[jk2323]

Ethiopia is an interesting place. You can smell the money in the air.

"Ethiopia hailed as 'African lion' with fastest creation of millionaires" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/04/ethiopia-faste...

Ethiopia is not an easy place to travel. People are friendly but reserved. English it not very common there. They are not the African "buddy" type of people (ey man, lets have a beer!). If you are into adventure, go to the Bale mountains and take a three day horse ride expedition and try to see the Ethiopian fox. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_wolf Or take a two week expedition on horsed to see the Ethiopian lions (unfortunately longer that my ass can sustain on a horse). AFAIK the only lions that live in the jungle. It is a rough place. I like it. Possibly love it, but Ethiopia is not for everyone.

Addis has two major museums. If you want to see Lucy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(Australopithecus) make sure you go to the right one.

If anyone is interested in importing ore, please ask me. My Ethiopian friends are always nagging me for business contacts.

[ikeyany]

> They are not the African "buddy" type of people (ey man, lets have a beer!).

I think you're confusing Africans with Jamaicans or some other black stereotype.

[jk2323]

I don't care about what you think about "black stereotypes".

But try to see the difference between welcoming Uganda (based on a statistic they are the most welcoming nation to foreigners) and Ethiopians. Yet, they are nearly neighbors.

I don't dislike that the Ethiopians are reserved. What did one of the rangers tell me? We are dirty. We don't have showers. We don't have washing machines. We are dirty. But we know that we are dirty. We are dirty but not stupid!

[jk2323]

A 20 year expat (speak, before the Ethiopia hype( told me this joke:

How to shoot an Ethiopian? Aim 1 meter above his hear. You have to hit his ego!

Yes, they are a special kind of people and they take proud in it. If they ever throw me out of my current home, Ethiopia may be, besides Colombia, my second destination. It is happening there!

[samsonradu]

As a regular traveler, you really got my attention. Mind sharing some of your thoughts about Columbia too?

[jk2323]

Colombia caught my attention when I lived in the states. But before I come to Colombia, lets talk about Brazil.

I fell in love with Brazil many years ago. Many people did, some may still do. It was an amazing place. People were super friendly, the women were curious about foreigners... Today Brazil is much less welcoming for foreigners, even slightly xenophobic. They still have an economic crisis and I wonder what will happen if the world economy cools down. It also has become dangerous again. People change, countries change, I may have changed.

So this brings us to Colombia. It is very cheap to fly there from the states. I had many adventures there, got certified in scuba diving, slept on a tiny house on an island when scuba diving, learned horse riding in Saint Augustin, got lost in the mountains when hiking near Armenia (visit Salento!). Partied super hard at night in Medellin, Cali and Bogota. People were super friendly, approaching me and other travelers and telling us how happy they are the things have changed in Colombia and foreigners are now visiting. The climate is super interesting since you are near the equator but also have the Andean mountains. You basically can get every temperature you want. From hot Caribbean (and overrated) Cartagena, to the city of eternal spring, Medellin, to cold Bogota. I love the Candelaria district in Bogota (as I once loved Santa Teresa in Rio). It is a magic place and brings me happiness.

People change, countries change, and I may change again. What worries me about Colombia is that more and more foreigners are coming (voted as number ?. tourist destination last year). This is seldom a good thing. Sooner or later the place will change and people will get fed up with tourists. SO if you want to visit, better visit now and not in 10 years.

Literature, there is not only 100 years of solitude, try to appreciate Nicolás Gómez Dávila.

[poisonarena]

'Confusing Africans'

What? You reaching man. There are a lot of cultural stereotypes from different African countries, just like how Americans see Germans as 'cold and reserved' and Italians as 'loud and friendly'.