The Portuguese bridge and a drive upcountry

Straw thatched roofs, mud sided huts, grass fences and walking paths that trail through the surrounding fields. All these things remind me of moments in time during past travels, a summer spent in a remote Tanzanian village when I was 21. Or pictures captured on an upcountry visit while in Guniea. Times when Africa started to feel like home, leading to the past month of feel like I was returning home. Returning to a way of living that seems to fit. A month of making new friends and settling in. A month of learning the ropes of a new city, a new country. But on the familiar content of Africa. I have found my footing and a way of being that feels familiar, and comfortable.

Right now I sit on my patio with my dear friend, drinking red wine and eating Natella on bread. Life is good. This past weekend 7 of us hopped in a van and traveled north from the city to experience a little fresh air and joy of community. Taking the day to see a local site call the Portuguese bridge, towards the Blue Nile. The rest cannot be written, only enjoyed through photos. Enjoy! 

Lauren came for a visit this past week, A year ago we met in Liverpool, this year we explore Ethiopia, maybe the next visit will be in our home country! Nevertheless, adventures are always fun with this one! 

The bridge was slightly small then anticipated 

Watch your footing!

The Portuguese bridge

The Bridge that was built 400 years ago, still being held together by the egg whites used during the construction. 

A friend Malinda absorbing the view. It was easy to find peace and enjoy the scenery. 

Rose petals scattered over the falls,  from a local carrying out cultural traditions. 

As soon as we left the water area we looked back to see a group of Baboons making there way across the same spot we had just walked across! How many can you count? 

Our group for the day, with the waterfall in the background. 

Malinda and Melanie soak in the view

Running with the Bulls, Well Almost!

You know when you are waiting for a taxi, and then an old man nudges you to get out of the way from a herd of bulls? No? You don’t! Well, I guess you haven’t been out on a Sunday afternoon in Addis!

 The roads here are busy, Cars, Hilux trucks galore, GIANT red dump trucks (nicknamed Red Terror as they drive insanely on the roads just as the revelation in the 80’s called Red terror was ), mini busses packed with people, tuk tuk’s rumble up the more rocky and muddy roads, and people fill the side walks or the dirt shoulder. All this traffic along with your standard goats and donkeys and bulls of course!

I was defiantly taken aback when this bull (1 or 7) strolled by me by a mere foot between him and me as I jumped onto the road to avoid a Spanish like encounter. The old man who nudged me stood there chuckling, I’m sure saying something about “silly surprised white girl why does she look so startled?!?!”

Just your typical Sunday on the streets of Addis, this is home for now!

2016 The year of Two Easters!

Dinner to go? I could not pass up the chance to capture
this mans dinner on the go! 

Ethiopia has a slightly different calendar. It has historic ties to the Coptic calendar brought to Ethiopia but with adjustments of a leap day like our Julian calendar. There are 12 months that consist of 30 days and a thirteenth month that has 5-6 to adjust for seasons. All this technicalities result in the year being about 7 years behind us… I guess I am 21 again?!? But due to the different calendar I arrived into Ethiopia during the season of Lent. During this time everyone who is Ethiopian Orthodox Christian refrain from eating meat and fast during the day. So meals consisted of beans, potatoes and rice at our house. Beans for breakfast, lunch and dinner it seems. One evening we had pasta with our rice! A different way of eating. The Doctors we are living with are Egyptian Orthodox Christians, following the Coptic calendar, and fast during the Lent season as well.

A goat and his new owner, waiting
for a mini bus to transport them home

The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday was filled with anticipation. On the streets there was a hustle and bustle as locals were out shopping, goats trotted behind their new owners and chickens are passed between sellers and buyers on the street corners. Pop-up markets were on every corner. Easter is celebrated more so then Christmas, or any other holiday. Breaking Lent would consist of a feast with family. A live animal would be bought and fed in the week leading up in preparation for the feast. Chickens were being sold from trucks, baskets on the side of the road or just herded into an area to be sold quickly! Melanie and I even saw one goat protest the fate we were sure it could sense, this Goat just sat down on the road side, requiring 4 men to pick it up! The chickens seemed a bit oblivious to their fate, but the Goats always seemed to have more of a sense of what was to come! Across from our house on the Friday, 5 goats were left to graze in the thick grass, come Sunday one of our neighbours had a mighty large feast!

Lamb Tibbs 

Now that Lent and Easter has passed I am happy to try some great local cuisine. Meat is back on the menu at the local restaurants, butter is no longer moldy as it sits in the supermarket, and butcher shops have re-opened! This past weekend I think I easily consumed 1kg of Tibbs (BBQ chunks of goat) in a 24-hour period. Eating with your hands was quick to adjust to, but you must ensure you eat only with your right hand, and no licking your fingers! A common dish is Nigeria, fermented bread similar to sour dough bread but in a giant flat circle, with Shiroro, a pure bean dish. I have only been here three weeks and already have lost count of how many times we have had this exact dish. It may be because we do not know what anything else is called, and menus’ are non-existent in local small restaurants.

There are so many new sights, and too much to show and tell you all about, it’s a good thing I am her until November! 

Touch Down in Africa!

Coming off the plane the warm smell of Africa hit my nose, those who have been anywhere in Africa know the warm dirt smell laced with exhaust and garbage it seems.  An experienced traveler knows how to avoid the porters at the baggage claim and avoid the taxis while keep ones eye on the prize…. a friend waiting at the end of the ramp with a giant smile on their face, Friday the 22^nd I arrived to a giant hug from Melanie as she pick me up. She had been in Ethiopia for 9 days prior to my arrival.  In true Nicole fashion I hit the ground running…. We stopped by the house to unload my bags, ate breakfast and made our way to the hospital for an orientation to my new work place! From there Melanie brought me to a new favourite spot, a restaurant packed at lunch time with only locals, its called Happy! We ate Injera with Shiro (large sourdough flat bread and stewed crushed beans). From there we returned home, I picked up a local sim card for my phone, and proceeded to nap away the afternoon. A successful first day indeed!

All of us international workers for the hospital are living in a house together. Egyptian, Canadian doctors and us nurses, Mel and I. We each have our own room, and share a common dinning room/living room.  Our TV sits in the middle of the room on two cardboard box’s with cables stretching across the room and under the door running out to the street, I’m assuming to connect to a satellite. I have only arrived a few days ago and still finding my place in the house. How to work, live and communicate best with all the same people day and night I imagine will be a struggle at times, but I do hope rewarding in the end.

That is a nice little summery of the start to my six month adventure working in Addis Ababa! I already have so many more stories and adventures to share!

My first of Many Blog Posts!

Welcome to my blog, through the years a few of you have read my past blogs. During my time spent in Tanzania I brought to life our daily routines and adventures we found ourselves on in rn4africa.blogspot.com. I was young, not yet finished nursing school, but was discovering a passion for travel and a passion for Africa. Being pushed out of my comfort zone while living in a village found me returning home with a thirst to return to a continent that I fell in love with. While I finished off my last two years of nursing school I learned about an organization called Mercy Ships, a place where I could use my nursing skills back in Africa along the coast. As I graduated from nursing 

school I found myself working on a surgical floor, still with the goal of Mercy Ships ahead of me.

            In 2013 I found myself boarding the ship I had longed to work on. Mercy Ships became a reality, for four months I would call Guinea, in West Africa, home. Navigating the local market, planning away trips, getting to know our patients and the culture was eye opening. Again I blogged using rn4guinea.blogspot.com, giving me a platform to show you the world I was calling home.

            Upon my return, I found myself seeking a greater challenge at work, wanting to gain more skills and hands on experience I started working in the Emergency department. Over the next two years I found myself being stretched as a nurse and gaining more skills and experiences. 2015 was the year I took a step forward professionally and obtained my Tropical Nursing Diploma from the School on Tropical Medicine in Liverpool England. Gaining insight to the world of tropical nursing and aid work globally and a new network of working professionals was setting me up for something bigger, somewhere in the world. No defined plan, just a calling and desire to be engaged in.

            Through work a fellow RN (Melanie) in February presented a Job opportunity in Ethiopia. Through 8 weeks of preparation from the date we agreed to take “the job” to the date we made our way to Ethiopia was filled with anticipation and goodbyes.  Our hospital is located in Addis Ababa, a 17 bed hospital that is in its infancy of existence. It is a hospital that has opened its doors in November 2015, however it still remains in the setting up phase. There are Canadian and Egyptian doctors, local Ethiopian nurses and us! Our (Melanie and I) role is to work with the local nurses; to mentor, train and support working with new surgical cases, maintain care standards, put together policies to work within, and support the doctors in their work.

            That’s all the Nitti gritty, as we go I am sure we will grow and adapt to our role and demands asked of us. I am most excited to be on this journey with Melanie, a nurse who I have worked with in Canada in the Emergency room, who I see becoming dear friends. So I have named this blog nomadic nurse, as it may be a blog I can just keep for years to come, through future travels and working adventures. Please feel free to leave comments and questions or email me as well if you wish.