Day 197 - Walking Tour of Addis with Remedan (Remy), Gregory's Rotary Meeting
Wednesday, January 16th, 2019
We like to sleep in so I no longer set the alarm to wake up. The kids know that they have a couple of hours to do homework so they do it without my having to say a word. We had a bowl of pasta before leaving for our 1:30pm tour. I was surprised to see that there was a free tour in this city. Of course, it's not free, we always tip the guide well, especially if he or she is good. We called the friendly taxi driver that we had met the first day to come pick us up. I had told him that if he gave us good prices we would hire him for more days, so I think he did.
We met at the Ministry of Education. Remedan approached us and told us he was our guide. He was young, thin, and very knowledgeable. He really knew his country's history. His English was good but I had a hard time understanding him.
He showed us buildings, monuments, universities, and churches, all the while explaining the complicated history of his country. I like the "food street" which is next to the university. It was a long cobblestone street with small stands made of aluminum and plastic. The stands sold food, coffee, clothing, electronic accessories, kitchen supplies, other stands were hairdressers and one even had a washing machine! I filmed this street and everyone was saying hi and were happy to be on camera. Only some guys in a barber shop said no so I stopped filming.
We also noticed that there were many stands outside the university selling all sorts of books. Of course, Gregory stopped by and found Ken Follett's The Fall of The Giants -- in Spanish. He was very surprised. We walked for about two and a half hours, stopping sometimes in front of a building to listen to Remy's explanations.
By the time we made it to Piassa (formerly Piazza, from the Italian), we were all tired and ready to sit down for a drink, but Remy wanted to take us to a rooftop bar. It was worth it. We walked up 6 floors at the Hermon hotel [Gregory's note: normally, someone says "rooftop bar" and you think elevator, right? Well, as we have said to each other dozens of times now, this is Africa!] and the view of the city was great. We had a delicious mix of fruit juices that were more like a thick smoothie. Remy finished his history of Ethiopia to this day and then we asked him to get a taxi at a fair rate.
We made it home around 5:30pm. We were not that close. I wanted to make it home, because the plumber was supposed to come at 5:00 and I was worried we would be late. [Gregory's note: the plumber came around 7pm. Did I already say this is Africa?]
Addis Ababa is the capital city but is not as big as Cairo and is not as loud nor dirty. It is poor but nice and people are genuinely friendly, not asking for money all the time.
[Gregory's addition:]
My day didn't end there -- I had a Rotary meeting that evening. The main Rotary club of Addis meets at the famous Hilton hotel at 12:30, but since we had booked the tour for 1:30, I wasn't going to make it. There was another club, Finot, that met in the evening, so I decided to do that one, instead. I have found that the smaller clubs sometimes result in better personal relationships.
I was informed the meeting would start at 12, which I knew meant 6, so I showed up a few minutes early. The woman at Reception saw my pin and pointed out an elderly gentleman sitting on a couch in the small lobby. I went over and introduced myself as George -- remember, no one can pronounce Gregory, so I had to change my name to Giyorgis/George.
"Oh," he said, clasping his hands. "He is my favorite saint! Saint George!" Well, the poor man went down on his knees -- literally -- and kissed my feet. I tried to stop him, told him I was no relation (for sure), but he was insistent. He then offered to buy me a drink. I resisted the urge to order St. George beer.
It turns out the meeting was supposed to start at 6:30, not 6. I'm not sure why they told me 6, because 6:30 Ethiopian time is really closer to 7, and this meeting didn't even start until close to 8 because there was a traffic jam and the president and secretary were caught in it. Meanwhile, about a dozen Rotarians were packed onto 2 sticky vinyl couches in the narrow lobby. It occurred to me to ask who had chosen this hotel with no good seating, but of course, the old man who kissed my feet was the culprit so I couldn't really call him out. At least I got to converse with a few members.
We placed our orders in the lobby and went into the dining room around 8. They started the meeting by standing for a toast to Rotary International. That was followed by business, which was all in Amharic. A booklet was passed out to everyone, also in Amharic. I amused myself by reading the ad on the back (I have learned enough of the alphabet to sound out a few words by now).
Dinner came, and as you know, Ethiopians eat with their hands -- well, with their right hand, anyway -- which is awkward for handshakes after. It's also particularly tough for left-handers. I had the lamb tibs, which is strips of lamb in a spicy meat sauce. It was delicious, even if it was very greasy. The injera is supposed to double as a napkin, but it's not always effective, especially when you're dunking it and your fingers in the sauce. You do get a free manicure, anyway. The meeting ended around 10pm and the secretary was volunteered to drive me home.
This was the first time I had seen the neighborhood after dark. About a block from our place, I started to see a few girls hanging out. At first, I thought, oh, this must be a safe neighborhood, if girls can be out alone at night. Then I realized they weren't dressed in the typical modest fashion of Ethiopian girls and they weren't walking home. All of a sudden, the large number of massage parlors on our street took on a different meaning. I was a little embarrassed to have this woman drop me off in the red light district -- it seemed like such a nice place when we saw it in the morning! [It turns out this is not the red light district -- for better or worse, prostitution is all over the city.]
We like to sleep in so I no longer set the alarm to wake up. The kids know that they have a couple of hours to do homework so they do it without my having to say a word. We had a bowl of pasta before leaving for our 1:30pm tour. I was surprised to see that there was a free tour in this city. Of course, it's not free, we always tip the guide well, especially if he or she is good. We called the friendly taxi driver that we had met the first day to come pick us up. I had told him that if he gave us good prices we would hire him for more days, so I think he did.
We met at the Ministry of Education. Remedan approached us and told us he was our guide. He was young, thin, and very knowledgeable. He really knew his country's history. His English was good but I had a hard time understanding him.
He showed us buildings, monuments, universities, and churches, all the while explaining the complicated history of his country. I like the "food street" which is next to the university. It was a long cobblestone street with small stands made of aluminum and plastic. The stands sold food, coffee, clothing, electronic accessories, kitchen supplies, other stands were hairdressers and one even had a washing machine! I filmed this street and everyone was saying hi and were happy to be on camera. Only some guys in a barber shop said no so I stopped filming.
We also noticed that there were many stands outside the university selling all sorts of books. Of course, Gregory stopped by and found Ken Follett's The Fall of The Giants -- in Spanish. He was very surprised. We walked for about two and a half hours, stopping sometimes in front of a building to listen to Remy's explanations.
By the time we made it to Piassa (formerly Piazza, from the Italian), we were all tired and ready to sit down for a drink, but Remy wanted to take us to a rooftop bar. It was worth it. We walked up 6 floors at the Hermon hotel [Gregory's note: normally, someone says "rooftop bar" and you think elevator, right? Well, as we have said to each other dozens of times now, this is Africa!] and the view of the city was great. We had a delicious mix of fruit juices that were more like a thick smoothie. Remy finished his history of Ethiopia to this day and then we asked him to get a taxi at a fair rate.
We made it home around 5:30pm. We were not that close. I wanted to make it home, because the plumber was supposed to come at 5:00 and I was worried we would be late. [Gregory's note: the plumber came around 7pm. Did I already say this is Africa?]
Addis Ababa is the capital city but is not as big as Cairo and is not as loud nor dirty. It is poor but nice and people are genuinely friendly, not asking for money all the time.
[Gregory's addition:]
My day didn't end there -- I had a Rotary meeting that evening. The main Rotary club of Addis meets at the famous Hilton hotel at 12:30, but since we had booked the tour for 1:30, I wasn't going to make it. There was another club, Finot, that met in the evening, so I decided to do that one, instead. I have found that the smaller clubs sometimes result in better personal relationships.
I was informed the meeting would start at 12, which I knew meant 6, so I showed up a few minutes early. The woman at Reception saw my pin and pointed out an elderly gentleman sitting on a couch in the small lobby. I went over and introduced myself as George -- remember, no one can pronounce Gregory, so I had to change my name to Giyorgis/George.
"Oh," he said, clasping his hands. "He is my favorite saint! Saint George!" Well, the poor man went down on his knees -- literally -- and kissed my feet. I tried to stop him, told him I was no relation (for sure), but he was insistent. He then offered to buy me a drink. I resisted the urge to order St. George beer.
It turns out the meeting was supposed to start at 6:30, not 6. I'm not sure why they told me 6, because 6:30 Ethiopian time is really closer to 7, and this meeting didn't even start until close to 8 because there was a traffic jam and the president and secretary were caught in it. Meanwhile, about a dozen Rotarians were packed onto 2 sticky vinyl couches in the narrow lobby. It occurred to me to ask who had chosen this hotel with no good seating, but of course, the old man who kissed my feet was the culprit so I couldn't really call him out. At least I got to converse with a few members.
We placed our orders in the lobby and went into the dining room around 8. They started the meeting by standing for a toast to Rotary International. That was followed by business, which was all in Amharic. A booklet was passed out to everyone, also in Amharic. I amused myself by reading the ad on the back (I have learned enough of the alphabet to sound out a few words by now).
Dinner came, and as you know, Ethiopians eat with their hands -- well, with their right hand, anyway -- which is awkward for handshakes after. It's also particularly tough for left-handers. I had the lamb tibs, which is strips of lamb in a spicy meat sauce. It was delicious, even if it was very greasy. The injera is supposed to double as a napkin, but it's not always effective, especially when you're dunking it and your fingers in the sauce. You do get a free manicure, anyway. The meeting ended around 10pm and the secretary was volunteered to drive me home.
This was the first time I had seen the neighborhood after dark. About a block from our place, I started to see a few girls hanging out. At first, I thought, oh, this must be a safe neighborhood, if girls can be out alone at night. Then I realized they weren't dressed in the typical modest fashion of Ethiopian girls and they weren't walking home. All of a sudden, the large number of massage parlors on our street took on a different meaning. I was a little embarrassed to have this woman drop me off in the red light district -- it seemed like such a nice place when we saw it in the morning! [It turns out this is not the red light district -- for better or worse, prostitution is all over the city.]
Please click here for pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ymk1FQT4vWM9eHxE7
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