Tips and Important Things About Ethiopia

-When I got to Ethiopia, I switched half of my money to Ethiopian birr and kept the other half in USD, thinking I would be able to use American dollars in some places. This was wrong- no where by the airport can you use any type of money but Ethiopian birr. Also in regards to money, Ethiopia is very inexpensive, and you do not need a lot of money to get by. At a restaurant, you will eat for about 40 birr ($4) and you can buy shirts for around the same price (although, they may try to get you to pay higher, so always bargain with them and they will lower it!)
-Stay at the Ethiopia Guest Home! This place is amazing. It is run by an American couple who adopted from Ethiopia (they do not live there, they run it from the States). The staff is amazing, great prices, and VERY helpful. They catered to us and made everything so easy. We also got free internet and local phone calls. They have a driver that will take you anywhere, they serve great meals, beautiful view, hot water (yay- warm shower!), etc. Best of all, part of the money you spend on your room goes back into the country in aid programs. It is amazing!
-Definitely try the national foods. Doro wat is my favourite (very spicy). Doro means chicken and wat is stew. It is eaten with injera, the staple food for most families in Ethiopia. Just we sure not to have too much the first time, or you will be sick!
-You haven't seen Ethiopia until you have seen the countryside. Be sure to venture outside of Addis and go to a village. If you are interested in learning more, a great option is to contact World Vision, or a similar organization, and have them escort you. They will pick you up in Addis and drive you out in the middle of nowhere to their villages. This way, you won't only get to see village life, but you will learn more about what is being done to improve the quality of life in these areas.
-If you are bringing donations, consider underwear and vitamins. Be sure, with the vitamins, not to give them out without explanations (even to organizations that you think may understand how to use them). Vitamins aren't very common in Ethiopia and so you need to explain what the purpose of them is and how to take them (get a translator for this to ensure they understand). Vitamins are great because most kids in Ethiopia eat injera all of the time and don't have a varied diet. Most Ethiopians also go without underwear, so that is very appreciated.
-Another good option for donations is care packages. Before I left for Ethiopia, Alex and I put together about 60 care packages for kids. I am really glad we did this. We used a large ziplock bag to hold each package and filled it with lots of things (some examples include skipping ropes, beanie babies, underwear, socks, snacks (granola bars, fruit chew snacks), flash cards, school supplies, books, jewelry, hair clips, bouncy balls, toy cars, t-shirts, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.) This way, when we saw kids in need, we were able to give them things rather than just money (although, we often did give them money as well, or went and bought food for them). The only thing I would have changed was I wouldn't put underwear in it. It made it difficult as when we saw a kid we would have to search through the packages to find one with underwear in that child's size.
-The weather varies so is hard to predict. I was in ET during the dry season (I was there in February). It was very hot (around 27 or 28 degrees Celsius) but with no humidity, so it didn't seem as hot. I burned easily. At night and early in the morning it was quite cool (pants and sweatshirt). There were no mosquitoes during the dry season. Most of the time I wore pants and a t-shirt. Sometimes (on really hot days, or when we were building) I wore shorts, but they were long shorts that went to my knee. Ethiopians are very conservative and it would have been considered rude to wear anything shorter. I did have sandals, but I wore shoes most of the time as it is so dusty that my feet would just be covered in dirt by the end of the day.
-Just beware that you will come across begging. It is typical to give beggars 1 birr (equal to about 10 cents Canadian). I would usually give more than that, sometimes up to 100 birr, especially if it was a child. I would not give any in areas where there were lots of beggars. Once you give money to one, in a few seconds you would have a dozen Ethiopians surrounding you with their hands outstretched. It is always better, at least in my opinion, to go and buy food and give them this. I would usually buy a loaf of bread or something that I knew they would like (not Canadian-style food that they may not like).