Time to Fly

So this is it. Not in a historic, Michael Jackson's final swansong sort of way, no, but this marks the very beginning of what should be an incredible five weeks.

My alarm clock is set for 3 am. If all goes to plan, I'll be on my way to Istanbul by 7 am and will touch down there about 4 hours later. After a considerable departure lounge wait, spent making final preparations for the lessons which begin on Monday, I'll complete the rest of the journey to Ethiopia, arriving about midnight tomorrow. Then a couple of hours kip (hopefully) at Addis Ababa before flying on to Gondar at 6 am on Wednesday.

That final journey will, I'm told, be in a De Havilland plane. Like any other boy who was an airfix enthusiast at the age of 8, I immediately thought I'd be flying in one of these, a De Havilland mosquito from the Second World War:

Fortunately, they have made more modern planes since then, but it should be an adventure nonetheless. Ethiopian Airlines tells me there is a 'chance of storms' on Thursday morning. Cool

Nerves about the journey aside, I haven't felt this excited in a long time. Perhaps because I really don't know what it will be like, and because it's going to be so radically different from what I'm used to, I have a real urge to get there and get things going. I'm looking forward to meeting the other three 18ish-year-olds who are going to be there too (and who will be my co-pilots on the final flight in the Mosquito), although my efforts to stalk them on Facebook proved fruitless.

But more than anything, I'm looking forward to immersing myself in a culture which is foreign to me, with people who have been labelled the friendliest in the world, and with kids who's desire to learn could never be doubted by anyone. Bunking doesn't really exist as a concept.

I have no idea when I'll next be able to post a blog, but I'll be sure to keep a record of everything, ready for the opportune moment when I manage to find an internet café or a computer which has survived the inevitable power cuts and lack of any computer support technicians. And I'll be taking lots of pictures, which I might be able to feed you with at some point. If you want to leave me a message on this blog, that's probably the easiest way to get hold of me, but otherwise - see you in August!

Final Preparations

10 days to go.

I've been searching around for things to take: posters to decorate my classroom, chalk for the blackboard, storybooks for the lessons. But most importantly, an England football shirt - I was banking on England still being in the competition when I get there, but the way they're going I can't be so sure! Either way, I'm looking forward to a few lunchtime kick-abouts, even if I do get horrendously shown up for my complete lack of coordination.

I'm arranging to go here to see the incredible Churches they've dug down into the Earth, and I'm working out arrangements to spend my final weekend in the capital - the availability of some readily-available Western food might be a blessing after the traditionally spicy dishes I'll be enjoying in the North!

But the principal feeling is one of excitement, I can't wait to get on that (slightly too small and rickety) plane and get out there. Am I nervous? Yes. But somehow it seems certain to be a life-changing experience. And who knows, maybe I'll be watching England in the World Cup Final in a café somewhere in Gondar come the 11th of July...

P.S. Check out Link Ethiopia's website, if you have time

Learning Fast

Before I go, I've been brushing up a bit on the culture, heritage and incredible people of Ethiopia. I know I'm going there to teach, but at the moment I'm the one doing the learning. Here are the top 10 things I've learnt about Ethiopia, so far:

1) It was the first country to declare Christianity as its official religion

2) Ethiopians celebrated the new millennium in 2007

3) Former Emperor Haile Selassie is worshipped by Rastafarians as God on Earth

4) Meals in Ethiopia are traditionally served on injera, a sort of edible plate

5) The country's favourite alcoholic drink is a type of honey mead

6) Ethiopia contains 21 species of bird that are found in no other country in the world

7) The skeleton of the oldest human ancestor was found in Ethiopia and is 3.2 million years old

8) In the town of Lalibela the Churches are not built, but dug down into the rock

9) The Danakil Depression in the South of the country sees temperatures rise to 48°

10) The source of the Blue Nile, which leads into the Nile, is in Northern Ethiopia