| Ethiopia | Good Eats + The Culture

Hello from Nashville, TN.

Ok, so it’s been a little while. And I apologize for that…but things have been a little crazy. Considering I’ve only been out of school for 3 months, life’s been pretty chaotic.

1. —Graduation
2. —Spontaneous 3 day trip to test-drive Nashville
3. —Texas vacation
4. —Ethiopia for 5 weeks
5. —Home for 2 weeks
6. —Official move to Nashville, TN

It’s been a transitional summer to say the least. Stability is what Jeremy and I crave more than anything! Moving doesn’t really make things “stable,” but at least we’ll be in the same for longer than a month from now on!

Well, enough whining. I’ve been soooo eager to share these next photos with you! Today, I’m sharing photos from various meals we had, the coffee ceremony and different details of the Ethiopian culture we experienced.

Here are a few tidbits about Ethiopia we experienced:

• As founders of coffee, the cups of joe were pretty phenomenal. And as Jeremy likes to say, “it’ll put hair on your chest.” —There’s no such thing as a “light” roast. Every morning the ladies of the house freshly roast, grind and brew the coffee. Many people have coffee plans in their backyard–talk about organic! And the favorite coffee pairing is….popcorn! Who woulda thought it was such an amazing pairing!?
• Ethiopians eat with their hands. So, in order to do that more easily, there biggest staple is “injera.” It’s a flat, spongey, sour pancake in which the food is placed on and eaten with. It’s created from teff, a type of flour, and fermented. Unfortunately, my body didn’t like injera so I had to opt for bread when we ate traditional meals.
• When not eating traditional food, our lovely cooks made dishes with an American spin. Their marinara sauce was AMAZING (considering there is a high Italian influence with Ethiopia being formerly occupied by Italians). Pasta, potatoes, rich and everything that has carbs were staples for us. One night we even had potatoes with marinara sauce–quite the combo!
• Macchiatos were TO-DIE-FOR. Great coffee with steamed milk=delicious! Seriously can’t explain how amazing they were.
• Bananas and mangos were our staple fruits, since we could only eat fruits with a peel.
• Scaffolding for homes/buildings were pure wood. These people were brave!
• Women do SO much work in Ethiopia. You can see the women cooking, weeding, helping carry stones and water, etc. These women are strong and incredible.
• Talk about free-range chicken. I saw the chicken we ate right before it was slaughtered. Ethiopians never have to question where there food came from, it’s all natural!
• The market was quite the scene. Animals walking, feeding and using the bathroom in the same area fresh veggies were sold. But, all produce was fresh from the ground. And you may think NYC is busy, but try the market in Addis or Mettu….so many people offering so many goods! Everything from chiles to scarves to bananas to you name it. Such a great experience!

Enough of me talking—here’s the video/slideshow! Remember to refresh your page if it doesn’t show up automatically:

Our cool hats we never got around to using much since it was more rainy than sunny!

One of the buildings at Jimma University.

Macchiatos!!!!!

“Sprite” in Amaric:

A view at the market:

Precious — Hawi and Jeremy:

Our translator Dawit (We called him David) being silly!

Our Chacos we only got to use on the compound since it was too muddy everywhere else!

Charcoal for roasting coffee–these girls moved the coals with their bare hands!

At the market:

The beautiful church we attended:

Coffee Plant: Red beans = ripe!

Fresh bananas: