My company had a project of five star hotel in Addis ababa, Ethiopia, I was transferred to the city and literally took charge of the project.

I never expected, the city of addis ababa to be such a cosmopolitan metropolis comparable to any other great cities in the world. Tall office buildings, elegant villas, functional bungalows, apartment communities, fashionable hotels, imperial palace, AU conference center, majestic buildings for embassies and national theatre, all gleaming in their marble and glistening aluminums. Neither did I expect the climate to be such a comfortable one. Despite its proximity to the equator, it’s high altitude(between 2300 to 2500M) offers a climate with an average temperature of 16 degree. The crisp fresh  air is to my heart content, anxiety and homesickness could magically vanish by just taking a few deep breaths of the air.

People here are extremely warm hearted and friendly, most of them are intrinsically religious, church ceremony took place almost every other day, one of my vivid impressions of addis ababa is people dressed in traditional white, homespun cotton, seemingly floating in the early morning mist as they make their way down the street and into the church.

I was invited to some of local families for dinner, while sitting around the table waiting for the food to be served, always one of the daughters of the family would hold a pot of water and a washbasin to let the guests to wash their hand one by one, a form of reverence to distinguished guest, then we started the dinner by sharing a large communal tray in which injera, the national food(a large, soft, pancake like food), was spread to the full expanse, only the right hand is to be used, tearing pieces of injera, wrapping meat sauce, vegetables and stuff the mouth to the full. I have to say the food is amazingly delicious. After the dinner, coffee is served in a ceremonious way comparable to Chinese tea rituals, strange incense is put into the charcoal fire on which coffee pot is warmed, the crisps of smoke and the unique aroma of the incense created an unearthly atmosphere. It was such an exotic experience that impressed me so much.