It's the year 2002 in Ethiopia

When I started to talk to the local Ethiopian people I learned that in Ethiopia the year is actually 2002 and the new year begins on September 11 instead of January 1. I learned that the Ethiopian calendar consists of 13 months of which 12 have 30 days each, while the remaining month is just five days in duration. The locals told me that in 1582, the Christian world dropped the Julian calendar in favor of the Gregorian calendar. Ethiopia did not drop the original Julian calendar and as a consequence, Ethiopia is seven years and eight months "behind" the rest of the world. Fortunately, most institutions that are used by tourists - banks, airline reservation offices - run the western calendar, but all the Ethiopians use the Julian Calendar.

To make matters more confusing for foreigners, Ethiopians also measure hours of the day differently. They measure time in 12-hour cycles starting at 6:00 am to 6:00 p m and the next 12 hour cycle begins at 6:00 pm. So their 7:00 is our 1:00 pm