Author’s Note

The following series of tales and affairs took place over an 11 day period in November, 2018. I travelled to the east African nation of Ethiopia with my cousin Elaine, her husband Niall and their two sons. They had adopted their older son (9) from Ethiopia about eight years ago and were bringing him over to meet his parents and see the world that he was from. Out of courtesy I will refrain from overly analysing their son’s story, but it is important to understand why we found ourselves in rural Ethiopia.

The account is as accurate as possible and covers a range of events, descriptions, people and reflections. Throughout it you will find scenes that may be emotionally distressing in their description, but it is my responsibility to deliver a full account of my experience as it was.

I had set out to write a very cliche travel article about this journey, but in doing so I discovered that no travel article would have done justice to the people of this world, let alone the world itself. What has been documented here, including the photographs, is simply an account. It is not trying to advertise Ethiopia, nor is it intended to deter one from visiting.

It is also important to point out that this is not intended to be a deep, philosophical reflection nor is it intended to be a lecture. At many moments throughout this series I question topics such as morality, consciousness and existentialism, but their inclusion is simply down to the fact that they were topics in which I spent a lot of time thinking about during my time in Ethiopia.

I spent 3 nights in total in Gonder, 6 in Debark and the rest in various aircraft. Gonder and Debark are in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, so the vast majority of people I met and dealt with were from this region. I’m pointing this out because Ethiopia is a vastly diverse country of over 105 million people across nine regions, in a country over five times the size of Great Britain. This means that any cultural, political or personal experiences references are really only relevant to the people and politics of Amhara unless mentioned otherwise.

In Part 1, Addis, briefly., I could not include any photographs as my camera was stored in my carry on bag for the duration of that part of the story. Don’t worry, there will be more than enough photos to make up for it going forward.

I want to take the opportunity to thank my family (particularly my mother, Rosemary and my Grandmother for helping fund this project and for letting me pretend to be a writer instead of getting a “real” job. This would not have been possible without them. Most of all I want to unreservedly thank my cousin Elaine and her husband Niall for allowing me be part of a very intimate and emotional journey for them and their family.

If you’ve come this far I hope you enjoy reading this. Please do not hesitate to contact me should you feel the need. This is Where the Happy Folk Live.

Part 1: Addis, Briefly.