Isaac and Sol spent the day playing with Zach and Lydia so that Dianne and Fanosie could prepare for their departure this evening. Both of the guys are so good with young children.
Abram and I worked in the library since there are tables and tables of books that need to be shelved. Not sure whose going to take care of that task once we leave. We have begun cleaning out our cupboards and giving away grocery supplies that we will not use up before our own departure. I am really beginning to look forward to the next phase of our travels as we head off to Europe to seek out long-lost relatives and do some touring. We will be meeting my parents out there for two weeks of travel and we are all looking forward to seeing them again.
Forgot to mention that a few days ago Richard and the boys joined Dianne and Fanosie in a drive down the road to look for hyenas. After about two minutes of only spotting some sort of racoon type creature trotting across the road, they all of a sudden saw several hyenas running down the hill and crossing the road, followed by more. In total there were twelve hyenas that came down the hill. They ran around in a field while we shone flashlights on them, and then turned around and ran back up the hillside again.
We can often hear the hyenas late at night with their unique kind of yelping. They have been spotted on occasion in the college compound, but because it is completely fenced, it is difficult for them to get in. In the neighbourhood beside the college there is no fence so they can roam around at will, looking for chickens or small dogs.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
June 28, 2009
We went to church for a final time this morning. It seems that at least 75% of the church will be leaving Ethiopia this week. After church, we went out to Family restaurant for one last time. As has been the case most Sundays, the restaurant didn’t have any electricity so the menu was somewhat restricted. But it is still the only place in town you can get a burrito!
We had a relaxing afternoon. The kids and I played some ping-pong and then went for a long walk while Richard was busy uploading pictures on the computer. In the evening, we went to watch some football with Fanosie.
We had a relaxing afternoon. The kids and I played some ping-pong and then went for a long walk while Richard was busy uploading pictures on the computer. In the evening, we went to watch some football with Fanosie.
June 27, 2009
Dianne, John and Lorraine and our family spent the day together in Addis. We started off at the big NGO Craft Bazaar in the morning where we purchased the final souvenirs of our Africa experience. There were some absolutely beautiful handcrafts there. I haven’t seen that many farenji (foreigners) in one place since we arrived in Africa. That was a strange feeling.
We had also decided that haircuts were in order for the guys. After striking out at the Sheraton, we found a hair salon at the Hilton where they were used to cutting farenji hair. Richard, Abram and Sol got haircuts and it came to a total of $12 for all of them. Much cheaper than anything we will find in Germany. After some grocery shopping etc., we dropped Lorraine and John off at Ngash’s house (the College president who lives in Addis) where they had supper and then took Lorraine to the airport for her flight back to Canada. John will stay to continue teaching for another three weeks.
We had also decided that haircuts were in order for the guys. After striking out at the Sheraton, we found a hair salon at the Hilton where they were used to cutting farenji hair. Richard, Abram and Sol got haircuts and it came to a total of $12 for all of them. Much cheaper than anything we will find in Germany. After some grocery shopping etc., we dropped Lorraine and John off at Ngash’s house (the College president who lives in Addis) where they had supper and then took Lorraine to the airport for her flight back to Canada. John will stay to continue teaching for another three weeks.
June 26, 2009
We spent the day with Fanosie and Dianne travelling to Sire to visit Fanosie’s family. On the way, we stopped in Nazareth and checked out some of the historic buildings from the early years of Meserete Kristos Church (the Ethiopian Mennonite Church). We saw the first church, the Bible Academy and the hospital which were founded by Mennonites in the early 1950’s. During the Derg years (Communist years), the government took possession of the hospital and the Mennonites never did get it back. Today it is the main public hospital of Nazareth. The Bible Academy was also taken by the Derg government, never to be returned. Now it is a law school. Richard was able to take pictures of the church and hospital, but was not allowed to take any photographs of the law school. In fact, while we were permitted to drive on to the campus, a security guard boarded the van and stayed with us until we exited the gate to make sure that he didn’t take any pictures.
Fanosie’s family lives in Sire, a rather remote hillside village another hour outside Nazareth. His parents moved there in January from an even more remote farm that was about an hour and a half walking distance from Sire. His parents were tired of doing that walk several times a week and so they moved into a simple mud house in town. Their living conditions are pretty basic with no electricity etc. The cattle are kept in their small compound, right outside the front door. Dianne tells me that sometimes the cows are let into the house but never the dogs! His parents speak no English but were very welcoming. We had brought injera and chicken wot along with us and so we shared a meal together. It was a really nice afternoon and good to spend time with a more typical Ethiopian family in their home.
Fanosie’s family lives in Sire, a rather remote hillside village another hour outside Nazareth. His parents moved there in January from an even more remote farm that was about an hour and a half walking distance from Sire. His parents were tired of doing that walk several times a week and so they moved into a simple mud house in town. Their living conditions are pretty basic with no electricity etc. The cattle are kept in their small compound, right outside the front door. Dianne tells me that sometimes the cows are let into the house but never the dogs! His parents speak no English but were very welcoming. We had brought injera and chicken wot along with us and so we shared a meal together. It was a really nice afternoon and good to spend time with a more typical Ethiopian family in their home.
Friday, June 26, 2009
June 21, 2009
Last night was not a good night. Sol had gone to bed with an upset stomach. (Probably the fish he had for supper which seemed a trifle undercooked.) Now here at the Lodge, the generator is turned off between midnight and 6 am and it is absolutely dark during those hours. It’s the kind of darkness where you hold your hand right up to your face and you can’t see it. Well Sol started waking up at 1 am with the runs. Of course, whenever I heard him stirring I needed to get up and turn on the flashlight and make sure he made it to the bathroom OK. He did this several times until about 2 am where he was sitting on the toilet with the flashlight and suddenly I heard the sound of massive amounts of a wet substance splashing all over the bathroom floor as he vomited repeatedly. Since it was impossible to clean up the mess in the pitch dark we just had to leave it until morning. The rest of the night I sat vigil with our one little flashlight and whenever I heard someone stirring and heading for the bathroom I needed to intercept them before they waded right into the filthy, stinking mess on the bathroom floor. I think everyone in the family woke up and tried to use the bathroom at least once that night so it was a busy night for me. I was very relieved when at 6 am the sun finally came up and the generator turned on!
Despite the awful night, we had a wonderful morning heading up to visit a Dorze village close to Chenchen. The drive up was absolutely stunning. As we got higher up the mountain, it got more and more green, lush and beautiful. Some parts felt like we were back in BC with the dense forest of evergreens. (Very unusual for Ethiopia.) Then we came to mountainous hills of terraced fields, green with crops with little huts tucked away in the hillside. Incredibly beautiful! Our visit to the Dorze village was a real highlight. We had a Dorze guide who showed us the unique “bee hive” dwellings of the Dorze people, and demonstrated for us the food they make out of a plant they call the false banana. Then we got to be part of a traditional Dorze dance which was lots of fun for the kids. Isaac and Sol especially enjoyed getting out there and dancing with them dressed in all sorts of animal skins. The Dorze people are expert weavers and they have beautiful scarves for sale from a weaving cooperative that they have formed. The visit to the Dorze village was a real highlight.
From there we went to the Crocodile Ranch which was the definite low point of our time in Arbamich. Basically we saw a bunch of crocodiles in captivity. There was no guide to provide information or a commentary so we stared at some cages of crocodiles and left. A rather useless time and a waste of our money.
Despite the awful night, we had a wonderful morning heading up to visit a Dorze village close to Chenchen. The drive up was absolutely stunning. As we got higher up the mountain, it got more and more green, lush and beautiful. Some parts felt like we were back in BC with the dense forest of evergreens. (Very unusual for Ethiopia.) Then we came to mountainous hills of terraced fields, green with crops with little huts tucked away in the hillside. Incredibly beautiful! Our visit to the Dorze village was a real highlight. We had a Dorze guide who showed us the unique “bee hive” dwellings of the Dorze people, and demonstrated for us the food they make out of a plant they call the false banana. Then we got to be part of a traditional Dorze dance which was lots of fun for the kids. Isaac and Sol especially enjoyed getting out there and dancing with them dressed in all sorts of animal skins. The Dorze people are expert weavers and they have beautiful scarves for sale from a weaving cooperative that they have formed. The visit to the Dorze village was a real highlight.
From there we went to the Crocodile Ranch which was the definite low point of our time in Arbamich. Basically we saw a bunch of crocodiles in captivity. There was no guide to provide information or a commentary so we stared at some cages of crocodiles and left. A rather useless time and a waste of our money.
June 24, 2009
Anna and Jim along with their son Zach, came in to DZ from Addis so we did a very abridged school day for Sol and Isaac so that they could have another opportunity to spend time with Zach. The purpose for their visit was to bring a young couple named Peter and Christy to spend a few days here at the guest house while they are doing some travelling in Ethiopia. They have just completed 6 months of volunteer service in Djubuti. It was kind of funny that Anna put me in charge of their orientation since I still feel like a novice myself!
In the later afternoon Richard and I and the boys took John and Lorraine with us to get a tour of Tim and Ingrid’s enterprise just down the road. It’s really amazing what they have accomplished in five short years. They are running a steel building supplies plant, a brick making plant and a furniture enterprise (mostly kitchen cupboards) that employs approximately 70 Ethiopian workers. The goal is for the enterprise to become entirely Ethiopian run and managed within the next few years. We were very impressed.
In the later afternoon Richard and I and the boys took John and Lorraine with us to get a tour of Tim and Ingrid’s enterprise just down the road. It’s really amazing what they have accomplished in five short years. They are running a steel building supplies plant, a brick making plant and a furniture enterprise (mostly kitchen cupboards) that employs approximately 70 Ethiopian workers. The goal is for the enterprise to become entirely Ethiopian run and managed within the next few years. We were very impressed.
June 23, 2009
It certainly feels good to be home again in DZ. Our familiar beds and the routine of life always feels welcome after a time away. Abram has spent the day studying since he had a French final to take today and then a Socials final to begin studying for that he needs to take in the next day or so. He has worked really hard at his studies in the past two months and his teachers have been flexible with their expectations so I think that this disruption in school will turn out just fine for him, despite some of his concerns.
We are working hard in the library trying to finish some major projects in the week we have left here. Isaac really isn’t ready to leave Ethiopia. I’m amazed at how much he has enjoyed this experience. He is already trying to think of reasons to come back. While the rest of us will find it sad to leave, the fact that most of the people we have been working and living with in the past two months are also leaving makes it feel like a natural time of closure.
We are working hard in the library trying to finish some major projects in the week we have left here. Isaac really isn’t ready to leave Ethiopia. I’m amazed at how much he has enjoyed this experience. He is already trying to think of reasons to come back. While the rest of us will find it sad to leave, the fact that most of the people we have been working and living with in the past two months are also leaving makes it feel like a natural time of closure.
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