A Lion King Sunrise.

FRIENDS!

Where to begin!? The past 2 weeks have flown by, and I still wake up and can’t believe I’m here.  While I haven’t explored too much as of yet, I can say that Ethiopia is undeniably beautiful.  Yaya Village, where the Yaya Girls are situated, is about 20 minutes by car from the capital, Addis Ababa.  Apart from the late night/ early morning hollering of hyenas (Ooo Woop), and the odd unknown bumps & bangs in the night, it’s peaceful.  We’re a few 100 meters above Addis in a small rural town called Waserbi, close to Suluta (if you’re keen on looking us up, lol).  It’s a runner’s paradise here, with a mountainous forest on one side called Entonto, and flat/ with gradual sloping fields on the other side.  Be warned it’s no place to be running with headphones, and as I’ve learnt it’s best to keep focused on the obstacles ahead.  The woods are filled with small decaying tree stumps, which hide beneath fallen leaves, and there is animal dung everywhere as the cows, horses, donkeys and sheep roam free (amazing but sometimes alarming).  Out in the fields, apart from animal feces, there are potholes and occasionally random crevasses in the ground, as though the dry fields were bursting for breath and erupted with a great 12 ft deep gasp.  So there’s no time for daydreaming and it keeps one’s mind off physical pain & exhaustion.  Oh, and did I mention hyenas??! Yes, hyenas (Jib in Amharic)… as the girls experienced first-hand on Friday, it’s ideal to keep a lookout for hyenas while on a run.  Luckily the girls spotted it before they were in danger (or the hyena thought he was in danger) and they were able to dart away.  Had I been with them, I most definitely would have been dinner. 
Let me rewind a few days; first, excuse my lack of blog entries; that being said- I do have a few viable excuses that I think you’ll accept:

1.       It’s incredible here, and it goes without saying that it’s taking a bit to get used to!  The elevation was a bit interesting to take on, but as I wasn’t exactly fit when I arrived it was a great excuse for my wheezing on runs.  It’s also made me sleep like a baby.  I’m honestly in bed at 9:30 every night and up at 7 in the morning.  Now in my parents’ standards, and even my past roommates- this really is unheard of.  Plus all the socializing I must do!!  It’s pretty awesome to hangout with the girls, even the guests at the hotel are super cool- so it’s no fun to be cooped up in one’s room when there’s chat* to be had.

* Chat is also a narcotic here, and is similar to Weed in North America as it’s a leaf based (but chewed in this case), easy to come by, and fairly acceptable.  But no, that’s not the type of ‘chat’ I’ve been enjoying.

2.      The Internet has been hard to come by, but from now on I’ll have more access thus more opportunities to write, keep in touch and begin badgering companies to sponsor the Yaya Girls!!  (Ideas for targets are welcomed!!)

3.       Finally, for the past few days I’ve been a bit ill… and we’ll leave it at that, although it seems everyone here seems to know exactly what’s been “going on” with my innards.  I’m blaming the tummy turn on a bad sandwich, and it was bound to happen at some point.  The sandwich was actually delicious at the time, and those who witnessed me eat it will remember the look of pure joy on my face, so I regret nothing.  I won’t go into details, but I was out for the count for 2 days- that being said I’m golden as a Gael* meow.

* My University mascot was the Golden Gael, I’ve never been one to be very “patriotic” toward my school, but it’s nice to throw it in every now and again.  Also you’ll see I like to replace ‘now’ with ‘meow’ when I can- b/c, why not?

So there you have it, my excuses are all laid out- but I shan’t apologize, I’m having fun and Im not too egoistical to think you’ve been checking up on me every day.  Although I wouldn’t mind being saved as a ‘Favourite’ tab or something… I kid, I kid… :P. Anyway, I’ve decided to break up my last 2 weeks into segments and I’ll post them throughout the week so I don’t bore you all at once.

Part ONE; the Flight.

’ll rewind briefly to my flight on March 25, which was a fairly emotional one.  It began with my Mum and I arriving at the Kingston airport around 6:30am ish for my flight an hour later.  You probably don’t want to know all the details, and my Mum would kill me if I told them too- but let me say, our goodbye was similar to Niagara Falls.  Even when I was in the plane I couldn’t stop crying; making the rest of the passengers (23 others- it was a flippin’ tin can of a plane!) feel as awkward as heck, but we didn’t have inflight entertainment soo, they’re welcome.
Everything went smoothly once I landed in Toronto, and I sent off my last text messages and nervously made my last phone calls before I boarded the plane off to Ethiopia!!  I will tell you one thing, it was pretty darn easy to get a hold of my Dad- despite him being in the UK at the time, in fact I think he phoned me, and we had a lovely/sad goodbye (bless HKHK), but when I tried my Mum at work she wasn’t in her office, so I phoned the front desk and asked for Mrs. Hulse- the secretary said,

“Oh, Mrs. Hulse is in a class right now, I won’t be able to put you through…”  

So I replied, a bit sharply I’ll admit- and sounding out every syllable- with something like this;

“I know she’s in class.  But I’m her daughter and I’m about to board a plane for Ethiopia.  I’d like to talk to her.”  

“Oh… right! One moment!”

That’s right, Ms. Secretary- Put me through to my Mama!  Ahhh, I apologize Ms., for the sass- I was a stressed out duckling!  You didn’t deserve it!

Anyway, off I went to Africa- and what was supposed to be 13 hour ride was only 11 with the tailwind, and I’d say I was fairly nervous the whole way.  There were a few times when I was actually pleased the trip was so long, but it was pretty darn cool flying over France and through the Mediterranean Sea, and then into Africa.  The digital map on the seat ahead of me kept showing islands and cities that I’d studied in my Classics courses at Uni, so I was well pleased to recognize them and see their lights burning bright from my window.  Unfortunately I had no one to share my excitement with, but I did have a beautiful diary that my bestie bestowed to me before I left, so I’ll have you know COPP that it’s already come to good use!!

I was truly excited when I saw the sunrise as we drew closer to Addis Ababa, and it’s going to sound cheesy, but it was honestly a “Lion King Sunrise”.  Now like most 90’s kids, The Lion King and I go way back- my childhood friend Jesse and I would play Simba and Nala all the time, we were actually so cool, I even had (HAVE) a night light with Simba on Pride Rock with a sunrise behind him- so as you can imagine it was pretty momentous sight for me. And I knoow, there aren’t any lions in East Africa- but work with me here.

As we landed, the excitement from the Sunrise spurred me on- and no longer feeling nervous, I relaxed. I had made it. I had arrived and after 2 hours of pushing through queues and waiting for my luggage, I was out standing outside, soaking up the bright morning sun of Addis Ababa.

My only trouble now was trying to find the Director of the Yaya Girls, Xavier.  In theory it shouldn’t have been that hard, as he said “I’ll be the only white man in the Taxi parking lot”.  Fair enough.  Yet somehow it took me half an hour to find him, and that included me beginning to stress and using a strangers phone to call him.  Looking back it makes sense why it was hard, Xavier is pretty much a local.  He’s been living in Ethiopia for 2 years and speaks fluent Amharic (and Spanish), which is not a Latin based language- so no, knowing French, Spanish, Italian is useless, and therefore it’s a fairly tough language to nail.  SO he and his girlfriend are pretty much the coolest, and I’m slightly dreading them leaving for their 2 month holiday this weekend- but they totally deserve it as they’re both such hard workers and lovely souls, and I’m excited to hear their adventures when they return!

Xavier gave me a tour of Addis by car and then we headed north, into the Entonto Hills (which are filled with hyenas and monkeys), to Yaya Village! ...

 

 

Alright, that's all for now folks!! Stay tuned for Part 2 on Wednesday; I'll introduce you to Yaya Village, Mr. Kibur, and the GIRLS!! <3 <3

For meow, all the best!

Steph x