Finally we're in Ethiopia so now can be honest. It takes time to reflect and we often realise how we were feeling after we enter another state of mind.
Before Leaving to Ethiopia
Last month didn't belong to the easiest ones. We don't even know where to start but first we had so many technical problems with our laptops, cameras, then the microphone and phone...and the time was ticking by, and we had to have all fixed and ready to go before leaving to Ethiopia.
Then once again, updating our wardrobe, medicines and all the little bits and pieces that we found out we were missing whilst travelling around Asia.
To add to that, whilst living in London everything was so accessible that we forgot that not everything is in the reach of our hands, here, in Hanna's little hometown. So we had to order lots of things online, stress that they wouldn't reach us in time and obviously pay for the delivery. We even drove especially to Czech Republic just to pick up malaria pills because it was 3 times cheaper to buy them in UK and ship them to Europe than to buy them in Poland! And the company doesn't ship to Poland...
And then in the end, feeling excited but scared. You know, it's a feeling that you get before you go on a first date with someone or when you start a new job. You don't know what to expect, you haven't been in the exact same situation before, but you do know that you're excited about jumping into a new position.
This is how we've been feeling about going to Ethiopia. But of course we couldn't admit it there and then in front of our family, because they were worried enough without us talking about it. It's just this mixture of things we've heard that we didn't believe in, but stayed somewhere in the back of our heads. Pretty much every person who heard that we're going to Ethiopia, said they'd be scared.
Thanks, we thought. We now feel great. And totes jumping in the air to hear that you'd be scared.
Scared of what?
Scared of what, we were thinking? Probably of the unknown. Because the only thing, which we eventually realised was flowing around our minds involuntary, was the lack of knowledge. Of course, you can read about Ethiopia. Its history, culture, people. See documentary films about its beautiful animals. But everyone knows this is not the case when you find yourself out of the airport, all tired and surrounded by unknown things. All the stories and adventures seemed to be about backpacking in Asia, but we found very few people writing about travelling independently in Ethiopia. All the sources were at least 5 years old! This, or the articles were so general and not very helpful.
So all these things glooming over our heads made us think that we had had enough, and we just can't do it anymore. But they say, do what you can't. And so we did. Luckily there are two of us so somehow one always pulls the other forward...and that's how we roll!
The 'Travel Safety' Map of Ethiopia on Australian Government website
The 'Travel Safety' Map of Ethiopia on UK Government website
The government advice left us wondering how it will be in Ethiopia once we land - we were pretty stressed because we should have 'reconsidered our need to travel', if we were to follow Australian's government advice...
Finally in Ethiopia
Here we are - we're writing to you from Ethiopia! We got here safe, we're not scared anymore. People are happy, we're happy. We managed to pull everything off in time. Food is yummy, we found our way from the airport. Nobody hassled us and made us feel unsafe, they all just smiled and were super helpful and welcoming!
So now we'll flood you with all this normal, everyday knowledge about going through Ethiopia on your own. Because everyone can do it and it's not scary at all in the end!
You can follow our adventures whilst we backpack through Ethiopia, and as we work on film and photography projects on the way, and also on Zach's Travel Vlogs released every 2-3 days. Here's the first one:
