I want to tell you about my little vacation to the city of Hawassa some time ago, but first I want explain why I haven’t posted a blog for so long. Not so long after I posted the last blog my computer went into a coma. It spazzed out all of the sudden and then…..nothing. Dan, the new VSO fella here in Asella was able to fix it, but I lost everything. So I’m starting anew. I’m happy to have my computer back, even though all of the new programs are strange to me and I’d lost everything that had been on my computer before. Files, reports, music, photos, games, everything. I hadn’t realized how much I used my computer for therapy. I was lost without it, but I did get a lot of reading and knitting done, so that’s a plus. Enough of that. Let’s move on, shall we?
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| A traditional reed "boat" |
First the boring stuff. This was taken from Wikipidia, not the best source for info, but it’ll do. “ Awasa (also spelled Awassa or Hawassa) is a city in Ethiopia, on the shores of Lake Awasa in the Great Rift Valley. Located in the Sidama Zone 270 km south of Addis Ababa. Awasa is the capital of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region. Important local attractions include the St. Gabriel Church and the Awassa Kenema Stadium. Fishing is a major local industry. Based on the 2007 Census conducted by the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia, this city has a total population of 258,808, of whom 133,123 are men and 125,685 women.” Seeing as this info is from 2007, and many Ethiopians like to have lots of kids, you can imagine that the population has grown quite a bit.
Let’s pretend that you’re looking at an actual map and you’re genuinely interested in where Hawassa is. First, find Ethiopia. It’s on the horn of Africa, the Northeast bit that sticks out. There it is! Good job. So, almost smack-dab in the middle of Ethiopia is the Capitol city, Addis Ababa. Just below Addis Ababa are a series of lakes. The second one down is Lake Zuwai, which I live near, and the 6th one down is Lake Hawassa. On it’s right shore is the city of Hawassa. That’s where I went. It’s AWESOME!!!
A good number NGO’s and stuff work from there, so the population of Ferenjoch is quite a bit higher than most larger cities, not to mention it’s pretty big on the list of places to see for tourists. As a result, I was quite happy to find that very very rarely did anyone ever look twice at me. The folks that live there are use to seeing foreigners so they don’t even bat an eyelash. I have to say, that was probably the best part of the trip, because I have to endure “all eyes on me” every time I set foot outside my door. I felt like I was able to “turn off” and it was a weight off my shoulders.
We, meaning myself and the chap I was traveling with, stayed at funny little hotel right by the water. It was called “Circle of Life”. You’re singing the song now aren’t you. It’s okay, I did it too. There was no hot water, but I splurged and got one of the nicer rooms so it was actually not bad place to stay, especially since it was, like I said “right by the water.”
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| Circle of Life Courtyard |
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| Circle of Life room |
I was able to visit with friends while I was there as we have three Peace Corps Volunteers there, not to mention there were a crap-ton of others visiting at the same time for various reasons. Some of us got together and had a semi-traditional taco dinner with cake and cheesecake for dessert! So, delicious. It was the first time Yusuf, the “chap” previously mentioned, had eaten tacos. He said they were good and that there was an Ethiopian version of Tortillas in some other region. Since he has quite a sweet tooth, he mostly enjoyed dessert.
We spent quite a bit of time by the water, either walking the shore or drinking leslasa (soda) on the floating café. The weather was awesome while we were there too so I never, not once, had to put my hoodie on. The best part though, was the boat ride. For 50 Birr (about $2.94 US) we got a private boat ride with an actual oarsman. Since the sun was about to set there was only one or two other boats out, so it was nice and quiet and relaxing.
I’ve always lived near a coast, and having been away from the ocean for so long it felt really good to be near a large body of water. It didn’t quite give me the sense of peace and balance the ocean does, but I did leave some stress behind. Anyone that has lived on the coast will know what I’m talking about.
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| On the boat at sunset |
Some of the other attractions I managed to see were Saint Gabriel’s Cathedral, though I didn’t have enough interest to actually go inside, and the regional art structure. See, every region in Ethiopia has erected an official artistic structure that is supposed to represent the region. The Oromiya region structure, which is where I live, consists of two white pillar-like things that rise up into the sky and gradually bend towards each other with round bally things on their ends. They don’t actually touch though. It reminds me of one of those magnetic healing bracelets. I don’t have any photos of it, but next time I pass by it I’ll take a picture and post it so I you can actually see what I’m talking about. I don’t find it very appealing, but what-ev. The Southern Nations one is really cool though. It’s found in Awassa. You can see from the picture. On weekdays it’s actually open to the public so you can walk up the winding stairs and see the view from the top. We couldn’t because it was Sunday when we went. Next time, next time.
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| Saint Gabriel's Church |
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| Regional Structure |
Unlike pretty much any other city in Ethiopia, Hawassa has street signs!!! Streets don’t have names here, I’m assuming because Ethiopia is still a developing country and giving streets names is a new concept. Another factor is that because it’s developing, literally, a street could be there one day, and gone the next as buildings go up and others are taken down. Hawassa has signs, but they don’t say the names of the streets, only the place that the roads lead to. They have these signs because it’s a tourist city, and tourists get upset when they can’t find what they’re looking for. My good friend works at SOS school, Lake Awassa is where Circle of Life is, and I never went to Gudumale Park.
The one thing that I really really really wanted to do and never had the chance was to eat a whole fried fish by the water. I love sea food….er, in this case, lake food, and there are several places on the water that fry up the catches of the day and you can sit there and enjoy picking out the bones by the water. It’s the first thing I’m going to do when I go back though, and believe me, I AM going back. As a matter of fact, there is a half-marathon happening soon, there, in which a friend or two will be running and I fully intend to lending my support. Oh, not to mention, there is a café there that makes real ice cream…..oh yeah.
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| An Hawassa Street...er....direction sign |
I’m Reading
I just finished reading Kiss of the Bees by J.A. Jance. It was an okay thrille,r set in Arizona, so it was cool to kind of know the places they were talking about. Anyway, it’s about this mixed family that has lived through all kinds of stuggles and grief only to be faced with more when a psycho from the past shows up and swipes the daughter. There are a few little side stories that come together, which is always fun for me, and some cool Native American mythology as well. Not the best read ever, but it’s worth a read.
I’m Knitting
I’m still knitting the Pintuck-Tee. I don’t know why it’s takin me so flipin’ long. I’ve joined the Doublknit podcast’s Slog Along hopeing that it will move me along a little faster with it. It’s working I think. I’m about 75% done now. Finally!
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| I found this in Hawassa as well. I like it because it says "BK" and I'm BK! |
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