Nov 8th-10th
When we stepped off the bus from Debark, we were greeted by a young man who called himself "Dude". Dude is well known around Gonder, and due to his frequent interactions with forenji, is extremely proficient in English. Unlike other street kids, Dude is far more affluent by relative standards. This is because he had married a forenji woman at the tender age of 17. This would be culturally acceptable if it were to an Ethiopian girl of the same age. However, this woman, his wife, happened to be a 55-year-old, opportunistic European. This opportunism was quickly reversed when the marriage folded, and Dude was given a large sum of money (by Ethiopian standards once again). Now the legend of Dude precedes him. I had informed him that it was my birthday the following day and that he was more than welcome to join in the festivities.
We then made our way back to Nicole and Dan's: where we would be staying during our final stint in Ethiopia. Dan and Nicole were a young married couple, both working for the Peace Corps and had met Kyle through it's many branches in Ethiopia. They themselves were not members of couchsurfing like Kyle, but they used Kyle to filter through couchsurfers to see who would be suitable as guests. Somehow, Chris and I had managed to slip through the cracks and were offered a place to stay. They were incredibly kind and really interesting to talk to.
Since Dan and Nicole both worked during the day, Chris and I were left to our own devices. We decided to capitalize on our day by figuring out the bus system to get to Sudan and to convert our Ethiopian Birr to American dollars, since Sudan does not accept any foreign debit or credit cards. Regrettably, none of the banks would do the transactions, so we had to consult several black-market sources. The best offer we managed to find was from an upscale hotel that would take the Birr, only making a small profit.
After our errands were completed, we headed back to Nicole and Dan's to rest up before my big night. It was my 26th birthday and later that evening we were going to meet up with Dan and Nicole at the Dashen brewery. While St. George beer was my favorite Ethiopian brew, the fact that Dashen had a beer garden on it's brewery premises and that it was only a few minutes outside the city-center made the decision very simple.
In the late afternoon, Chris and I took a microbus to the brewery. We entered the grounds and found Dan sitting at a table with a group of Ethiopians. To my surprise, Kyle was sitting at the same table. Shortly after, Nicole showed up and even Grace, who had stayed with Michelle in Bahir Dar and was now doing her Masters' degree in Gonder, had joined in the festivities. We sat and laughed and the Dashen beer towers, which cost a meager dollar per liter, kept on coming.
Since Chris and I were the only one's who didn't have to contend with a hangover at work the following day; the others called it a night relatively early. We all hopped in a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by an Asian NGO worker who had offered to give us a ride back to central Gonder. On our way back, as we were driving on the dark, winding roads, a dog stumbled out onto the road. There was no time to swerve to avoid the poor animal, so the Asian guy accelerated. In doing so, he obliterated the dog. Actually, he killed the shit out of that dog. The death so swift and slapstick that it was actually morbidly comical.
After we were dropped off, we said goodnight to the working stiffs and gave Dude a call. He met up with us shortly after and took us out for a night on the town. Being a tuesday night, no bar or club was that busy. We had bar-hopped to 2 or 3 places, finally reaching the best club in Gonder. Inside we found 2 Ethiopian guys and 2 prostitutes. Thus the stage was set for an epic dance party. As the electronic music was blasting in the empty club, and I was dancing with my best friend, a 19-year-old divorcee named Dude, 2 random Ethiopian guys and 2 trashy prostitutes; I couldn't think of anywhere I would have rather been on my 26th birthday.
It was awesome.
On a side note, as I had previously mentioned, since Harar I had been finding small insect bites on my body and had been itchy on a near-constant basis. Only after having showed the bites to Nicole and Grace, had they confirmed that I had the privilege of hosting fleas. These bloodsucking insects were literally driving me insane, each bite pushing me closer to the edge of my sanity (or at least what's left of it). I had to get rid of them. As a birthday gift to myself, I would have all my clothes and even my backpack cleaned to try to rid myself of these bloody bugs. After all my belongings were washed, I hoped that new bites would cease to appear. And if it didn't, then the scorching heat of the Sahara desert hopefully would. Only time would tell.
After having slept off the majority of my post-birthday hangover, we slowly made our way to Gonder's Royal Enclosure. Within the fortified walls lies several castles and palaces; some dating back to 1632. Gonder has been nicknamed Africa's Camelot because of these magnificent buildings and their royal history. We enjoyed our stroll around the grounds, reveling in the fact that they don't allow vagrants onto the premises and therefore we would not be continually hounded for money. After wondering around aimlessly for a few hours, we then made our way back to Dan and Nicole's.
After a brief rest, we took a microbus to the famous "Fasilides Bath", the location where Ethiopians celebrate the Timkat, or Epiphany ceremony.
We then took a rickshaw back to Dan and Nicole's place and savored our final hours in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia, a country so unknown to the western world, so often misrepresented as a barren wasteland of starving, disease-stricken people. I now know the truth about this incredible country: Its people, culture and hospitality are unrivaled; the natural wonders and amazing vistas are absolutely divine; its historical monuments and religious relics are awe-inspiring. I fell in love with this country. I know I'll be back one day.
I just know I will.
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