Did I really need to go to Ethiopia for that???

Okay ya’ll, there were a few things that happened on my trip that made me stop for a minute and question why they needed to occur all the way over in Africa. For instance, I got pooped on by a bird. Go ahead and laugh. I know you want to. It really is quite comical looking back on it. Luckily, it was in the afternoon and I was headed back to the guesthouse for dinner. No big deal. But let me just say that I’ve never been pooped on by a bird before. So when it happened I just couldn’t believe it. There could be two sides to it…one, it was awful because I didn’t have a lot of ways to get things clean. Or two, it didn’t really matter since everything just was dirty most of the time anyway. Take your pick. I laughed it off with the group and let the bird poop dry on my pants. Then I scraped it off and got my pants washed. Not a problem. But why the heck did I need to come to Ethiopia to get pooped on by a bird???

Another thing was that I finally had ramen noodles for dinner. Ramen is apparently the college student staple food item. Well, not for me. I do eat pasta at school, but not ramen. I had never even had it until one night at dinner in Ethiopia. There were times when I even made ramen for one of my clients when I used to be a caregiver. Still, never had I eaten it myself. In Ethiopia, the cooks usually made a lighter meal for dinner and one that also seemed easier to make. Lunch had the most food out of any meal during the day. So this ramen that so many speak of…eh, it was okay. I wasn’t a huge fan. It’s very salty and I definitely put too much flavoring on mine as well. But it was food and it filled me up. So there ya go. I didn’t have it at college before graduating. But I’ll still be at JMU in grad school, so it counts right? I guess I am now officially a college student after partaking in such a well-known food for people my age. But why the heck did I need to come to Ethiopia for me to try ramen???

I also joked around with the team that I had a permanently burnt tongue. Seriously though. I burnt my tongue more than once a day. We drank a good bit of coffee and tea, both of which were hot. I’m not one to drink hot or even really cold drinks. Just give me stuff at room temperature and I’m good to go. It’s easier that way because I don’t have to wait for something to cool down or warm up a bit. In Ethiopia they drink coffee and tea all the time. I had to try keeping up with them by finishing my cup off quickly enough. And don’t even think about saying no to coffee or tea. That really isn’t an option. But why the heck did I need to come to Ethiopia to get a burnt tongue???

Oatmeal for breakfast. There aren’t too many foods that I don’t like. And I can eat oatmeal, but I’m not a huge fan. Honestly, what is all the hype over oatmeal anyways?! People go crazy over that stuff. Ya know, I’d actually only had oatmeal once before I went to Ethiopia. Here’s my problem with stupid oatmeal. All you people out there who eat it, put so much stuff with it. Raisins, cranberries, brown sugar, honey, granola, etc, etc. By the time you put all that stuff in there, is it really even oatmeal??? I think ya’ll just eat it for the toppings. Well I say, gimme a bowl of the toppings! They’re all great, but leave the oatmeal out. It’s like you “coffee drinkers” out there. Ya’ll drink it for the stuff you put in it. It isn’t coffee when ya finish adding the sugar, cream, chocolate, caramel, whipped cream, etc, etc. No offense, ya’ll. Just pointing out the facts haha. Anyways I ate this dumb oatmeal. It was prepared for us every morning. So I thought, I’ll give it a try. Nope. Wrong. Still don’t like it. I put honey in it…yeahhhhh, no thank you. That was the only topping we had for it. I had oatmeal a few times just to have something in the mornings but I’m not an oatmeal person. However, after eating oatmeal and beets a number of times, (they were two foods we had every single day) I think I could become an oatmeal and beet eater. It happens. But I still think eating oatmeal and adding all that stuff is dumb haha. Let’s hope ya’ll don’t add a lot of toppings to your beets. That’d be interesting to hear. But why the heck did I have to go to Ethiopia to eat oatmeal??? And beets for that matter.

By the way, I was in the same country as Obama! It was the first time a president had visited Ethiopia. Pretty darn exciting! And he ended up staying in the capital just two days before we were there at the end of our trip. So I was in the same city as him, just all the way around the world. Now, I’ve been to D.C. and seen the White House. I’ve stood outside before. Maybe even taken pictures. The president has probably been in there when I’ve been right outside. I haven’t been in a long time though. So I joked with my team that we could run into Obama somewhere in Ethiopia. Now wouldn’t that have been funny. But why the heck did I have to go to Ethiopia to be in the same country and city as the president of the United States of America???

These were just some of the things that happened while I was all the way over in Ethiopia, Africa that could have also happened in America. It made me laugh to think I traveled all the way around the world and they occurred. I’m sure there were more but these stood out to me. I had a great time and experienced a lot of other things that ya’ll will get to hear about. But all of this made me feel a little connected to home. Plus it’s always good to find something to laugh about haha.

Enough ramblin’ for one day. Peace out ya’ll!