Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 12:59 PM

Phil-

Nice pixs of the injera pour!

You're right about injera stew every day. I probably will also be sampling the menus of the many other foreign restaurants in Addis Ababa. I recall the teachers who took me to their favorite restaurant for lunch one day near Mexico Square in Addis Ababa. I thought I was used to Ethiopian hot spicy stews. I couldn't speak above a whisper for half an hour! They were very amused.

Besalam,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: olddude
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 11:29 AM

Charlie
Just come back safe ok

that is all I ask, I know you will have a nice time

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Newport Boy
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 10:32 AM

Charley -

Like cooking everywhere, there are many different methods. Three photos
here with the batter being poured from the outside in!

I'm not sure about injera replacing pizza - I could eat a pizza every day, but twice a week was enough for injera.

Phil

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 08:11 AM

Spaw-

I'm pleased that you and Karen had a good experience at your Ethiopian restaurant. "Tef" by the way is the essential grain from which the Ethiopians mix up the "injera", the sourdough pancake used to help consume their tasty and spicy stews. It takes a steady hand to pour the injera batter onto the waq, from the inside out. And it's important not to flip the two-foot pancake over, leaving one side sponge-like to absorb the stew. We found it interesting that the Amharic word for picking up a choice part of the stew in injera and popping it into a neighbor's mouth, "gorsha," was the same word as for "bribe."

Back when I was much younger, we Peace Corps volunteers used to fantasize on how long it would be before Ethiopian restaurants replaced pizza parlors in the States. Invest now!

Besalam,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: catspaw49
Date: 03 Feb 09 - 02:31 AM

Very neat Charley! I knew you hgad a passsion for the place and a desire to return and I'm happy this has wworked out for you.

Thanks again for all the info awhile back on Ethiopian cuisine. KAren and I had a grat meal that first night and have returned to the restaurant several times since......and I just bought a bag of Teff flour too!!!

I'll be reading your reports.

Spaw

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Azizi
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:50 PM

I'm just popping in to say I also believe you'll have wonderful experiences.

I'll be reading about you trip on your website and hopefully you'll have plenty of stories {and songs} to share on Mudcat as well when you return to the US.

Best wishes,

Azizi

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Maryrrf
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:28 PM

Charley, what a wonderful experience it's going to be. Good for you!

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 10:03 PM

Bob-

DC is, indeed, the home away from home for Ethiopian expatriates.

I do look forward to more Ethiopian cooking in Addis Ababa. However, I've been very fortunate that a small Ethiopian (actually Eritrean) restaurant has survived here in Portland, Maine, for over 5 years. What a delight!

What were the titles of the CD's and where might they be purchased?

Besalam,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Bob Hitchcock
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 08:10 PM

Charley, good luck on your trip and I hope you have a wonderful time. I had the honor of engineering three CD's for a group of Ethiopian musicians here in the Washington D.C. area and they were just incredible people. I have also loved their food for the past 25 years or so which is quite plentiful here.

Have fun.

Bob.

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 06:21 PM

Above or below the line, as my Ethiopian friends would say "Min chiguri'n!" or "It troubles me not!"

Bob-

I wont be taking any musical instruments with me. I might raise a drinking song or a shanty if encouraged. And I'll certainly bring my compact recorder, the Edirol R-1.

But part of my mission will be to assess what computer hardware and software will be most useful at the secondary school and for the regional economic development committee (Gurage Peoples Self-Development Organization). Some of the expatriate Ethiopians, our former students living in the States, have already organized a 501-c-3 non-profit organization called The Berkefet IT Project which has gathered together some 40 used computers and accessories and is shipping them to the Gurage country, for the secondary schools. I in turn will be dropping off my older laptop computer this trip, loaded with images of my maps, air photos, and my personal photo collection.

My friend Phil should be arriving today in Addis Ababa. I am anxiously awaiting word that he is settling in.

Besalam (in peace),
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Deckman
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 07:00 AM

Charlie ... sounds like a great adventure. Are you taking instruments? Have fun and re-connect. Bob Nelson

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 02 Feb 09 - 05:33 AM

Ahhh a piece of Ethiopian peace to ye and blessings on your trip. But this Noble Charley Horse belongs below the line. With similar logic EVERYTHING would reside in the "upper kingdom."

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 07:12 PM

This is really neat, Charley! Please do share songs and all of the other great stuff. This will be read with relish!

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 06:54 PM

have fun

sandra

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 05:19 PM

Barry-

I'll play the worksong leader your CD; I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it and who knows what his team might be singing the next time an ethnomusicologist comes by! LOL

Barbara-

You can find the full lyrics of "Pastures of Memories" on my website if you click on lyrics and MP3's.

I'll be as careful as I can knowing what I know but I may still be surprised.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Barbara
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 05:05 PM

Nice song up at the website, Charlie. Are there more verses to it?
Have a lovely time and don't get thrown in jail when you go looking for your students.
Blessings,
Barbara

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Barry Finn
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 04:04 PM

Have a great time Charlie, see you when you get back. I'll be following you.

Barry

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 02:48 PM

Guest-

There is music in the link to my website.

Susan-

I will be taking my Edirol R-1 with the hope of recording more work songs. And I'll be taking a cassette of some that I recorded in 1968 in the hope of getting them translated.

Phil and Mick-

Nice to know a few Mudcatters have traveled to Ethiopia. Traveling there via Google-Earth is less expensive but does provide an incredible overview, with high resolution images available for major urban areas.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Mick Pearce (MCP)
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 01:08 PM

I too was there (84-86 in the State Statistical Office in Addis doing the agriculture pre-harvest forecast and post-harvest estimates) and loved the place. (I also played more and more varied music than at any other time I think!).

I'll follow your trip with interest. Hope you have a great time.

Mick

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Newport Boy
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 12:51 PM

I will also be watching this thread and your website. Ethiopia definitely calls one back. We spent three weeks there in 2002, mainly visiting various projects which we support around Nekemte. This is just off the NW corner of your map. We also drove down the Rift Valley as far as Shashemene.

I'm sure you'll have a great time. Renewing contacts should not be too difficult if you have a few places to start. Personal connections are very important.

Phil

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: wysiwyg
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 12:33 PM

I'll be watching this thread with interest. Taking an MP3 recorder?

~Susan

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 12:21 PM

Ebbie-

Thanks for the good wishes.

It's hard to predict what old friends and acquaintances I'll be able to track down but I do have some good leads.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Ebbie
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 12:16 PM

Peace Corps experiences evidently have lasting effects on volunteers' lives. A friend of mine served in Guyana in the 70s and still visits his 'Guyana Mom'.

I hope you have a most fulfilling visit.

Subject: Charley Noble Revisits Ethiopia 2009
From: Charley Noble
Date: 01 Feb 09 - 10:50 AM

For the last few years I've been thinking about revisiting Ethiopia where I taught science and geography as a Peace Corp Volunteer from 1965-68. It's been over 40 years since I was there but in some ways it seems like yesterday. This year I heard from a fellow returned Peace Corps Volunteer that he was going to be teaching this winter at the University in Addis Ababa, and that triggered my decision for a revisit. I'll be flying out February 17 and, if all goes well, returning March 4.

I plan to keep a journal as I re-explore where I worked. I've also drafted a prologue with music, images, and commentary for anyone who is curious about my experience, which is posted on my website: Click here for website!

I should have a lot more to say when I get back, and many more pictures!

In the meantime I've be happy to answer any questions you might have about this revisit.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble, still resident in snow-covered Maine