Lalibela

The top view of Saint Giorgis Church- Lalibela

A priest things outside a church

Legend had it that, around the late 12^th Century in the Mountains of Northern Ethiopia Saint Lalibela (Emperor of the Zagwe Dynasty) had a revelation. His revelation dictated that he was to build a second Jerusalem in the rocks of his mountainous home. The story goes, that too many pilgrims were losing their lives on the testing journey to Jerusalem. The churches are within the rocks as a representation to the holy resting place of Jesus. The religious narrative explains that the rock-hewn churches, all 13 of them, were built within 23 years and when the masons would lay their heads to rest, angel would come in the evening to continue their work. Most of the pillars inside the churches have tributes to the angels, with the corners being carved out and named “angels eyes”. While there is hardly consensus on the length of time, one of the other prominent historical arguments was that the Free Masons were involved in the building. One of the aspects which was evident to see the was the  Axumite influence on the design of many of the church windows (Axum is further north and is where legend has it that the Arc of the Covenant is housed.) Whatever the history may be, the reality is that photos and descriptions of the churches, set into the rock hardly do justice to seeing them in person.

Cheesy Group Tourist Shot- Take 1

Sears Catalogue Style

Meskel Day, an Ethiopian Orthodox Holiday to celebrate the finding of the “true cross” fell on Friday the 27^th, which means there was a long weekend!  So after we attended a large celebration at Meskel Square Thursday evening, where they had a MASSIVE fire as tradition commands, a few fellow interns and I made the short trek Via Ethiopian Air to Lalibela Friday morning—side note: the flight was less than an hour and a half and we still got a snack (not stale pretzels), C’mon Air Canada! Step it up!— On our first day we had a wonderful tour guide who was born and bread in Lalibela and has been working their for 10 years now show us the churches.

On our second day we were presented with a few options – drive 45km outside of town to see another church, trek up the mountain beside the town (with our without your own pack mule-an option you are not presented everyday) to see a monastery at the top. As a group we opted to do neither, and instead to check out a chaotic local market in the morning and then wonder around town. We eventually made our way to the side of town where the nicer hotels were all located on the edge of the mountainside with spectacular views of the valley below. We finished our relaxing day with dinner at a restaurant, Ben Ababa, owned by a wonderful Scottish woman. It  looked like its something out of a SciFi film- it boast spectacular views and delicious food! (Pictures to come)

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to spend a relaxing afternoon in what felt like paradise, in the company of great friends. One of the topics that seemed to permeate our discussions throughout the weekend was “what’s next?” As all five of us are CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) Interns, our time in Ethiopia is quickly ticking to a close and we will soon find ourselves back in Canada facing the reality of such a question. While we are all interns, our lives up to this point have varied greatly and I appreciated hearing the perspectives and inputs from everyone. One of the big questions, was ‘what city, within Canada, would you ultimately want to live in?’

Halifax from Citadel Hill

While I will spare the details of the mental pro/con lists we made of many cities, the conversation allowed me to think about what it would really be like for me to live in Halifax. I have spent a number of summers and Christmases in the city, but I have never made it my long term home (as I attended high school in Southern New Brunswick). The time I have spent there has allowed me to build quite a love for the maritime city. I typically describe it to people as small enough where people still hold doors open for you and smile, but just big enough to be called a ‘city’ where you have access to almost anything you need. I love that the small town Maritime feels still permeates the city, I love that one of the main downtown streets, Argyle, essentially becomes one Giant patio in the summer when every restaurant/bar extends their outdoor eating area into the already narrow street. I love the parks, the sea, the music etc And even though when I’m abroad and I say that I am from Eastern Canada people typically start by responding “oh Toronto?” and I then have to keep saying “nope further” until we work our way past “the French part?” to the “bits that no one knows anything about” and then most look at me and wonder if I live in a raft floating in the Atlantic—I love it (it typically shocks people even more to know that there is a direct flight from Halifax to London Heathrow).
Well there is no doubt of my love for Halifax, our weekend conversations had me wondering where/if I would fit into it. I have had no trouble in the past enjoying myself during my summer/Christmas holidays and I feel very fortunate to have a great group of friends there. My concerns lie around finding a larger profession network and starting a career.

A friends blog about a month ago when she left Ethiopia  (http://wherethewildfernggrows.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/coming-full-circle/ ) gave me a refreshing/needed check and had me asking myself “why did I come to Ethiopia?” – My simple answer, to push myself to experience things outside of what is comfortable, and in navigating these new challenging experiences hopefully learn more about myself and life in general. It is this push outside of what is comfortable that I seem to have been chasing and hope to continue to chase, for a while. It is this pull to push the comfortable; that I fear will not coincide well with Halifax. I hope that my over-thinking skepticism will be proven wrong, and when I try to dig deeper than the surface level of the city I have experience in my summers I will be pleasantly surprised!

I have always been one who over thinks change, not in the paranoid “AHH what will happen to me” sense but in the wonder of possibilities, some of which can in fact be scary, but as my time here is quickly ticking away, I can’t help but wonder where I will find myself in a few months time and how different if will likely be from what my “normal” day to day life has become here in Ethiopia.