Africa is amazing – both the geography and the people are beautiful. Ethiopia has given us a real taste of what living in Africa is like and as a North American travelling through, it can get quite frustrating.
- It’s dirty – I’m constantly itchy and feel like I have bugs on me. I use about 1 bottle of Purel per day.
- Their time and calendar is all mixed up - the clock starts at 6 rather than 12 so everything is always 6 hours off. Each month has 30 days so there are actually 13 months in a year and they’re 7 years back - it’s only 2003 here. You can imagine how confused I was when my bus ticket (which was supposed to leave at 5:30 am) said departure time: 11:30am on October 7, 2003.
- Water only works at certain times in the morning and night so if I take a shit at 9 am, I can’t actually flush it until 6 or 7 at night unless I fill up a bucket of water beforehand. If I forget to fill the bucket (or if the hotel decides not to tell us about the bucket system) then we’re stuck with a shit filled toilet stinking up our tiny room. To make matters worse, I can’t wash my hands all day.
- It appears that toilet paper is not widely used here so forgetting to bring toilet paper anywhere requires some creative problem solving. Don’t ask about how locals do their wiping – I’ve heard rumours that involve the use of their left hand but I can’t confirm.
- The whole no toilet paper thing combined with lack of water has turned me off of traditional food entirely – they make it and eat it with their hands. I now live off of Spaghetti.
- Most of the streets don’t have lights and electricity in general is inconsistent so sometimes arriving at a hotel we are given a candle to help find our way to our room.
- In some places finding anything above a ½ star hotel is impossible so our roommates frequently include cockroaches and other bugs.
- Locals all think Lungi is Ethiopian and they keep speaking to her in Amharic - I’m pretty sure they assume she is a prostitute that I am bringing back to the hotel – she definitely isn’t cheap!
- It appears that in some parts of the country hotel actually means restaurant which took me a while to figure out after several cab drivers brought me to restaurants when I asked them for a hotel.
- I literally think yes means no
I can go on and on about things like getting laundry done, people touching us all the time, the hotel staff entering our room at all times of day/night for no apparent reason, etc…
Anyway, I guess this is all part of the adventure. Who knows what’s next!
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| Our candle-lit room |
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| Should actually be program for water |
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| Using the bucket system |
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| Check out the date?? |
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| Lungi getting prepared to sleep with the bugs |
Hey guys, It is such a nice experience for us to share your journey from the comfort of our home. Keep blogging and make a list of what we can do for you when you return. Love you.
ReplyDeleteS&j
In some parts of Africa, people do use their left hand for cleaning themselves after using the bathroom. This is why you might have seen a container of water(in Mali, they used tea kettles) next to the toilet. And this is why it is considered highly impolite to eat your food with your left hand, especially in places like Ethiopia, where people eat with their hands, communally. You are supposed to keep your left hand off the table, in your lap. However, you should not give up local foods, as people are generally quite aware of the hygiene issues (also, you should be always eating well-cooked foods anyways).
ReplyDeleteAs for dirt - cleanliness is highly over-rated in the West, especially in North America. Do we actually NEED to have a shower each day? And do we really NEED to get rid of all body odours? In many countries, people have a much more "organic" and accepting attitude to natural body smells (and functions ...). Also, many places don't have access to clean running water, or the electricity with which to heat it. We are very privileged indeed in the West.
And yes, "yes" can mean "no" - but this is because people in certain places (Africa, Asia_ have a hard time saying no in general, and especially to foreigners/tourists. They want very much for it to be "yes", and will try to make "yes" happen, but sometimes it is just not possible.
All a part of the adventure, eh?
your hilarious a real troupers, is all i can really say. Im loving the blogs you have to keep them up to date please!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember the touching. In some of the smaller villages in Mali, I would literally have a small child holding on to each one of my fingers. Walking in the middle of a crowd of kids.
ReplyDeleteSharks? Hyenas? Bedbugs.... Either this is all part of an unbelieveable adventure, or you are trying to give me a heart attck!
ReplyDeleteJust kidding, I am very happy to read about this experience you two are having. Thanks to your blog every part of it is documented and the memories will last a lifetime!
Stay safe and have fun!
Jason
When going to live orverseas or on a long trip like this one, you usually go through the following phases: 1) excitment and high-level energy in preparation for and during the first part of trip; 2) then you hit a lower-energy phase, also referred to as the "cultural chock" phase (coinciding with the ranting here!); and c) the final phase whereby you either resume your enthusiasm and higher energy level or you decide that it is time to go back home. This is normal and well documented; it is often part of the training that people/professionals receive before going to to live overseas. Take care and enjoy Morocco! Cheers, Elie
ReplyDeleteplease, leave the african continent and go back to your comfortable lives in canada. one would hope you'd try to have a little more empathy for people living in less privileged conditions.
ReplyDeleteTo whoever posted the comment above; you are absolutely right that I miss my comfortable life in Canada but this is why I am travelling – to step outside my comfort zone and get a very small taste of what life is like for those living in “less privileged conditions”.
ReplyDeleteMy rant has nothing to do with the people living here and their quality of life, rather my frustration of being a foreign traveler in a culture very different from my own. I’m sure you would share these frustrations if you spent several months travelling in these countries yourself.
I have no reason to withhold my thoughts and if you are offended by this then by all means, I suggest you stop following the blog. At the very least, have the courage to support your own opinion and sign your name at the end of your comments.
Jacob