nomadic in april

Ethiopia Day 1

I almost missed my flight! I had the wrong day. That's what happens when you lose track of day and time. It was only because I was telling Susu how I reminded Selam that Tuesday at 3am is really like Monday night so don't forget me! Thankfully I realized this at 10am and my flight was for 10pm. So I left Jordan in a whirlwind and then suddenly. . .I'm in Ethiopia.

But that four hour transition from Amman to Addis Ababa is one to be remembered.

I arrived at the airport after an Arabic lesson and date proposal from my taxi driver. I escaped hastily and went inside. At this airport you go through security before going to your airline to check in. I arrive at the check in counters and can't find BMI on any of the signs. So I ask three different people and finally I'm told that I'm four hours early. I say "no way! my flight leaves in an hour. Where is the counter for BMI?" Oh well they don't have a counter yet. Just go sit over there and someone will come for you.

This is truly a first. So I sit and decide to use the airport wireless to upload some pics. Then a BMI agent comes over and asks me if I'm flying to Addis. I say yes, and he says come with me. We go to the check in counter and the "interrogation" begins. Why are you going to Ethiopia? Are you Ethiopian? How long are you staying? When did you arrive in Jordan? Obviously I looked confused and or annoyed and he smiled and said with his British accent, "This is for security purposes." I said, mhmmm and asked if I'm the only passenger. He said yes. Now I'm suspicious! I asked, am I the only person on the plane?! Is it a regular commercial jet? No you are not the only passenger. There are 30 or so other passengers coming from London. Hmmmmm. Very strange.

Next I go through immigration. They look at me, look at my passport, look at me. Are you Ethiopian? no. Is your father Ethiopian? no. Is your grandfather Ethiopian? no. Why are you going to Ethiopia? I'm thinking to myself why are there flights to Ethiopia from Amman if it seems so unusual? How long were you in Jordan? one month. Luckily I was at exactly one month after coming back from Syria. Otherwise I would have been over my 30 day visa and who knows what suspicion that would have caused. The officer smiles, stamps my passport and waves me through.

So I go to my gate and wait alone. There is no one around. The boarding time has come and gone. There are no signs to update me. Finally the same counter agent comes to walk me down the jetway to the plane. I say "well aren't you just everywhere" and he smiles and says, "yes I am."

The flight is short—four hours. I wake up and enter a new world. Its 3am and I stumble off the plane into the immigrations area. There are only a few agents waiting. Most hurry and sit up from their sleeping positions. No one is there to guide us, so I go to the Immigration desk and the officer is almost done processing me and asks for my visa. I say I want to buy one and she says oh, you have to go to that window.

So I go to the other window, wait in line and discover that they only take US dollars or Euro for the visa payment. I had planned to get US dollars, but because I had to rush to leave, I didn't have time and figured the Jordanian dinar is stronger, surely they'll take it. So they send me to the exchange counter. The old man behind the glass looks at my dinars, looks at me, clicks his tongue, waves me away and turns his back. I say "excuse me!" I need to exchange some money to pay for my visa. He says "I don't take that" I say well what shall I do? He says go to that window over there, they'll take it. I go and no one is there. I wait. No one. I go back to the visa window, and the woman says, "oh there is someone there. just bang on the window, they are asleep under their desks." I go back, bang on the window, yell through the hole. No answer.

By now, there is another family in the same situation as me, they have British pounds. I go back to the visa window, the agent says, did you bang hard? I said no one is there. She says, yes there is. There is a jacket on the chair. Oh my god! it's now 3:30 am. My friend is waiting in arrival. I feel like I'm running in circles. I go and ask the visa agents what can I do? They said is there someone here to meet you? Get some money from them. I said my friend is Ethiopian, she won't have US dollars or Euros. They said take her Ethiopian birr to the exchange and get US dollars, then come back. So let me get this straight, you'll let me walk out through immigrations and customs without visa to ask for money to pay for my visa because someone is sleeping under their desk? Yes ma'am, you have five minutes.

So I do just that. Meet my friend's mother get Ethiopian birr from her (nothing like asking for money from someone you've just met, but its now 4am and I just want to leave) and return to the exchange window. Sorry, we don't take birr. WHAT?!!!! you don't take your own money? Are you serious? I go back to the visa window, tell them what's happening, give them the poor sad tired eyes and ask them what I can do. Three agents huddle together, speaking in Amharic and come up with a solution. One agent rights out a "receipt" and says take this, leave your passport here and when you get US dollars or Euros, come back to the airport for your visa. I said "what? are you serious!" I can't leave without my passport. The agent assured me it was fine, the passport would be safe and secure and this was the only solution since someone was sleeping under their desk. I pause and consider the time and that my friend's mom is waiting. I take the receipt and slowly leave. As I get to baggage claim I seem a British woman from my flight. Yes! I ask her if she has US dollars or Euro that I can for exchange my borrowed birr. She agrees but insists on giving me the $20USD, yes, all of this for $20 at 4am.

I take the $20, walk back through customs and immigration, the wrong way! Where's the security? And retrieve my passport. Cheers all around. The agents asked where I found it. I told them about the random act of kindness. They said, "ooooooooh! she must be very rich."

Note for future travellers: always keep US dollars on hand.

Yeah! I made it. Just like that, I'm on another continent. New language, new money, new people, new way of life. The second adventure begins!