On the Street - Education

Walking about the neighborhood behind our hotel is a great opportunity to see the real Ethiopia. I especially enjoy seeing the children going to school in the morning. I wanted to take a picture of the school, and one of these kids was standing right in front of the sign. We were warned never to take pictures of people without asking permission. In Ethiopia, when you ask if you can take someone's photo you usually get a very enthusiastic yes or an emphatic no. Kids are usually much more eager to have their photo taken, which explains the results of this picture.

We found it! We were wondering how we would ever find the American Corner in Bahir Dar. It's hard for us to get around and find anything, and here it is in our neighborhood. The American Corner is a resource center, often set up in partnership with a library as it is in Bahir Dar. English language books and audio-visual materials, college information and other items are available in most corners. Fortunately, near the school pictured above. For more information on Bahir Dar's Corner, go to https://et.usembassy.gov/education-culture/american-spaces/bahir-dar-american-corner/

Street Food

​Food is a favorite past time of mine. Street food is delicious and fun. If its hot and fresh, its probably fine. I have seen roadside “donut” stands like this in several countries. The patrons gave them ringing endorsements. I usually resist because I know a deep fried anything is inherently unhealthy (although that has not kept me from eating the deep fried fish and chips here). We’ll see how long I can resist these temptations.

The Community 

There are more mosques in this community and in Ethiopia than I expected. Especially since the official statistics put Muslims at less than 10 percent of the population. Some claim it is more like half the population. We saw several mosques on our walk. This one really stood out for the height of its minaret and red color. There are also many Ethiopian Orthodox churches. I will post some photos of them later.

---

It's a mall in the back with an amusement park in front of it. What a concept.
To the right is a more typical Ethiopian market, except for the colorful plastics.

---