As I arrived to the once so familiar atmosphere of Addis Ababa, I was welcomed by the overwhelming crowd of people waiting in line to get their visa. After waiting for a few hours we finally were able to retrieve our luggage, go through security and enter the highlands of Ethiopia. Quickly I realized the drastic difference between the states and Ethiopia from the roads to the construction of the buildings. However, as different as the atmosphere was, it was welcoming. In fact, instead of feeling like I was visiting, I felt more like was returning home. Though I expected more from my country, I was still impressed by the growth of the country as a whole in developing roads, hotels, malls, cafe's, etc. Poverty remained to be no secret still and I was soon able to educate myself on the standards of living for most people. The streets were crowded and children run across the streets without the care in the world for safety. Though their standards of living may be looked down on as a cry for help by most people in America, instead I looked at it more as a reawakening of what poverty truly is. It is so much more different and life changing to witness poverty everyday first hand than seeing it on the commercials. I was under the allusion that commercials over advertised the poverty of Ethiopia to pity the nation; however, after staying long enough I sadly admitted that poverty here truly is as bad as they say it is.
