Kristen's Little Wish List

Some people have asked me to post different things I'm craving or needing from home. So here's a little list I've put together:

Jello No Bake Cheesecake (you can take out the can of cherries)
Jello No Bake Chocolate Mousse Pie
Mac & Cheese
Meat Rubs
Knorr Sauce Mixes
Granola Bars
Chocolate Pudding
Chips- Cheetos/Doritos
Snack packs (of various things)
Movies
Music
Candy (but without nuts)
Pretty much anything you think I can't get here that is also light to send.

*** Warning**** It does cost a bit to send packages to Ethiopia****

Just to let you know

So, I'm having a little trouble accessing blogspot. It seems that Mondays are the day to actually gain access, as I tried every other day last week and only Mondays have worked. I've also tried adding pictures today but to no avail. Sorry, as I know pictures are a bit more fun look at.

Also, I can't read your comments from here. Please feel free to leave them... just know that I can't read them.

Thanks for reading!

Community and a Wedding

Sometimes I hate being different and sometimes I enjoy it. The part about being different is that I have been easily taken in by neighbors into their community and lives. It really is a beautiful thing. Often I have more than one request to be at a neighbors house for the evening. Yesterday, my neighbor Mattios visited me at the office. He hadn’t seen me for a few days and was wondering where I had disappeared to. After a 45 minute visit I was able to assure him that I am alright and have simply been busy, working late, visiting with other neighbors, and even suffering a bit from a cold. I assured him that I’d come and visit him that night.

On my way home from work I was greeted by my co-worker Solomon’s wife, Himanot. I was quickly ushered over to her house for coffee, injera, and popcorn. I played with their two sons. Apparently the youngest who is 5 gets very excited when I come over and he talks about it for days afterwards. Apparently that night there was going to be a gift giving ceremony at one of the neighbor’s houses. When someone gets married the celebrations begin far before the wedding day. At this celebration the neighbors were presenting their gift to the groom and his family.

We arrived at the party and sat on short stools and talked with one another. The Gurage tribe was well represented throughout the dancing, singing and drum playing. It was the first time I saw their dancing first hand. The dancing and clapping would get faster and faster as the women competed to see who could do different moves faster. The air was filled with laughter. The dancing subsided as we gathered together for the gift presentation. Three women blessed the groom as the unwrapped the gift and put the gold necklace on him. As the women said their blessings, the crowd simultaneously uttered their blessings for the groom and future wife. Then one of the women took a bowl of butter and rubbed it onto the heads of the groom’s sisters. I have come to understand that butter represents wealth and blessing. Women often put it in their hair as a way of conditioning it. This is the first time I have seen it as a part of a ceremony. It was really beautiful, fun and special to be a part of.

Friday night was another celebration. This time it involved men and women dancing. The courtyard of the wedding house had a big tent set up with benches and stools all around. I arrived at sunset bringing 20 or 30 children with me. They proceeded to dance and dance. The boys dancing for the girls and the girls shyly watching. We waited and waited for the show to begin. Eventually many many men showed up and the party began. we sat in a large circle with the elders to one side. There was one drum and a woman started to beat and sing, with the other women joining here, then the men got up and danced two by two. Almost in a competition like, seeing who could do a particlular dance longer. Then the men would take the drum and the women would start dancing. Everyone was laughing and smiling, singing and clapping. It was so much fun. It went on for hours.
Then the mother had the groom and his two groomsmen sit on a mat infront of the elders. She covered them with a thin cotton cloth then the elders started playing the drum and everyone repeated their chants. After the drum went around to all of the elders, they had the groom and his groomsmen get up and they danced. The groom wore the white cloth as he danced. It was incredible.

Then on Sunday was the wedding. Events started early in the morning and i could hear drums and cars honking. At 6PM I got all dressed up in Ethiopian clothes and went with my neigbors to the wedding. we waited for 2 hours for the wedding party to show up. Then they came, did a little ceremony with the orthodox priest. The wedding party then got their food, then we waited forever to get our food. And we returned home at 10PM! All that was sitting and waiting....

Chilling with my co-worker Zena in my new office...too bad you can't see much of the office ;)

A Different Sort of Sunday

It had been a week of bliss. I guess I hadn’t fully adjusted to the culture here. My mistake. This morning I set off for a church that is right around the corner. When I go there I realized that there was no one there (I found out later that this church meets in the afternoon). So I decided to go to Gospel Light Church. It’s on the far side of Zeway, maybe a 45 minute walk from my house. I flagged down a gari (a horse carriage). He set off in the wrong direction and I told him where we needed to go. We arrived at the church and I gave him 10 birr and asked for my change knowing that a horse ride costs only 1 birr. Well he pocketed the money and said that he didn’t have any change. I didn’t budge from the cart and said that he had told that he had had change and that he lied. So he pulled out a birr and said that was all the change that he had. I told him I didn’t believe him and that he was a bad man. Soon a lot of people surrounded us. To a few people asked me what was happening and I told him that I gave the man money and he refused to give me change. People started yelling at him to give me my money, so he pulled out 2 more birr. I refused to take it and I refused to get out of the gari. Finally a lady came up and said that she was going to call the police gave him the money, demanded mine back, and I got out of the cart. The problem was taken care of. My blood was boiling and it was embarrassing.

I ended up sitting with the woman through church, she translated bits for me, then had me over to her house for lunch. Kind of crazy, but I made a new friend through the morning’s catastrophe. The day ended up being pleasant, between staying a while at my new friend’s house as well as some of my neighbors’ places. Another day of endless coffee to go around.

*** Today after our morning devotions, one of my co-workers came up to me and asked how yesterday was. She started laughing… and I knew exactly what she was talking about. One of her friends had told her about the altercation with the gari driver. I guess a story like that with one of the only foreigners around gets around.

On the Way to Church

Time for Chocolate

Yesterday I hitched a ride with Dereje (My Ethiopian Dad) to a drop off point along the way to church. I was an hour early for the 11:15 service, but if I hadn't hitched a ride I would have had to leave at the same time (to travel by foot and mini-bus) and would have arrived at the my destination just when the service was starting. So, with all the extra time I had gained I set off for Kaldis. Now if I haven't talked to you about kaldi's it's a fabulous coffee shop. One where you can buy some of the best ice cream in the country and get great drinks. As you can see from the picture of my hot chocolate they serve some pretty good looking stuff. Actually that hot chocolate is much better than any Starbucks hot chocolate.

So I chilled for a while by the window watching the cars, the rain as it poured down, people pour in and out of mini-busses, boys walking up to cars to sell newspapers, and more boys walking by with their small crates of shoe cleaning supplies. It was nice to be able to sit and watch and remember what life is like here in Ethiopia. I rememberd that I missed it and felt thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it and see these glimpses of normal life.

I’ve Arrived!!

It's a cloudy day in Addis Ababa, but that's not much of a surprise to me. It's in the 50's too. I arrived safe and sound this morning via Ethiopian Airlines. I made a beeline over to the office and have spent the morning visiting with my co-workers and chatting it up. It's actually surprising to me how much Amharic I have retained, but so far I'm just sticking to the simple stuff. Things are good here, in fact it feels almost like I never left this place.

As we were landing I got glimpses out of the window of the shacks and terrain of this place. A flood of pictures and memories came to mind as I visualized what it is like to really be here to live and breathe Ethiopia. I'm thankful and so happy to be back.

I'm Off!!

Today's the day! I leave SF at 1:50 for Frankfurt. After a nice long layover there I'll depart for Ethiopia and arrive in Addis Ababa Thursday AM. It's hard to believe that I'm actually heading back today. A big thank you for Everyone for everything.

You'll be hearing from me soon!

Kristen