I am so excited about the trip, in fact, i haven't slept a wink. Bae is taking me to the airport. I check into the airport at 3.00 am, and the departure time is 7.00 Am. We say our goodbyes and he even cries a little. I breeze through the security check and then check in, just to go and sit in the lounge. I am live-tweeting this momentous event in my life, lol.
#JustChecked in #SafeJourneytome #NextLevel #Godspeed #HatersGonnaHate #Blessed
Anyways, my bloated ego gets a huge serving of humble pie moments later, when we board and the plane starts taxiing on the runway, gathering speed for the take off. So...I've always had a bit of motion sickness, (read didn't travel enough as a child)...Take off is like sitting in a lift, and having the ground moved from beneath you. I am grabbing on to the armrests so hard that I fear I will tear them off. I even puke a little.
Then we get to cruising height and all is well with the world. I sleep most of the way. Except at breakfast time; airline food sucks, so...not much of a story there. At 8.00 Am, we land at Bole International airport in Addis Ababa.
#MamaImade it #NewHorizons #GreatLeadersTravel
As I am collecting my baggage, I notice a certain lady behind me, also waiting for hers. Her head is shaved clean, and I can tell she is from the lakeside. At that moment, I don't know she will end up being one of my best friends.
So, I pick my suitcase and head out of the arrivals. The same gentleman, from the interview is holding a placard with several names, mine included, at the arrivals. He is in the company of a short Ethiopian man. I approach and we exchange a few pleasantries. The lady I met earlier while getting luggage approaches and introduces herself as Beth.
Our host says something about taking us shopping, and lunch. We all get into the school van and leave the airport.
So, my first meal in Addis Ababa is at this Lebanese restaurant. I would equate it to our Biriyani. They serve us huge platters of spicy rice topped with a variety of meats...chicken, mutton, and beef...Yum.
So, after the lunch we head to Ethiotel, the only Telecom Company in Addis at the time. They intend to help us get new simcards so we can call back home, but for some reason we are unable to register. The next stop is a Forex bureau where we change our few dollars for Ethiopian Birr, the local currency.
So we head to our new work station, Mekanissa .As promised, the school has accommodation for us, a guesthouse. The common spaces were shared, but we get our own bedroom. So we are to share living areas, bathroom and a kitchen. We later hatch a plan on how to cook communal meals, but that also failed miserably, at some point.
When we get to the house, we find another lady who had arrived like two days before us. She is tall, and very curvaceous, also from the lake region. She has this laugh that makes me immediately think we were going to be good friends, and I am right. Her name is Sue.
So, my good friend Eric has told me to try and bring him certain cologne that he likes. It was available in Nairobi, but not in Addis. I, being the eternally grateful friend, had searched far and wide in the city stalls before leaving for Addis, and had the cologne with me.
But he is stationed in a different Campus in Bole. Mekanissa and Bole are like...well, not exactly opposite sides of Addis Ababa, but far enough apart.
.......
So, Eric sends me a message on Facebook Messenger. I still do not have a Sim Card, so I cannot call. He tells me to meet him in Mexico. Mexico is like Tea Room ...no, like Ambassador...that central place in Addis Ababa where you meet if you don't know the town well. But Addis Ababa is a much uncomplicated City. It kind of stretches out in a straight line, and getting lost is hard, yet I almost did. I should confess that I do suffer from directional insanity.
I get to Mexico, and look for a Cyber Café. I log into Facebook.
Hi, I have arrived
I am on the way, he responds.
I place my cologne on the bench. I decide to say hello back home as I wait for him. 35 minutes into my surfing, Eric informs me he has arrived. I stand up to leave, my cologne is missing.
I approach the cyber attendant, a young, handsome Ethiopian male. These good-looking people take a while to get used to. I give him a tale about how I came in with my cologne and now it is lost. He is staring back at me, completely lost. Then he asks.
'Mindino?' That's Amharic for what is it? Or 'what is wrong?'
He doesn't know English. I swallow my English. He checks the timer and informs me that I owe him 25 Birr. Remember I am guessing what he is telling me because he is showing me the computer screen and rubbing his fingers together, the way we do when asking for cash.
Eric isn't amused about the missing cologne, he really waited for it. But we haven't seen each other since college, which is three years before that. We used to do dance choreography together back in college for our theater arts class. We enjoy a cup of coffee and catch up. Then, he walks me to the stage and ensures I have boarded the taxi to Mekanissa. It's around 6.30.
The taxi is not going all the way to Mekanissa, they drop me somewhere along the way, and I get stranded. The place looks familiar, so I decide to walk till I get to the guesthouse. Unfortunately, I branch and take a route that heads to Gabriel, a different neighbourhood in Addis.
About two kilometers in, I realize I am lost and start backtracking. All locals I meet can't speak English, it is 8.00pm. I can't call Eric, or anyone to tell them I am lost, and I begin panicking.
