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I spent three months there teaching ATLS to physicians in the mid 90s
Remember you will be at altitude, just over 8,300 feet if I recall--plan accordingly.
The Ethiopians themselves are very proud of not being a colonized nation, they also point out that they are the oldest christian nation.
They are runners--and I mean RUNNERS (who do you think wins darn near EVERY marathon). While the contingent of medics I was with taught at the hospital, a second group of trainers taught down in Debra Zete some basic infantry tasks / units. Someone got the bright idea of trying to do combined PT (USSF and Ethiopians). Don't make that mistake UNLESS you can run sub 5 min miles without stopping forever. Luckily, the Ethiopians couldn't do 5 pushups without collapsing so the combined formation would run like the wind for a mile (with USSF sucking air), stop for 5 min to do sets of pushups (with Ethiopians quivering on the ground) and the process repeated itself.
The other thing I remember is they have a unique habit of taking a sharp breath inwards while listening to you (sorta like a startle reflex--American style). It means nothing but takes some time getting used to. Its just their way of saying uh-huh or yea.
Also one final piece of advice, there are a LOT of scam artists out there. We hooked up with a local charity and bought some vouchers for food / meals. We passed that out instead of money. The really needed loved that--the scams would turn it down.
Overall--staunch ally--who else is willing to go into Somalia and kick the crap out of people we can't touch.
Have fun, work out, and take a PT test when you get back. We ALL dropped like a solid minute or two from our runs when we got back after 3 months there.
If you need more--drop me an email
GreenSalsa
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"Those who beat their swords into plowshares will plow for those who didn't"
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