It’s 2002!

Happy New Year 2002!!  That’s right, Ethiopian calendar just saw the end of 2001, and I had the pleasure of helping ring in 2002... for the second time!  I spent part of the last week in Bahir Dar working on some PC projects with friends, but arrived back in Dangila on Saturday for the remainder of the festivities.  Friday was New Year’s Day, but since Orthodox Christians don’t eat meat on Wednesday or Fridays, much of the celebration was pushed to Saturday.  The odd thing about Ethiopian holidays is that most of them look the exact same.  I once again found myself sitting in the living room of various Ethiopians being fed qay wat (meat stew) with injera, refusing tela, the homemade alcohol, and downing far too many cups of coffee.  If I couldn’t read the computer-printed Amharic signs on the walls declaring what holiday it was, I probably wouldn’t be able to differentiate between them.  As opposed to in America where the Christmas tree, jack-o-lantern, or plastic eggs filled with candy indicate what holiday is being celebrated, in Ethiopia there is just a lot of eating meat and drinking coffee.  Apparently Hallmark hasn’t found this country yet.

The kids all make signs for the New Year though, which I helped out with in preparation for the holiday.  The signs read, “Enkutatash” which is a cultural way of saying, “Happy New Year” but it literally is welcoming in the flowers of the green season, as this is the time of year where everything is in blossom and rains are finally clearing.  I think the best part of the New Year is the fact that schools will be starting back next week! Not only do I enjoy working with some of the clubs in the schools, but that means the kids on the streets will have something to do besides knock on my door asking for candy.  I’m half joking-- I love walking with the kids in my neighborhood, even if their little hands are snot-covered, but I won’t mind them being in school for half the day either!