Leaving Capital and moving on....

This morning, my driver decided to take me to Capital in a different direction so he could show me some sights that I had yet to experience. We went by a shopping area filled with tiny shops for shoes, clothing, seamstresses and then, we saw this. One can buy sheep, donkeys, dogs and very emaciated horses at this open air animal market. These animals were rummaging or lying around bleating their hearts out. I approached to take a photo and the animal sales people began begging for money because I was taking a photo.

This bundle is hard to see clearly and taking photos of this crop is against the law in Ethiopia. Why? This is "chats" which is a leafy crop/plant that is similar to hashish and which is grown here and exported with the knowledge and support of the Ethiopian government. I hadn't seen this type plant so asked my driver and then, asked the staff at Capital about it. It is a hallucinogen, very powerful and its best characteristic is that it gives a swift high and the crop can be planted and harvested twice a year...in contrast with coffee which takes four years from planting to harvesting. So, exporting "chats" is a growth industry for the country. Think about that!

Here I am using my hands as I train...Salomon, the chief editor is next to me and Aniyet, the Sales and Marketing Manager is next to him.

Here is the whole Capital team...with Groum, a managing editor in the striped sweater next to Teguest, the Gm. Seble, the Finance Mgr is next to me on the left with Salomon, Aniyet and Nebiyu the last man to your right. He is the Distributor Mgr.

I spelled Injera incorrectly...this is the local bread, light and fluffy and is presented in a roll. One tears a piece off and scoops up food. I just cannot manage to do this neatly and without lots of drippings and droppings. Like eating this way, just wish I could do it professionally.

Saw Brady Walkinshaw, a young friend from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from two or more years ago. I last saw Brady in Nairobi, before that, we met in Washington, DC when I was there with Kenz and Logan and before that, Honduras. Funny to meet this young man across the world. We are having breakfast tomorrow...he had meetings today and was wiped out, having arrived late last night. Jet lag is serious here.