A funeral and

Hey folks, I just wrapped up my second week in Ethi and I must say, I’m starting to feel at home. We were invited to my aunt Kiros’ place yesterday for lunch and I tell you it was a feast. Pictures don’t do Ethiopian food justice, so I opted to not take any shots of the food. Anyhow, after stuffing our faces, we had some coffee....my first home made Ethiopian coffee experience in a very long time. You can see from the picture how the setup looks. The coffee is roasted, ground and brewed right in front of you. The aroma that fills the room is simply divine, the taste is amazingly fresh and bold. We attended a funeral last week. He was a family friend. I never met him, but he was very well known and respected here in the country. He was a mayor, then a vis to the prime minister as well as an ambassador to a couple of different countries. He was also kin to royalty - 4th generation to Emperor Yohanes. He started a lot of different programs around the country for the youth and for the under privileged. He had attended Oxford and Exeter College. He was in his 90s when he died in the middle of the night in his sleep. As the priest was reading the eulogy to a crowd of over a five hundred people, he said that he had lived a righteous life and died the death of a righteous man. He was allowed to be buried among royalty. Most churches in Ethiopia have burial grounds right on the church grounds, and this church is one of the oldest and most renowned churches in Ethiopia. It’s called Selasse, which means Trinity....it was my favorite church to visit when I was younger. There is den inside the church that still houses some ancient artifacts from the previous Emperors and Empresses such as crowns and royal robes. I’m hoping I’ll be able to take a tour next week. Coincidentally, this man was buried at the same church that both my brother and father are, but I wasn’t ready to visit them yet. I’ll probably make that trip next week.

I hope you enjoy the pictures and a short movie from the ceremony.

Cheers.