like no other country i've been to before friendly locals

well after emailing i just read n shaved then about 9:00 ish went out for walk. i do feel safe here, well on streets near my hotel as many rest's/bars/store open late and people everywhere and well lit up streets. people here are so friendly. i did have a guy sitting on the ground outside my hotel start following/talking to me when i left hotel and i flat out told him nicely that i wasn't going to give him any money or buy anything from him(as i knew he wanted something, these kinda roaches always do) he said he didn't and he posed no risk/threat to me so he followed and we went to a bar and he paid for his first drink we chatted. he wanted to introduce me to his 2 female freinds so they jioned us, then 20 mins later he said to me the 1 girl thought that i was handsome and that she wasn't a prostitute but that she wanted to spend evening with me......yeah right the handsome line was original and i figure the girls wanted money for something for me. so i just politely said no thanks, and tyhe guy ordered himself a drink then after told me i had to pay for it as he had no money.

i was upset and flat out refused to pay and tried to explain to waiter with my hands(he spoke no english) that this guy ordered it and he would have top pay. i was ticked off but wouldn't be guilted into paying. i even explained to 4 well dresed men at next table what happened and i was happy that i couldn't understand what they said to this guy, but by the tone of their vioces they were giving him shit and they agreed with me that i shouldn't pay. the guy went to bathroom and i buggered off, stopping at another bar close to my hotel. i met 4 local guys and we talked and ended up hanging out all night going to another bar after that. because sat is considered a 'koly day, or maybe holliday?' all the bar had reeds/long grass on floor at entrances.strange? also i musta danced with over 30 different men through out the night. here i see men walking down sidewalk holding hands and in bars theyy dance together.

i met many nice people that ust came up to me and shook my hand and said welcome to ethiopia or asked my name or how many days i've been here. was legitimate and not to buy them drinks but i guess the thril of meeting a 'faranji' or tourist. throughout the entire night of 4 bars i never saw a single other tourist. often i could just see people sitting in corners watching me n staring. guess they were surporised to see a tourist in a local bar that wasn't a fancy disco(if they have such). it was nice evening and they walked me back to my hotel, even though it was basically just across the street.

as for my ride to bahir dar leaving at 3:30 am.............it never showed up. travel i've heard is hard n frustrating in this country and my first day i am already a victim of it.haah kinda sucks as i wasted today in this capital city when i wanted to get outta here asap. i gave guy at hotel a small deposit and he assured me he would come to my room and get me when it arrived, but he never did and neither did minibus arrive. like what if i had plane to catch or had to be there? how can a company operate like this? welcome to travel in ethiopia. oh well i lazed round n read today and i will go for supper soon, still a waste of a day when this country is so large and travels oo slow it is a shame. oh well nothing i can do about it. oh well maybe god willing(as all the locals here say), god willing my minibus will actually come tomorro morning..........i really don't know what i can do different to increase chances of it arriving, guess just cross my fingers

i cannot get over how many street children there are here. all 7-12 and filthy dirty roaming in groups of 4-10. hard to beieve young children raising themselves on the streets. i also don't like the fact that they are pretty desperate for food/money so if 5 or 6 of them all at once jumped me, i wouldn't be hurt, but my pockets would be emptied and nothing i could do about it. as long as they don't take my 400.00 flip flops guess i'll be okay.

as for my hotel, i couldn't believe it actually has hot water. guy at hotel said it did but i wasn't holding my breathe but it does......my god such a simple thing as a shower that isn't ice cold brings such happiness/celebration for me it is like winning the lottery! sounds stupid but if u had cold showers for a few days in a row then it is a blesing when u get hot water. plus manager is freindlyt and i've sen a few other tourists around the rest n lobby area. funny they r all clean n nice clothes buyt yet staying in same crap hole as me so i laugh at that. their high standards aren't so high at the moment but like me they just picked a place from the travel book. not like with a big heavey backpack a person would aimlessly walk around looking for different hotel. i just settled on this place, and enshalla(god wiling' maybe they can actually get my a minibus so i can carry on my travels.

i sure get lots of looks here, i did see about 5 tourists total in my 1 1/2 hr walk i just took but locals still sems intrigued by a white face. i walked by a rest that serves raw meat served on injera and seems to be popular here so i gota watch what i order as i wouldn't wanna eat raw meat back home, but i def wouldn't wanna eat it here. i ain't prissy but everything is kinda dirty here from utensils to busses to walls in this cafe even? why not wipe stuff or be cleaner? just cultural differences of being in a poor country and my god is this country poor. one of the poorest ever i've been to yet the people are happy in their life it sems and very hospitable

well maybe i'll get a hot spicy beef curry fopr supper i gota quite eating burger n fries all the time

danielle,krista,kristie,leanne,dawna,rod thank you very much for taking time to make comments/emails back as they r nice to read, plus i think laura was gonna put more animal pics now that she is home, her bag is in london, but at least my baby got home safe n sound. a bit of me is actually looking forward to getting home too. oh it'll come all to fast as i am down to 11 days i think here?

thank u to everyone else that has emailed/commented to us. i hope it is warming up there and that u have a god day

boy laura, don't let abby take over my 1/2 of the bed as i am returning soon y'know! i bet she sure was happy to see u