Water and other drinks

Bottled water is readily available just about everywhere even at the remote stops -- the African travelers drink it as well. However, after around 2 months I was drinking water -- with no intestinal ramifications. India is far worse. Carry some iodine with you and an empty water bottle, or even better a light weight filter , and eat lots of yogurt before you go. In Ethiopia, they have Ambo -- which is a huge bottle of sparkling mineral water just about everywhere. Also be sure to drink lots of spris -- fruit juice served in layers -- more like pulp that you eat with a spoon. The avocado is excellent!

Food

Food in Ethiopia is injera -- the flat pancake made from teff with shiro (chickpeas), salad and other concoctions. There are local restaurants in most towns and most restaurants serve it as well. The dish is meant for two -- and your table neighbor might stuff food in your mouth -- this is considered a great show of hospitality. I had no problems eating anything in Ethiopia or anywhere in Africa. The food is always very fresh -- they only kill/cook what they need. The nastiest food is generally in the big hotels or restaurants catering to westerners. That being said, there is some very good eating around the Piazza in Addis. Pizzas, etc.. Depending on where your are -- the muslim areas will serve lots of goat (delicious) and beef in the Amharic areas -- raw is the preferred method, but you can always ask for it to be cooked. Don't be shy about asking to go back into the kitchen to look at the dishes and pick. If you hate injera -- you will be eating spaghetti with tomato sauce. Addis has some good western groceries stores -- so stock up if you want any treats. I, of course, bought peanut butter, and a few cans of sardines both turned out to be a very worthwhile investment. If you are in an area with lakes (Arba Minch), make sure you eat the fish. Very very good.

People

Watch out for the "Farangi prices" left over from the Dirge. On the historical route -- it's common for Faranjis to be charged double for even a bottle of water. Be polite but find out the local prices and always carry lots of small change. Give them the local price and walk away. If there is an arguement, offer to get the police and a priest. It also helps to learn a few words of Amharic so you can pass yourself off as a resident AID worker or teacher. The word for Thank-you, amasiganalo (phonetically), is very rarely used, but the Ethiopians are delighted if you do say thank you in their own language, and you wind up making friends as well.

Never, never, ever, use your finger to point at anything. Very bad manners, and of course use only your right hand to eat.

The children and the "you , you , you:" This gets very annoying, but realize that it's direct translation from the Amarhic, and is a polite form of address. I would usually say "you, you, you " back, or engage the children in a conversation -- they learn in English and love to practice their few phrases, "where you go", "how are you", "how old are you", and "are you married." I would also sometimes stop and explain that it's much better to say "hello, and goodbye." You will get lots of requests for biros, or pens. There is a big debate about whether or not it's a good idea to give children pens, but school supplies are extremely short, so I brought a few extras to hand out. Never would give out sweets though, and of course, don't give any children money.

Ethiopian year is composed of 13 months. 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of 5 days that becomes 6 days during leap years. Currently it is 1996 in Ethiopia (2004) and if you didn't have a blast at the turn of the millenium, you can still have one after 3.5 years in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopians celebrate New Year, when in Europe we have September 11. It means, in 11/09/2004, in Ethiopia they will celebrate the first day of year 1997.

More about Ethiopian Calendar:
http://www.ethio.com/calendar.html
http://www.ethiopic.com/calendar/ethiopic.htm