The flight to Ethiopia from Heathrow was about 8 hours. Once we landed we realized that we still had to clear immigration as well as customs. Luckily we already had our visas so we only had to wait about 45 minutes in line to be processed. We collected our luggage and headed out the door into the luxurious heat and moisture of Ethiopia.

Finding the SIM guest house was a bit of a challenge. The addresses here are rather confusing to us foreigners. Past the immigration office, across from black lion hospital down Churchill rd should have been enough…but it took a while to locate. The SIM guesthouse has big white gates in case you ever need to find it.

The guesthouse is amazing!! We love it here. Between the great staff who love to chat and giggle, the great food and good pricing, there is not much in wanting. There are communal showers and toilets (towels included) which work well and always seem to have hot water.

They also exchange US$ to Bir onsite here (little bank) in the parking lot. Go figures.  (21.5 Bir=1$) (1bir=4cents)

The public transit buses cost 3.5 bir each…which roughly translates to 13 cents…

We just had an amazing traditional Ethioian meal at a great restaurant for 3 people for 220Bir which is 12 dollars…including drinks and coffeefor all three. Mitchell was full but just kept eating.

Mitchell is currently playing the piano in the community lounge (they have a lovely acoustic guitar as well). I was up at 5am this morning and contentedly poured myself a cup of coffee and read till breakfast (made every morning at 7:30 and they ring a bell) in the lounge area. There is also a guest kitchen filled with tea and coffee should you ever be without one of the wonderful staff.

It is the Orthodox Christian Easter celebrations this weekend and the whole town is vibrant with celebrations.

Each morning we are woken by the beautiful Orthodox Christian prayers at the churches around Addis. They are quite beautiful and mysterious. Amharic is such a beautiful language to listen to.

First visit: Meeting the Dean.

We got to visit Miskaye today for the first time. What a fun experience. The K to gr.7 students were out in the compound playing in their uniforms and when they say us coming they crowded us all yelling out the English words that they knew. A few students could carry on a conversation with us, and were very proud indeed to do so.

Apparently Jemma is a common name in Ethiopia and means “the people”. Three school girls were very excited that I was there and asked my what my names was and then were yelling it around the compound. After speaking with the Dean we left the school and outside the gates. The three girls climbed onto the roof of one of the school buildings and in unison yelled “JEMMA” and proceeded to wave frantically, even though I had been speaking with them moments before.

I will be teaching highschool students, who are taught in English, it looks like they are gr.11. I am excited but unsure how this is going to work out. The young students are care-free and totally excited to have foreigners around. The older kids on the other hand may need some quality persuasion. We shall see. I have yet to meet an un-friendly Ethiopian.

My educational experience is going to be difficult to separate from all the cultural things I am observing. Ethiopia is a world away from Canada, but I feel they have the same “salt of the earth” kind of people. I suspect observing within their education system will be a real treat.

I do not know what to expect, but I hope to learn more about my own teaching philosophies as well as the Ethiopian standard of education.

While waiting in the Airport, we have been listlessly listening to music and looking up phrases in Amharic. Our first flight in a serious of 3 over 48 hours is to LA where we have a 5 hour layover. I have begun to review my UBC documents and boxes I need to check off. Excited to get his long travel time over with so we can start our trip!