Recovery

As tired as I was, the noise was a problem - slept intermittently with unabated noise until well after 2:00 AM.  Was fully awake by 4:00 AM, still a jet lag effect. Ended up taking advantage of that morning (relatively) quiet time to catch up on work, took a very cold partial shower (no hot water) and spied another accommodation across the street that appeared to be set back from the road, presumptively quieter.  When the morning light was high enough, took a short walk just to stretch - still a bit wary from my pickpocket experience, but the streets were quiet and largely empty, save for the many homeless sprawled on the sidewalks.  Had some eggs at the restaurant downstairs and chatted with some Spanish tourists who came out of the Baro Pension across the street -"quiet but not fancy" - I decided to switch accommodations. Now on first impression, my room in Wufta would seem "not fancy," and seemed luxurious by comparison, with a window opening to the street, and the source of the noise.  The Baro tempted with a nice courtyard space that had all the appearances of being quiet and peaceful, but the room was very rough, smaller than I had, with no window but a small one to a hallway, was bleak, cell -like, but much quieter,

Met Ermias at 8:30 for a walk to the ECUSTA campus for meetings with the program leadership team. Following our meetings, we dove Besrat back to his house as he had just returned from Washington this morning.  We were invited into Besrat's home to enjoy a drink and lunch, consisting of a curry sauce, a chicken dish, and two meat sauces, along with rolls of inguar (that sour flat bread).  No forks - and the reason is that one uses the bread to grab the food, or one serves the sauces atop the inguar and eats it that way.  A new custom learned.  This was followed by a cup of very fragrant tea that turned out to be herb tea - oregano to be precise.  I did not know oregano tea even existed. And Besrat's wife only uses oregano for pizza and tea!

Besrat (L) and Ermias - lunch!

Following this midday event, Ermias drove me through town to its edge, up and over a mountain ridge, to an athletes park - a conference center and training facility for athletes.  We walked around and talked a bit about  the program opportunities, listening to many renditions of happy birthday that could possibly exist, for a party was underway nearby.

Exhaustion was catching up to me.  Took leave of Ermias around 5:00 PM, and sat on a veranda of the Baro - a nice spot shrouded in climbing vines, starting this post, but started to nod off mid-sentence.  Went across the street to the restaurant for dinner of vegetables and rice, and crashed at 9:00 in my "cell".  It did prove to be quiet, for as I write this - Sunday morning, listening to the competing distant sounds of a mosque call to prayer and orthodox church bells mixed with birdsong, I am again sitting on the veranda after a more vigorous, longer walk and a hot shower, having finally slept a nearly solid 10 hours.