January 1 is not New Years in Ethiopia. Ethiopians celebrate New Years on September 11 and it is currently 2001 according to the Ethiopian calendar and not 2009.
Therefore, on Farenji (foreigner) New Years Eve (December 31), I went out for lunch with my friend Jordan to this great restaurant called Nochla which has traditional Lebanese food including the most delicious flatbread – it is out of this world! For dinner, I met up with a group of 20 fellow Canadians, Americans and other expats to celebrate New Years at Aladdin Restaurant - a lovely Armenian eatery in Addis. The food was incredible and it was so lovely to meet so many people from all over the world and hear the stories of what brought them from various corners of the world to Ethiopia.
On Friday, January 2, 2009, the office staff at the EBA surprised me with a New Year
Party / early birthday party. I had thrown them a party for Ethiopian New Year back in September and they said that they wanted to celebrate my New Year (Jan. 1) and my birthday with me! They got me this lovely watermelon cake and one of my co-workers Mistere made a huge bowl of popcorn for all of us to enjoy! My boss, Ato Derbew, bought me a warm Ethiopian scarf with the traditional Ethiopian colours on the border! Thanks so much Ato Derbew, Mistere, Tizita, Ato Brahan, Bethelehem and Alem! You are the best! It has been an absolute joy to work with all of you. I am so proud to call you my friends and I will miss you so much!
