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!