Tomorrow is Ethiopian New Year and we had cake in the office today to celebrate this occassion. According to the Ethiopian calendar, there are 13 months in each year and the last month of the year (from about September 5 to September 10) is only five days long! The taxi driver yesterday told me that they do not get paid for the 5 day month, which I did not really understand but I did not ask any follow up questions. Last year, was the Ethiopian Millenium (i.e. 2000) and it was a huge celebration in Addis with concerts and lights and a spectacular tourism campaign. Under the Ethiopian calendar, tomorrow is the start of the year 2001. So technically, (if I don’t consider the fact that under the Ethiopian calendar I would have been born in 1974), I am still 20 years old (I was born in 1981 in Canada)– NICE. I like this system – shaves the years right off my age!
Given that it is Ethiopian New Year, our office is closed for Wednesday afternoon and Thursday. My boss was so kind to give me Friday off also, so Mary, Eric and I are headed to Bahir Dar – a town in the lake region north of Addis near a lake called Lake Tana which is the source of the Nile River. We are going to see the Blue Nile Falls and will also see these monasteries that are located on the lake and various islands in the lake. I am really excited to be exploring another part of Ethiopia! I will keep you posted on our adventure! We return to Addis on Sunday night.
