26 October 2012
I am sooo thankful for the privilege of growing up in the household I did. Thank you Dad and Mom for raising us in a loving, supportive, Catholic home. Thank you for telling us that you would ALWAYS love us, no matter what. Dad, you kept a light-hearted, playful spirit ever-present. You would tell us girls we were beautiful, you treated us like princesses, and would shower us with “big bear hugs.” You helped me keep a level head (or were a level head when I lacked one), and typically would provide a voice of reason during the “storms” throughout my life. You have helped me keep an open mind (or at least realized I should have been more open-minded when I wasn’t). You taught us how to dance – those times when you would crank up Vanilla Ice or MC Hammer and we would just dance around the house like crazy! I love the times we would spend Friday night on the couch with the whole family, watching rented movies and eating pizza and ice cream – the perfect thing for the end of a long, always-active week. Thank you for teaching us the difference between right and wrong, and how we should treat other people. While no family is ever perfect, I am proud and feel truly blessed to be able to call mine “mine!”
Thank you for being so supportive of my dream to come to Africa and for understanding what a hard decision it was to discern whether or not to come. You have lovingly supported me my whole life, and continue to do so. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. With that being said, I would like to dedicate the remainder of this post to my Mom.
Dear Mom,
Thank you for being so wonderful…not only for everything you have sacrificed for me or all the things you have done for me…but for just being who you are! I love you so much, and since being in Africa, there are a lot of things I realized you taught me (that have really come in handy)…for which I am so thankful. I love you sooo much and wanted to take this opportunity to say “Thank you!”
Thank you for teaching me:
1) How to brush my teeth with a water bottle
2) How to wash my underwear in the sink
3) How to check the tent for mosquitoes before bed (I check my room each night)
4) How to dress injuries properly
5) That it’s okay if someone else wants to take care of things every once in awhile
6) To be genuinely open to doing God’s will – to say “YES”
7) That I should strive to always be growing in my faith
8) About love
9) “Chubby”
10) How to do the “Elvis lip” (9&10-I have been showing to my 'jutanee’ girls, and they just laugh really hard-aaaahahaha!-good thing some things are apparently funny anywhere in the world, no matter what language you speak)
11) That a lot of medical issues will go away on their own – just keep an eye on it
12) To be nice to other people
13) That during an allergic reaction, so long as your breathing is not impeded, you’re probably still okay (don’t need to seek medical assistance)
14) To lay on my left side when I have trapped gas
15) How to care for children
16) How to teach children
17) About ENDOW (Educating on the Nature and Dignity of Women) and encouraging me to attend a study group. Our study of Redemptoris Mater really opened big doors for my relationship with Our Blessed Mother Mary. Now, as a SLM, I am entrusted to her care and am growing in relationship with her, which only leads me ever closer to Christ.
18) How to French braid hair
19) How to “write like a teacher” (using correct hand-writing, with crisp edges)
20) How to wash my hair upside-down (I feel like it gets cleaner that way - especially here, after the kids touch all over it)
21) How to be inventive, using all different materials in creative ways
22) How to fix just about anything and use creativity for problem solving
23) To be aware of how many other people are eating dinner when serving myself food
24) To be frugal and responsible with money
25) To laugh REALLY hard!
Additionally, thank you for:
26) Making Erin and I take self-defense classes at the beginning of college (not like I was opposed to the idea, but probably not something I would have done just on my own)
27) Encouraging me to go on the trip to Europe
28) Staying up nearly all night with me to go to Walmart and pack on the eve of my departure for this whole trip
29) Inspiring my devotion to and love of Adoration – this truly has changed my life (as Father Ken promised it would)
30) Always loving me, no matter what
Thank you!
Lots of love,
Jenna
Friday, October 26, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Hi All!
I realized the other day that I have been in Soddo now for an entire month (well, now a month and a half)- I can't even believe it! Also, I GOT MAIL!!! My first pieces of mail from the US have arrived successfully - this is great news, and I am really excited!!! I received a birthday card from a friend and my absentee voters ballot...this means I still get to vote (which I know many of you were concerned about)! I completed my ballot and put it back in the mail already. Here are some other random thoughts/things I thought I’d share:
1) On Saturdays at lunch we get this delicious baked pasta with sauce in a skillet. Each day for a week I was so hopeful at lunch time that we would have it again, but we didn’t…Until one day (Saturday…come to find out it’s a Saturday ‘thing’) we had it again! Yummmm, it is my favorite food we have here in the compound and I have begun favorably referring to it as the “pasta bake.”
2) I have been realizing that sometimes I feel beautiful, here. I guess I’m noting this because I am surprised, more than anything. I expected to come here and just feel gross all of the time (like camping mode 24/7 for a year). Also, all of the people here are so beautiful! I thought I would wish I had skin, lips, teeth, hair, etc. like theirs. While they are VERY beautiful, I have found my self-image to be different than expected. Instead, I feel more beautiful here than in the States because I’m different. Sometimes, I feel like Mary because I have fair skin, blue eyes, and brown hair, and we wear scarves on our heads for Sunday Mass. The girls sometimes tell me that I have long hair. To which my internal response is, “Well, I guess it’s kind of long, but not really that long…it’s more just like medium length.” Then I proceeded to realize that not many people here have anywhere near what I would consider to be long hair. Most of the girls wear their hair in braids or ‘afro’ style - either way, it’s typically not much longer than their shoulders. I really like their braids…I’m hoping that maybe some day one of the cook ladies might be able to braid my hair ;)
2) My foosball (‘jutanee’ in Amharic) skills have really been improving, but I’m pretty sure I would win the prize for most inconsistent performance! Sometimes I can do pretty well, but at other times I still perform really poorly. I have been playing at the girls’ foosball table each day at oratory (they probably range in age from 7-14). I have begun to learn some of the girls’ names. Each day Paula and I walk down to Oratory and are warmly greeted by a plethora of kids, including my jutanee girls :)
3) I learned song in Amharic! The girls at school taught it to me :) I still have to read it because I do not yet have it memorized, but I really like it. I also know the song in English but because it’s not a direct translation, the words don’t exactly match up (I don’t know what the Amharic words mean). Today, I was teaching the song to the oratory girls. I was really excited because not only was I teaching a song in Amharic, but I was teaching something to them in their language and they acted like they understood the words (so my pronunciation must have been at least proficient). I have the song written on a paper that I keep in my pocket while I’m playing foosball, and once I got out and went to the end of the line, the girls came around me saying, “Xabier miscana.” And, as usual, I didn’t understand what they were saying. Then I thought, “Wait I think I know those words.” So after thinking really hard, I realized they were asking for the ‘God music.’ I proceeded to take the paper out of my pocket and they repeated each line after I sang it. I successfully understood something they said to me!!!
4) We recently attended a going away luncheon for one of the Daughters of Charity. She has been here in Soddo for 18 years, and is being relocated. We don’t know her, but the Salesians were invited, so that includes us. It was really nice, and Paula and I realized that we feel privileged to get an opportunity to attend random celebrations and events like this…Thinking if we had not chosen to be Salesian Lay Missioners we would likely never be presented with opportunities such as the ones we have gotten to experience.
5) I have learned mostly all of the names of my 3rd and 4th grade students. Which is a huge accomplishment in my book! Upon arriving Paula and I realized what an impossible challenge it seemed it would be to learn the kids’ names. There are a few different aspects: 1) pronouncing their names (Some common kid names here are Kidist, Sisay, Wondemogen, Waynarig, and Nazrawit), 2) connecting their names with their faces, and 3) are they able to write their names in English? I had an English roster, but the written Amharic language consists of symbols that I am unable to recognize. Thankfully, they were able to write their names using English the alphabet, so that was a start.
6) The Oratory kids organized a talent show to celebrate the Feast of the Cross, and Paula and I were asked to perform some songs. That was an experience! We sang “Down by the River,” “American Pie,” and “Transformation.” I have never really considered myself a singer, and I am pretty sure I have never sung with just one other person in front of an audience before.
7) The Salesians have asked us to continue “The Chronicles.” This is basically a book that the previous SLM started to record noteworthy events and visits throughout the year with short descriptions and pictures. Because this has unofficially become one of my assignments, I find it ironic (Miss Non-Photographer) has been dubbed the official event photographer and historian!
8) I just want you all to know that I feel Paula and I have been exceptionally successful at entertaining ourselves. When we’re not teaching classes, participating in prayer time/Mass, eating meals, or playing at Oratory, we have dance parties, intellectual conversations (i.e. quantum state of matter), and laughter fests involving different voices and random stories.
9) The power has been going out each night recently and the wind has been blowing pretty hard at night, too (we suspect this two occurrences are related). Surprisingly, I really kind of like it! It reminds me of times when it would be blizzarding in Colorado and our family would cozy up for a movie on the couch with blankets and Mom would say, “It’s times like these that make me so thankful we have a nice cozy house!”
10) Recent random food cravings (I think I have at least one, if not more, each day): Cinnabon cinnamon roll, 7-Eleven nachos, macaroni and cheese, warm brownies and cold milk, cottage cheese, chocolate ice cream, queso, Chipotle, cheese enchiladas…I am noticing a themes of cheese and chocolate…hmmmm, maybe I am not getting enough calcium in my diet…I just ate a Tums for the first time ever! (While I was packing before I left, Mom said that would be good source of a little extra calcium intake)
I realized the other day that I have been in Soddo now for an entire month (well, now a month and a half)- I can't even believe it! Also, I GOT MAIL!!! My first pieces of mail from the US have arrived successfully - this is great news, and I am really excited!!! I received a birthday card from a friend and my absentee voters ballot...this means I still get to vote (which I know many of you were concerned about)! I completed my ballot and put it back in the mail already. Here are some other random thoughts/things I thought I’d share:
1) On Saturdays at lunch we get this delicious baked pasta with sauce in a skillet. Each day for a week I was so hopeful at lunch time that we would have it again, but we didn’t…Until one day (Saturday…come to find out it’s a Saturday ‘thing’) we had it again! Yummmm, it is my favorite food we have here in the compound and I have begun favorably referring to it as the “pasta bake.”
2) I have been realizing that sometimes I feel beautiful, here. I guess I’m noting this because I am surprised, more than anything. I expected to come here and just feel gross all of the time (like camping mode 24/7 for a year). Also, all of the people here are so beautiful! I thought I would wish I had skin, lips, teeth, hair, etc. like theirs. While they are VERY beautiful, I have found my self-image to be different than expected. Instead, I feel more beautiful here than in the States because I’m different. Sometimes, I feel like Mary because I have fair skin, blue eyes, and brown hair, and we wear scarves on our heads for Sunday Mass. The girls sometimes tell me that I have long hair. To which my internal response is, “Well, I guess it’s kind of long, but not really that long…it’s more just like medium length.” Then I proceeded to realize that not many people here have anywhere near what I would consider to be long hair. Most of the girls wear their hair in braids or ‘afro’ style - either way, it’s typically not much longer than their shoulders. I really like their braids…I’m hoping that maybe some day one of the cook ladies might be able to braid my hair ;)
2) My foosball (‘jutanee’ in Amharic) skills have really been improving, but I’m pretty sure I would win the prize for most inconsistent performance! Sometimes I can do pretty well, but at other times I still perform really poorly. I have been playing at the girls’ foosball table each day at oratory (they probably range in age from 7-14). I have begun to learn some of the girls’ names. Each day Paula and I walk down to Oratory and are warmly greeted by a plethora of kids, including my jutanee girls :)
3) I learned song in Amharic! The girls at school taught it to me :) I still have to read it because I do not yet have it memorized, but I really like it. I also know the song in English but because it’s not a direct translation, the words don’t exactly match up (I don’t know what the Amharic words mean). Today, I was teaching the song to the oratory girls. I was really excited because not only was I teaching a song in Amharic, but I was teaching something to them in their language and they acted like they understood the words (so my pronunciation must have been at least proficient). I have the song written on a paper that I keep in my pocket while I’m playing foosball, and once I got out and went to the end of the line, the girls came around me saying, “Xabier miscana.” And, as usual, I didn’t understand what they were saying. Then I thought, “Wait I think I know those words.” So after thinking really hard, I realized they were asking for the ‘God music.’ I proceeded to take the paper out of my pocket and they repeated each line after I sang it. I successfully understood something they said to me!!!
4) We recently attended a going away luncheon for one of the Daughters of Charity. She has been here in Soddo for 18 years, and is being relocated. We don’t know her, but the Salesians were invited, so that includes us. It was really nice, and Paula and I realized that we feel privileged to get an opportunity to attend random celebrations and events like this…Thinking if we had not chosen to be Salesian Lay Missioners we would likely never be presented with opportunities such as the ones we have gotten to experience.
5) I have learned mostly all of the names of my 3rd and 4th grade students. Which is a huge accomplishment in my book! Upon arriving Paula and I realized what an impossible challenge it seemed it would be to learn the kids’ names. There are a few different aspects: 1) pronouncing their names (Some common kid names here are Kidist, Sisay, Wondemogen, Waynarig, and Nazrawit), 2) connecting their names with their faces, and 3) are they able to write their names in English? I had an English roster, but the written Amharic language consists of symbols that I am unable to recognize. Thankfully, they were able to write their names using English the alphabet, so that was a start.
6) The Oratory kids organized a talent show to celebrate the Feast of the Cross, and Paula and I were asked to perform some songs. That was an experience! We sang “Down by the River,” “American Pie,” and “Transformation.” I have never really considered myself a singer, and I am pretty sure I have never sung with just one other person in front of an audience before.
7) The Salesians have asked us to continue “The Chronicles.” This is basically a book that the previous SLM started to record noteworthy events and visits throughout the year with short descriptions and pictures. Because this has unofficially become one of my assignments, I find it ironic (Miss Non-Photographer) has been dubbed the official event photographer and historian!
8) I just want you all to know that I feel Paula and I have been exceptionally successful at entertaining ourselves. When we’re not teaching classes, participating in prayer time/Mass, eating meals, or playing at Oratory, we have dance parties, intellectual conversations (i.e. quantum state of matter), and laughter fests involving different voices and random stories.
9) The power has been going out each night recently and the wind has been blowing pretty hard at night, too (we suspect this two occurrences are related). Surprisingly, I really kind of like it! It reminds me of times when it would be blizzarding in Colorado and our family would cozy up for a movie on the couch with blankets and Mom would say, “It’s times like these that make me so thankful we have a nice cozy house!”
10) Recent random food cravings (I think I have at least one, if not more, each day): Cinnabon cinnamon roll, 7-Eleven nachos, macaroni and cheese, warm brownies and cold milk, cottage cheese, chocolate ice cream, queso, Chipotle, cheese enchiladas…I am noticing a themes of cheese and chocolate…hmmmm, maybe I am not getting enough calcium in my diet…I just ate a Tums for the first time ever! (While I was packing before I left, Mom said that would be good source of a little extra calcium intake)
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Our Trip to Dilla
The other day, Abba, Deacon, Paula, and I drove to Dilla (about a 3-3.5 hour drive each way) for lunch and a tour of the Salesian compound there. Here are some pictures from the drive and the compound:
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| A gas station we stopped at on the way |
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| People were selling stuff along the roadsides |
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| Don Bosco in Dilla |
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| School buildings on the compound in Dilla |
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| The high school building |
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| More school buildings |
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| The food distribution center where they serve lunch to about 300 kids each day |
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| The school building for the kids that come to the food center |
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| One of the classrooms |
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| Paula with coffee beans (Paula loves coffee!!) |
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| Inside the Salesian parish church on the compound |
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| The clock tower right next to the church |
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| Views of Dilla from the top of the clock tower |
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| Paula and Deacon on the stairwell in the clock tower |
Some Stories/Things I’ve Noticed Here/More Pics
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:
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 :) |
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Hi All!
Here are some pictures of what it's like here in Soddo:
Here are some pictures of what it's like here in Soddo:
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| Our "Castle" (as the brothers call it) |
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| The view from standing on the porch of our castle. The buildings in the foreground are the school buildings and just below that is the youth center (you can only see part of the white roof), just beyond which are volleyball and basketball courts. All of this is within the walls of the compound. You can see part of the wall on the right side of this picture. |
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| Another picture of the view from standing on the porch of our castle. |
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| The mosquito net over my bed that I rigged up |
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| My room |
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| My desk in my room |
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| My closet |
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| The view out my door when I'm sitting at my desk. Good thing Paula and I get along well. This is how many of our conversations take place. |
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| In our dinning room: Paula, Brother Mattewos (was here temporarily for two weeks), and Brother Desta at lunch, from my view at the table where I sit. Deacon and Abba usually sit in the two other chairs. |
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| Our chapel. Paula and I sit in the two chairs in the middle in the back row, so we can set our prayer books on the outside chairs. Abba (except for when he is saying Mass), Deacon, and the brothers sit in the front four chairs. The three roses represent our "small family"...last year there were three; now we have five so Abba asked Deacon to get two more. |
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| The view when we sit out on our porch to admire the sunset (mentioned in a previous post). |
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| Typical |
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| =Avoiding malaria while observing the sunset |
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| Celebration for Ethiopia New Year with the kids from Oratory. (Oratory is when we have play time with the kids from town) |
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| Celebration for Ethiopia New Year with the kids from Oratory. |
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| The kids singing to Abba and following him around the fire. |
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| We went for a hike with some of the kids up the small mountain that is across the street from the compound. |
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| On the hike |
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| On our hike...eating sugarcane |
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| View from the hike |
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| Cutting the bread (the biggest bread I think I've ever seen) at the coffee ceremony after the first day of school. |
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| The coffee ceremony welcoming the new teachers at school. |
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| Paula sang "Happy Birthday" to me...Thanks for making my birthday special while being 8,000 miles away from home. It really meant a lot to me :) |
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| My birthday dinner at the restaurant. |
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| My birthday dinner at the restaurant. |
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| Coca-Cola at my birthday dinner |
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| The other side of the bottle is in Amharic |
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| Birthday dinner: "Normal burger" with "chips" (I had already eatten half of it at this point)...It was good, as is all of the food here :) |
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| In our dinning room :) |
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| Kids leaving Oratory (on a weekday, which this is, there are always less kids than there are on Sundays). After we play, we pray. After we pray, Abba always says, "A big big..." and everyone responds, "CIAO!" before leaving. So that is Paula's hand waving "ciao!" |
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| They began to realize I had a camera...things always get crazy once that happens! |
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