Tuesday, 27th Feb 2007

Rest Day - Yabelo

Hitched a ride with a UN vehicle the 5 km to Yabelo town. Several of my fellow cyclists have expressed that they thought Yabelo was a dumphole, but I love Yabelo! May move there one day!

Sat for hours at a little cafe! Everybody was super friendly. The female server wanted me to take her with me, until I told her I lived in Uganda. That brought about a discussion of whether Ugandan lifestyle (by "lifestyle", I think they meant "standard of living") is similar to that in Ethiopia. (I think so? Hard to tell - very different.) The owner was a bit of an old geezer who I think wanted to "marry" me - but it was o.k. He wasn't too offensive and even a bit funny. Met my *3rd* Ashenaffi - must be a popular name in Ethiopia!

... And now for the best part. The musical kid! Ended up tipping him in honour of Mom who always wanted to "support the arts" and one time bought from a kid what I thought was a very poor drawing of our tour truck in Africa - that was about 15 years ago. Anyway, this musical
kid came walking by our cafe with his little mini-sized stringed instrument, the traditional Ethiopian kind. I posted a picture of one when I talked about that nightclub in Bahir Dar. When he came by, the owner asked him something, which I assume was "Can you play?" The kid
nodded and started to play. He seemed to be making up words as he went and apparently he was quite funny. At the end of each verse, everybody roared with laughter! So I went ahead and laughed too, even though I hadn't a clue what I was laughing about. After some time, the owner
tipped the kid, and one of the women asked him to play for the visitor. That would be me. So, he agreed, and came over to stand in front of me and play. He asked somebody my name, and all I could hear him singing, once in a while, was "Leigh Aaannnne." I guess he continued to be funny, though, because people laughed. After, I asked Ashenaffi what he was saying, but Ashenaffi just said that he was "praising me." O.k. So I and a few others tipped him. What a special, delightful,
and unexpected treat!

After the kid left, I noticed that it was 11:00 on a Tuesday. I asked Ashenaffi, who was the only one who spoke a bit of English, "Why isn't the kid in school?" Ashenaffi just said, "Oh, that one won't learn. Many are like that." O.k. I suppose if you have some musical talent, you don't need to "learn".

The next little adventure at the little cafe was to try some chat. Chat is a legalised drug in Ethiopia, and I've been seeing everybody chewing it for the past 2 weeks. And you know me. If "everybody's" doing it, then so am I. Just like a little sheep. So, one of the women there offered me some, and showed me how to pick off the best leaves to chew. I put a bunch in my mouth. YUCK! That stuff is bitter! Sour! YUCK! In fact, it tastes an awful lot like eating leaves! Oh, that's right - it IS eating leaves! So, I made a very sourpuss face, which made the women laugh, and they offered me a bit of sugar. "To sweeten it." So, I took a bit of sugar, but it only barely helped. Putting raw sugar in mouth was just about as bad as putting leaves in my mouth. So, after chewing it, I sat there to see if I'd feel anything. Nope. Nothing. No wonder this stuff is legal. It's a big hoax.

After several hours, I left the little cafe and wandered about, and came across Adrie (from Netherlands) who'd just had a haircut. Told him I was looking for a horse and buggy ride back to the motel where we were camping and asked, would he like to come along? But it turns out
that he was waiting for Eva (Netherlands) and George (Netherlands), so he didn't come.

So, wandered about some more, continuing to ask everybody with a horse and buggy if they could take me to my motel. The all kept refusing, saying that they only operate "within Yabelo". Our motel grounds are about 5 km outside of town. However, while walking, I came across some
folks playing cards! Yippeee! Turns out they were playing a game called "cush". It's a bit like gin rummy, but not really. So they taught me the rules and I played with them for about an hour. I love Yabelo!

Finally, I said my "good bye's" and wandered off again. I was on a mission - find a horse and buggy ride back to camp. Everybody kept suggesting, "Why not take the regular bus? It's only 1 birr." To which I kept responding, "But a regular bus is boring. I'm hoping to go back by horse." Finally, I did find somebody who agreed. I had to pay a whopping 15 birr, but that's only $2. Fun ride!

Hey! Just thought of something exciting! Maybe, when I come back to Ethiopia for the millenium, I can visit Yabelo again! Woo hooo!