Keeping to form I am very behind in my blog updates. My apologies!
Life has been really good. I have been in Ethiopia for the past couple of
months. What an amazing country. It is here that coffee ceremonies happen
almost daily, the dancing is in such a way that I had never before imagined my
body moving, and men throw a lemon at a woman that he is attracted to during
the Tumkat celebrations. I have been very blessed to stay with my Aunt and
Uncle in Addis Ababa. They have been extremely good to us, showing us what it
is really like to live in Ethiopia and be submersed in the culture. My cousins
also keep us pretty busy with their high energy and early mornings!
I was able to go on a tour to the North of Ethiopia with my
Uncle’s company. Wow…what an amazing trip! We first visited Lalibela, where
King Facilitous built/dug churches into solid rock in order to build the ‘New
Jerusalem’. It was absolutely amazing to fathom that people had used hand tools
to dig such big and detailed churchs. Next we went to Gondor and saw the
castles that were built there. The treck through the Simien Mountains was
definitely the highlight of my trip! We hiked for four days through the
stunning mountains. They are really tall with sharp cliffs and plateaus way up
at the top. We also got delicious food and the coldest weather I had so far
experienced this year. The trip finished in Bahir Dahr with the monestaries on
Lake Tana. (Quick plug: Check out Ethioguzo...they're the BEST! http://www.ethioguzo.com/home).
I recently returned from a trip to Tanzania and Kenya. We were
able to climb Mount Kilimanjaro on a seven-day tour. The Simien Mountains
proved to be great training for the hike, both for the cold and the altitude.
We experienced rain, snow, hail, cold, hot, sun, clouds… everything! I was very
lucky to not feel any of the altitude… it is common for people to have
headaches or to feel dizzy, especially at the top. Some of the people were
walking so slow and just looked in pain. We summited just as the sun broke
above the clouds… what an amazing sight! There were also glaciers at the top.
It was so strange to be at the top where it was freezing cold and with
glaciers, looking down below to where we knew it was super hot! We had a really
good group to hike with and there was lots of dancing and singing during the
tour, especially by the porters!
Rilla and I also had the chance to return to Kisii to visit Pastor
Robert, Teri and the girls. They were so excited to see us. The girls and Teri
ran to greet us with big hugs! Pastor Robert came later and I don’t think Teri
told him we were coming because his only comment was “Where did you surface
from”. I also got to go back to the school where Rilla taught, I taught a
science lesson about the interdependence of plants and animals (talk about
being thrown into something) and then I went to the hospital to visit the staff
there. One of the doctors has left to go back to school now but everyone else
was there and it was so fun to see them! Dolphine, one of the HIV couselors was
very honest in her new scrutiny of me… “you have gotten fat”. What do you say
to that but yea I’ve put on weight… its all the chapatti I’ve been eating. At
least she’s honest.
We have also now had a chance to spend some time in Harbu Chulule.
I absolutely love it there! We are taking a taekwondo class, which I’m hoping
will help to diminish my ‘fat’ appearance. There are a couple teachers from
Addis who have come to Harbu Chulule for the sole purpose of teaching
taekwondo. They offer it at a really cheap price and the people there really
love it! The classes are just packed with people and when we walk down the
street a lot of the kids will walk up to us punching and yelling ‘taekwondo’
because they know we are in the class too. We were able to purchase some supplies
for the teachers to use so that they are not restricted in their teaching by
lack of equipment. It is a really good thing for the community and is causing
lots of excitement!
We have also met a lot with the principle of the preparatory
school which is only grade 11 students, and is for those who scored well in
grade 10 so that they may be more prepared to attend University. We are
planning to teach computers, tutor and just hang out with the kids to encourage
them in their English communication. They begin with English classes in grade school,
and by grade 10 all their subjects are taught in English. It is surprising when
talking with them how much they struggle to communicate using English when
their workbooks are full of perfect sentences. This is one of the principles
main goals for us!
Dr. Asrat was in Harbu Chulule for a week performing cataract
surgeries. What an amazing man! He gives up a lot of his time and money to be
able to help people see. We were able to watch surgeries as well as to help in
taking histories of some of the patients. The people were extrememly thank-ful
and really excited at the prospect of being able to soon see their family, home
and cattle again.
The language has been super difficult. Amharic is one of the
official languages for the country which is spoken all over, however, in Harbu
Chulule they speak a completely different language called orominia. I’m not
sure I would really recommend learning two languages at once to anyone else… it
sure makes for a challenge, but is of course fun.
Janessa and David have joined Rilla and me in Harbu Chulule. I
think we will have lots to do and am looking forward to seeing what is
accomplished in the town. We also went with Ralph, Sarah, Lindsey and Melanie
who came from there time in Rwanda. It was sure fun to have them out and we are
looking forward to being able to share idea’s with Ralph and get things going.
