1) Sometimes when I’m talking to someone or asking a question, they will take a short breath in (kind of like an abrupt sigh, but breathing in instead of out)…that means, “yes.” I was telling Paula about how I don’t understand that because it’s not even a word. Then I realized that in America, we say, “mmhhmmm” to mean the same thing, and that’s not a word either. Well anyway, in my effort to embrace as much of the culture as possible, I have taken up attempting to respond to people in this “short-breath” way…If you ask me, I think it’s been a rather successful endeavor.
2) While shaking hands with someone is used as a sign of greeting/departing someone, there are other customary actions that sometimes accompany the handshake. Sometimes people greet someone with three ‘kisses’ on the cheek (alternating sides)…this reminds me of some European cultures. Other times, people will continue to hold your hand and pull you toward them to bump shoulders (the right shoulder) real quick.
3) Women dress very modestly. Usually they wear an ankle-length skirt with short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirt. They wear a large scarf (a lot of them are white) wrapped around their shoulders/head. Typically their clothes are fairly bright-colored, “mismatched” by western standards, and layered (i.e. pants under skirt or long-sleeves under short-sleeved shirt). It’s neat and eclectic. Men typically wear trousers with a t-shirt or long-sleeved shirt, many times button-down.
4) Meals usually consist of some combination of dishes containing rice, meat, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and different sauces. Bread is always available at meals, and many times so is injera (kind of like a sour pancake used to scoop the rice/meat/sauces). Each day we have pasta at lunch, which I love! At the end of each meal we are presented with a variety of fruit: banana, orange, avocado, guava, papaya, mango, etc. Lunch always concludes with coffee. Some foods that I have found to be interesting are the raw meat (I have not tried it) and coffee with salt instead of sugar (I did try it and did not prefer it).
5) The other day it was raining at the start of the school day, and we observed the kids running to their classrooms in the rain. As he approached his classroom, one boy (probably a 1st or 2nd grader) tossed aside a huge banana leaf that he had been holding over his head to keep “dry” from the rain…hahaha!!! I love this! Paula and I looked at each other and laughed, how precious – he was so cute. It reminded us of a scene you would see in the movie “The Jungle Book.”
6) There are a couple of large cows who hang out in the school yard. Donkeys, goats (impressions of which I have getting pretty good at…in fact a few of them started following us the other day!), cows, and chickens are all commonly seen out and about – on the roads in town, near people’s houses, in the country-side…Chickens really do cross the road here! Hahaha :) That could be more of a “city-girl gone rural phenomenon” than it is an Africa thing, but I still think it’s cool!
7) The other day at lunch I was walking around the lunch room to tell a bunch of the girls "hi" I ended up talking to one group for longer...they sit on the floor for lunch, around the perimeter of the lunch room, in groups of friends...they began pressing their fingers on the tops of my feet (I was wearing sandals), immediately they FREAKED out! Screaming and giggling like crazy and jumped back from my feet (obviously that drew more attention)...all because my skin turns white when you press on it! They think that is REALLY funny :)
8) I have begun working on the numbers 1-10 in Wolita...this whole language thing is going to take awhile! I remember the number 1, because I liken it to "esta" in Spanish...that's when you know there's something crazy going on...I've begun using another completely unrelated language that I don’t really even speak (Spanish) to help me learn another language! Another example is that in Wolita, “leg” is “que dia” (well that's how I remember it- "what day" in Spanish)...oh geez!
9) Some things that people here use different words for:
a. Flashlight = “torch” (my personal favorite)
b. Chalkboard eraser = “duster”
c. Crackers = “biscuits”
d. Underwear = “pants”
e. Pants = “trousers”
f. Soccer = “football”…I guess this is probably true everywhere in the world except the United States
10) Every person’s name has a meaning, and everyone knows what it is. For example, “Temesgen” means ‘thank you/thanks’ and “Desta” means ‘joy/joyful.’
11) Last week, I was walking in the court yard of the school, thinking, "I am an astamarie (teacher)...in Africa...and that is pretty cool :)"
12) Here are some more pictures:
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| The Cathedral in Soddo - This is where we sometimes go for Sunday Mass |
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| Close-up of ceiling above the altar...I thought it was cool that they have the same crucifix as Our Lady of Loreto |
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| Soddo residential area |
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| Soddo residential area |
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| Soddo roads |
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| Soddo roads |
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| Paula with the kids on Sunday (before they realized I had a camera) |
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| After they realized I had a camera... |
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| Paula and I tried our hand at cooking an "American meal" for dinner one night...the hamburgers ended up being slightly modified, but still turned out tasting pretty good :) |
