First Impressions

I am back from Ethiopia! There is no way I can get everything I want to say in one post so this is going to be the first of several. I've tried to think of the best way to explain and tell everyone about my trip but I'm not sure there is one. There are just too many pictures, movies, stories, and thoughts to break up in a way that makes sense. I'll do my best but be patient since it's going to take a week or two. I only plan on putting a few pictures here. If you want to see them all, check out Facebook and besides mine you can see the ones our team took if I am tagged in them. First thing is first impressions. I tried to write and journal about them so here's a first glimpse.

-Right next to the runway when we landed, there were old hollowed out junk planes. They were just abandoned where they broke.
-There is a haze that hovers over the city from the pollution. I've never seen anything like it. This is gross, but my snot was black from breathing and processing the smog within hours of being there.
-People walk everywhere. Very few people own cars for a city of 5 million so they just walk. If you are lucky, you might be able to ride a bus, van, or taxi. But mostly you just walk.
- Driving doesn't have any rules. Busy streets have a median down the middle and that's it. You have to have the perfect combination of patience and aggression to avoid accidents, people, animals, and other cars.
- There are very few economic divisions. There are mud huts across the street from nice well kept homes. A person wearing rags is waiting for a bus next to a businessman. The goats are herded through the city streets. The businesses are next to the homes. Everyone just lives and works together no matter what economic or social status.
- There is very little personal space. Everyone greets one another by doing a handshake, half hug. There are 60 people literally sitting on top of each other on a bus.
- Each home is in its own compound. A nice compound would have brick or concrete walls and a large gate. A smaller personal home compound would have tin walls and a small door. Usually there is barbed wire along the top of the wall. A compound may have one building in it like our guest house or 4-5 homes like the ones around us.
-How to build a building-Ethiopian style. You use stick scaffolding to literally hold up the building while you build. It's so hard to describe and completely fascinating that it works.
-Pollution is huge problem and not just the smog. There is trash everyone but surprisingly it doesn't smell very much. At least, not that I noticed.
-What you think is an alley is probably actually a road. Just honk if you want the horses, goats, or sheep to move.
-Honk is actually the second language of Ethiopians. Move. Coming through. Scoot over. Watch out.
-It is impossible to tell how old the children are. Very few people are over 6 feet tall and the children look at on average about 2 years younger than they actually are. I was constantly shocked to hear a tiny little boy or girl tell me he or she was 7.

This really just covers the tip of the iceberg but it's all I have for now. Until next time, here is a video of one of the greetings at ET 566.