Page 40 - ISIE Project

Its goodbye to ethiopia

I was privileged to be in this position to choose a country of my choice in
Africa as the 2019 ISIE recipient. Ethiopia has always been a country I have
always wanted to visit. I flew with Kenya Airways from the Murtala

Mohammed International Airport in Lagos Nigeria. We had a layover at Jomo
Kenyatta International Airport Kenya before taking a direct flight to Bole
International Airport Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. After the immigration cleared
me, I got my luggage and proceeded to the arrivals, where I met the hotel

driver. We then headed to the Nega Bonger Hotel in Addis Ababa, the capital
of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, means “New flower” in Amharic.

I woke up with excitement, and i could not believe that I was in this this
position. After I had breakfast, I went on a tour with the media team hired by
ISIE to document the activities for the day and the rest of my trip. I visited a
whole lot of places such as the National Museum where you can find Lucy's

skeleton well preserved, a lot of old artifacts, paintings, and Ethiopian history
spread throughout the four floors in the museum. The Ethnological Museum
located at Addis Ababa University was another place I visited. We also drove
up to the Entoto Hills where you can see the vast lands of Addis Ababa.

Most of the people speak a Semitic or Cushitic language, which is part of the
Afroasiatic language family. There are more than 80 different ethnic groups

in Ethiopia. The country is a multicultural and multi-ethnic country. Religion
is a significant influence in Ethiopian life. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is
proud of its origin. Even when I visited the St. George's church, you could tell
that the people were so rooted in their faith.

Ethiopia is a country that is deeply ingrained in its history. The Ethiopian
calendar is seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar, owing to

other calculations in determining the date of the Annunciation of the birth of
Jesus Christ.

The day two of my tour was the best of it all. We drove 50 km outside Addis
Ababa to Kuriftu Resort. The resort is in an Ethiopian paradise setting,
breathtaking landscape. I went boat riding for hours glancing through the
remarkable place. I Also went on a food tour where I tried different varieties of

Ethiopian dishes. The other days in Ethiopia were also mind blowing!
I enjoyed every bit of my stay in Ethiopia and the people were so much

welcoming and showed a lot of interest in making me know more about
their culture. Thanks to the Directors; Directors Agbogo Kalu and Timothy
Obisakin for this remarkable experience. Ethiopia was a dream come true,
thanks to the hotel Nega Bonger and my media team for top-notch

service. If you are planning on visiting Ethiopia, you've made one of the
best choices.

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