Time, Dates and Technical Issues

Today I learned that not only does Ethiopia have a different calendar, it also has a different clock!

The Ethiopian calendar has 13 months - 12 thirty day months and one short month of 5 or 6 days, depending on Leap Year.  Somehow it's also on a different year than our calendar which explains why I thought the university website hadn't been updated in years!  So accordingly, today's date is the 28th of Maskarram, in the year 2011.

As for the clock, the first hour of the day is right after sunrise at 6 a.m.  So that means 1 o'clock is what we would call 7 a.m.  12 o'clock would be at sunset, or 6 p.m. as we know it.  There was always a hesitation when we spoke of meeting times until someone told us about this and then we realized the person was converting the time from local time to International time before answering.  Dave began his assignment today and the students were instructed to come at 8, which translates into 2 p.m.  Confused?

Speaking of Dave's assignment, I went along as an observer to see the university and to see what he was getting himself into.  Like in many situations, technical issues were the order of day.  Just when web-sites were found and the projector was working, the power went off.  Plan B.  The power returned shortly, but then the internet was unavailable.  Eventually files were downloaded and the material was available for the students to begin.  Just to add interest, a bird flew right through the classroom, and nobody even noticed.

By now it was coffee time.  Ethiopia is known for its coffee and it's always served from freshly roasted coffee beans.  Very strong and served only in small cups!

When the class ended, we were driven back to the hotel through the late afternoon traffic.  Tuk-tuks, donkeys (with or without a cart and driver), mini-busses, regular vehicles, large transport trucks, and pedestrians all threading their way around traffic circles and along the wide streets.  And somehow it works.