Thank you for being a friend.....

Friends are the world greatest blessing in disguise. You never really know the people who will truly be your friends for the long haul, either because we judge or we distrust people's intentions, but surely at the end of the day despite whatever reservations you may have about people your friends are always there for you to make life just a little bit easier.
I am very blessed with a wonderful group of friends. I am a very private, and low key person, so my inner circle is very small, but although small, this inner circle comprises of the most amazing, most compassionate groups of people I know. Through tick and thin, through illnesses and heart ache my friends have always been there to support me, and make me feel special, and for that I feel very blessed.
We often do not take the time to thank our friends, and tell them how special they are to us. I try and tell my friends how much I love them and care for them but perhaps I may not do this enough. Being so far away from home and away from my friends, I thought would make the bonds weaken, but instead my friendships have only grown.
Friendships to me are like an extended family, and I am fortunate to have such a wonderful and loving family.

Fear of Flying

Well as most of you know, I have a very serious fear of flying. I do not know why, I guess because the thought of flying to me is just very unnatural, however, it is the best and fastest way of transportation throughout the world. And this was no exception in Ethiopia. Travel throughout the country is restricted to buses, cars, and air. Well its a big country and if you want to see it the best way is by air from one place to another, and Ethiopia has its share of air travel, and a lovely fleet of propeller planes, which just gave me the creeps looking at them. Everytime I walked the tarmac to my new destination I saw my life flash before my very eyes. The fear just got worse and worse with each flight but somehow I survived. I must say that each time the plane malfunctioned we were switched to a new and "improved" plane which never seemed to make me feel better, and the animated stories provided by everyone...where do I start Jennifer, there is no need to fear there was this one time when the engine blew on flight, and we managed to land safely, Jennifer don't be scared last time I was on the plane there was so much turbulence that everyone was holding on for dear life, and praying, but you will be fine. From those stories you can see how my fear of flying grew worse with each trip. However, I must say that despite my fear, and irrational fear of death just looking at the plane 14 take offs and landing later I am still alive and breathing, and had an absolute wonderful time holding on for dear life on my propeller laden flights from one part of Ethiopia to another.....life is full of surprises......

Jijiga

So as mentioned on my eariler blog I am back in Londontown from my adventures in Africa. I was fortunate enough to be able to go visit my friend who is currently working for an NGO in the Somali region of Ethiopia in a town called Jijiga. I have to say that this was by far the most best part of my trip not just for the simple fact that I could to go to the refugee camps, and see with my own two eyes exactly what is happening, and all of the hardships that the refugees must endure, but also because despite the poverty and heartache, these women, and children welcomed me with open arms, and made me feel like I was no different then them.

Travel to and from the camps was done in the usual NGO white truck, I had always wanted to ride one of these, having worked for UNICEF, and seeing people riding in these cars always made me want to just ride in one, not sure why, perhaps I had a complex of being a knight in white shiny armor, this fantasy was short lived, because all it provided me with was almost a sense of entitlement that I really did not like, but one that I am afforded due to where I come from. Yet despite all these crazy emotions I was able to enjoy the regular life of a resident in the area....
My favorite mode of transportation while visiting had to be the little blue taxi's bajajas...I just loved these things, they were so much fun, but the best part of riding them was bargining with the driver, who always had to charge the foreign aka ferengi price. The best times I had was riding around with my new friends from the area and hearing them get into fights with the drivers saying how they were paying and how it should be habasu price vs frenghi price. I just loved the highly entertaining discourse, it made from some nice entertainment. If anyone is to go into this area I highly recommend this form of transportation, why they are not everywhere is beyond me, they would really make life a whole lot easier...hehehehehehe.

Hello Everyone,

I am so sorry that I have been MIA, but I am finally back from my adventures in Ethiopia, and boy was it a wonderful adventure. Everyday that I spent there I can say I experienced some intense emotions. Whether due to poverty, and injustice, or just due to my inability to understand certain things about culture and what not.

But overall my experiences were amazing, and I am looking forward to my next visit to see my very good friend, and the many friends that I made along the way. Who would have thought that a two week journey could make friendships that will last a lifetime!