The Professional Training Center of Meki, Ethiopia, celebrates the end of the semester with a trip
What better way to celebrate the end of the semester with our cooking, sewing and hairdressing students than to take a trip!
The city of Meki is located in the Rift Valley, in Ethiopia. Koka, Zway, Abiyata, Shala and Langano Lakes are all located along the 215 kilometers of highway that goes from Addis Ababa toward southern Ethiopia. We went to visit the flamencos, marabous and herons in Lake Abiyata and the thermal waters near Lake Shala. In spite of being only 85 kilometers away from Meki, our students had never visited the nature preserve in this area; some of them didn’t even know of their existence.
We boarded two buses with food prepared in advance at the Training Center. Our students were dressed so elegantly that it appeared that we were going anywhere but an outing to the mountains and lakes. A few telephones were prepared to photograph every moment of the outing. When it was time to walk on the trails, most of the students took off the elegant shoes they were wearing, and went barefoot. Along the way, one of our buses got trapped and stuck in one of the sand paths, and we had to wait a good while until the driver, with the help of local people, was able to get back on the road. While waiting, the other bus became a dance floor for those that preferred to dance rather than wait under a tree. After strolling and seeing camels, wild boars, ostriches, an endless number of flamencos and marabous, we ate together and washed the plates with hot water from a nearby creek (that had formed from the thermal waters).
The biggest surprise of the trip was to see the natural Geysers that had formed along the side of the lake. On holidays, the area is filled with people who put bags of potatoes and eggs in the water and eat them after they have boiled. I think on our next trip, we will do the same!
We enjoyed the day and the pleasant atmosphere that the students help create, laughing, talking, helping each other and experiencing the marvels of nature that are so close to Meki, their city. The outing was very positive, even though the next morning more than a few students missed class because they said they were exhausted from all the walking and dancing of the previous day!
The city of Meki is located in the Rift Valley, in Ethiopia. Koka, Zway, Abiyata, Shala and Langano Lakes are all located along the 215 kilometers of highway that goes from Addis Ababa toward southern Ethiopia. We went to visit the flamencos, marabous and herons in Lake Abiyata and the thermal waters near Lake Shala. In spite of being only 85 kilometers away from Meki, our students had never visited the nature preserve in this area; some of them didn’t even know of their existence.
We boarded two buses with food prepared in advance at the Training Center. Our students were dressed so elegantly that it appeared that we were going anywhere but an outing to the mountains and lakes. A few telephones were prepared to photograph every moment of the outing. When it was time to walk on the trails, most of the students took off the elegant shoes they were wearing, and went barefoot. Along the way, one of our buses got trapped and stuck in one of the sand paths, and we had to wait a good while until the driver, with the help of local people, was able to get back on the road. While waiting, the other bus became a dance floor for those that preferred to dance rather than wait under a tree. After strolling and seeing camels, wild boars, ostriches, an endless number of flamencos and marabous, we ate together and washed the plates with hot water from a nearby creek (that had formed from the thermal waters).
The biggest surprise of the trip was to see the natural Geysers that had formed along the side of the lake. On holidays, the area is filled with people who put bags of potatoes and eggs in the water and eat them after they have boiled. I think on our next trip, we will do the same!
We enjoyed the day and the pleasant atmosphere that the students help create, laughing, talking, helping each other and experiencing the marvels of nature that are so close to Meki, their city. The outing was very positive, even though the next morning more than a few students missed class because they said they were exhausted from all the walking and dancing of the previous day!
