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

One month to go...

The flights are booked, the visa is on the way and my arms are aching from all the injections I've had. But it's now less than a month until I fly out, and the excitement is setting in.

Since this is the first post, perhaps I should outline what this blog's all about. I'll be keeping a diary while I'm out there, and in the days leading up to it, to record all the things I'm up to. I simply don't trust my own memory to be able to recall everything that happens in a month when I come back! I'll update it when I can (internet connections and power cuts permitting), and maybe I'll even be able to get a few pictures up, who knows?

While the days countdown though, take a look at what these guys are up to on their mammoth journey from Britain to South Africa and back, all in a Land Rover. They're in Gondar as I write, before they speed on South to their next destination.