My Experience in Ethiopia

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July 2018 was a very pivotal point in conquering my fear of flying, as my family traveled to Ethiopia. This has by far been the longest flight I have ever taken. The round trip was a total of thirty hours. In addition to being stressed by the length of the flight, I was afraid to travel to Ethiopia because of the political and social unrest. About at the time I was getting ready to go to Ethiopia, Eritrea, a neighboring country had finally made peace after twenty years of turmoil. While this peace was comforting, the crime in Ethiopia was not; an engineer was murdered not far away from the hotel where I was staying. In spite of my fears, I had to overcome them. I told myself that this was a wonderful opportunity to experience another country. I am so glad I conquered my fears and made the brave decision to go. The experience was incredible. After the long, and thankfully uneventful flight, I was able to see what hard work really looked like. I saw men, women, and children carrying huge bags of produce on their backs. Some were even lucky enough to have donkey’s that would pull the wooden carts to and from town. Everyone worked; children sold handmade jewelry and souvenirs, and women swept the shops to make them more inviting to potential customers. People in Ethiopia work extremely hard to provide for their families, and I discovered that even though poverty was everywhere, they still have a sense of pride. For example, we went to a friend’s house for dinner, and she and her family were dressed in traditional Ethiopian attire to welcome us to their home. We could see how proud she was to have us as guests in her home. I have learned not to have expectations when I travel to new places. Instead, I try to be a blank canvas when I travel because then I can be surprised and fully immerse myself in the culture. I learned to be grateful for what I have, because in other countries, they may not have as much, and the people are perfectly content with it. I no longer take for granted clean water or fresh fruit and vegetables because both are hard to come by in other countries. I have learned to overcome my fears, and not let them hold me back.