A former teacher quit her teaching job two years before retirement to move to Ethiopia has revealed that her family doesn't understand her lifestyle, but that she can't imagine living any other way.

Appearing on tonight's Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild, Susan Aitchison, 70, admits she had no idea she would spent 12 years in the African country when she moved there from Glasgow in 2007, aged 58.

Susan first moved to Lalibela, about 415 miles north of the country’s capital, Addis Ababa, to help a friend establish a school, and decided to say on and open her own restaurant.

Now she runs the restaurant, with a staff of 50 people, on top of regular visits to the school where she teaches, and admits to Ben Fogle that her family think she's 'crazy' for throwing herself into such a taxing life.

But she insists she's happy not to be living a 'boring' life in the UK, and says she can't envisage herself watching TV and going to coffee mornings like other retirees.

Susan Aitchison, 70, left her teaching career in Glasgow behind in 2007, two years before retiring, in order to move to Ethiopia. She features on tonight's Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild

In tonight's episode, the host and adventurer asks Susan what her family thinks of her decision to move to Ethiopia two years before retirement.

'They all think I'm crazy,' she tells him, they don't understand.'

Ben then asks her whether she thinks you need to have a 'crazy streak' to start a new life in another country like she has.

'I think that's a mentality thing and I don't see this as a risk,' she replies.

Susan knew nothing of Ethiopia when she moved there. She tells Ben that her family and friends don't understand her decision and think her crazy

'I see this, that I'm very lucky. A lot of my friends don't understand what I'm getting from here, because their lives are completely different,' she adds.

'I'm not the kind of person that can just sit and watch television and go for coffee mornings,' she jokes.

'I don't mind being called "crazy," but that's what I get every day, how lucky am I,' she says, gesturing to the view for the terrace of her restaurant.

Susan set up Ben Abeba on a mountain top with the help of her local business partner, Habtamu Baye.

The restaurant is an architectural feat in itself, with a large terrace made of little alcoves. The whole structure was made from scratch by local artisans.

Susan, who didn't speak a word of the language or know anything of the local culture when she arrived, explains to Ben she was in need of a change of pace when a friend asked her to come help with a school he was building in Lalibela.

'I was responsible for very elderly people. My mum was very disabled and my father was older, so I had a lot of responsibility looking after them,' she says.

'My mother died and the year before I came here, my father died,' she goes on.

'For the first time in my life, I was free and thought, "What can you do? This is the next stage in your life".

Ben is impressed with Susan's adaptability and the life she's created for herself in Ehtiopia, opening a restaurant in a remote part of the country

'I thought I would be here for two years, but I'm still here 11 and a half years later,' she chuckles.

She moved to the remote town to teach three days a week at the school her neighbour was building, after he convinced her to help over a night of drinking.

Seven years ago, she opened her restaurant with Habtamu, who used to drive her to the school.

She's now well-known in the local community thanks to her contribution to the school and her thriving business, which has become a hotspot for off-the-beaten-track tourists.

Her new lifestyle is miles away from what her life used to be like in Glasgow.

'I feel so privileged I got the chance to come here and work here, but it's very different,' she admits.

Referring to her life in Glasgow, she says: 'I would wake up, go to work, come home late, eat a little, relax, have a glass of wine.

'It was the same everyday, and it was boring. No, not boring, it’s what life was for, it’s what you got paid to do’

Ben is impressed by her attitude, saying: 'I think what's fascinating about Susan is the period in her life when she started this.

'Most people work towards retirement to then sit back and relax and enjoys and take away the pressures of everyday life. But she's done the complete opposite,' he adds.

'Some people are able to adapt and change very easily,' he adds.

Susan says that if she had to do it all over again, she would probably make the same choices that have led her to setting up camp in Ethiopia

'This is as far from retiring as you can possibly get,' he says after visiting her busy restaurant, where she oversees the cooking and the hosting duties.

Reflecting on what drove her to move to the country, Susan offers a humble overview of her life choices.

'You do things if your life and once they're done they're done, some are good, some are bad,' she says.

'You do the best you can on these days,' she adds.

'I've done bad things, but the thing is, if I went back to the beginning again, I would do the same,' she adds.

Ben Fogle: New Lives in the Wild airs tonight at 9pm on Channel 5.