A French possession since 1897, this tropical, flat island is heavily wooded, and a wildlife sanctuary It is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a weather station
Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia The language is a Semitic language related to Hebrew and Arabic, and if you know either one you'll recognize some cognates In all parts of the country everyone speaks Amharic to some extent, no matter what their first language may be The language is written in the Ge'ez script
In big cities, most people under 40 speak some English English is the primary foreign language taught in schools In rural areas, find local school children to translate for you for a fee that could be next to nothing Ethiopians have a distinct way of speaking English Because it is heavily accented, it might be a bit difficult to understand it at the beginning However, when you get used to the way they pronounce some English words, it will become fairly understandable
Up north in Tigray, Tigrinya is the primary language, and it's also written in Ge'ez However, Amharic is widely understood
In the middle regions, Oromo is widely spoken Oromo language uses a Latin alphabet
There is no economic activity on Europa Island
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"Here is a guide, what you can get for the money Food and Drinks:"
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Injera is Ethiopia's national dish Injera is a spongy, tangy tasting bread made from the grain teff, which grows in the highlands of Ethiopia It is eaten with wot or wat, the traditional stews made with spices and meat or legumes Some popular wats: Doro chicken wat, Key lamb wat and Asa fish wat Another popular dish is Tibbs, spicy beef fried in butter It can be either really bad burnt to a crisp and resembling petrified wood or juicy and delicious in more fancy restaurants The Holiday Hotel in Addis serves delicious Tibbs
The injera sits directly on a large round plate or tray and is covered with wat placed symmetrically around a central item The various wats are eaten with other pieces of injera, which are served on a side plate Injera is eaten with the right hand - rip a large piece of injera from the side plate and use it to pick up one of the various flavors of wat on the main platter Do not eat with your left hand! In Ethiopia food is a respected gift from God and eating with your left hand is a sign of disrespect
Another popular injera dish is firfir: fried,shredded injera It can be served with or without meat or with all sorts of veggies
If you prefer vegetarian foods, try the 'shiro wat' which is a vegetable stew served with injera, most of the times you have to specifically ask for it as it doesn't come with most of the combinations as ethiopians prefer meat
Kitfo is minced meat, spiced with chili You can have it raw the locally preferred way, but there's a risk of getting the tape worm, 'leb-leb' lightly cooked or fully cooked It comes with a local cheese 'ayeb' and a spinach
For the pickier traveler, almost every place in Ethiopia also serves spaghetti thanks to the short lived Italian occupation In nice restaurants in Addis you can find excellent spaghetti and lasagna try the Blue Tops or Top View restaurants, and in the more peripheral places you will usually find it overcooked with bland tomato paste as sauce
The coffee ceremony involves drinking a minimum of three cups of coffee and eating popcorn It is a special honor, or mark of respect to be invited into somebody's home for the coffee ceremony
In preparation for the ceremony the coffee beans are roasted in a flat pan over charcoal The beans are then ground using pestle and mortar The coffee is brewed with water in a clay coffee pot and is considered ready when it starts to boil Coffee in Ethiopia is served black with sugar
Tej is a honey wine, similar to mead, that is frequently drunk in bars in particular, in a tejbeit
A variety of Ethiopian beers are available, all of which are quite drinkable, also Ethiopian wine - both red and white - which would not win any prizes but are drinkable
There is no public accommodation on Europa Island
Ethiopia has one of the lowest unemployment rate in Africa The unemployment rate is 5% 2005 9 Notice that the average income is about 120 US-dollar/month per inhabitant But in the capital Addis Ababa you can make over 400 US-dollar/month by IT works
The country's economy is based on agriculture 69% of the people lead an agrarian lifestyle CCO However, in the big cities, especially in Addis-Ababa,
There are many opportunities to volunteer in Addis Ababa Projects Abroad 10 is an organisation that organises a range of volunteer projects including teaching English, journalism, caring for children and healthcare
