Days 15 & 16 - Cultural Dancing and Exploring

Day 15 - Friday (8/1/15)

Today was an easier day. I went out to farms in the morning with Sharon, Dan, Mulugeta, Sadam, and Sarah. It was Sarah's last full day in Gondar! :( But all of the farms today were great. Not too much walking. This past week has been a lot of walking! I found out my iPhone has been keeping track of my steps and miles, so that was cool to see. Sarah and Sharon sure do make us walk all over the place!

So. Much. Walking!

We had lunch at the Taye Belay hotel, and then it proceeded to absolutely DOWNPOUR. I am so glad we were inside. :) This wasn't the usual 1-2hr rain shower and then back to sunshine. It rained the rest of the afternoon, which meant we had the afternoon off! We all got to relax for a few hours before the closing dinner for Dr. Hoet's Summer Institute course. Every participant got a certificate, and then they presented Dr. Hoet with a UoG scarf, hat, tie, shirt, etc. He was so excited about the tie lol.

Dr. Hoet sporting the UoG hat and scarf

After the dinner, Sadam, Mulugeta, and Mustofa took Sarah, Sharon, Dan, and I to a traditional dance place. It was really cool! Everyone was sitting on these low stools or cylindrical bean bag style chairs, and there was a stage up front for the band and dancers. Traditional Ethiopian dance involves a ton of shoulder movement. It's like all shoulder isolations and crazy shoulder and chest popping. It's really cool to see! The dancers leave the stage and just go up to people in the crowd and they start doing like a shoulder dance duet lol. Ethiopians all seem to really love to dance (or at least the ones at this traditional dance place). 

The dancers do tend to pick on any white people present, though. All of the sudden one of the guy dancers comes down and grabs my arm and starts leading me to the stage. Before going, I had told everyone, "No way am I going up on stage! Nope." Well I didn't have much choice lol. I think my Ethiopian friends intentionally sat us towards the front, with most of us "white people" right on the aisle way so we'd be picked on lol. They have a mic on stage and they ask me my name, "Joslyn." Well here in Ethiopia, every time I say my name, they think I say "Jackson." So the whole crowd thinks my name is Jackson lol. The guy then proceeds to say a bunch of things in Amharic, then sticks the mic back towards me. I had no idea what he said, so I just say, "I have no idea what you said." The crowd thinks that's hilarious lol. Then the music starts, and I just have to try and mimic what the guy dancer is doing. It was really hard! But I survived, and they finally let me sit down again lol. I'm pretty sure Sharon got a video of the whole thing, and I hope to never, ever, EVER see that video! lol :)

The women in traditional costumes

Day 16 - Sunday (woo finally caught up on blog posts!)

Today we had a day off! Woo!! Dan, Sharon, and I got up early to have one last breakfast with Sarah before she leaves Gondar, then we all went back to bed lol. When we finally all got up and ready, we walked down to the Florida Hotel for lunch. We all took a minor "risk" and ordered "spris," a layered juice that is DELICIOUS. Here's hoping none of us gets sick lol. :)

Guava, pineapple, and avocado layers with half a lime squeezed on top :)

After lunch, we decided to explore the University of Gondar campus. It's a beautiful campus! We climbed up the 250 steps, and just kept walking and exploring. We eventually ended up by a soccer field, watched a game for a few minutes, then headed back to the hotel (it was starting to rain). All in all, a nice, relaxing day. Nothing planned for the rest of the day. I'm hoping for a relaxing dinner at the hotel and bed early (we have to be at a farm by 7am tomorrow). Also, Sharon and I totally watched an old Mary Kate and Ashley movie. It was the only thing on in English! lol it was funny.

The steps!

View from the top of the steps! 

We don't have a view like this on OSU's campus lol

I've again added to my list of things I miss:

- My cat lol
- Oreos: I don't know why, but I'm totally craving Oreos right now. Or brownies. Better add brownies to the list too lol. :) I think I'm craving sweets because there really are no desserts/sweet things offered here. It's kind of weird, but yet nice/healthier? Anyway.

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." 1 John 5:14. I'm so glad He hears me. :)

P.S.S. To all my Bachelorette watching friends - I know who she picks lol. Sharon and I turned on the TV for the first time today, and some Entertainment show was in English and they had a segment on the Bachelorette. But I still need to watch the episodes I missed when I get home! :)