Day 27 & 28: Firinge!

Good morning!

Day 27
I was going to write about yesterday but it ended up being later than I expected. But anywho, yesterday after breakfast Hannah and I met with Dr. Hanson to see what we would do today. Hannah and I both suspected that we would be analyzing data yet. But, we got there and Dr. Hanson wanted us to do market surveys! She helped us prepare some questions and what kind of things we should take a look at while we were at the market. She rounded us up a driver, who had very good english might I add, and a gene bank worker who knew the way around markets. Hannah and I jumped in the jeep (it was actually a Land Cruiser) and away we went.

Our first stop was at rural town not too far from Addis. Unfortunately, it was not market day so we went to a small mill that was grinding different feed ingredients. They had wheat, barely, and teff. With a few different varieties and qualities of each. We asked for the cost per kilogram and per quintal (100 kg). Once we had the data from the mill, we went next door to a chicken farmer. Hannah was able to survey him on his feed and farming for her research. When we finished up in that small town, we went back into Addis. There was actually a very large cattle market going on. But, because it had rained almost all night and most of the morning, it was so incredibly muddy. We didn't even dare go down the hill to actual market. So instead, we stayed up by the railing and watched from afar and we even pet a few Zebu that were up by the railing. The largeness of this cattle market was due to Wednesday's and Friday's being fasting days for Orthodox Christians. Cultural knowledge: Though they do not eat animal products on these fasting days, they would by the cattle for the next day. Another thing with the beef market is interesting. A lot of meat stands will have either a red cross or a moon and a star on the outside. The cross stands for a christian meat stand and the moon with the star stand for a muslim stand. The only difference is when the bull/steer is slaughtered a difference in prayers is said over the animal. So the meat can be either christian or muslim. At this same cattle market, when we were walking down the railing to get a better look at what was happening a group of small boys were laughing and saying "Firinge! Firinge!". Which in Amharic, it means foreigner. I couldn't help myself but laugh and they began to laugh even more when I did. Once we agreed that there was no data to be found for us at this market, we got back into the car and went back to ILRI for lunch.

 

At lunch with Dr. Hanson, we talked about our morning and what our afternoon was going to look like. At 2 pm, the same guys from the morning, came to pick us up and take us to a town west of Addis. It was about an hour and half drive. But, it was super pretty out there. Like, 'the real' Ethiopia. The town we went to was called Holetta and they too did not have market day today. So, we went into different shops that sold feed ingredients and got prices. While we were there, another group of boys followed us around for a bit saying 'Money! Money!'. Hannah and I just laughed. They were also playing with bull-whips. Hannah gave it go but couldn't get the snap down quite right. It was still fun. The first shop we went to, there was man that began to follow us as well. He asked us how we were then began to speak in Amharic to our driver and translator. Once we got back in the car when we finished, the driver told us that the man said we were from the government and were collecting taxes. He also said that the government paid for white people and that the store sales people should not tell us the correct prices for these items. Because we didn't know what was going on at the time, it was pretty funny laugh about later. We drove back to Addis and stopped at market that went on everyday. Shola Market. It was so incredibly big and one could very easily get lost. But, we followed the translator and found someone selling eggs and chickens for Hannah as well as someone selling grains. They had one of everything! It was super cool to see and we were able to get really good data. We finished up and headed back to ILRI. We talked to Dr. Hanson about our day and she was glad that we were able to get solid data on a variety of feed ingredients. 

(There's actually restaurant in this plane.)

Later that night, Tigist was at the Zebu and wanted to take us out to dinner. We went to the Chicken Hut and yes, I had a cheeseburger at a chicken place. It was very good! I also tried pineapple Fanta, it's for sure a new favorite. We talked about our projects, more comparisons to the U.S., and just life in general. We got back just in time for me to fill out my laundry sheet, shower and get to bed. It was a very busy day but it was so fun!

Day 28

Today, Hannah and I don't have much planned. Dr. Hanson wants Hannah to go to a market the sells eggs and dressed chickens to look at the prices. We also want to visit a brand new mall that's been built not far from ILRI. We plan to go out once the rain lets up (if it does). As for tomorrow, we are going to church with Tigist and after Dr. Hanson has invited us to lunch with her, her husband, as well as some of their friends originally from Ethiopia that live in the U.S. It should be a fun day and I'm looking forward to it!