Ethiopia

Injera, a sourdough flatbread, is a typical food in Ethiopia. It is usually served with several kinds of stew on top. The entire meal is eaten using bare hands. Drinking coffee is likely to have also originated in Ethiopia.

What made this experience particularly interesting was that everyone in the restaurant were Ethiopian American who spoke the Ethiopian language (Amharic) to each other – The owner, the servers, and all the customers. The restaurant was located in an African American neighborhood and many locals came eat here – A sign of authenticity.

The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months: 12 months of 30 days and a short month of 5 days. Ethiopian also measure time differently: Sunrise is 1 o’clock and sunset is 12, then the 12-hour night clock sets in; flying into Addis Ababa last summer was quite an experience, as my flight followed Western time while locals used Ethiopian time – Way to get confused.

#Ethiopia