Day Four- Running Water
Day One: July 28/29 2010
It could be either one I'm not really sure. I have been planning and anticipating this trip for over a year, and I'm finally on the plane. it's a combination of surreal and total reality slap. I have now felt and experienced the other side of things- i have felt completely alone in a sea of similar looking people. I have felt awkward about being the only "light-skinned" person checking into Ethiopia Airlines, relatively speaking. My traveling partner Jackie is much more "white" than me , so maybe she felt a higher degree of displacement, but probably not, she's confident in that way. The first moment of my trip to Ethiopia started pulling up curbside to Tampa International. I hopped out of the car and quickly went to work unloading my two 50 pound bags (that I am completely incapable of carrying). Two bag men watched momentarily (probably for enjoyment) then approached me with cart in hand, asking my final destination. I respond emphatically, "Ethiopia!" and to my shock they reply in unison, with heavy accent, "That's where we are from!" Now, i have never in my life met anyone from Ethiopia and to prove this I said "No way... that's crazy!" close to twelve times... in a four minute period. It was all too coincidental to be a coincidence. If you ask me, it was God's welcome gift to the greatest adventure of my life. Upon arrival in DC, I searched out my team- the group of people I will be living with for the next month in a foreign country. I knew who I was looking for after months of facebook stalking, obviously. I immediately clicked with a team member Amanda, a photographer from Oklahoma. I soon learned that we would be making a pit stop in Rome en route to Ethiopia. What a small thrill! I mean we aren't even getting off the plane, but still! I like to think of the 14-hr. plane ride as a mini-experiement of what life will distantly resemble for the next month. First Impressions? Ethiopian women are beautiful, like stunningly gorgeous. I used to be the "exotic" looking one, not so much anymore. I'll have to work on my jealousy issues. I am in the aisle seat and in the window seat sits Toussaint (probably spelled wrong, but the t is silent). Tousaint is my first African friend. he talks incessantly for a period of time and when a portion of our conversation ends he thanks me for talking with him. Toussaint is originally from Burundi and this is the first time he will be going back in 10 years. He casually asked me if I knew about the Rawandan war , and then proceeded to tell me he fought in the war for seven years then immigrated to America as a refugee. He just received his American citizenship after ten years of working. I feel extremely blessed to have sat by this man. Not to mention he is only thirty years old- the age of my sister- and you would never know from his constant laughter that he spent seven years enduring genocide.
Day Two:
The one-month group and 2-week team met up to eat at Kaldi's- essentially starbucks ethiopian style, except with great food. I ordered french toast and even sipped a macchiato; I'm pretty sure it's blasphemous to not drink coffee in Ethiopia. We traveled through the city to go to the market and to be apart of the business of Addis. While holding on for dear life in our large, dilapidate green bus, I got to see Africa for the first time. I have never seen such diverse people. People are everywhere. Women wearing headscarfs, children running around sans shoes, men herding goats in the middle of traffic. The buildings are made of tin, roofs not fully attached. I am constantly hearing the sounds of a completely unfamiliar Amharic language as well as chanting drifting from the surrounding churches and mosques. This is the most unique place I've ever been to. it is overwhelming- the poverty and struggle, but the culture and landscape are breathtakingly beautiful. In market we wondered around looking at everything from handmade scarfs to imported American shoes. I loved being in the streets and feeling apart of the chaos. By the way, if I were to die in Ethiopia, the cause would be death by taxi, undoubtedly. For lunch we went to a pizza restaurant called island breeze, where they made the most amazing pizza. Never did I guess I would be enjoying my meals in Africa. The best part of the day came next. We visited an orphanage called little Ahope that is strictly for AIDS/HIV positive children. Honestly, it hit me hard when I looked into the eyes of all these beautiful children and realized that each one of them were stricken with a serious illness. Joy and sorrow filled my heart simultaneously. I was so glad to be in the moment with these children and their joy uplifted me even more. A little boy, about 4 years old, that I was playing with was getting adopted and the news of this in broken English brought me to tears. He was so excited to be getting a family. We played with beachballs, on the playground, and old-fashioned duck duck goose. It was fabulous. You forget they have HIV. Then my team leader, Asher approached me asking if I would like to speak with a young girl that was sick. I spoke to her behind a barred window; she had a nurse by her side. I asked her through our translator what was her favorite color. Se responded, "red." As we spoke to her through the window, she did nothing but smile; she was a beaming light. We then traveled to "big ahope"- the home for older children with HIV. Fun commenced. I made friends with a boy wearing a tampa bay devil rays hat, and we made baseball symbols with our hands. He also played thumb wars with me as well as reminded me of the old hand game "double double this this." He showed me the hand motions and I recalled the words as he sang along with me. I also got to play a 4 on 4 bball game against a boy named Elias (shout out to Hannah!). we won both games- just sayin. After saying goodbye to our new friends at Ahope we went home to have a huge meal of enjera (google it) with all the team members. It was so fun to relax and eat with everyone- using only our hands. The ethiopian meal was interesting to say the least, but I would definitely eat it again- especially the cabbage part. The day ended with a team meeting on the upcoming days. Tomorrow we travel to Ambo- the bus ride will surely be interesting.
Things We Get Excited About in Africa:
Toilets that flush, Toilets that are not holes, Shower Curtains, Running Water, Shaving... hasn't happened yet, Real cheese, Surviving bus rides, Cold water, Dry bed sheets, antibacterial hand soap, Salt... aka any seasoning available, English speakers, Clean Laundry... hasn't happened yet, Internet access... once
Amharic Lesson For You: amaseganallo- thank you
chica- dirty
oodoo- butt
salaam- hi
ebakish- please
baka- enough
ambesa- lion
denana- how are you?
konjo- beautiful
ball- ques zehone-
elephant
aand, hulett, sost- 1 2 3
ibid-crazy
ish-yes
chi-tea
buna- coffee
It could be either one I'm not really sure. I have been planning and anticipating this trip for over a year, and I'm finally on the plane. it's a combination of surreal and total reality slap. I have now felt and experienced the other side of things- i have felt completely alone in a sea of similar looking people. I have felt awkward about being the only "light-skinned" person checking into Ethiopia Airlines, relatively speaking. My traveling partner Jackie is much more "white" than me , so maybe she felt a higher degree of displacement, but probably not, she's confident in that way. The first moment of my trip to Ethiopia started pulling up curbside to Tampa International. I hopped out of the car and quickly went to work unloading my two 50 pound bags (that I am completely incapable of carrying). Two bag men watched momentarily (probably for enjoyment) then approached me with cart in hand, asking my final destination. I respond emphatically, "Ethiopia!" and to my shock they reply in unison, with heavy accent, "That's where we are from!" Now, i have never in my life met anyone from Ethiopia and to prove this I said "No way... that's crazy!" close to twelve times... in a four minute period. It was all too coincidental to be a coincidence. If you ask me, it was God's welcome gift to the greatest adventure of my life. Upon arrival in DC, I searched out my team- the group of people I will be living with for the next month in a foreign country. I knew who I was looking for after months of facebook stalking, obviously. I immediately clicked with a team member Amanda, a photographer from Oklahoma. I soon learned that we would be making a pit stop in Rome en route to Ethiopia. What a small thrill! I mean we aren't even getting off the plane, but still! I like to think of the 14-hr. plane ride as a mini-experiement of what life will distantly resemble for the next month. First Impressions? Ethiopian women are beautiful, like stunningly gorgeous. I used to be the "exotic" looking one, not so much anymore. I'll have to work on my jealousy issues. I am in the aisle seat and in the window seat sits Toussaint (probably spelled wrong, but the t is silent). Tousaint is my first African friend. he talks incessantly for a period of time and when a portion of our conversation ends he thanks me for talking with him. Toussaint is originally from Burundi and this is the first time he will be going back in 10 years. He casually asked me if I knew about the Rawandan war , and then proceeded to tell me he fought in the war for seven years then immigrated to America as a refugee. He just received his American citizenship after ten years of working. I feel extremely blessed to have sat by this man. Not to mention he is only thirty years old- the age of my sister- and you would never know from his constant laughter that he spent seven years enduring genocide.
Day Two:
The one-month group and 2-week team met up to eat at Kaldi's- essentially starbucks ethiopian style, except with great food. I ordered french toast and even sipped a macchiato; I'm pretty sure it's blasphemous to not drink coffee in Ethiopia. We traveled through the city to go to the market and to be apart of the business of Addis. While holding on for dear life in our large, dilapidate green bus, I got to see Africa for the first time. I have never seen such diverse people. People are everywhere. Women wearing headscarfs, children running around sans shoes, men herding goats in the middle of traffic. The buildings are made of tin, roofs not fully attached. I am constantly hearing the sounds of a completely unfamiliar Amharic language as well as chanting drifting from the surrounding churches and mosques. This is the most unique place I've ever been to. it is overwhelming- the poverty and struggle, but the culture and landscape are breathtakingly beautiful. In market we wondered around looking at everything from handmade scarfs to imported American shoes. I loved being in the streets and feeling apart of the chaos. By the way, if I were to die in Ethiopia, the cause would be death by taxi, undoubtedly. For lunch we went to a pizza restaurant called island breeze, where they made the most amazing pizza. Never did I guess I would be enjoying my meals in Africa. The best part of the day came next. We visited an orphanage called little Ahope that is strictly for AIDS/HIV positive children. Honestly, it hit me hard when I looked into the eyes of all these beautiful children and realized that each one of them were stricken with a serious illness. Joy and sorrow filled my heart simultaneously. I was so glad to be in the moment with these children and their joy uplifted me even more. A little boy, about 4 years old, that I was playing with was getting adopted and the news of this in broken English brought me to tears. He was so excited to be getting a family. We played with beachballs, on the playground, and old-fashioned duck duck goose. It was fabulous. You forget they have HIV. Then my team leader, Asher approached me asking if I would like to speak with a young girl that was sick. I spoke to her behind a barred window; she had a nurse by her side. I asked her through our translator what was her favorite color. Se responded, "red." As we spoke to her through the window, she did nothing but smile; she was a beaming light. We then traveled to "big ahope"- the home for older children with HIV. Fun commenced. I made friends with a boy wearing a tampa bay devil rays hat, and we made baseball symbols with our hands. He also played thumb wars with me as well as reminded me of the old hand game "double double this this." He showed me the hand motions and I recalled the words as he sang along with me. I also got to play a 4 on 4 bball game against a boy named Elias (shout out to Hannah!). we won both games- just sayin. After saying goodbye to our new friends at Ahope we went home to have a huge meal of enjera (google it) with all the team members. It was so fun to relax and eat with everyone- using only our hands. The ethiopian meal was interesting to say the least, but I would definitely eat it again- especially the cabbage part. The day ended with a team meeting on the upcoming days. Tomorrow we travel to Ambo- the bus ride will surely be interesting.
Things We Get Excited About in Africa:
Toilets that flush, Toilets that are not holes, Shower Curtains, Running Water, Shaving... hasn't happened yet, Real cheese, Surviving bus rides, Cold water, Dry bed sheets, antibacterial hand soap, Salt... aka any seasoning available, English speakers, Clean Laundry... hasn't happened yet, Internet access... once
Amharic Lesson For You: amaseganallo- thank you
chica- dirty
oodoo- butt
salaam- hi
ebakish- please
baka- enough
ambesa- lion
denana- how are you?
konjo- beautiful
ball- ques zehone-
elephant
aand, hulett, sost- 1 2 3
ibid-crazy
ish-yes
chi-tea
buna- coffee
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