towards the fish market.\u00a0 My fellow furenji were more tolerant and appeared at one stage to be as pipers of Hamlyn with a crowd of children bustling behind.\u00a0 Nonetheless we made it down alive and with all with which we had begun our journey – plus memories of spectacular views across the town.\u00a0 It looked even more impressive from on high.<\/p>\n
There is however a price to pay for the Hawassa experience.\u00a0 Being sociable and eating out, particularly in the more salubrious establishments, can impact on the pocket.\u00a0 For example a night out at the Venice restaurant left me a good \u00a35 poorer.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t seem like much until you realise that the allowance VSO provides gives a daily budget of \u00a33 and you have just paid out nearly two days worth in the space of a few hours.\u00a0 Food parcels gratefully accepted- assuming they make it through the rigours of customs (and bear in mind it can take months for things to arrive).<\/p>\n
All this having been said, it was a very worthwhile weekend, even if it did involve missing the big bonfires of Meskel on the Thursday due to confusion about when the actual celebration took place.\u00a0 Still, I will have another opportunity next year and now I know when it happens I shall make sure I get a ringside seat, well maybe not too close- I don\u2019t want to introduce the concept of the \u201cguy\u201d to Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
The highlights were definitely hanging out with the other volunteers as we rooted out a number of fine establishments for the imbibing of coffee and fruit juices, not to mention the pot luck of choosing breakfasts at the wonderful Titem restaurant from a menu all in Amharic\u2026 number 5 & 7 on one day and 8 & 14 the next.\u00a0 Either all the food is good or we struck lucky each time.\u00a0 I can now read the Amharic for Tuna and have learned the Amharic word for fish (Asa) \u2013 trust me to end up near one of the few places where fish is readily available in a landlocked country.<\/p>\n
Will I go back to Hawassa?\u00a0 Certainly, when I am in need of something resembling civilisation.\u00a0 There are many sights still to be seen and that Titem Special Burger, that slipped from my gasp on one of the many evening power cuts, still calls.\u00a0 I have instructed the resident volunteers to produce a rota for putting me up, although they may be relieved to hear that the costs of travel in both time and money make it quite challenging to be too regular a visitor.\u00a0 Plus I really need to give Adola at least a bit of a chance\u2026 after all, there is a gold mine nearby. Hiiiii Hooooo….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I would like to cast myself as a sort of reluctant hero type, jetting off to save the world, but know that the reality is far from the truth, well the hero part anyway.\u00a0 Reluctance definitely plays a big part.\u00a0 … Continue reading