St. George and Defense

Wow!  What a day in Addis Ababa.  Driving in Africa is similar to driving in Peru:  on many roads there are no set lanes and no stop lights - just hand signals and lots of honking.  The rare stop sign that does exist...totally optional.

All taxis in Addis Ababa are blue with a white roof.

Gas Station

Traffic jam - goes great with peanut butter.

After my nap, I exchanged my US money into Ethiopian Birr at an exchange rate of 17:1. I walked out with a wad of bills and felt like a gangster.  I tried to buy a SIM card for my cell phone but it did not work.  Good thing because to get the SIM card I would need to be photographed and hand in a copy of my passport.  If they had asked for fingerprints I REALLY would have felt like a gangster.

Canadian Humanitarian arranged for drivers to shuttle our team to and from our projects.  The insight these drivers provided was second to none in terms of value.  They know where to go, the fastest way to get there, who to talk to, who NOT to talk to, and how to get the best deals.   In the end, I am glad to call all of our drivers my friends.  Mesfin, Ketema, Geytu, Belai and I spent many hours together driving, chatting, working and we even had a few laughs.

Mesfin, Bryce and Ketema, our amazing drivers and awesome Executive Director.

For my first afternoon in Addis, the drivers were able to hook us up with prime seats for the Sunday soccer game.  WOOT WOOT!  City teams St. George and Defense faced off at 4pm.  As we approached the stadium there were thousands of people everywhere and no place to park.  Mesfin drove up close to the door, had one of his peeps watch the van for us, and we walked into the Stadium.  We were frisked at the door - no cameras or water bottles allowed.  I asked why my water bottle was confiscated?  The response was that in the past, fans threw them onto the field and caused delay of game.  Wow - serious business.

While the soccer game in itself was very exciting, the fans stole the show!  Everyone was singing, chanting and jumping up and down in unison.  The empty seats became instant drums as people would bang out rhythms on the back of chairs.   Defense supporters would cheer, jeer and chant.  St. George supporters would respond even louder.  And so it went throughout the game.

St. George Football Club and Stadium in Addis Ababa (http://www.saintgeorgefc.com/)

There was a clear division in the stadium - St. George supporters were clearly in Yellow and Red.  I was sitting in the St. George section and was happy to cheer them on.  Luckily there as a fence separating us from the next section of Defense supporters.  An ex-St. George player showed up in a suit, and sat a few rows behind us.  The Defense fans noticed him; the heckling began.  The suited player followed up with a gesture (you know which one!) and holy crap...a riot almost broke out!  Police swarmed in with batons and full crowd control was in effect.  As they escorted the ex-player out, the fans quieted down and I thanked my lucky stars for the makers of that fence.  I enjoyed cheering for St. George and was happy with their 1 - 0 victory.  It was a fun afternoon and it only cost me 50 Birr (only $3).

After the game, jet lag had set in so we had a quick dinner and returned to Tazina.  My first meal in Ethiopia was at a restaurant called Lime Tree, which was nicely decorated with modern décor.  I had veggie samosas and lentil soup.   They played traditional Ethiopian and western music.  It was pretty cool to sit in an Ethiopian restaurant in Addis Ababa and listen to Coldplay and Lady Gaga.