Entoto in total

Mission ... find the 9/11 monument north of Addis. So we head off from work yesterday about 4, with plans to climb the famous hill called Entoto. It is north of the city, providing some nice views of Addis as one climbs to over 9,000 feet at its pinnacle. Even though we head through parts or urban Addis on the way to the hill, it seems oddly rural even while we are still in a city with close to 4 million people. The shops are vending an assortment of local garb and the gamut of assorted paraphernalia the locals consume voraciously. The streets are crowded and get narrower the further we go.

We start climbing the mountain, armed with some Google map printouts of where we should be going. The first major decision (aka fork) presents us with our first dilemma. Left or right? We go right, following a sign displayed promoting the assets of the park one is about to enter. The vegetation is thick and the trees copious. We get to a rolling meadow of sorts and decide we are in the wrong place. We back up and this time take the straight-ahead branch of the fork. In Ethiopia, it appears that forks in a road have 3 not 2 branches.

We travel for 40 minutes to an hour and eventually realize we are going the wrong direction. We pass an assortment of locals and they are very colourful and happy to wave at ferenge as we pass. Dereje asks periodically for assistance on where we might be. One of the last people we talk with confirms we are headed the right way. Alas, we are not, and do a 180 and head back down the hill. We encounter a brick/concrete wall less than 3 feet high, with an enclosed structure, thinking it is the 9/11 monument we were looking for. That turns out not to be the case, as it is some sort of scientific testing station. Someone speaks to a colleague on the cell, and we get some assistance. Off we go back down the mountain.

We reach the 3-way fork, and head back up the right branch that took us to a meadow about an hour ago. We get to that meadow and head a bit to the right when we first encounter it. Lo and behold, guess what is in that meadow ... how could this be possible; looks like a 9/11 monument to me!

We hang out and take pictures. The monument park seems to be closed so we scale the fence. Not long after Dereje notices that the padlock on the gate is not closed. A swarm of local kids descend on us and we give out money and play with them for a bit. They are indeed glad to see us and very social, though the money could in fact be more popular than ferenge themselves. After a while, we head back down the mount and back to TDS.

I end up at Blue Drops for lasagne and a few beers. I end up sitting with the owner and his wife, with an Asian named Fukuru. She tells me that her family wants me to do the synagogue and seder with them next Monday at sundown. This is huge! My Sweet Thing naturally is doing pesach at home and I will do something here. The owner refuses payment for my nourishment yesterday as a thank-you for assisting with the satellite a few days ago. I thank him but threaten him with a 100-birr note that I will not accept his generosity (though do appreciate the gesture) again; I want to pay for my fare from now on. He agrees ... a generous sole.

I have decided not to stay at Kazumi's starting April 1 while she is away in Japan. I heard from Bill Wigton today whom I met in the fall at Deker. We hung around a lot last time he was here and I expect to ehar from him over the weekend.