Many power outages have prevented me from using the internet but hopefully I can connect several more times as I have much to write about!
After about 24 hours of traveling we finally arrived in Ethiopia and spent a good 2 hours trying to get the luggage and get through customs with all of the medical equipment donations. We spent our first day at Addis Ababa University where we went to an Ethiopian cultural museum - very interesting. Afterward, we had lunch at a restaurant on the hill that overlooks the city. This is an amazing place. I don't even know where to start. The city itself is green but also very dusty and polluted- lots of diesel fumes and construction. Roofs are made with patches of tin coverings welded together and vendors, coffee shops and fruit stands line the streets. Addis Ababa has a population of over 3 million crammed into an area much smaller than the size of Denver or even Anchorage. There are literally people everywhere. It's an interesting mix as the Muslim and Orthodox Christians are the two predominant religious influences. People in traditional Muslim coverings walk next to women in stilettos and skinny jeans. Islam prayer calls wake us up at 4am and portraits of Jesus line the streets for sale. "Taxis" similar to VW vans are crammed with 20 people (people hanging out the windows) next to a single well-dressed man talking on a cell phone in his Mercedes. Men here walk hand in hand as a form of good friendship. I have yet to see an obese individual and have only noted one person with grey hair (a sad reflection of the low life expectancy). With all of the contrasts, I'm amazed at how peaceful it seems. I feel very safe here and even though I've never felt so white in my life, people stare out of harmless curiousity. There are many more people with disabilities on the streets and it seems there is a greater respect for disability in general here.
I have so much to share related to our clinical experience that began yesterday but will have to save those thoughts for next post! (huge line forming for the internet...)
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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