Dr. Julie Thacker has shared some videos for everyone to see of her recent trip at Ethiopia last month. Please watch the videos and read the corresponding segments (written by Dr. Julie Thacker).
Driving between Addis Ababa and Nekemte, Ethio
pia. April 2014 | The journey from Addis to Nekemte takes about 7 hours by 4x4. The road is tarmaced all of the way now - when Rob and the students went it was a much harder trip. Addis is on high ground, high enough to get altitude sickness, with a lower plain between the two. The mountains are very beautiful - lush and green. You pass through many villages and little towns on the way - you see some in the videos. Cattle, goats, dogs, people, hyenas and I even saw a monkey, wander across the road, taking their lives in their hands... |
Palm Sunday Procession. Nekemte, Ethiopia. April 2014.
| I heard the Palm Sunday Procession from my room at the hotel and ran down to watch. So many people were singing and dancing - it was a joyous occasion. If you look closely, you can see many people wearing head bands made of palm leaves. |
Wedding in Nekemte, Ethiopia with bajaj taxi guard of honour! April 2014.
| I also heard the sound of the wedding procession from my room, while I was preparing a lecture. One of the bajaj (little taxi) drivers was getting married. His friends provided the guard of honour for him. It was funny, sweet and uplifting to watch, all at the same time. |
Early morning view from the lecture room. Nekemte Hospital Ethiopia. April 2014.
| The view from the lecture room is my favourite clip, taken at 8.20 in the morning. It was so beautiful and peaceful and also not too hot, as the sun was still quite low in the sky. I taught here a few times; once with Rob in a joint session on renal disease. |