Recent Coffee Ceremonies

We have attended a couple of really fun coffee ceremonies recently.  The first was with the ladies who are in a kindergarten teacher training program.  There are about 45 young women involved in this 10 month program and once they finish they will go back to their hometowns (all over Ethiopia) to teach kindergarten.  We teach their English class, so the coffee ceremony was in appreciation of us!  During the ceremony different groups of ladies danced for us (I joined in).  Since they are from all over Ethiopia, they performed cultural dances that are from their respective regions.
 

The lady who was making the coffee.  She is roasting the beans in the small black pan she has in her hand.

Our students - some of whom are religious sisters :)

Paula sitting in the front of the classroom lookin' all teacherly

 

Then, just last weekend one of the teachers from our school invited us to have coffee at her house.  That was a real treat!  Lots of yummy snacks are always provided with a coffee ceremony.  She had two different kinds of home-made bread, popcorn, roasted chickpeas, and mangos.  Also, the coffee is typically preceded by a round of sodas.

 

One of our fellow teachers making coffee in her living room. This was my view from my seat on the couch.

One of our 6^th grade girls asked to braid my hair.  My response: “Sure! Why not?!”