Day 12 - Day off :)

So today we got the day off from working! It was great. :) I got to sleep in until 7:30am!! I also did sink laundry again. We ended up leaving the hotel at 10am and headed to meet up with Sadam, one of the veterinarians we are working with. He was going to take us to Arada, a huge marketplace for shopping. It was nice having a friend along who could speak the language, because he could translate and stop the shopkeepers from over-charging the "foreigners" lol. He was not the only Ethiopian trying to help us, however. When we went to one shop, one of the assistants starting trying to show us around the market. Apparently, if he convinced us to buy something at another shop, he would get a cut of the profit? We amassed probably 3-4 shop assistants "shopping" with us. It was nice that they were trying to be helpful, but there were way too many people with us. Just having Sadam helping would have been fine lol.  

Those are live chickens hanging upside down

The less busy part of the market

After we were done shopping, we decided to eat lunch at the Goha Hotel (the hotel up on the mountain). Sadam called his friend who drives a TukTuk, and off we went with 3 people per TukTuk. Just like the last time Dan, Nicole, Mustofa, and I were there, it started to rain really hard and even hailed a bit. Deja vu lol. Since we all have been in Ethiopia for awhile (some longer than 1 month!), we decided to get non-Ethiopian food for lunch. James could not stop raving about his chicken parmesan lol. I got a creamy mushroom chicken dish. It was SO GOOD. Chicken is apparently considered a delicacy here and thus costs more, so we "splurged" on lunch. A whopping $6.50 for a ton of chicken smothered in garlic, mushrooms, and creamy sauce with rice, stewed spinach, and rolls as the sides. The prices here are insanely cheap. We also decided to take some group pictures up there. Some turned out better than others. :)

I think this picture captures everyone's personality quite well :) lol

Dan, James, Sarah, Me, Sadam, Sharon

Our attempt at a funny picture? 

After eating at the Goha, we wanted to head back to Piazza for some more shopping. Sadam again called his friend who drives a TukTuk. This time there wasn't another one, so 5 of us tried to pile in to at least be driven to the bottom of the mountain where we could hail another TukTuk (Sarah decided to run to the bottom lol). We got about about 2 mins down the mountain and the front wheel goes flat lol. We felt really bad, but he said we didn't cause it. Regardless, we all helped hold up the TukTuk so the driver cold change the tire. His spare tire wasn't in very good shape either, but he told us to all pile in and he'd get us to the bottom of the mountain. Well we made it to the bottom and Dana and James got another TukTuk to head back to the hotel (too much shopping for the guys lol). And we were off to Piazza! But then BOOM the front tire completely blows. It's in shreds lol. We eventually made it to Piazza, but it was quite an ordeal to get there lol.

We got back to the hotel around 4pm and decided to just relax for the rest of the evening. It was a wonderful day off! But tomorrow we have to be up extra early to go to a farm before they finish milking the cows. Oh joy. :)

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations." Deuteronomy 7:9. Faithful and steadfast love. Sounds good to me! :)