Christmas in Ethiopia

25/12/2019

Our Fila Hotel Family treated us to true Ethiopian hospitality today, gifts and a coffee ceremony. They knew it was Christmas on our Calendar. No one else here seemed to. I have only seen one Christmas decoration, a tree, in one resort here. I had only one conversation with someone here who knew it was Western Christmas, Dadimos who lived in the states several years.
Ethiopian Orthodox Christmas is not until January 7. The only sign of it is many Orthodox church members are fasting for 6 weeks (no food until noon and a vegan diet). But our Fila Family knew and put on a coffee ceremony for us to celebrate Christmas. They even presented us with these beautiful traditional shirts. Merouane and I had just moved out a week ago, but we are still welcome as family. Gaja has never even lived there, but as our friend is welcomed as well.
Ethiopians are so welcoming. They will share what they have, even if they do not have much. I am very fortunate to have this opportunity to spend with them.

Christmas Eve Surprises

Christmas Eve proved to be full of surprises. I finally decided to buy a bicycle. It will be a great addition to my exercise routine. I saw my first Christmas decoration here - at the Blue Nile resort where we often go to watch the sunset. The Lake Tana monitor gave me a photo opportunity during the sunset.

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My career has focused on human rights. I managed an office providing legal aid to low-income people with civil legal problems. I teach classes at Missouri Western State University that focus on human rights and use applied learning approaches. I work internationally to bring this approach to law schools, their faculty and students.
I share my travels in hopes you will get a view of a part of the world I have found interesting, challenging or rewarding to work in. I request permission from subjects in photos whenever a person will be a central, identifiable part of the photo. Some of the best photos are never taken, or are just missed by me.

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