Such a busy, but great weekend!

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday! I got home so late, I was too tired to type one up! So here goes my Saturday and Sunday!

Saturday was extremely relaxed for the most part of the day. In the morning, I get ready and meet up with Millie to head to the Zebu for a couple of hours so the women can come clean our rooms. While in the Zebu, I managed to send a few emails, organize all of the pictures I've taken so far, and read! Perfect Saturday morning? I think yes! After we could return to the rooms, I didn't a little more reading, played some games of cards, and went for a little walk. (I needed some physical activity for the day.)

For a good couple hours it rained! Well, I guess it more sprinkled/lightly rained. That still counts as something! The more it rains, the sooner planting the fields will be! We're already behind on planting, so we're taking all the rain we can get! During the rain, I sat outside for a little bit under the roof of my building and read. I love sitting outside while it's raining. It's so peaceful and so nice! After a while though, it started getting a little chilly, so I went back inside my room, but still left all my windows and door open so I could hear the rain! (Weird I know... Oh well!)

Around 4 in the afternoon, Tigist called me and said she was heading into the ILRI campus and was wondering if Millie and I would like to meet her for some tea in the Zebu. We wouldn't object, and I think I might have accepted the offer a little too quickly and enthusiastically... I love having tea with Tigist! After I hung up the phone with Tigist I got my room key and headed to Millie's door (which is literally 2 steps away) to go tell her the plan. Her door was closed, her windows were open, some lights were on, and her book was laying on her bed opened up, so I though she was home. When I knocked and no one answered I headed to her window and shouted her name. Still no response. I walked around our hostel thinking maybe she was sitting out back reading. Nope. I had no idea where she was, so I started to walk farther out from our hostels thinking maybe she went for a walk. Before I got too far, I see her in her bright red sweatshirt and purple shorts! She went for a run! In the rain! I just laughed as she approached. Then I told her how Tigist invited us to tea, so she hurried and changed her clothes and we headed to the Zebu!

Tonight was the big night! I was finally going to go to a traditional Ethiopian restaurant and eat the indigenous food, watch traditional dancing, listen to traditional music, and see the instruments! How cool! I've been looking forward to this night since Wednesday when Millie and I got invited to come!Millie, Edwin, Ricardo, Lei, and I were all supposed to meet at the Zebu at 7:15 where Paula, her husband, and daughter would pick us up at. (Lei is the worker from China who arrived here last week. I talked about her, but couldn't remember her name. She brought all the delicious candy that was so strange but so delicious!) As we all met up, Paula called Ricardo and told us all to meet us at the front gate so that it would be quicker, so we all started heading there! Lei said she didn't feel too good and wouldn't go with us anymore, so she headed back to her hostel. We fit all 7 of us then into the vehicle and headed to the restaurant!

There were so many cars parked back there! It was a good thing we called ahead of time and reserved a spot! Inside was even more crowded than what I expected. There was barely any space to walk around! The music was already playing some, but no dancers yet. We were led to our table, ordered our drinks, and the music and dancing all started! It was so fascinating! The traditional way of dancing is to use your shoulders to dance, which is really difficult to just use your shoulders. I don't know... I'm not very good at it at least. Tonight was a night of many new experiences. First, I went to Yod Abyssinia, the traditional Ethiopian restaurant. Second, I saw traditional dancing and listened to the singing and instruments. Third, I experienced an Ethiopian proposal! It was the sweetest yet funniest thing ever! The performers were picking out a few individuals to come onto the stage and try dancing, and they picked them. After a bit of them dancing, they sat them in chairs and pretended they were getting married. Close to the end, they had them stand up because they "just got married" when the man got down on one knee and held out a ring to his now fiancee! It was so sweet and she was entirely shocked! It was so neat! Anyway! Fourth, I tried kitfo! For all of you that don't know. This is a HUGE Ethiopian delight. Everyone here eats it, and almost everyone I've met here has asked me if I've tried it. I can finally say yet! Kitfo is ground up raw meat. It has a very VERY different taste than cooked meat! There were two different types of the kitfo. One wasn't cooked at all, and the other one was slightly cooked. You could notice a slight difference in the taste, but not too much. For our dinner at Yod Abyssinia we had raw beef. I can't believe I'm saying it, but I actually really really enjoyed it. It was delicious. I even liked the taste of it! It was so different, I was a little skeptical about trying it at first, but then I did and liked it! I can't eat it plain like how most people eat it. They just use a spoon and scoop it right into their mouth! That's a little much for me though. I used my injera to eat it with. Another thing I loved was the cheese and cabbage! (I think it was cabbage...  I don't really remember anymore...) The taste of the cheese was so rich, it was scrumptious! Another food item we had was then cooked beef and chicken. The seasoning was somewhat spicy, but still very tasty! There was so much food! We were served 2 platters of injera and wat, meat. cheese, cabbage, and so many other things! It was so much food, 8 of us couldn't eat it all! (We met 2 more of Paula and her husband's friends at Yod Abyssinia. One of the friends is the Ethiopian soccer coach! How cool!!!! Many people asked to take a picture with him while we were there. It was very cool.)

Coffee is constantly running through this!

An alcoholic drink made with honey!

I thought the ceiling was really cool...

Look how many people!

We have to wash our hands before we eat!

Setting up all the food

One of the trays of food...

The other tray of food...

Both tray! Holy moly that's a lot
of food to gobble down!

More outfits the dancers wore

Some of the outfits the dancers wore

The couple that just got engaged!

Me standing in front of the entrance

It was around 11 when we left Yod Abyssinia. Wayyyyyyyy past my bedtime that's for sure! But I had a great time there so it was okay! Paula's husband went to their house real quick to drop off their daughter with a babysitter or neighbor to watch her for a little bit. I guess our night wasn't over! We headed to a hotel that has a bar on the top floor. (It's the same hotel I went to last Sunday to take pictures of my view of Addis.) Everyone except Millie and I had a drink while we all watched some of the World Cup. It was Ghana against Germany. Everyone was cheering for Ghana of course! When we got there, it was 2-1 with Ghana winning and about a half hour left of the game. Fifteen minutes after that Germany scored a goal, tying it 2-2! A little less than 20 minutes left of the game (including overtime)! Who's going to win?! No one. It remained tied the rest of the game. That was the final score. A little before 1 in the morning, they decided it was time so leave, so we all got up and headed out! (Sorry Mom and Dad. I stayed out past my curfew...) By the time Millie and I got back to our hostels, it was a little after 1! Time for bed! No blogging, no emailing, no nothing! I got ready for bed as quick as I could and hopped in and fell asleep right away because I had church in a coupe of hours!

My alarm went off way too early. I was still so tired, but had to start getting ready for church or else I would be late! Tigist was picking Millie and I up at 8 AM at the corner of the Holy Trinity Center. It's just a short walk from campus. We walk right by it when we go grocery shopping, so it was a good spot to meet at. It was more convenient for Tigist because then that way she wouldn't have to go through the gates of the ILRI campus and drive through the campus to our hostels. We met her on the corner so she could stop, we'd hop in, and we'd be on our merry way! I still can't get over how much the church service moves me. I don't know why, but the songs and the lecture really get to me. They're all so emotional and touching. It's amazing. It's a totally new experience. So many people tear up during the services. It really is amazing. After the service, Tigist, Millie, and I go to a bible study. It lasts about an hour and for the last part of it we divide into smaller groups and discuss the main idea of the bible study and then we have some questions that were written on the board. It's a totally open discussion and everyone is free to talk. Both the first time we went and this time this morning, whenever we moved to the next question, everyone always looked towards me to answer first! I honestly think it's because I'm the minority so they're probably interested in what I have to say. They all know I'm not from here, so maybe my opinion is different from all of theirs.

After that, Tigist took us out for lunch. We ate at a place called In-N-Out! They serve burgers, wings, and drumsticks here! We ordered 2 servings of drumsticks and shared them and the fries. Again. The food was so delicious! Millie said that there are these restaurants along the northern coast of the United States, so I know where I'm going! :) I also ordered Mirinda for my drink. It's just and orange soda, but with a super cool fancy name!

The sign for the restaurant

The restaurant itself

Our drumsticks and fries! Yummmm!!!

My Mirinda!

The rest of the day is just relaxing now. It was a long and busy weekend, so I think Millie and I both deserve to relax for the rest of our day! We both said we'll probably end up going to bed at 7 or 8 tonight to try to catch up on some sleep! I definitely need to because we have a whole new week coming! That's going to be a busy week too! Dr. Jean are having Millie, Andreas, and I go to Zwai in Debre Zayit to help with planting! Wednesday I also have to gather some samples of my Canavalia sp. so that I can do some staining on Thursday to see if the pollen is viable or not! Busy busy! I can't wait though!