Mille Fiori ???

One of the items I brought with me to Ethiopia was 2 multi color packages of Sculpey III clay.

I had arrange for all the 1st and 2nd grade girls to work on this craft. That is only 11 girls but they are young and don't always follow directions really well and they don't always understand.
Today they behaved almost perfectly! Yeah! and we had a great time. I explained to them just two techniques for making beads and they all liked the swirled ones and that simplified things greatly.

We got the small color blocks of clay passed out and with varying degrees of quality they made quite a large quantity of beads. They were absolutely engrossed in the project and most ended up with some pretty fine beads. They all got to make two sets with different color combinations. Later we will string the beads for necklaces and bracelets. I have got the all baked now which to a while in the pint sized oven at my disposal.

Now to really call this mille fiori is probably a real stretch but these girls created something they find beautiful with their own hands and when we string them will have enough to share with all the children here. I can't really think of a much better way to spend my Sunday afternoon.

Addis Ababa

Saturday was our day to visit and shop in Addis Ababa.
We really did all things that any foriengi could desire to do.
We visited some very amazing fair trade shops. Most notably a scarf and woven goods shop called Sabahra or something on that order. They have village women raise silk worms and breed them and all and harvest the silk and than they buy it from them and spin and weave it on site with local female labor. What a blessing this sort of thing is to the poorest here in Ethiopia.
Another notable shop was Salem's where I could have spent a small fortune had I been able to haul everything home with me. Salem is the proprieter and she hires local craft women and provide space for them to create and weave. They have beautiful woven scarfs, shawls and gabbi's (not sure of the spelling on that but it is a larger thin blanket like item. They also have lots of baskets of very fine quality and a good selection of jewelry and journals and cards and such.
We also went to the Churchill area which is shop after shop that is small and dark, staffed with locals more than willing to bargain to make the sale. Some of the items are Ethiopian craftsmanship some from other African countries esp. Kenya. Some probably as authentic as you could find at a bazaar at home (not African)
Another highlight of the day was Sichu's restaurant where we at lunch. I have been here 7 weeks now and the novelty of injera and wat has worn off. This is an American style hamburger place. Oh man does a home style hamburger taste good when you have eaten mostly injera and wat for 7 weeks. It was also a very cool place that would rival some college area burger joints in big cities. Definite industrial flavor and eclectic.
A full day of shopping and walking around unfamiliar places left us Foreingi gals pretty exhausted, but happy too
 

ART

I find myself favorably impressed with the art curriculum that Rafiki provides. It integrates art concepts, famous artists and creativity into the projects. These are all good things. The problems that arise have nothing to do with the curriculum.
There is not a trained art teacher to assist with the teaching in Ethiopia. I would venture a guess this is true at all the Rafiki Villages. Supplies to use in teaching art are hard to come by here. An art room equipped with a sink and proper art equipment is non existent.
These are challenges that require some innovation. Water is carried in to the class in a pitcher and dispensed into individual containers (aka used yogurt cups). Paper towels are suggested for blotters. The closest we have is napkins. Paper plates that can be disposed of are suggested for palattes. We have Styrofoam meat trays which need to be washed and reused.
Gathering all my various supplies and a willing assistant (AKA victim) I headed to the 2nd grade classroom and we tried diligently to instruct and assist the students in creating a background for their rendition of Vincent Van Goghs Starry Night.
At the end of class we have 14 sheets or art paper painted a hand mixed shade of dark blue created from blue and black temera paint. Either 2nd graders cannot or will not listen or they just enjoyes smearing paint around on their palattes but too much black mixed with blue in nearly every instance. A great deal of dark paint was removed from trays to add more blue.  Assistant fell victim to splashing paint water from the mop and floor drain in the work room where supplies had to be cleaned. Several students decided it was fun to embellish their faces with paint. We were greatful they didn't embellish the walls as well.
On the positive side we do have a start on the project. Two very fine young ladies from 2nd grade did a phenomenal job cleaning up. We have learned several things from this. We need a third helper for the remaining painting days. We need to seriously ration the black paint. Having fun is part of the process so we need to keep a sense of humor.
I am somewhat concerned that the generally well behaved 2nd graders had much trouble not making a profound mess and following instructions and painting with the less well behaved 1st graders is coming up.
I can do it I can do it I can do it I can do it. I can do it.
We will try to have fun

Let's Go Fly a Kite

There is one second grade boy here named Nahum who tends to stand out from the rest as being particularly bright and inquisitive. He has been fascinated with the idea of flying kites. Now this is not a readily available thing here where you can just go to your nearby big box store and pick up the kit or supplies and there you go.
I noticed a pouch labeled pocket stunt kite among the treasures of books and boxes in the storage area and had given some thought to trying it but had to think about a plan as there is one kite and there are 46 children. So with chart in hand we set out to fly kite with grade 2 boys first followed by grade one boys and grade 2 girls and grade.
Never underestimate the relative difficulty of flying a frameless parafoil kit. It needs a great deal of wind and it wasn't really windy enough. Also never underestimate the tiring effect of the sun here where we are at nearly 6000 feet and not that far from the equator. Also never underestimate the energy and enthusiasm of young boys.
Luckily for my cohort and I the kite lodged itself in an Acacia tree after about 2 hours and we quit for the day.
Sunday afternoon went better all around because the wind was stronger and we had learned a thing or two. Now slowly we are getting some time in flying with different children as the wind and schedule permits. Young Nahum has not been completely satisfied so he built his own diamond kite which is too small and too heavy to fly and has maybe 15 feet of yarn for kite string.
This inspired me to get busy with some sticks and make a better diamond kite. First try has been highly unsatisfactory. The sticks are sharp enough to harm someone and my sad little kite makes fast dives pretty randomly, not a good combination so I disconnected from the Stunt kite string and redid the stunt kite and have flown it a bit more with the young ones today.
The wind is about perfect right now so I am sure I am going to be hearing from Nahum soon about another chance to fly the kite.
Sometimes the village here feels like an oasis for convenience, comfort and protection, but this is Ethiopia and much of what I take forgranted at home is just not here. Longing for a chicken filet Sandwich and my YMCA Gym and pool.

Simple things

Tis a gift to be Simple
Tis a gift to be Free
This week we made parachutes out of yarn, rocks and plastic grocery bags. In my opinion this was a very lame craft. The kids loved this and are still playing with them 3 days later.
This morning we made hats out of newspaper with the little kids (three and four) which they were totally thrilled with.
This afternoon we ran a treasure/scavenger hunt with the grade 1 and 2 kids. To be honest this was pretty thrown together and silly but they loved loved loved it.
It pleases me that these things along with having the chance to fly a kite in rotation for 20 minutes at a time are seen as a great priviledge by these children.
Not a lot of intitlement here.

Reading and Comprehension

There are 46 children that live here in the village and another 7 who attend school here as day students. They are getting what is one of the best educational opportunities available in this area. Where they are at academically is of great interest to me.
I have to consider and share a few things to preface my perceptions. The children are coming from some very rough places. Some were horribly malnourished when they came here and had a rough rough start in life which while they are currently healthy and well fed has some effect on their abilities and stages of learning. Also the local language is Amharic. Amharic is based on an alphabet called the fidel. It's characters resemble Arabic and are very mysterious to the likes of my western eyes and mind. All teaching at school is done in English. The student English development varies. Few are at the point where I would say they are truly bilingual. I believe for the most part their thoughts are still Amharic which they convert to English. While school is taught in English all students also learn some Amharic and Oromo (this is the tongue of this region of Ethiopia) So they all even the preschool are learning 3 alphabets.
I had the privilege of doing some reading assessments on the first grade. Right now they are at a point which would be 1/2 way through the school year. To me most of the first graders are at very early reading stage. They sound out and read simple words and have to go back over it again to gain comprehension. They are getting the idea of reading though. There are a couple for whom reading seems to remain a bit of a mystery though. I have read with most of the second graders one on one. Some are ready to be reading chapter books some are still sounding out word by word. Only a couple are readers that are beginning to show fluency.
My first thought was to feel they were way behind. However considering they are close to bilingual and all getting the idea of reading and know 3 alphabets, I am inclined to think they are somewhat amazing.
I have high hope for most of them to be pretty solid scholars as time goes forward. For the next month I and three very young gals from the US will be trying hard to help them with some one on one tutoring and reading time to give their reading skills a bit of a boost. I think they are at a point
where this can make a big difference for them.
The most reassuring thing for me is that they all love books. Love of books is a big step in reading.
I am hoping and praying my confident thoughts are well placed and we will see some progress in the coming month.

Church Experience

Since I have been here I have attended church each week.
For three weeks I have attended the Debre Zeyit International Christian Fellowship.
This is a group of believers that gather in a hall of some sort at a local Christian College.
They share teaching and worship leading responsibilities so it is varied.
Today we enjoyed keyboard and flute accompaniement for our worship and a black man with fairly good English preached on 1 Timothy 4 and the pursuit of godliness.
The first week I attended Ken Dulaney, one of the full time Rafiki Missionaries was the speaker and 2 weeks ago it was a man named Steadman who preached on Joshua chapter one and commissions from God.
I have had something to take home with me to ponder each week.
Today it was being a Monday Christian. Meaning not just seeking God Sunday morning but living that way through the week.
I hadn't heard the term Monday Christian before but it fits.
Last week was my adventure week.
I attended Meserit Christos with the children and mamas. The service there is 3 hours. Yes  I did say three hours all you time conscious efreers who might be reading this. 1 hour was music and what I can only gather was liturgy of some sort. Everything was in Amharic and the only words I understood were Jesu Christos and Hallelujah.
The preacher spoke for two hours. I am not sure what all went on in the service. 4 different people came forward at different times and apparently for different reasons. The 4th was to have an evil spirit cast out. Haven't seen that in the states. I didn't come home with any real teaching to ponder but with a lot of thoughts about the differences in culture and how Satan and the Holy Spirit work in different parts of the world.
I wont attend this church again but I am glad I went to experience it. I believe I saw people truly engaged in worshiping my God and savior. This is a good thing.

Ethiopian Cuisine

Most of my food experiences are based on what I see here in the village but I still think it is interesting.
The predominant staple food here is injera which is generally served with some sort of wat.
Injera is a sort of bubbly sourdough pancake or soft flat bread made from Tef flour. I haven't seen tef growing but am told it looks similar to wheat. Injera is It is brought to the table on a platter rolled up like so many 3 inch wide ace bandages. Than you unroll it on your plate and pretty much cover your plate with it and place the wat of the day on top. It is rolled out with the bubbly side up so it absorbs the wat.
Wat is a spicy stew of sorts that appears to have a spicy tomato base. It is red in color and while it is spicy I doubt the color all comes from red pepper. It can have a variety of things in it. tonight it was called potato burberre and had mostly potatoes. At noon it was messer wat and appeared to be made with red lentils. Sometimes it is bean wat and made with brown lentils. It also comes with beef and fish somedays. To me the flavor varies little but the kids here have a distinct preference.
One observation that I have made is that sometimes the mommas eat injera and wat when less traditional food is served if it is available. Also the cleaning people, teachers and other workers here  bring packed lunches of the same kind. Injera and wat.
It is eaten by hand. I get teased if I use utensils. Mama  Birhani gave me lessons on how to eat it correctly.
Here the menu is supposed to be half Ethiopian food and half western style food. I haven't seen anything that quite makes it as Western style food I am familiar with. The expectation is that proper utensils will be used with Western style food.
I have been observing the children here as they eat. They have different taste preferences. What fascinates me is the level of spice even little Adonay at 2 can tolerate. He eats his wat like nobodies business. I would say over half of the kids prefer the spicier foods. Vegetables are served with the wat and injera almost always. Generally a tomato rich salad of some sort. Sometimes cooked potatoes and carrots with onions and a few other things tossed in too. Tonight it was cooked greens that are called cabbage by the kitchen and gara ? by the kids, to me they seem kind of like diced cooked kale with a lot of garlic. The boy sitting next to me at piles of the stuff. Many of the kids here are quite thin but you can't attribute that to diet. I have watch 5 year olds eat 4 or more rolls of injera and bread and vegetables beside.
In all cold raw salads there appear sliced green peppers. They are local and have another name but are similar to Jalpeano's. The little girls can gobble them up. I ate 2 after watching them and wasn't sure I could get them down. Whoa they are spicy.
All of this tells me that food preference definitely depends on exposure.

Feelling Settled

So I am finishing my second week here.
The names of the children are sounding familiar. I recognize all of the girls and almost all of the boys now. I am starting to know some of their characteristics.
I know what to expect the food that I read on the menu to look like.
I know the names of the mama's and the cottages.
I know the school schedule and what I need to do when.
I am feeling like I have the hang of things.

Today I went for a walk outside the village walls.
Not sure I liked this adventure.
I am a white woman so everyone pretty much stares at me and seems to wonder why I am walking.
You walk on or just off the shoulder of the road.
There is much truck traffic on the road and a lot of dirt and dust and honking of horns. To the best I can tell there are really no traffic laws or rules that are followed here. Also the whole situation is complicated by a large number of donkeys. I have no idea of their ownership or origin but there they are right on the edge of the road or in the middle hanging out near the center line.
The full time missionaries here say they stay by or on the road because the traffic stirs up the air and cuts down on flies. I think it is more like a death wish but . . .

Since I have been here I hear chanting in the near distance daily. I asked about it assuming it to be from a neighboring mosque. It is not. It is from an Ethiopian Orthodox Church. That is where I walked to today. It is quite an imposing building when you think of this being Ethiopia. I wanted to get a picture. An older man standing there made signs at me that led me to believe I should not take the picture. When I put my camera away he indicated I should take the picture. I finally figured out that he had wanted me to pay him to allow me to take a picture. To the best I could figure he lives in a nearby corrogated metal shack. When I started to walk away he figured he wasn't getting money. I showed him the picture which seemed to please him.
I am called a forengi here. They seem to expect us to behave oddly.

A note on dining customs. At the village here they are trying to train the students to be world citizns. So when they serve American food they eat with silver ware. When they have Ethiopian food they eat with their hands as is customary here. I got a lesson on how I should be eating from one of the mama's yesterday. I was not putting my salad (cooked vegetables) in with my wat on the injera. I ate the injera and wat with my hands though so that made her happy even if I used the fork for my salad and at it separately. I am trying to follow the customs here but those vegetables are one of my favorites. I wanted to enjoy them on their own.

Perceptions

The children here are amazing in many ways.
The system of cottages with 10 children and a momma works well. They welcome new young ones and treat the brothers or sisters in their cottage as siblings. Actually they all seem to pretty much treat each other like brothers and sisters.

Conversation with Elizabeth. "Miss Lori you have many bites, you should sleep with a net" proceeds to show me her bunk and mosquito net.
"I do sleep with the net on Elizabeth"
"Oh well you should"
"Miss Lori your bites are pink. Ours are brown"

Learning to play jacks with rocks was another adventure. I really need to find some rocks to practice. You take 5 small stones and throw them down. You pick up one than throw it up and grab one of the others and catch the first on the way down.
When you do all be one you go on to two and than four. Than you do something where you catch them on the back of your had and than in your closed fist. If you don't have many toys you make your own.

Yeabsira is the name of two boys. One is a frist grader and the other about 3. Little one fell asleep at supper the other night. Larger one is wipeing thie table. When he comes to his brothers section he grabs him lightly by the ear and say wake up. Little one sits up by reflex really still asleep. When his brother finishes wiping he presses the little guys head down again.

Often I tell a child something they don't understand. English is coming for all of them but not their first language. Fast and furious conversation occurs in Amharic and the one with the best English will consult with me again until they are all understanding.

I feel I am already in love with many of these kids and will leave a large part of my heart here.

Adaptin

Get Past Jet lag, check
Figure out my schedule, check
Learn everyone's name, well not so fast but it's coming.
It is Saturday today. No school. In an hour I will head the Bethlehem cottage and watch Mama Tigest braid the girls hair and I will polish their fingernails.
I am going to have real hamburgers with on of the resident families today.
My great excitement here is to spend a couple of hours having conversation with people who have English as there first language.
The native Ethiopian's have Amharic as their first language and it has Arabic looking characters and is far beyond my understanding.
My experience with the children and the mamas is that very few are truly bilingual, they still think in Amharic. Basic questions they understand but if I speak to fast or ask something out of the ordinary they consult with each other in Amharic.
I greatly enjoy the spirit of cooperation among the children of each cottage. They treat each other like brothers or sisters but a bit nicer. The second graders esp. are very sharp on their English and readily help the 2 - 5 years olds to understand me.
I am finding I like the food here. Much of the Ethiopian food is spicy, even the vegetables. In the dining hall the pepper shakers are filled with red pepper.The thing I find the most unusual is the soups which are very sweet. Dessert is not the norm here at all. (yes I am in a bit of chocolate withdrawal) They serve soups that I am not sure what they are made of but are somewhat creamy and hot, most similar to very thing cream of wheat with lots of sugar. They are not bad tasting they just seem kind of odd.
Everything sounds and smell different here. As I learn more about the natural environment I will share it. I saw a bright cobalt colored bird fly over me last evening. It was very beautiful and definitly unfamiliar.

The Learning Curve

There are many things to learn here. The Rafiki foundation has a few rules that are unfamiliar and hard for me. The children here are supposed to formally greet me when we have interaction. I am trying but they love the new person who is paying them much attention so it is hard. My novelty will wear off I imagine.
The children, mama's and teacher's have Ethiopian names which sound very foreign to my ND ears. They are hard to remember and it is hard for me to associate the right name with the right person. The little ones I am getting. The older ones are just a mystery and look so similar to each other right now. It doesn't help that the are several duplicates and 3 Abrahans. Hoping they all start to look unique soon.
The food so far has been very good. It is also very different except tonight we had fried fish and french fries. The salad that went with it was predressed and had sliced hot chilis in it. They have to fith the spice in somewhere I guess. Even the smaller children really enjoy spicy food. They don't eat dessert in this culture. That is something I just find hard to fathom. However for lunch today we had cream soup which was much like very thin sweet cream of wheat with grilled vegetables which didn't really seem to fit together. Also the green beans from the veggies were way spicy.
Also trying to learn my schedule and how to do everything apporpriatly.
All these things to learn seem a little overwhelming. However I am enjoying my time and I am sure things will fall into a bit more of a routine soon.

International Travel

So Friday morning around 8:00 am I left my home in Bismarck.
Now I live in ND so I really don't need to check in 2 hours before a flight but I was flying out of Fargo and wanted to give myself a bit of time to see Emily and Andrew and get settled.
So I am scheduled for a 2:30 departure, so checked in at Hector Field (Fargo's Airport) about 1. No line helpful attendants and got through security with only minor problems. Seems the scanners are very leery of sidewalk chalk.
So I am up hanging out by a plug in charging my kindle so I was sure to have enough juice for the long trip. Boarding is supposed to start just after 2. No plane, no attendant, no change in signage. Hmmh. At about 2:20 the attendant showed and the plane was on it's way shortly there after to let passengers off. We got a late start but it wasn't enough of a delay to effect my connections. It does seem silly that little ole Fargo would be the only small hitch in my  travel.
Made my connection with time to spare for a couple phone calls in Chicago and then I was off on a large plane to Germany. I must comment that both of these flights were full but I had aisle seats and was comfortable relatively speaking. Slept very little even on the long leg to Germany. Can't say I didn't try. It would have made the time pass quicker.
Got to Frankfurt Germany on time and proceeded to be confused. I would just have to say it's not a user friendly airport. I had a short stop in the restroom and than moved pretty quickly to find where I needed to be, up stairs, down stairs, down corridors with nothing much in them. Up and down escalators with funny barricades that weren't really meant to block people just bulky stuff you might have to the best I can figure. Took a tram walked a bit more, went through the security scan. This was a little trickier as English was not their first language and they didn't know what my sidewalk chalk was. However they must have decided that either it or I didn't look dangerous because they let me go. Found my gate after more confusion. Down some stairs and on to a bus and drove what had to be a mile or more to the plane. Needless to say they closed the gate within 10 minutes. My two hour layover was spent in minor confusion.
The plane now was blissfully uncrowded and I was able to rest and sleep some in relative comfort with empty seats adjacent to me. Brief stop to let off passengers and add gas in Khartoum Sudan and than on to Addis Ababa. Have to say the Sudan landscape was fascinating.
Nice jet way here at Bole in Addis Ababa and easy process to get a visa and through immigration and customs to find myself well taken care of by an attendent from my arranged hotel accomodation.
Have to say it was a pretty smooth process for this somewhat nervous travelor.

CRISIS AVERTED

CRISIS AVERTED!
That is a dramatic title but this time it's true.
My Dr. decided that Malarone was the best malaria prophalactic to take while in Ethiopia.
Hadn't taken this before. Last time it was a once a week pill.
You start taking it 1 - 2 days prior to exposure. I will reach the exposure area late Saturday night and that is in Addis Ababa so not much risk but I still decided today was the day to start.
I am so very thankful I did take one today. My late afternoon I wasn't feeling just right and than I started to feel flushed and tingly and than I looked pretty much like I had a bad sunburn.
Long story shortened I am allergic to this drug. So . . .
I am VERY thankful the I know the Martin's because one call to their house got me a new prescription for a new drug and I can still leave on time tomorrow morning and see Emily and Andrew before I take off. I am also convinced right now that Benedryl is a wonderful thing.
On a brighter note I am pretty much packed and my bags are underweight limits so I can still stick in a few goodies, such as American peanut butter and some construction paper. I have time to look at a few details yet. Life is good; God is good.

YELLOW FEVER

Yellow Fever

This morning I received an email regarding a travel alert about a yellow fever outbreak in the South Omo area of Ethiopia. Yellow Fever is a viral disease transmitted by mosquitos and as I have received the vaccination I should be immune. However this news does raise travel concerns in my mind.
Countries with a susceptibility to yellow fever outbreaks tend to be very particular about vaccination cards for the disease for those entering and leaving the country and many other countries are pretty vigilant about persons who have traveled in an area where yellow fever has an active presence. This may have no impact on me or it could make immigration and customs inspections a bit more cumbersome.
I am a pretty nervous overseas traveler and would appreciate any prayers on my behalf for smooth safe travel with no difficulties with customs. Inspection coming into African countries tends to be routine. That is what I am asking for you to pray for. It's difficult for this novice traveler to deal with routine after the lengthy plane trip. Thanks so much!

Getting Ready

About an hour ago I started a list of things to buy or find in the next four days. Four days from now I will be on a plane bound ultimately for Addis Ababa Ethiopia. From there I will travel to Mojo to spend two months at a Rafiki Children's home.
While there I will teach, tutor, complete office work, lead crafts, games and activities, and I hope read lots of stories to eager young people. This is an opportunity for adventure and broader horizons but it's also a chance to see this mission first hand and see how they work.
At this point Ted and I have considered going to Africa long term this is a step for me to assess God's calling on my life and my ability to handle life in another culture where my roll will be as a caretaker to needy people in a unfamiliar setting for me.
You can check out the Rafiki organization at
www.rafikifoundation.org
or as rafiki foundation on facebook
If you are on facebook and want to see the Ethiopian village in particular Ritter's, one of the long term staff couples there have a facebook page under Ritter Rafiki Village Ethiopia.
I will be trying to post a couple times a week with some stories and adventure while I am there. Not sure how much bandwidth I will have available but I plan to make the best use of what I can get!
Sooooo back to packing.
Lori Smith