10 Interesting Facts About Ethiopia

Here are 10 interesting facts about Ethiopia that we learned recently:

1. Cradle of Human beings - Ethiopia is the land of the origin of the first human species, that is justified with discover of Lucy, “Lucy” was found in 1974 by an American Paleo Anthropologist and they have been listening to the music called “Lucy in the sky with Diamonds” from where she got her name. Lucy aged 3.2 million years and its scientific name is Australopithecus Afarensis.

2. Ethiopian Calendar - Ethiopia still retains the Julian calendar, in which the year is divided into 12 months of 30 days each, and a 13th month of five days and six days during the leap year. The Ethiopian Calendar is almost eight years behind the Gregorian calendar. (They just celebrated the year 2000 last year)

3. Ethiopian Alphabet and Numbers - Ethiopia is the only African country with its own Alphabet Letters and numbers that traces its origin back to Sabean. The Ethiopian Alphabet consists of 33 letters each with 7 characters. In Earlier times and also currently in rural areas people start school in “Kies Timehrt” and “ Yeneta” is a title given to Ethiopian Traditional primary teachers. Most of the time these primary Alphabet teachers are priests from the Ethiopian Orthodox church.

4. Birth Place of Coffee - Ethiopians have a very beautiful traditional coffee ceremony, its unimaginable for most Ethiopians to start a new day with out several cups of coffee. Coffee is the best drink an Ethiopian family offers to honor guests, as coffee ceremony is the best occasion for a get-together with neighbors and friends. Ethiopian coffee ceremony might have been crated with the discovery of coffee itself in its south western heartland, in particular place called “Kaffa” from which, many experts of the uniquely fragrant and relaxing bean believe, the firm coffee has originated and joined the international lexicon. Coffee, café, etc

5. Amharic Language - Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia, although English, Italian, French and Arabic are also widely spoken. Outside the larger cities and towns, indigenous languages are likely to be spoken - of which there are over eighty, along with some 200 dialects. The most common of these are Oromo, Tigrinya and Somali.

6. Location and Boundary - Ethiopia is strategically located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by the Sudan on the west, Somalia and Djibouti on the East, Eritrea on the North and Kenya on the South. Its proximity to the Middle East and Europe, together with its easy access to the major ports of the region, enhances its international trade.

7. Capital of Ethiopia - Addis Ababa, the largest city that is the seat of the federal government of Ethiopia, lies in the central plateau at an altitude of 2400 meters. Its average temperature is 160c .Addis Ababa was founded in 1887. It is a host to the African Unity (AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). Several other international organizations have their head quarters and branch offices in the Capital. Addis Ababa is also the center of commerce and industry.

8. Climate - Although Ethiopia lies within 15 degrees North of the Equator, owing to the moderating influence of high altitude, the country enjoys moderate temperature and pleasant climate, with average temperature rarely exceeding 20oc (68oF). The sparsely populated lowlands typically have sub–tropical and tropical climates. At approximately 850mm (34inches), the average annual rainfall for the whole country is considered to be moderate by global standards. In most of the high lands, rainfall occurs in two distinct seasons: the “small rains” during February and March and the “big rains” from June to September.

9. Flag and Emblem - The Ethiopian flag comprises three colors. .In the center there is a national coat of arms .The three colors are set horizontally in equal dimension with Green at the top, Yellow in the middle, and Red at the bottom .- The national coat of arms is a blue circle with depiction; Straight and equal lines of yellow come from all direction and join each other .
A star formed by the straight and equal lines. Yellow rays radiating from the joints of the straight & equal. The national coat of arms on the flag reflects the desire of the nations , nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia ,as well as of its religious communities to live together in unity and equality.

10. Size of Ethiopia - Ethiopia covers an area of 1.14 million square Kilometers (944,000 square miles)

*this info comes to us via websites and books we are currently reading - we are sure some facts may vary depending on what you read :)

My Friend Che

I met Che the summer after I graduated from high school. We were both 17 and working at Fuddruckers full time. We didn't hit it off right at first...we were both very stubborn and often didn't see eye to eye on things. Over time and the fact that we saw each other at work almost every day we became close friends. There was a group of about 8 of us who all worked together and being that we were the young ones at Fudds working full time we gravitated to towards each other.

Daegen, Mike, Brad, Che and I were inseparable and could often be found driving around in Daegen's Festiva listening to music, playing cards after a late night closing shift or just hanging around at someones house. We were on the top of the world and thought nothing would ever bring us down.

Che had the biggest,brown eyes you ever saw and a mop of unruly wavy brown hair that somehow always looked fantastic. He always had a big grin for his friends and was always interested in what you were up to. He cared immensely for his family and friends and I dare say would have done anything for them. He made everyone around him comfortable and was always up for a laugh or a good conversation.

A year after I met Che he was in a serious car accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Our world came crashing down and we knew that life would never, ever be the same. Overnight we went from being carefree teens to adults.

Che struggled with what had happened to him but he persevered. From him I learned that life goes on and that you make the best of it with the hand you are dealt. He didn't complain (to us at least). He went on in life to be a very successful artist. He taught us all that life is precious and should not be taken for granted. He showed us that no matter what you can still dream big and reach your goals.

As often happens, we all grew apart and went our separate ways. Some of us moved away to go to school, some got married and others started careers. I would from time to time bump into Che and his face would light up and I would know that he was glad to see me. He was one of those people that you could go with out seeing for a long time, yet the conversation left off from the last time you saw him as if you had seen him only yesterday.

Che passed away this week at the age of 36. It is unfathomable to me that he should leave this world at such a young age. He touched so many people in his short time here. I will never forget him or the times we shared. When I look back at the most memorable times of life...I will remember fondly that Che was a part of it, He had a huge impact on me and I never had a chance to tell him. My mind tells me there is a reason why he was taken so soon, it will just take my heart a while to understand.

Che, my friend, you are loved and will be missed.

Chillin' in Whistler

Weekend In Whistler

This past weekend we had the fantastic opportunity to spend 4 days in Whistler. We went for the National Home builder's Conference (for those of you who don't know Yvan is a home builder). Yvan sits on the executive board as vice president for our region and every year they send the executives and their spouses (yaaaaa) to the national conference. And this year it was in Whistler!!!

Neither of us had ever been to Whistler before and we were both really excited to go. We flew out Thursday afternoon, landed in Vancouver and picked up our rental car. We loaded our bags into the cute little 4 door Yaris and took to the roads of Vancouver. Luckily, our flight was about 45 minutes late and so we missed rush hour traffic in downtown Van! As we have spent lots of time in Vancouver we know how hairy it can be but we breezed right thru in about 20 min which is amazing!!! We hit the north side of Vancouver and started the long, winding and construction filled road to Whistler. Unluckily, our flight was 45 min. late so we had to drive up the mountain at dusk. Holy crow!! That road is crazy at the best of times but with all the construction for the 2010 Olympics it is a bit of nightmare - we would drive down on Monday during the day and it wasn't as bad when you can see what is coming at in the daylight! It is hard to believe that the crew is ahead of schedule and under budget - you wouldn't think so when you see the crushed rock, gravel and unfinished road work that lay ahead. Those construction workers are brave indeed.

The weekend was great! The conference is all about home builder's from across the country getting together to celebrate the industry, network, learn and have fun.

Saturday evening was a 60's themed dinner and dance - and a band that played music from the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's - the lead singer did everyone from Elvis, Diana Ross, Tom Jones, Tina Turner, Neil Diamond - they did Abba, Cyndi Lauper etc. It was fun!!! Sunday night was the gala - we got to dress up all fancy schmancy!!!

We saw some amazing guest speakers. Bob MacDonald, Joel Cohen (a writer on the Simpsons) Jessica Holmes (Royal Canadian Airfarce perfomer) Jessica does the funniest Celine Dion impersonation ever!! The one that touched us the most was Micheal "Pinball" Clemons" from the Toronto Argonauts. I am not a football fan in the least but he was a fantastic motivational speaker. He had people in tears (men too) with his passion and love for life! For a football player he is little in stature (only 5'5") but he has the biggest heart and personality I have ever seen. His main theme was "we play this game for each other" meaning the game of life...and if we remember this in our day to day life we can't go wrong. He said life shouldn't be about playing only for ourselves but for everyone we know. I have never been so inspired by a speaker as I was by Pinball - he truly has the gift of inspiration!

My mom, Auntie Kerry, Cherie and Hayley also were up at Whistler this weekend - so we got to spend some quality time with them as well. We did some shopping, eating and visiting and oh did I mention shopping - hee hee! No, I don't always shop!!!

If you are ever in Whistler - be sure to go to Zog's - they have the best Poutine in the West!!! The coolest thing about Whistler is that you can sit outside and eat at all the great little restaurants. They have heaters and some places have blankets so you can wrap yourself up all cozy like. This way you get to people watch and take in the fresh air!

The only thing we didn't get to do was snowboard - boo! Friday morning Yvan and I woke up and pressed our noses against the hotel window in unadulterated envy and watched all the people skiing and snowboarding down Blackcomb - we are definitely going to go back and hit the slopes!!!

Next Year's conference is in Quebec City - Whoot!! I love Quebec City - can't wait!!!

We play this game for you!!!

Snazzy New T-Shirts!

A month or so ago I ordered some t-shirts from an adoptive mom (Lisa) I "met" thru an online support group for parents adopting internationally. She makes these cute t-shirts and $4 from each shirt goes to help orphaned children in Ethiopia thru CHOIR.

They came yesterday and the best part of all was that Yvan didn't know and was totally surprised - yeah!

Thanks Lisa, we love them!!!

Cute little Kidlet t-shirt!!

Yeaaaaaah Kijiji!!!

Thanks Kijiji and Friends!!!

The other day we were out looking at child trailer/jogging attachments so we can bike and run with our new kidlet. We were looking at the chariots but they were so expensive and it sort of scared us off.

We ran into some friends who were also out shopping for the same item and said that you can find all kinds of used kids stuff on Kijiji. However, they said the child trailers were hard to come by because they go so quickly. We got a phone call from said friend yesterday saying there was a MEC trailer for sale and told us to email right away! Which we did!

Yeaaaaaaahhhhh! We got the trailer, it is practically brand new and we got it for a fraction of the cost :) What is better than that? Nothing that is what...well...actually a referral is better than that! Hee Hee.

If you want to check out great items in your area on Kijiji go to www.kijiji.ca. You can sell stuff here too! The best part I believe is that you don't have to pay to sell your stuff like on Ebay.