I’ve neglected this blog for far too long and am not sure where to start! So much has happened over the past month...mostly non-work related since it was the inter-semester break. I suppose I will start with the workshop that I conducted in Asella.
I headed to Addis on February 6th and spent the night there. On the 7th, Semira and I traveled with an embassy driver to Asella. We met up with some folks to discuss the next day’s workshop, but mostly relaxed in the hotel. On February 8th, I led the actual workshop at the Asella Teacher’s College of Education. It was a small affair with six teachers involved and one Peace Corps volunteer. The workshop only lasted for three hours in the morning, but I tried to pack a lot of information into that time frame. I focused on how to use picture-assisted stories, how to make vocabulary activities motivating, and how to incorporate various free materials from the U.S. Embassy into feasible lesson plans.
When the workshop finished, I stayed in Asella rather than going back to Addis (and then back to Haramaya). It was the start of the inter-semester break and I decided to start traveling from Asella rather than backtrack. My good friend, Mark, met me in Asella on the 8th so that we could travel together.
Early on the 9th of February, we headed toward the Bale Mountains. Our original plan was to just go to Dodola, on the outskirts of the national park, and do a one-day or half-day trek. When we arrived there around lunchtime, however, a British couple convinced us to continue traveling east into the actual park. They said it would be worth our time to do so.
With that said, off we went! It was difficult to find public transportation to the park headquarters so we ended up hitchhiking in a huge orange truck carrying logs. The drive was extremely slow (heavy vehicle going up 8-11% grade), but it gave us plenty of time to gawk at the scenery. The mountains were somewhat dark and jagged in the distance; it even rained for a while making the whole scene quite ominous. We saw a couple of baboons on the way up and lots of locals riding horses along the side of the road.
When the workshop finished, I stayed in Asella rather than going back to Addis (and then back to Haramaya). It was the start of the inter-semester break and I decided to start traveling from Asella rather than backtrack. My good friend, Mark, met me in Asella on the 8th so that we could travel together.
Early on the 9th of February, we headed toward the Bale Mountains. Our original plan was to just go to Dodola, on the outskirts of the national park, and do a one-day or half-day trek. When we arrived there around lunchtime, however, a British couple convinced us to continue traveling east into the actual park. They said it would be worth our time to do so.
With that said, off we went! It was difficult to find public transportation to the park headquarters so we ended up hitchhiking in a huge orange truck carrying logs. The drive was extremely slow (heavy vehicle going up 8-11% grade), but it gave us plenty of time to gawk at the scenery. The mountains were somewhat dark and jagged in the distance; it even rained for a while making the whole scene quite ominous. We saw a couple of baboons on the way up and lots of locals riding horses along the side of the road.
Once we reached the park boundaries, we were able to see some deer-like creatures in the distance. I also caught sight of my very first warthog! He was digging with his tusks in the dirt next to the road, but looked nothing like Pumba from The Lion King! The driver dropped us near the park headquarters where we thought we’d be spending the night. We soon found out that the government-owned lodge had recently been taken over by a private party. We were expecting dorm rooms for 70 birr (less than $4 USD), but were told that the cheapest single rooms were $65 USD! They said if we were looking for something cheaper we could camp, but that was still $20 USD plus the cost of renting the tent and sleeping bags. We opted to walk to the nearby village of Dinsho to find alternative accommodations. Before leaving, we arranged for a one-day trek the following day.
In Dinsho, we found the nicest looking “hotel” (there were only two or three). We were happy to find out that the price was only 70 birr, but disappointed to see what that got us...little more than a mattress and a light bulb! The worst part was that we both felt fleas or bedbugs crawling/biting us the entire night. It made for a long, uncomfortable night, but we survived! We were more than ready to get breakfast and start hiking early in the morning. Our tour guide met us in town and we walked from there to the Gaysay Grasslands. I did not know what to expect on this hike, but was pleasantly surprised. After walking less than 20 minutes, we spotted our first nyala - a spiral-horned antelope. It was so impressive! The male nyala was huge and not phased by our presence.
Soon after, we saw a troop of baboons in the distance mixed with a group of warthogs. For some reason, I was so amazed that the baboons and warthogs tolerated each other in such close quarters. They didn't seem to interact directly, but they were within mere feet of each other. We continued to hike through the plains area and then headed up one of the mountains. It was tough-going, but we were rewarded with a spectacular view. We also saw more nyala as we were hiking up.
We spent 4 or 5 hours hiking around catching glimpses of more nyala, baboons, warthogs, and reedbuck (a smaller deer). By the time we got back to Dinsho, we were tuckered out. However, we did not want to spend another night with bedbugs, so we caught a bus back toward Dodola. We had to transfer vehicles, but eventually made it to Shashemene - the heart and capital of Rastafarians.
See more photos from the Asella Workshop here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113203084550986862848/albums/5983901142814654225
See more photos from the Bale Mountains here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113203084550986862848/albums/5983966799284962033
Soon after, we saw a troop of baboons in the distance mixed with a group of warthogs. For some reason, I was so amazed that the baboons and warthogs tolerated each other in such close quarters. They didn't seem to interact directly, but they were within mere feet of each other. We continued to hike through the plains area and then headed up one of the mountains. It was tough-going, but we were rewarded with a spectacular view. We also saw more nyala as we were hiking up.
We spent 4 or 5 hours hiking around catching glimpses of more nyala, baboons, warthogs, and reedbuck (a smaller deer). By the time we got back to Dinsho, we were tuckered out. However, we did not want to spend another night with bedbugs, so we caught a bus back toward Dodola. We had to transfer vehicles, but eventually made it to Shashemene - the heart and capital of Rastafarians.
See more photos from the Asella Workshop here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113203084550986862848/albums/5983901142814654225
See more photos from the Bale Mountains here:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113203084550986862848/albums/5983966799284962033