I’ve learned a few intriguing things about Ethiopia in the midst of preparation for my International Reporting Project trip. Having never been before, I’m excited and eager to learn about the country, and culture. We will be reporting on newborn health when there, but in the meantime I wanted to share a few of the interesting things I’ve learned about my destination.

1.  Ethiopia has the second largest population of all the countries in Africa.

2. Ethiopia is thought to be the birthplace of coffee.

3. Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to be colonized. Although the Italians occupied Ethiopia for five years ( leaving behind remnants of their culture with some great Italian restaurants I hear).

4. “Lucy” lives in Ethiopia, One of the earliest found skeletons of early human remains (over 3 million years old) resides in the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa.

5. Ethiopia has the largest population of all the landlocked countries in this world.

6. Over 40% of girls get married before the age of 18 in Ethiopia.

7. The Ethiopian Capital city of Addis Ababa is the headquarters of the African Union.

8. Rastafarians get their name from Haile Selassie whose name before being crowned Emperor was Ras (Ras means Duke) Tafari.

9.Ethiopia is the majority source of the Nile River (84% known as the Blue Nile).

10. The Queen of Sheba is believed to have been from Ethiopia.

I am traveling to Ethiopia as an International Reporting Project Fellow on a New Media Fellowship to report on newborn health. #EthiopiaNewborns