Long Live The Sar

It is always difficult leaving this place I have come to love so much and so today, while sitting in a cafe, I sat down to make a list of the things that I will miss.  This was not as easy as it sounds because the first things that come to mind are all things that I will miss simply because they remind me of how nice life in the US is (i.e. cheap massages).  Instead, I wanted a list of things that I will miss about Ethiopia, not things that I will miss just because they are better/cheaper here than America.  Here is what I came up with: ~I will miss the omnipresent Ethiopia shirts, hats, and scarves that illustrate the ubiquitous nationalist pride in spite of the country's problems; ~I will miss the random conversations with people on minibuses who are genuinely interested in you (or at least your "whiteness") but interested nonetheless, ~I will miss desperation and danger of everyday life in Addis, ~I will miss the mundaneness of seeing polio, elephantiasis...

As every Thursday morning should start, Stuart, Berhanu, and I began the day with a tour of the St. George brewery here in Addis.  For those of you keeping up, this is my second brewery tour in Ethiopia; Ari Dia and I did Dashen in Gonder.  So St. George is the largest beer company in Ethiopia (70% owned by some French dude) and controls ~60% of the market share (vs. the 45% quoted to us @ Dashen).  The facility was not as impressive as the Dashen factory, but everything was made up for when we got ice-cold beer fresh from the fermentation tanks for breakfast and then our guide Robel loaded us up with free gear (4 t-shirts, a hat, 2 aprons, 3 mugs, a St. George Jersey, and coasters).  Basically I am know the biggest fan/walking advertisement for their product and can't wait to hit up the company bar @ 4 (after visiting the Fistula Hospital and indulging in ice cream and steam bath @ Addis Ababa Golf Club).  Should be a good day.... :-)

The last few days before leaving are always the busiest but I know my loyal readers deserve better...so here is a recounting of events from the last few days.   Golf - Stu and I went to the Addis Ababa Golf Club on Sunday.  Ridiculously awesome is one way to describe it.  We started our adventure on the driving range.  With 200 balls, a 5/7 iron, and two caddies, we were ready to work on our game (correction: Stu was ready to learn the game and I was ready to smack a few).  The club consists of a nice clubhouse, stables for the Addis Ababa Equestrian Society, a 9-hole course, driving range, gym, and spa.  The driving range is quasi-mowed; probably cut by hand with a scythe...like every other lawn in this country; there are markers for 50, 100, 150, and 200 meters and the tee-off area is great practice for hitting out of PGA-style deep rough (knee-high in places).  The highlight of the driving range however is that we each got a p...