The end of Africa....for a while

It has been been almost 5 monthes here on the mother continent. Boy time is a trickster! Tomorrow I fly out of Ethiopia after visiting 10 of the 54 countries here. I was able to travel up through the north of Ethiopia last week, and it was quite wild. I first took a long and windy bus ride (they seem to all be this way) to the city of Bahr Dar on Lake Tana. The lake has many islands that have old Orthodox Christina monestaries on them, which have been in operation since as early as the 10th century...and nothing has chanegd. Old bearded monks sit in the shade and read old scriptures written in Geez (the older more religious language of Amheric) that are printed on goat skin paper. I was able to visit some of the islands by boat, and play tourist for a day. One afternoon, I walked to the Muslim part of town around the large mosque. Of course I got many stares, as there are few white people in the town, and even those that do do not meander into that part of town. Two boys (about 12 -ish) broke out in a fight in the street. They were swinging punches like there life depended on it. A few of the Muslim woman ran over and tried to pull them apart. My reaction was also to get between these two little shits and cool it off. I shouted one of the only Amheric words I know "Salom" which is a greeting, but literally means "peace be with you". They had this intensity to fight that is quite strange to see someone so young having. Like those Chineese fighting fish, they would have fought till the death I think. As I walked away, I looked back to see all of the men laughing. Then I did a big psuedo-Hunch Back of Notre Dame laugh too in kind of a childish mimick. Then dumb expressions on their faces! I took another LONG and tiring ride towards the city of Lalibela. This tiny town in the remote mountains of northern Ethiopia is kwown for its 11 monolithic churches that are carved into the ground. So imagine rather than building a building up, you dig out an entire building in the subterranean rock, with the roof at ground level. The builder in me was fascinated, and so mystical being in these dark stone churches, with beams of light shooting through cross windows. I had to stop in the town of Gashina, where I waited hours for another truck to pass to take me to Lalibela. Usually only one or two buses run a day to towns in Ethiopia early in the mornings. This means ride all day, stay over night in a room, and continue in the morning. Anyways, I gave another African concert in the town, and everyone stared with confusing looks! They really enjoyed it, and so did I. So mind-boggling to watch these shepards herding their donkies or goats in from the BRIGHT green mountains. The children stare at you in bewilderment, and usually the only game they know is chase the lamb or donkey around. Sometimes you pass an old naked man laying on the side of the road. Sick with something, but I don't know. One guy I passed had testicals the size of a basketball between his legs, basking them in the afternoon sun of Adis....ouch! I have been sketching 3 or 4 drawings a day, and the people are also bewildered at this. They whisper to each other as they watch me, "oh, now he is drawing the persons shoes!" and then laugh with excitement. I believe Ethiopia is the safest country I have ever been to in the world. In fact, I do not think crime exists, with the exception of maybe an occasional pick pocket in Adis. The most difficult thing to deal with is the over load of greetings. About 100 times a day you will hear: "Hey YOu!", "Hey Mister!", "Where you from?", "Where you go?", "You want guide?", "Money!". Especially the children. They all want money, and I like to ask them why. They very well here, despite its fictious reputation from the 1980's famine. Often times if they ask me where I am from for the hundreth time I will reply "Mars" or start speaking Portuguese or Spanish to them. There is always the occasional exception. A child that glows. While walking through the mountains one day, I came across a very young girl with the most beautiful face you could imagine (Ethiopians are shockingly beautiful people with rich features). She had an enormous load of grass on her back, and was sweating in the afternoon sun. I asked her to stop and rest for a bit on the rock, and she epalined that she lived with her grandmother and that she had to work, because the grandma was too old to do so. She was saving some to get supplies and books for school. I have heard this all over the world before, and many children just take the money and buy candy (which can sometimes be rewarding itself!). This girl was special, and I gave her a few Birr and reminded her that all things are possible. The ride back to Adis was again long and windy, and the guy next to me puked from motion sickness the whole time. I was very entertained watching the men tie lambs to the roof of the bus with all of the luggage, and often thought about what they thought about up there driving through the majestic mountains. Ethiopia does have desert in the east near Somali, and in the west near Sudan, but most of it is high mounatains contrary to popular conception.