Ethiopia, where our holidays began

Our first halt was Ethiopia, an obligatory stop over in Addis Ababa, the capital through which all Ethiopian Airlines flights pass. For long we had talked about spending some time herer, especially since we have a friend, Jennifer, who is based here. Such a pity to just pass through it each time. So, when flights schedules were complicated, we didn’t hesitate and spend three nights in Addis Ababa. Unfortunately, our friend Jennifer was out, but with her big heart, she lend us her small apartment and we settled in nicely.

Now, three days ain’t long, but we still made the most of it. Some highlights include:
- Getting pampered: going to the Ethiopian version of Moroccan baths, and getting a thorough full body scrub and massage

- Food: trying out all the local specialties, and the less local, like the delightful coffee and chocolate croissants at this French café

- Christianity: since Ethiopia was Christian long before most of Europe was, it was fascinating to see the old religious traces, and such a contrast compared with other African countries where Christian religion are often recently imported (or should I say imposed) and often marketed in a modern aggressive way. In Addis, we went out to a church that had been hewn from the stone, and which was ancient (our guide said from the 3rd century, our guidebook more likely from the 14th AD).
- Getting to meet our great-great-great-great grandmother (or should I say small?): our famous ancestor, and yet so tiny. It is indeed in Ethiopia that the bones of the famous Lucy were discovered.


So, that was our short but intense city trip in Addis. Great fun and at least some days to unwind from the pressure of finalizing all the activities from 2009, the receipts, bookkeeping etc, so I could drag it along to hand over in Belgium. Glad it isn’t just an airport anymore, but now each time we pass through it, I’ll smile and look out over the city trying to recognize some of the places we went to.

Our capoeira group social outreach programme

Here is a little video we made regarding the capoeira folha seca social outreach programme during 2009:

- at Emerald Hill and through Brazilian Embassy: an orphanage

- at Mavambo and through Volens: capoeira as a counselling tool on successful interaction

The festive season and festival

So we're going to Belgium for the holidays. A bit of a surprise, for us and our family, because initially we had planned to go back in March, but turns out that we need to travel before end 2009 in order to benefit from our development worker's ticket back.

So back to the cold and snow for Christmas and New Year in Belgium, but we also added something before and after in order to see some more of East and West Africa.

Exploring Ethiopia: we're leaving Zimbabwe on the 17th of December and are going to spend till the 22nd in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. We also have a friend there we might visit. Always stopped over there before with our flight, but it'll be the first time we're going to explore it a bit.

Ca va faire mal au Mali: on our way back, from 1st of January till the 11th, we shall go to the Festival au desert, 7-8-9 January. This takes place in Essanaka, somewhere in the desert close to Timbouctou (doesn't that sound like the end of the world).

It's the 10th edition of this famous festival, with Salif Keita, Viviane N'Dour, Harper Simon, etc. and even a Belgian band (Maak Spirit). We wanted to volunteer during the festival (hosting groups, accompanying press, that sort of thing) and thus get our entry and accommodation for free, but we're on the waiting list. Planning on teaming up with Maika, another Volens cooperant working in Bamako and friend of Thomas.