I guess I should write while I have the time and internet.
Tomorrow I'm heading towards Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia for five days of intense field visits. We'll be in very rural places, spending a lot of time driving to try to visit some project sites. I suspect internet will be limited as electricity will likely be provided by generators.
With this in mind, I'll either publish this entry now or see if I can figure out how to do a delayed entry. Either way, last night we went to a restaurant called Abyssinia. This would be categorized as a high end 'cultural' restaurant where there are a number of performances of singing, dancing and live Ethiopian music. Restaurants such as these are quite common place and these are good places to go to try to learn or at least witness some pretty good dancing. I had been told about the 'shoulder move' which doesn't really help in preparing you for the greatness of this move. I can't do it, I can barely try but it is impressive. The dancers seem to have the stamina of marathoners and it's pretty cool to watch.
The food was also delicious. We had a wide variety of dishes and shared our food communally on a plate of injera. This is actually my preferred way to eat as you get to try a number of different dishes. There was far too much food and I wish I could wrap it up and bring it back to Canada with me.
There was some mandatory audience participation which led to me having to both refuse to participate while attempting to move my head back and forth in a manner that is physically impossible for me. Malawi, Ugandan and Tanzanian staff members were less shy and gave it their best shot. Some Ethiopian colleagues also matched some of the dancers in skill and enthusiasm. I still don't quite understand how some of these moves are possible - a personal favourite is one I call 'the running man on speed'. It's interesting to see the different dance styles and link them to some of the moves we see in music videos. Lots of similarities believe it or not.
Tomorrow I'm heading towards Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia for five days of intense field visits. We'll be in very rural places, spending a lot of time driving to try to visit some project sites. I suspect internet will be limited as electricity will likely be provided by generators.
With this in mind, I'll either publish this entry now or see if I can figure out how to do a delayed entry. Either way, last night we went to a restaurant called Abyssinia. This would be categorized as a high end 'cultural' restaurant where there are a number of performances of singing, dancing and live Ethiopian music. Restaurants such as these are quite common place and these are good places to go to try to learn or at least witness some pretty good dancing. I had been told about the 'shoulder move' which doesn't really help in preparing you for the greatness of this move. I can't do it, I can barely try but it is impressive. The dancers seem to have the stamina of marathoners and it's pretty cool to watch.
The food was also delicious. We had a wide variety of dishes and shared our food communally on a plate of injera. This is actually my preferred way to eat as you get to try a number of different dishes. There was far too much food and I wish I could wrap it up and bring it back to Canada with me.
Check out our feast!
There was some mandatory audience participation which led to me having to both refuse to participate while attempting to move my head back and forth in a manner that is physically impossible for me. Malawi, Ugandan and Tanzanian staff members were less shy and gave it their best shot. Some Ethiopian colleagues also matched some of the dancers in skill and enthusiasm. I still don't quite understand how some of these moves are possible - a personal favourite is one I call 'the running man on speed'. It's interesting to see the different dance styles and link them to some of the moves we see in music videos. Lots of similarities believe it or not.
The Band!
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