“In The Battle Lost My Gun and My Knife” (Well Not Exactly)

Most recently I burned myself on an excruciatingly hot motorcycle pipe. How did this occur you ask? Well, motorcycles aka motorbikes aka Pin-Pins as they are called here are the mode of transportation after cars. And once you leave the capital there aren’t car taxis just Pin-Pins so you can walk in the hot, hot, hot sun on a dusty, dusty, dusty road or take a Pin-Pin. And I’ve been on a motorcycle probably once prior to here so how would I know that you get on and off on the left side (also a good idea to wear pants which I rarely do here) especially when I haven’t been doing that since I got here. But it also wasn’t as hot as it is now so you could say I had beginner’s luck or maybe dumb luck either way it only takes one burn to get the message.

And while we’re on the subject of personal injury I also managed to scratch my cornea. The ophthalmologist said it’s probably due to how dusty my town is coupled with the fact that I wear contact lenses. I probably scratched the cornea in the process of blinking dirt out of my eye and the friction from the contact lens, dirt particle and blinking ended in a scratch. He prescribed some drops and an ointment  I used for like four days and I’m back in the saddle again! Next…

The Daily Liberator (“You Gotta Walk And Don’t Look Back”)

On or about Friday November 19th the subject, winddaughter self-emancipated. After too much (way too much) time attempting to co-exist with the downpressor the subject struck a mighty blow for lovers and seekers of justice world-wide. Basically, I can’t even begin to describe the thangs I been going through with what  will heretofore be known as the ex-roommate. It’s a long story but I now live alone on campus amongst the people in a 1-bedroom house with a Cassava patch out back. As you should know I vigorously advocated for my right to unfettered freedom as well as wrote a seven page letter highlighting my grievances. And may all of it become ancient like the pyramids…(but not last nowhere near as long).

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So basically from the minute the wheels of my ride touched the paved road  exiting the airport and traveled through the shadows of Oil Palm Trees while locals jetted to and fro roadside fires and night spots I LOVED LIBERIA (it’s African with a twist. I don’t know what all that entails yet but I’ll let you know)! I did wonder how I would feel treading earth so recently visited by war and what remnants I’d encounter. It’s hard for me to imagine another Liberia since this is the only one I’ve known but I try to catch glimpses through the eyes of some Liberians who know…

Pin-Pin (Everybody rides Pin-Pin)

“This Is My House and I Live Here” (and so do THEY)

I live in the country about 75 minutes away from the capital. It feels real rain foresty and Caribbean to me (I’m a lover of both). The place is lush with greenery, lizards, butterflies and all insects in between. There are no hyenas in Liberia! I researched this before I left and also asked the academic dean when I arrived. He didn’t even know what a hyena was (phew).

The bad part about a rain forest (well for me) is that you are on some animals turf all the time and boy are the creators creatures tenacious when it comes to doin’ what they do (read: staying alive and just being plain old bug-gy). Everyone knows I’m not a fan. In Ethiopia it was the dust that was relentless but at least that didn’t have legs , make a home on your ceiling to silently drop down from, dart under a door, jet out of a closet, crawl around late in the night or worse just appear and make you a candidate for a gurney, fresh supply of oxygen and the red strobe light. I feel like all of the world’s creatures (except the hyena) live here. I constantly check for “specks” or “dots” that weren’t on the wall when I was last in the room. Even small tree frogs and  lizards come into the house and thus far every Liberian I’ve met swears to me with conviction that they are harmless and have never crawled on a person.  As you well know this means nothing to me. (Update: a trustworthy and truth upholding Liberian friend told me that the light beige/albino lizards are poisonous! Yes, I want the truth but I really didn’t need to know that but that’s what happens when you ask for the truth, yuck and eek!

Basically, I only feel safe when I’m under my mosquito net. And speaking of mosquitoes, Malaria is so real here. Several people I know have already had Malaria and it’s common place here.  My friend had a scary case of it -apparently if you have any other health conditions Malaria will exacerbate them. She has high blood pressure and her fever from the Malaria coupled with her pressure almost gave her a stroke. When we got to the hospital and they check ed her in and we heard how serious it was I realized how strong she is and what I punk I am. Make no mistake I would have cried, shrieked, bellowed and otherwise acted up  all kinds of ways. I just wouldn’t have been able to handle it. She was up, walking around and cracking jokes but it was becoming apparent something was wrong-like I said no brave face over here.

To be honest I rarely go out in my town at night (there’s not really anything to do/if I do go out I have pants and a long sleeve shirt on and have doused my body liberally with repellent.) I also don’t wanna be out at night because I need to be home so I can be type vigilant about protecting the homestead against accidental tourists, non-rent paying moochers and other such undesirables ( flying water bugs (unfortunately I already battled with one/he or she was felled), ’nuff spiders (I am not kidding-I saw one the size of a 5 year old’s hand and that is serious and just lets you know what’s out here on the stroll (read: I don’t like that), beetles, red ants, the infamous lizard and most recently a large field mouse/please don’t make me use the other 3 letter word that starts with an “R” and ends with a “T”).

The Lush Life (view of the campus)

My 9 To 5 (“Got me working, working day and night”)

So, I’m assigned to a rural teacher training institute. My understanding is there are three in the country (the most recent one opened at the end of October) and each one also has an elementary and junior high demonstration school on its campus. That’s super attractive and exciting to me. I think that is a very forward thinking model and lots of good teachers and teaching could happen within that model.

The challenge is that there needs to be more of a connection between the teacher training institute and the demonstration school most glaringly in terms of educational philosophy/theory and practice. So I’m kinda assigned to two schools but I like it and have a lot of autonomy and creative license (you know I like that). The school day at the institute is type rigorous for the teacher trainees: 8-3:40 M-F, tutoring classes 4-6  M-F and Saturday 8-10 am. Then they are either studying, doing homework or attending professional development workshops which the ex-roommate and I are responsible for creating and facilitating.

In the demonstration school they have a split school day due to overcrowding and the war. Students up to 6th grade go to school from 8-1:15 and students up to 9th grade go to school from 1:30 to 6:15 pm. Students who are too old for the demonstration school also go to school during the latter part of the day as part of an accelerated learning program for young and older adults.

In all of the classes I observed students’ ages varied greatly even if it was one grade level. In one 4th grade class some students were as old as 13. So many children and adults missed out on their education during the war and they’re trying to fill that gap now. I’m sure this is a major contributing factor to overcrowded schools in the country. There were 66 students in the 1st grade class I visited and I am told that is a reduction from the previous year as the Ministry called for class size reduction. I should also add that was one of the best lessons and class that I’ve observed since being here. The teacher used small piles of rocks to teach the students subtraction and they were just as attentive and engaged.  That teacher has my heart.

The Volunteer Cycle

I realized today as I was unceremoniously dropped into yet another valley that I remembered this whole ‘settling in phase’/the stages of being a volunteer  from Ethiopia. I should note that it’s going to be pretty inevitable that I will make some comparisons between Ethiopia and Liberia. That being said they are nothing alike and so far all they really have in common is being African countries.

Okay so back to the stages/cycle of the international volunteer. Like I was saying just when I was having this really productive work day and felt like I was  problem solving and facing issues head on I received the news that my side of campus would not have power indefinitely until a specific part for the generator was found and purchased (please don’t ask about this process) . There was zero reason to ask why if the issue was noted this morning at 7am why no one went into the capital during business hours when it was discovered the part was not in the town. I just went home and did a quick but thorough packing and headed to a guest house in town that a friend introduced me to. I just recently moved into my new digs-post liberation from said downpressor (see above) and presently West Africa is still winning (specifically the critter nation) so there’s no way I’ll be in there with no light-that’s just the making of a breakdown (can’t do it to myself…)

Anyway, so back to the volunteer cycle:

Stage One:  Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

In a word the  volunteer is euphoric, high on whatever orientation they received, having identified with their organization’s mission, vision and charge to go out there and make a difference. This coupled with all the distractions of preparing for the trip along with the support of friends and family the volunteer is sufficiently bolstered. There’s nothing this volunteer can’t do (“Ain’t no mountain high enough…”) and they will share their zest and ‘can do’ attitude with all who will listen. Put me in coach!

Stage Two: I Don’t Think We’re In Kansas Anymore

Still undaunted at this stage the volunteer begins to make some puzzling observations. Hmmm, others don’t seem to share in her/his enthusiasm and general sense of urgency to bring about change. And even more curiouser NO ONE else is alarmed by the pace of things. No one has said it to you yet but this is how things work here but our little tenacious go getter seems to be prepared to go down with the ship.

Stage Three: It’s My Volunteer Experience and I’ll Cry If I Want To (“When I Think Of Home”)

Yup, no doubt about it. You have hit the proverbial volunteer wall and are totally and completely ready for your discharge papers. Maybe it was the lack of electricity, the lack of water, the language barrier, the way simple tasks you used to complete at home in a jiffy turn into vein bulging herculean tasks. Whatever straw broke this camel’s back you are done. You don’t want to eat the local bread/cuisine for one more night, THEY can handle all the details for the special event you spearheaded for tomorrow because everyone can go straight to hell in a hot firey (metal) chariot while you lay down on your not a twin yet not a full size bed with the sheets that don’t quite fit and sob. Why did I come  to _______________(fill in blank)?!  I miss ______________(fill in blank). Slow fade to black as camera pans out accompanied by sound of muffled sobs.

Stage Four: The Little Engine That Could

So you had your little breakdown or two or twelve and no one else seems to care. You’re showing up everyday, greeting people with the native salutation and it looks like you might be making a bit of headway. Students and staff are knocking on your door, coming to meetings, asking for your input or  help with projects. You’re starting to really feel like a part of the local landscape when you head to the market place, haggle over goods, correctly pronounce the names of local dishes, fruits etc. Could things be looking up?! You feel excited again…but this time maybe you won’t move a mountain, that small pile of rocks looks certainly possible. Maybe you DO have something to put into your quarterly report!

Stage Five: I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together

Before you know it you’ve pushed past the halfway point and folks are asking you if you will return for another year. You are no fool-the past is never far behind and you remember clearly the beast that broke you down. You smile and nod and make no commitments. And you start mentally playing in your mind the little life you carved out for yourself. The things you ate for breakfast, your favorite local laundry detergent, the custodian you always chat with at lunch time, your route to your job-your routines. Damn, this place has etched a road into me. Am I gonna stay another year? What work would I do? What challenges would I face the second time around? Mmmmm Vanna I’m not going to spin the wheel. I’m gonna take my winnings/experiences and go home.

Ladies & Gentlemen, I think I’m swinging between stage three & four right now. That’s not so great because I don’t even know what my mood will be. I could leave the house upbeat and refreshed and be highly pissed by lunch time. Hopefully, this will all level out by the end of this month. Anyway, with the exception of the Critter Nation and the heat (I think it gets 2-3 degrees hotter each week/right now is like “winter” so the heat has let up for about two weeks and then apparently it’s going to get so hot I’ll unzip my skin and reunite myself with the long lost summer camp art of skinny dipping. Uh, not looking forward to that. )

Girl On Road ( Headed Back To Campus)

POLITICS

I have no radio or tv and don’t read the newspapers so I get my news word of mouth for the most part (I’m thinking of getting a battery operated radio at least for background noise. Oh yeah and for news too (but not too much I don’t wanna be assaulted with all that). However, I would say the political climate is stable. 2011 is an election year here (right now is voter registration until February 6th and I’ve even seen voting officials come to campus to drive students back into the interior of the country so they can register) and I consider myself lucky to be here at this time to bear witness.

As y’all know Ellen Sirleaf Johnson is Africa’s first woman president and she has brought a lot of stability and international support to Liberia but some think she’s too old to be president, don’t want a woman in the position or disagree with some of her decisions. Regardless, this will be a closely watched election. I think presidential terms are six years here so if she wins again that would be 12 years of peace for the country. I believe she just wants to give the country as  much of a strong foundation as possible and then will willingly pass the torch on to a new generation.

Since I’ve been here I’ve been thinking a lot about presidents as public servants  and what makes someone even want a job like president. I would never, EVER want to be president not even of the pta. It is such an unenviable post. Where do you even begin when you’re trying to run a country let alone one emerging from a civil war? Everything is a struggle; electricity, water, jobs, overcrowded schools, damaged roads, traumatized people, lawlessness, no tax revenues and the list goes on.

I’ve actually only thought about the damage war does and never really thought about the work of rebuilding and the rebirth. I haven’t seen much of the country yet but from what I have seen Liberians are rebuilding and seem hopeful and anticipatory about the future.

A friend shared a link for a recent article from theroot.com on Liberia and as I read it I wished the writer had captured and spoken more about the rebuilding occurring. I feel like that because if I weren’t here and I read that article I wouldn’t want to come here and right now is an extremely important time in Liberian history because a transformation/rebirth is occurring. And there is a homecoming that has been on-going for some time with Liberians coming back and starting businesses, raising their children on this land and in general working to re-cultivate Liberia. And that spirit and work was missing from the article as well as the numerous Liberians who want to get back home and can’t.

Things I Didn’t Know When I Went To Ethiopia & Didn’t Pack But Did This Time

1. I’m most elated that I bought and packed in my luggage a battery operated fan!!! It also runs on current, is a light weight plastic, has two speeds and is about 14-16 inches. I absolutely love it! (best $16 dollars I EVER spent). UPDATE: The beloved fan was fried when the generator on my side of campus broke down for the SECOND time in a month (apparently this time the battery exploded/I wasn’t on campus). Think I will have to break down and upgrade to a high priced in-country fan with a rechargeable battery before the real heats gets here.

2. LYSOL!!! There was hardly a day that went by that I didn’t wish for some Lysol in Ethiopia. Of course it’s here (as is almost anything you could want but it’s gonna cost you). I had three bottles but when I was forced to play another round of ‘Reduce The Weight Of Your Luggage Or Pay The Piper Girl’ I removed one bottle (and it killed me). I saw the family value size of it here and it cost nearly $17 dollars (yes, that’s in u.s. dollars) and I already know I’m gonna have to buy it. One of my bottles is already feeling a bit light to me. UPDATE: The no-frills version of Lysol is here and costs $1.95 but why did I only buy one? I gotta try and go get three more cans before it’s gone (gulp).

3. Contact Solution. There was no way I was gonna take one of these out of my bag. Trying to find this stuff was like a sojourn  to the end of the rainbow for the pot of gold in Ethiopia. Only one store had it and it was like 11 dollars a bottle.  This time I packed six full sized bottles and bought a travel size bottle at the airport. for good measure (I still don’t think I have enough). UPDATE: My friend saw some solution for sale in a sunglasses boutique it was over $20 dollars. At least I know it’s here…but I will fight long and hard not to buy no twenty dollar bottle of contact solution (Nonsense).

4. Shoes. If you read my Ethiopia Blog you know my woes. last time I brought 1 pair of flip flops/shower shoes/house shoes and those broke about 5, 6 months in so I brought 3 pairs of those this time as well as 1 pair of closed toe work/walking shoes (I guess), 1 pair sturdy sandals, 2 pair cutesy sandals, rain boots (they get biblical rain here), 1 pair sneakers  and yes, the ETHIOPIAN TIRE SANDALS they were one of the first items to go into my luggage. UPDATE: The Mighty & Valiant Tire Sandal is no more. Liberia is type moist and you must fight mold, mildew and critters everyday (every few days I have to spray my luggage with said Lysol inside and out as well as my closet and anything leather/suede because it will mildew and grow mold. So, the nails all rusted in my tire sandals, the straps had a thin layer of mold and I feared tetanus so I ditched them. But it was fun while it lasted and I did get to wear them here a few times before their last tango.)

NOTE: I did not bring enough shoes! I still reflect upon the image of myself as I wearily got into bed in the wee hours of the morning ( the day of my flight), still not totally packed and my  bags overweight. I mumbled to my friend that I just didn’t feel good about traveling without one pair of heels. I heavily lament that decision ladies and gentlemen. Lesson: Always Listen to,Respect and Uplift the Diva; she’s been around and knows what to focus on.

Liberian English

Yes, the books all say and you will read that English is spoken here but it’s Liberian English for the most part. That means that often people don’t understand me (sometimes at all) and I don’t understand them (sometimes I get the idea based on context clues and words here and there if I listen closely). But it cracks me up to ask someone in my clearest, most enunciated way for directions etc. and to have them look at me totally crazy because they don’t understand my English.

Liberian English reminds me of Caribbean dialects meets Gullah meets Pidgin meets Liberia. I don’t think I’m going to grow tired of hearing it and I really like to just be in the room and listen to people talk. A few things I’ve learned:

Small as in, “Can I look small?” as in a little bit, briefly, not too much.

Spoiled as in, “The computer spoiled.”  or “Don’t spoil my car.”, as in broken/break.

Bright as in, “Oh you mean the bright girl!” as in a person who is light skinned.

Getting Down as in, ” I told him I was not getting down from that car” as in getting out of.

That’s just a smidge but my favorite, favorite thing is how “O” is added on to the ends of words. For example today my friend stated to the young lady who cleans for her, “Dee something burning-o.” Or “Sorry-o.” It’s endlessly fascinating and entertaining for me. More Liberian English next time.

Regarding food, clothes and socializing-love the food (the waist band is tight on a skirt I regularly wear/I’ve just stopped wearing the skirt). I’m eating way too much rice, bread and oil (palm oil too). I’ve been making a work out plan that to date has yet to be launched. (Ahem) Next,  the fabric here is very alluring but I’ve yet to purchase any for two reasons. One, I know I’ll just black out and end up having to eat crackers for the rest of the month once I start buying and two, it’s too damn hot and most of that fabric is not thin. But a friend did just give me some nice thin fabric and I’ve got a lead on two places where I’ve been told I can buy thin fabric.

Regardless of the weight of the fabric-Liberian Women dress! Even in the midday Sunday heat on the side of the road with dirt being blown into your face by passing cars they’ll rock an outfit with heels and not look bothered by the heat. They (Liberians) all tell me my resistance to the heat will grow-I think we all know that’s not gonna happen.

Socially, I’ve been to a few events (none literary/artsy yet) and so far I like all of it except one club which was too smokey (I’m anti this smoking where you want nonsense. Once your state etc. has gone all crunk on the smoking piece it’s hard to go places where you can just light up. If I stay here awhile I’m gonna lobby for a smoking ban in restaurants, clubs etc. I don’t even know if I have those kinda rights here but I’ll find out.

First Female Vice Chancellor (Cape Coast, Ghana) Prof. Naana Jane Opoku Ageymang (2nd from left)

On a final note-these might really be my people for this one glaring commonality: Liberians hate inclement weather (specifically rain) just as much as I do. Actually, you could say they fear rain-let there be a sign of rain and oh, watch the people scatter (but they are fearless and will go toe to toe with four lanes of traffic going 60 miles per hour). If it has rained and you show up late or not at all-you won’t even be questioned because everyone else has been opting out of their scheduled activities too due to rain.  I can’t tell you how much  I whole heartedly and emphatically support this. When I first witnessed this I said YES! and metaphorically slapped the desk for emphasis. Finally, someone understands-there needs to be a complete and total work stoppage when it rains (it can be optional for you die hards) and that should be an unquestioned proclamation! These might really be my people…

waiting for mango season,

p.s. Met the president on Monday December 27th! I just knew I was gonna meet her when I came here. She’s tiny, very direct, articulate and you can see she don’t play. And no I didn’t have my camera/it’s slowly dying and I don’t want to accept that. Thinking I’ll have to buy one online and get it shipped here (fingers crossed regarding mail, shipping etc. so far I’ve avoided this and gotten lots of mixed info on the status of mailing things here). This would also be the reason for grainy and meager photos…

You began insistently at the doorway to your bedroom; scent, assorted long sleeved shirts and hats.

There’s a shadow, a caul over this room. It is routine, has pushed out and replaced what once lived here.

This granddaughter’s brain is merciful but my body’s memory pulls in this hallway, at the lip of your open bedroom door in this house.

I haven’t thought of you or grandmother in a while, her ordered sitting room, your widowed bedroom; now a place to simply dress, retire to-hold things.

As I type, I can’t believe I’ve  been back  this long (it totally doesn’t feel that long but I also have no idea how long it feels like, I haven’t quite gotten back in synch with time) and not to mention there are still numerous cardboard boxes starring back at me.  In fact back in August when I realized (not for the first time) my absurd two week adjustment period, I also gave up the idea of catching up with time. My new tentative adjustment date is June 2010. I simply require lots of time to adjust to things. You could think of me as one of the slower planets, maybe Saturn which takes almost 27 and a half years to orbit!

Anyway, since I’ve been back I’ve been thinking about what space I actually occupy. When I departed I kinda closed up the shop and that leaves me with alot to fill or create now. Prior to Ethiopia I had made a very concerted effort not to be tied down to anything (freelance job, subleased apartment, somewhat reclusive or elusive behavior etc.). And it’s a little imbalancing not coming back to your space or things. I didn’t realize that mentally there were ‘markers’ that I’d  need so I would know where I was or so I’d be able to comprehend the transition from there back to here. It’s been odd and I’m still thinking about it but wasn’t able to write anything until like two months ago.  I didn’t try to write about my time in Ethiopia, my mind/writing process doesn’t work that way. At some point the words break the surface and then I can write. I just tried to shake that dazed feeling you have when you travel to a place but can’t quite get a hold on being there, except this time that place was/is home.

On the other side of things there’s alot that I miss about Ethiopia and my Ethiopian Life. I’m sure I couldn’t have done a second year there (shout out to the IFESH 08-09 class-” you really know “) but I would visit.  Although I can’t imagine the circumstances under which I’d just happen to have a round trip ticket but you never know. And yes, I definitely want to keep traveling. I don’t want to live here or at least not year round. I couldn’t be without Brooklyn but I also know there are people who have fruit growing on trees in their yard now, get to see stunning sunsets all the time, live near water and mucho greenery. I’d like that even if it’s just for 7 months out of the year.  I’m strongly considering Central America (is there another name people have for that land mass? Please put me on I think I’d prefer calling it something else) I think Honduras even though I’ve never been there. Otherwise, right about now I’m longing for spring. In fact last weekend I started saying it was spring. I feel like if I make it to February I deserve for it to be spring. Just that one winter away and I have like zero tolerance for winter now.

So far my art outlet has been with the kids I work with in this arts afterschool program. I’m fairly certain I’m more into all of the art projects way more than the kids. To date I’ve painted a self portrait (soon to be prominently displayed in my home), made an identity book (mine is fresh), mad pairs of earrings and now I’m working on a quilt. I only almost have one panel sewn so all this ‘high energy’ could easily dissipate by say next week and when you ask me how the quilt’s coming along, you could get a blank stare. Next we’re gonna make different types of accessories from recycled  materials. You know stuff like belts, bags,bracelets etc.  Everything I make is gonna be hot and will be (yes) prominently displayed.

On to things that have me upset. I wish I’d kept a list because it would be growing. First, doesn’t anyone care that there aren’t any record stores anymore?! I had to browse through cds in Barnes & Noble. That’s a bookstore. And furthermore, I’m not into that whole superstore thing.  I’m suspicious of going into a store to buy toilet tissue and I can also get my car’s engine tuned up. I don’t think it’s convenient it’s the “dumbing down of the country” instead of being hunters now you’re Pavlov’s Dogs, but that’s just me. So like I was saying all the music is in the bookstores, the chain coffee stores, used record stores (the ones that have survived) and online. I don’t want no computer file of The O’Jays.  Something else that’s bothering me is the lack of grief over Teddy Pendergrass. Is it just me? Maybe it’s been happening all over the country on radio stations and I’m just missing it. I don’t listen to radio and I get my news from Wendy Williams so to me no one has been lamenting the passing of Teddy. That voice can never be replaced…UPDATE: No sooner had I written these words and gone out of the house I heard someone playing Teddy. Some dude in his car, warming up the engine was blasting  “Turn Off The Lights” so I had to give him a shout out. Personally, not my favorite Teddy track but never the less. Then today this street vendor who sells classic RnB mixes had a little Teddy going when I came out of the train station. He’s definitely going to get some of my dollars. I just know he has some mixes that I need!

Oh yeah I forgot to say since returning from Ethiopia I don’t know what my eating personality is. There are some things that I haven’t been able to go back to eating and some things that I stopped eating that have been reintroduced. For example, I can’t bring myself to eat apples and suddenly I hate strawberry and grape jelly. I LOVE apples! In Ethiopia if you live outside of the capital apples are extremely rare and pricey. But our local store used to get them periodically and we’d always buy some just for fruit variety (that place grows mucho papayas and bananas and your girl is not crazy about either of those options at all). But since I’ve been home not one apple has passed my lips and I had to force myself to finish a jar of strawberry jam I purchased. I ate orange marmalade the whole time I was there and any other type of jam/jelly now makes me wanna hurl. And I can’t waste any food (this may account in part for the tightness of my clothes). Even if I don’t like something that I buy I’ll slowly finish it because I’ll think about how that item would never be allowed to go to waste in Ethiopia. It’s very common if you have helpers in your home for them to go through your garbage and make use of items you’ve thrown out. So yeah,I think alot about what I waste.

Otherwise, I’m still acclimating and taking it all in. One thing that keeps surfacing is a trip that I helped coordinate for all the expatriates at the university (that’s the word that was bandied about but expatriate just didn’t sit well with me and thusly I never referred to anyone as one. I also refused to pronounce the letter “Z” as Zed (the German way) but more on that later. Anyway, we traveled further south over a holiday weekend and there are several lakes in the area we visited. At one point we had the opportunity to visit these volcanic islands on one particular lake. But you had to pay the local fishermen to take you across the lake in these “boats” that were way smaller than the SS Minnow. Oh and hippopotamus are known to be in this lake also. Only four of us wanted to take the trip and the rest of the people in our group watched from the shore with foreboding and skeptical faces. And the whole time we were out there, we were telling the two fishermen we wanted to see hippos and they were thumping on the side of the boat to try and get some to come to the surface. But we never saw one and of course that’s a good thing because they could and would have totally toppled our boat. Not to mention scared the bejesus outta me. No, not my brightest moment but definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

from a warm place,

“There can be only one.” -Highlander

Soooo,

When I left off last my mom had just arrived in town. It was a non-stop three weeks and like an avalanche of activities. I liked what we did/saw but I’m anti an aggressive pace especially when I’m not having good meals and/or sleep! The first things we did in the capital was basically eat and sleep and my mom met the regular drivers I use when I’m in Addis. Your own driver/car service is crucial. This is just like back home andanyone who knows me knows I can rattle off a half dozen or more car services with no prompting. Sadly there are  no car service companies here but I have made it happen anyway because you WILL BE straight robbed if you’re not habesha (Ethiopian) and don’t know the language.

So after a few days in the capital lampin’ our hectic schedule began. It just so happened that my office (International Office) had planned a cultural excursion for expatriate staff at the university to the southern part of Ethiopia and my mom benefitedwith her timely arrival. In my opinion the southern part of Ethiopia is where it’s at even though the North gets all the shout outs because this is where most tourist want to go for the churches, monasteries, history etc. It’s dubbed ‘The Historical Route’ and usually includes Bahir Dar, Gondor, Axsum and Lalibela. You get to see all the monasteries, churches, castles and yada, yada. We took the ride but didn’t go to Axsum (I kinda regret that) and it was pretty taxing. In hindsight we should have tossed in an extra day or two so we could rest properly because it’s alot of information, alot of walking, it’s an extremely high altitude (I felt nauseous, aggy and dry most of the time) and actually in general I HATE A TOUR. They feel mandatory (you know how I feel about that) and I’m not so into the whole group activity thing (but it was just the three of us). And as you know I love a good story  so I was won over and Gondor and Lalibela  it turns out were my fav places for different reasons. But first some pix of The South.

Fishing Village (Awassa, Southern Ethiopia)

Sunset (Somewhere In Southern Ethiopia)

The South (from my seat on the bus)

BAHIR DAR (The North)

I’ll just say your tour guide makes all the difference and from this trip I have alot more respect for tour guides, they’re kinda like story tellers. Anyway, I’ve left out Bahir Dar (probably anyone you meet who has been to Ethiopia will tell you it’s beautiful there. Not me. The mosquitos were gi-nourmous, our hotel was whack times three, our beds were soft like marshmallows and so low to the ground ants wouldn’t have to lift their legs to get in with us. Not to mention there was a soccer game on (soccer is fanatically HUGE in Ethiopia & the favored team won and of course you HAVE to take it to the streets ) and our room was unfortunately in the back over a neighborhood pub (this all equals evil, evil black woman the next day). Oh, and lastly our room was hot like a tomb. So no, I didn’t like Bahir Dar (okay there were moments).

Woman With Clay Jug (on our way up hill to monastary)

 Our tour guide had to pause to wait for us and chatted up this woman on her way back home probably. I hated this climb! First, I had on some flimsy, inappropriate, not for hiking open toed, only one strap shoe. Not to mention we had to be at the airport at 5:45 am and when we got to Bahir Dar there was no power so I couldn’t have an Ethiopian Macchiato (this drink looks and tastes suspiciously like a cappucino. But no matter I love it) and now I was being required to toil beneath the hot sun. Did I mention I had on an inappropriate shoe for all this?

Angels (Doors to inner sanctum of monastary)

 In all the churches and monasteries we went to they all have angels painted on the doors to the inner sanctum. This is an area in the church where only priests are allowed to go and these angels are for protection.

Nomad By Water Falls (Bahir Dar)

Blue Nile Falls (Bahir Dar)

 Yes, that same Nile. Since this was the dry season the falls weren’t that big but I’m told they are generally six times this size in the rainy season.

GONDOR (The North)

So, Gondor was just great for me. Our guides name was Bride (yeah). And I regret to inform you that I didn’t get to grill him about the spelling, meaning or origin of his name.  Anyway, Gondor was once the capital of Ethiopia back in 1636. Emperor Fasil made that decision when he ruled and he’s also the one responsible for bringing Ethiopia back to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and pushing Roman Catholicism (some Catholicism) out the door.

Emperor Fasilades' Castle (Fasil 4 short)

He was so committed to the re-instating of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity he built a bridge/overpass ”connecting” his castle to the church across the street. He also opened his personal swimming pool/2nd castle to the people for public baptisms. This “pool” is being renovated now and it is still used during Fasika (Ethiopian Easter) when people come from all over Ethiopia to listen to the mass given and be splashed by the waters in the pool blessed by the priests.

Emperor Fasil's "Pool" (under construction)

Emperor Fasil’s descendants were a real mixed bag and all of their castles are within the same compound walls so you can just walk from one to the other and listen to all the stories. My favorite descendant of his is his son Yohannes (the Amharic equivalent of John). He’s known as Yohannes The Saint and he was greatly loved by the people during his time and real progressive. He actually was pro animal rights especially for donkeys and during his reign you could be imprisoned for 3 months for overloading a donkey. Today, at least 65% of Ethiopia would be in prison if this law were still on the books (if you could only see the poor, put upon donkey on a hot dusty road laden down with tree trunks etc). He was extremely religious and was also loved because he didn’t tax the poor. His castle is called ‘Fikir Gem’ (The Love Castle).

After Yohannes it all goes down hill. His son, grandson’s and their uncles etc.  all assassinated each other and no one really ruled for very long after Emperor Fasil and Yohannes. The only other person to stand out for me in all that mayhem was the wife of Emperor Bekafa (he only ruled for 9 years/1721-1730) and her name was Empress Mantawob ‘How beautiful you are’. She was a big proponent of gender equity and single handedly stopped the tradition of men and women dining and being entertained separately.  She told the emperor, “If we are not dining together then we are not sleeping together” (rah!). The emperor soon built a massive banquet hall that could hold 400.

After her husband died her son came to power at the age of 8 and so she was basically his adviser and dominated Ethiopian politics for the next 25 years. When her  son died of natural causes  her grandson came to power at the age of 5 and officially took on duties at the age of 20 and she was also his adviser. True to their history of assassination, her grandson was assassinated and that actually disintegrated central power in Ethiopia until about 55 years later when Emperor Teodros came to power.

Debre Birhan Selassie Church (Gondor)

Oh, I also love, love, love Gondor because this is the home of  the Debre Birhan Selassie Church. It’s not a huge church and for what it houses it’s remarkable by western standards that there is no fanfare. Anyway, a monk named Ababa (father)Haile Meskel painted everything from the floor to the ceiling in this church over a  four year period. You do have to take your shoes off in this church (and any church in the country) but you can take all the pictures your heart desires but no flash please. The fact that you can go into any church take pictures, not be hindered by a rope or guards or pay a fee was one of the most awing things about this tour of the North. 

Debre Birhan Selassie Church Ceiling

This also made me a little angry too. In particular when we were in Debre Birhan Selassie Church there was a man there with camera equipment (and a back up bag of more bells and whistles) worthy of National Geographic snapping away forever. And I really think it’s a gift, an honor and a once in a lifetime experience if you ever step foot in this church. Not to mention those paintings and many things I saw most likely won’t last forever (unless they start preserving them  immediately and some other actions), most people’s great, great granchildren won’t see in person what I saw. I say all this to say it’s superb what Ethiopia offers freely to the world but there has to be some preservation and some infrastructure put in place. There are numerous treasures that are disintegrating, dry rotting, fading from weather conditions and walls of churches/monasteries that need to be renovated and saved. Meanwhile, there’s no entry fee (they have donation boxes but some people don’t respond to the soft sell you gotta make ‘em give), brochures, web site or catalog for sale and dude is here clicking away until his battery and reserve battery die and probably gonna make a coffee table book, t-shirts and post cards. Meanwhile the church will be closed to the public because they need a new roof and it’s not safe to let tourist onto the premises anymore for fear the roof will collapse. I really hope that never happens but y’all get what I’m saying.

Virgin Mary & Child (on cotton)

For example, the above is a depiction of The Virgin Mary & Child and it was painted onto cotton. It’s in one of the six churches King Lalibela had built and is rapidly disintegrating (most of the bottom of it has disintegrated already). It’s kept in a dark corner on the side of a pillar under a blanket to protect it from light. I got permission to use my flashlight to get this picture and again most likely if you don’t see it in the next 3-5 years, it will be gone.

LALIBELA (The North)

So King Lalibela it was prophesized would be be a great king. His name means something like honey eater because when he was born there was a swarm of bees nearby. This was taken to mean that he was destined for greatness and these bees were the first sign of this. Anyway, when he was in power he had a dream/vision and Saint George (This dude is the patron saint of England and I still don’t get/know how he came to be this important saint in Ethiopia) told him to build these churches and gave him very specific architectural instructions in this dream and he did it. These are rock-hewn churches and this style of church is nowhere else in the world.

There are eleven churches I think and probably the most famous is the one below ground (St. George).   King Lalibela is buried in the 6th church (Golgota) about two meters below ground. His cross is permanently on display there (actual priests are in all the churches ensuring their safety, sometimes giving blessings (a priest asked us if we wanted to be blessed. I sure would. Thank You!) and holding & allowing pictures of  items like King Lalibela’s cross.  Our guide had to take pictures of this area for us because no women are allowed into the area over which Lalibela is buried. Yeah, even in the church women enter at a designated female entrance and pray separate from the men.

St. George Church (Lalibela, Ethiopia)

Cave At Site of Lalibela Churches (priests or nuns live here)

Yes, nuns and priests still live on this compound where all these churches were built. My pictures can’t even really begin to show the awesomeness of these churches.  It took thousands of  men to build these churches but considering the time period and tools it happened fairly quickly (24 years). Legend has it that men worked on it by day and angels by night.   Regarding the caves where the priests and nuns live that’s just the way it has been. They study the bible in there as well as sleep in there. And, yes correct again, there is no bathroom so they just take a stroll out into nature…

Pilgrim Remains (Cave at entrance to church in ground)

 As soon as you travel down to take a look inside St. George Church the remains of these pilgrims will greet you. No, they are not behind a glass casing or anything. They wanted to die at this church and travelled to it and died in this cave and now their remains are there forever. Lalibela is/was considered and extremely sacred/spiritual place and pilgrims used to travel there regularly.

In terms of other sites in Lalibela this is it. People travel there to see the churches so there is not much else. We didn’t even really see any modern homes just traditional huts. Oh and there are lots of souvenir shops selling lots of handpainted hides etc. with the famous Ethiopian Angels on them. I may have gone a little crazy with these. Also, crosses are huge too. Gondor, Lalibela, Axsum and Saint George all have their own crosses, some have more than one cross and all have their own significance and stories. Unfortunately, I forgot alot of those details. I was tired by the end and couldn’t keep note taking.

PART TWO: Djibouti 

So I just knew that while I was in Ethiopia I would be taking mad trips to other countries. Well, that dream died hard when I started investigating ticket prices and they were totally outrageous. It just seems wrong that it’s cheaper to fly from North America to Africa then it is from the continent of Africa to another nearby African country! But after great perseverance, (as well as being driven by the fact that I thought it would be really whack to be in Africa all this time and not go to any other African country) some internet research and an enthusiastic partner in crime (hey Lucinda!) we decided to hit up Djibouti.

Yeah, everyone is like where’s that or what’s a Djibouti? Well, it’s right next door to Ethiopia, scorching hot, was colonized by the French so that’s the main language, has white sand beaches, Planet of The Apes (the original was filmed here) and the 3rd hottest place on earth is there too!  Also, IFESH has a program there too so we could stay with folks for free and when would I ever be going to Djibouti otherwise and when would I ever be so close to the place again? Most likely, never.  So off we went!

Streets of Djibouti City

We arrived during the beginning of their hottest season. It was 96 degrees when our plane touched down.  And as you can see from the above picture no one is really out in the middle of the afternoon because it’s too hot. Things generally close about 12:30, 1 and remain closed until like 5ish. Folks go home to eat, chew chat (told y’all about that already) and then sleep. So if you don’t get your business done by lunch time it’s not gonna happen until the next day.

Cheers (where everybody knew our names)

This was our favorite restaurant, mostly because they served Applebee’s/TGI Friday’s type of food (something you will NEVER get in Ethiopia even if the menu says it), it was right around the corner from the apartment and because they had crazy A/C and ceiling fans! Oh and super dope mixed fruit smoothies. Basically when you’re not hiding from the heat, you’re probably eating, sleeping or walking to someplace to do one of those things. Our trip was filled with food, 5 star hotels (The Kempinski Hotel Chain rocks the best can’t wait to be all up in their establishment in Morocco), army/marine/navy guys (there’s a huge base there so it’s unavoidable), lots of socializing and more food.  

Muslim Women In Djibouti City

Since the country is predominantly Muslim you won’t see anyone walking around in anything anywhere near risque. Anything slightly revealing will get you alot of unwanted attention and sometimes it doesn’t even have to be provocative.

Sunset at Djibouti Palace Kempinski Hotel

Like I said we spent alot of time at the Kempinski. And you know how I love a sunset. Their breakfast buffet is bananas, it fills the whole room!

Here we are taking a break from the heat in a lounge that overlooks the city. We were almost the only people out at this time of the day with the exception of the cab drivers.

Moucha (musha) Island, Djibouti

Djibouti is known for its beaches, clubs and probably French food too. It was screaming mimi hot and I loved it (but only when I’m on a beach and/or in the Caribbean) otherwise don’t even think of asking me to complete a task or show up in this kind off ungodly heat.

Avez Vous Poisson?

A traditional dish is Mukbasa which is like a grilled whole fish and all these sides and condiments. You get these two baked like bread or bread pudding sides. One is made with dates, nuts and honey. Can’t remember about the other one and you get these three sauces. One is kinda pink and is pureed frsh tomatoes (tastes cool, refreshing and mildy like tomatoes), the other is this green sauce that packs a kick (also tres bien) and then the third was this mystery white sauce that the locals eat all the time. I dipped a pinky finger in and it tastes like nothing. This is an immediate no. For one, I’m not into mystery sauces, two I’m least adventurous when it’s an unknown White sauce and three I’m mad skeptical now that it tastes like nothing (no thank you).

Mukbasa Time!

The whole meal was delicious and one of my favorites from this past year (except for the creepy tasteless white sauce). I would definitely eat that again and/or go to Djibouti again.

PART THREE: Back in Nazareth & Then Brooklyn Baby!

So the last 6-7 weeks were crazy packed and I had to start packing. If you asked me at any point during my time in Ethiopia about shopping and/or my bags being overweight I would have staunchly told you that I’d purchased nothing, so overweight luggage would be the last of my worries. Hah!

It turns out I’d accumulated a good amount of stuff and good that I started packing when I did so I could give away and throw away things I really didn’t need or want. I’m fairly certain I gave and threw out about 50-70 pounds of items acquired in-country. And I kept it pretty quiet in terms of my departure date because I hate goodbyes and when I even mentioned returning to the states everyone would just say I should stay another year.

All in all it was alot easier getting out of Ethiopia than it was getting there. And I forced myself on my last day in town to take pictures and officially say goodbye to people. I’m sure I would have regretted it if I hadn’t done that. And I had my favorite -in-town Bajaj Driver & friend, Che take me on a last spin. One thing I wanted to remember, had walked and rode past countless times were the woman who break  cobblestones all day six days a week for about a dollar a day.

Cobblestone Rock Quarry (Nazareth, Ethiopia)

This spot is just around the corner from my house and this is one image that will probably remain with me.  In general I’ve never liked cobblestone (I went to undergrad in Boston and people were always raving about the cobblestone streets in Beacon Hill. I never got it/didn’t care/ mostly because they hurt your feet if you have a thin soled shoe on and they tear up a good shoe too. And I really don’t care how they look aesthetically especially when I know what went into making them.

The Last (Ethiopian) Supper

This was my last Ethiopian meal. Beyainet (gots no idea how you spell it but it doesn’t really matter since it’s not an english word and can’t really be spelled in english anyway). My co-worker knows how much I love this dish so she took me and Lucinda for Ethiopian before dropping us off in the capital. It ‘s basically a vegan dish. it’s got no meat, dairy or by products of either and I just love it! I’m really gonna miss that.

Kitfo Stand

This on the other hand is not a vegan or vegetarian dish. This is one of the kitfo stands I’ve been telling you about. I don’t know why I haven’t sent a picture before because they are everywhere. Basically, Kitfo is raw meat. It can be just pieces of raw meat or it can be minced and raw. Then it is eaten with a sauce called awaze which is spicy. At some of the stands you can only get your kitfo to go but some stands have seating so you can eat it there and other stands are connected to restaurants so you can also have a beverage.

Last Abyssinia Thoughts

I don’t care what you read or hear about Ethiopia, YOU HAVE NO IDEA until you experience it for yourself. You could say it somewhat defies explanation. There are places here that are so beautiful they seem like perfectly executed paintings and then there are also heartbreaking images that you’d prefer to not see. It’s a place filled with dichotomies. It’s also one of the poorest countries in the world but almost everyone seems to be giving aide, loans, forgiving debt, setting up shop and otherwise “investing” in helping Ethiopia. I personally divest in The World Bank and any talk about some entity forgiving a countries debt especially when if we were to play ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ you’d be heavily connected to all the nonsense, from the beginning. Personally I don’t see how Africa has any debt considering The Facts. And this money that you are giving, is there a place I can go to and see it all actually being delivered?

And in terms of Ethiopia the Chinese are here building roads, the Germans are here building all the new colleges/universities and the Italians have been here and partnering with numerous institutes and organizations to facilitate growth and show solidarity with the Ethiopian people. So why did it take so long to return the stolen obselik to Axsum man? And all of this is considered help but with this help you don’t necessarily get to define the form that the help comes in. So some of this aide is in the form of salaries to the individuals who come here to head up projects, facilitate work etc. And I’d be really interested to know what Ethiopia will have to give in the future to payback this help. In alot of ways Ethiopia has remained unto herself  and I think that has hurt the country and her people. So this definitive growth spurt is a big departure but I think it’s going to have to include her people and it’s going to be interesting to see how she walks.

Rastafarian Community School (Shashemene, Ethiopia)

FREE TEDDY AFRO!!!

p.s. See you at a street fair, cookout, free outdoor concert, Thai restaurant, new lounge that’s opened (in Brooklyn),  a bembe or just in the streets!

So Teddy Afro, he’s great. And I love how his people love him. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve climbed into a rusty, rickety made from salvaged parts dollar van packed and sweltering (closed coffin hot because no one will open a window) to be soothed by the heartfelt vocals of Teddy Afro. Anyway, that’s another thing I meant to talk about. Basically, many, many Ethiopians believe that you can become ill from the air, wind etc. so they don’t open windows in cars or in rooms or pretty much anywhere for that matter. I’d read that in a book before I came but just couldn’t wrap my mind around it/I immediately dismissed it as exaggeration. Nope, it’s true. So very often (unless I sit by the window and open it and endure stares/I don’t really care) I find myself on the dollar van (really 13 cent van in u.s.d) which reasonably should seat 13 but anywhere from 18 to 22 people are squeezed in having to go to “my happy place” just to be able to handle how suffocatingly airless the ride can be. If you can remember your time in the womb and you were in there with 2 or 3 other dudes than you’ve captured the constriction and the heat perfectly!

Waiting For Water/Take Me To The River/Let The Rain Come Down (17 Days)

wuha yellem (no water)

So we had no running water for 19 days or so, yup. I can remember with startling clarity the last time I experienced running water in our bathroom. The rumor is that the water and sewer company are installing and/or replacing old pipes yada, yada. So basically the whole town has tapped out their water reserves at this point and almost everyone waits on a long line some place to fill their re-purposed plastic vegetable oil canisters with water (see above). Alot of people come to the university to fill their canisters because as the rumor goes the water company has told businesses, organizations etc. to allow people to collect water. Yeah, alot gets around via rumor. There’s no town newspaper or main apparatus for information (maybe radio/don’t got one) so you gotta be in the loop or you’re just ignorant and oblivious to the happenings (like me and LJ Chi-Town are most of the time).

For example, since February five university employees or a university employees family member has died but there was no announcement, postings, no collection and/or sympathy cards, nothing. People either know about happenings or they don’t and no one discusses it. One of the five people who died was a nurse in the university’s health clinic. She committed suicide on the campus and don’t you know not a single person mentioned it. Yes, we heard a rumor, from someone who heard a rumor etc. I’ve come to realize that our office secretary knows everything. She doesn’t gossip but if you ask her she will say either, “Yes it’s true” or “I don’t know.” That works for me. Anyway, all those people were 40 and under. The life expectancy here is like 45 years (ugh). I was telling an Ethiopian friend about all the deaths and he was like, “Well that’s Ethiopia.” I was like see let me dig out my luggage locks and start making some moves.

So women’s history month has come and gone and I organized some good programs with the Gender Office and the Girl’s Club. All the events were extremely well attended. I wanted to do a month of activities (not everyday) but a week was totally more than enough. I was about 32% stressed out and if we had done a month that number would have gone up to 86-92% (not pretty). So it’s good that the semester break fell during March so it cut down on my time and thusly activities (yeah).

All The Single Ladies!

These were some of the panelist and actually only two of them are single. But my roommate loves Beyonce and whatever that single ladies song is and kept singing it that night, so …. On this night we screened a documentary, Sweeping Addis which covers the life and work of Ethiopian women who are street sweepers in Addis. I highly recommend it. Then we had a cross gender, cross generational and cross cultural (are those real words?) panel discussion. There were like a couple thousand students and they were mostly male. I was surprised and happy to see them come out. The panel was entitled, Women’s Work: All Around The Work and focused on what we identify as women’s work as well as the role men play in creating gender equity. We had technical difficulties, started like 40 minutes late and I hoped that the venue was truly connected to a generator (that rumor turned out to be true).

The Freaks Come Out At Night

I haven’t talked about the hyenas in a while and just when I thought they had slowed down, they’re back. Usually when I come home from campus, me and LJ swap whatever stories, rumors or things we’ve seen. And most recently she ran into an instructor we both know and asked her how classes were going. And she launched into how she teaches at night and how the hyena packs have gotten worse and how if there are more than two of them they attack and that security won’t walk them to their homes. I have heard enough! Then LJ went on to tell me that there had been more recent attacks as well as the fact that the campus is teeming with snakes.

I actually always assumed they were here and had seen a dead one and a living one but it was daytime and real hot. And everyone who watches any nature channel knows those guys are nocturnal. But as I’ve mentioned before there’s alot of construction on campus and before they dig, they usually burn the grass, cut down trees etc. See where I’m going with this? Basically, you’re displacing some animal that I’m probably gonna meet on the road home! And since it’s been so hot and we had no water, the snakes have been marauding and slithered into one of the girl’s dorms (yeah, ugly).

LJ keeps telling me it’s Africa/The African Experience but I don’t care. I try to leave the bugs alone and my sincere hope is that they will do the same. NO such luck.

TOP FOUR ANIMALS IN ETHIOPIA I’D RATHER NOT SEE OR KNOW ABOUT

1. The Hyena

2.Big Black Silent Cricket/Grasshopper Animal Thing (we once tangled when he/she appeared from nowhere in my shower). Cut to me about to pass out but the floor wasn’t sanitary and the thought that it would crawl on my unconscious body kept me upright.

3. Big Black Silent Beetle Animal Thing (Now that it’s hot these things appear anywhere and at anytime. Hanging on a curtain, taking a rest in the threshold of the kitchen/living room area, strolling in under the door (the doors that do not go all the way down to the ground).

4. Crazed Flying Wasp-Bee-Hornet Animal Thing (Ugh, I have had at least FOUR frightening encounters with this creature of the night). It has always been killed but I live with the fear that it will appear again from nowhere and fly around a light all crazy. So here’s the first story that firmed my f ear. Once I was in the house alone at night talking on the house phone to one of the people in our group. Then I saw something fly out of the corner of my eye and make its way toward the light. Mind you it was night, no doors had been opened or windows. Then it started buzzing and flying all dizzy around the light like it was in distress. So I did what any sensible woman would and got out the country’s number one brand of bug spray. But before I got back with the spray it had gotten up in the light fixture,was buzzing loudly and thrashing around on its back in the light fixture bowl like it was dying or wanted to. I nearly burned the house down as I was spraying directly onto a hot light bulb that was still on.

So I was totally in a panic now because the bulb was smoking and this thing was still doing its death back stroke. So I got off my chair, put it back and was gonna go lock myself in my bedroom when from the same direction the mate to this thing comes flying through the air all dizzy. So now I thought great this animal has a hive in our home, my roommate is in Kenya and when she comes back I will have been stung to death and my body will be badly decomposed. Before I can get my chair and the spray back again, the mate flies directly to the light fixture where its dearly departed is, gets in the bowl too and starts doing that same death backstroke. Now I’m totally freaked out because I’m thinking, animal thing #1 must have sent out an S.O.S. what if more are coming. So I spray thing #2 to death also, turn off all the lights and lock myself in my bedroom. This is all true and I’ve had 2 more encounters with them. I’ve tried to find out their name but no one knows what I’m talking about. Anyway, I hate them.

And two nights ago, two baby lizard things no more than2 inches long each made their way into our home. I wouldn’t have been able to rest good with them there. I killed them with that same #1 bug spray. It’s getting a little too jungle for me now.

cattle crossing (everyday y'all)

DO NOT ENGAGE

So before I came here lots of people were reiterating how calm Ethiopians were and that they didn’t yell even when they were upset, yada, yada. So I guess that’s true and it’s really obvious when there are people from the states around. The contrast is pretty glaring (yet another way I stand out). Anyway, one lesson I’ve learned here and continue to re-learn is ‘do not engage’ and this applies all over the place. From the guy on the dollar van insisting in Amharic that you didn’t pay (I failed this test) to a surly receptionist at the front desk of my favorite hotel in Addis now negating the original misinformation she gave me (failed this test too). I did say re-learning but then there was also the bank teller who told me that they had ‘misplaced’ the sheet that confirmed my stipend direct deposit and asked if I couldn’t come back the next day (that day being Sunday and that’s right no banks are open anywhere!). Then when I said no the next day was Sunday he looked at my roommate who hadn’t said a word to me and we could have been total strangers and said, “why don’t you borrow some money from her?” Oh, I laughed and laughed. At the absurdity, his gaul and the fact that three to five months earlier I would so have unleashed a fury.

And actually since blacks from the states (or maybe just us) are like super stars in our town, we usually know someone or some stranger who has been watching our comings and goings for months will come to our assistance. It also doesn’t hurt that my roommate, a Chicago native/lover of all things Obama passes out his buttons like candy on Halloween. Ethiopians who speak ZERO English have approached me all over town with one word, Obama and then held out their hand. I told her I’m gonna claim the Jamaican/Nigerian/Kenyan/Malian (is that right) lineage that the Ethiopians throw on me and acquire some type of accent and tell them I only work for the Obama button lady and I have no buttons.

love a sunset

FINALLY!

So true to all my journeys the good stuff is near the end. First, my godister came to visit me from Chad (hey Victoria) and I really needed that. Second, I wrote a proposal asking the university to basically foot the bill so all the expatriate staff could go on a cultural excursion (you know i love an excursion) and the president said yes. So I’ll get to see some of the south and third, MY MOM IS HERE. Oh, and she brought me turkey bacon in her luggage. God bless her, freezers and zip lock bags! So I’ll tool around the country with her too. I think I should at least get some good pictures out of it.

Last Thoughts

1. A great Ethiopian singer Tilahun Gessesse passed away on Ethiopian Easter last week (April 19th). I happened to go to the teacher’s lounge to get  a sprice (see next random thought) and everyone was fixed on ETV and there was total silence. They were showing this grainy black and white footage of this African man seated in a chair and it was a close up of his torso and face. Tears were slowly running down his face and he was singing the most mesmerizing song. I’m totally hooked and it’s all in Amharic. Cut to the next scene and the reporter is interviewing an Ethiopian man today and the man can barely answer he’s so overcome with emotion. Cut to the next scene and they are showing people in a house, I think all men and they are clearly in mourning. It’s all this high pitched wailing, arms swinging back and forth and the lounge staff and teachers are totally transfixed and silent. I can’t see that type of mourning so I had to leave but I was thinking, I have to know who that man is. How am I going to explain this to  someone who speaks English and then how will they find out for me? Now I know…

2. I totally shunned sprice almost the entire time I was here but finally tried it like 2 months ago and now I love it. Sprice (in this case is a mix of coffee and tea) but sprice could also be a mix of different fresh juices. So it’s a mix an Ethi-Mix!!!

3. Ooh y’all koshum is back. Check update #1, 2 or 3. As far as I know it is native to Ethiopia and no one here really eats it. But Jesus, Mary and Joseph if there isn’t a bush right outside our compound door (me so happy)!

4. Our yard is turning into a veritable garden of eden (kinda) we have grapes, passion fruit (our gardener stole the first ripe fruits/i’m gonna build a case around that/the injustice shall not go unspoken!), koshum and the always nasty papaya.

5. If I had to choose between not having water or electricity (and I have been without both)I’d go without electricity. This may seem like a no brainer to you but after recent events I’ll take water (cold, hot, room temperature but disease/bacteria free water please) ever time. You can always make light and there has to be some daylight hours sometimes but you can’t make any water.

the tomb of adam (lucinda, my mom and me)

Okay, stay tuned for info on the tomb on adam and other ancient places…

I’ve just passed the 5 month mark (actually now near 6) and it just got ‘Africa Hot’ in the span of about seven days. It had been pretty comfortable and warm with a little rain now and again. Usually the sun always comes out (probably the reason for the country tag line, ’13 Months of Sunshine’). When we arrived in late September it was the end of the rainy season and no one was happier about that then me. Ethiopia has what I call ‘Biblical Rain.’ You know like, get on board the ark? I don’t care for it, it’s scary. It rained like that when I was in the rain forest in Costa Rica and I was sleeping in a tin roof cabin which just exaggerates the rain. It sounded like the end of the world and I slept fully clothed, waited for day to break and prayed to everyone’s god.

Anyway, I don’t really talk about what goes on here in my town because I have to live it everyday and it’s just not that stimulating.  And I’ve kinda not talked about the university I’m assigned to because basically my school is a political hot bed right about now. But I’m gonna try to give it to you in a nutshell. As I stated in the piece I wrote, Learning To Speak Ethiopia is in the midst of a higher education growth spurt. Technically, my school has existed since 1993 under many names but didn’t become the institution it is today until 3 or 4 years ago. My university has been selected by the government to become a model international university for the country with the support of the German government.

Our university is the only one in the country to have a foreign president and he has been given the authority to bring this vision to fruition so to speak. So there’s alot of talking, mumbling, innuendo and rumor about the university. And there is always something ‘different’ happening here like the two offices that I am a technical assistant to don’t exist on any other college/university campuses in the country, we no longer utilize some country mandated programs. Also, I work with two offices which are headed by women (something that is extremely rare for the country), we have wireless and broadband (no one else does, period) and a whole bunch of other things that would only be relevant if you experienced the country. I think it will be very interesting to see this school in like 3 years from now.  The President is type ambitious and there’s no question that he’s going to get the job done but I wonder about things like sustainability, what happens at the crossroads of culture and education and what might be considered expendable in the name of progress.

main administrative bldg

This is the administrative building as seen from the 2nd floor. As you can see some of the outdoors is indoors, so you could get a little wet when it rains. I kinda like it. My office is next door to this and it also has an open courtyard area but no greenery, it’s more of a walk area so it’s concrete. Again you get wet when it rains.

our living room

All of our furniture came from the university even that wooden crate that our t.v. (also the university’s) sit on. And it was almost a fight to convince school security that the crate was garbage and we didn’t need a property slip for it.

'barabaso' (means home made/tire shoes in amharic)

Yup, I wear these almost everyday. The all black pair have already broken, they repaired them for me but I don’t trust it and they aren’t as secure as the ones with the toe hold. The pair all the way to the right are my fav and like I said I’m always in them. I gonna have some custom made with colors I select. Me and the tire shoe man are mad tight!

THE GOOD NEWS

“Let the sun shine in, let the sun shine in…..”

“Can you feel a brand new day!”

“There’s one perfect fit and sugar this one is it. We both are so excited cuz we’re reunited, hey, hey. Reunited and it feels so good…”

“King of Kings, forever and ever, Lord of Lords, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!…”

Y’all one of the IT guys rescued my itunes. His name is Asteway (it means thinker, foresight or something like that in Amharic) and I L-O-V-E, love, love, love him. For the first time in over 5 months I heard the melodic voice of Marvin Gaye. For me, I do miss food from home but I could make something or have something that will kinda get me over the hump or go to Addis and have a close fascimile (only for some things). But what could I possibly MAKE that would even be near Marvin Gaye or The O’Jays? Exactly, nothing. I don’t know how but he did it and this weekend (who am I kidding for like several weeks) I’m gonna stay in the house, in my pajamas that are about to fall apart (more on disintegrating clothes below) and sing off key to ALL (over 3,000 tracks man) of the goodness. Yup, you know it.

Oh yeah, shout out to my family for all the boxes especially my favorite hot chocolate Deep Chocolate Sensation (it’s the best). I think I have enough to last me another year.

THINGS I’D NEVER DO/EAT AT HOME

1. Eat eggplant (I don’t like mushy food but I’ve managed to stir fry it without it turning to mush/I’ve got food texture issues and I’m just weird ie; won’t go near cream of wheat but I see nothing wrong with oatmeal (gotta be right consistency and don’t even bring it near me if it was made with milk) or grits.

2. Eat full fat eggs (everyone knows I only eat eggbeaters/how I miss them!)

3. Use butter (see below/ back home I use some sorta spread that’s like flaxseed oil etc. etc.)

4. Use oil (everyone knows I only use low cal spray oil. This is a real issue for me.)

5. Eat Snickers candy bars (this is all the fault of those who  pillage Africa/The Colonizers and slave catchers started this. Everyone knows Africa’s got world class chocolate but it’s all exported and the people gots no access/me included. Thusly, you can’t get any good local chocolate (it’s whack), so I ‘m forced to eat Snickers. I’d kill for some dark chocolate.

6. Drink Soda (I did for like the first two months then I ended it. Back to wuha (water) full time and shai (tea) and buna (coffee) oh so regularly (this is the birth place of coffee, are you kidding?)

7. Watch American Idol (I’m all caught up/Jamar was totally robbed. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?), Ghost Whisperer (what can I tell you?, the new 90210 (see previous comment), Jack and Bobby (It has a compelling story line. This was a failed series in the states that I vaguely remember. So far Christine Lahti (sp) is the only actress I know. Actually I just think that’s her name. You know how you know some entertainment person’s name but you aren’t really sure why because you couldn’t think of any movie, series etc. they’ve been in even if Alex Trebeck was in front of you with cold hard cash. So anyway, Bobby is going to be president of the u.s. in the future and they go back and forth between his adolescence/ relationship with his older brother Jack and mother (super smart, progressive professor) who is raising them alone and flash forwards of different people in his cabinet, advisors, lovers etc. It comes on twice a day and I hate to miss any of it. My roommate loves it too!) and Buffy The Vampire Slayer (I’m all caught up/I love almost anything to do with vampires like Lost Boys which is so in my top ten all time favorite movies. Others include Desperately Seeking Susan, Buckaroo Bunzai, Flash Gordon, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (hello! The original with the stellar and infinitely talented Gene Wilder. Ofcourse I love Johnny Depp but some thing’s just shouldn’t be re-made.  And I can’t think of the other flicks now.)

8. Watch ET (Entertainment Tonight) just to find out what’s going on in the world of pop culture/entertainment/the things that matter to me.  I can totally do without Aljazeera (I swore off the news a few years back) and their extensive footage of the maimed, dead and dying. Hey buddy, I’m trying to live here!

The Clothes Off My Back

Okay, so I don’t think I said before that you have to hand wash your clothes here. I did for like the first two months, I kinda liked it but I knew it wouldn’t last. So we now have a seretania (helper) who comes once a week and washes our clothes and cleans the bathroom and kitchen. But my clothes aren’t going to survive all the vigorous hand washing. Already I’ve had a dress, shirt and my favorite skirt mended and two t-shirts, four undershirts and a pair of yoga pants I sleep in are on the verge of becoming dust (not to mention 2.5 pairs of shoes). I’ve had a few items made here but as I said it’s hard to find good quality and interesting (that means vivid and afrocentric for me) fabric. I got two pieces when I was in Dire but don’t know what to make yet.  So for the moment I’m stock piling fabric until I have a solid plan because our tailor (yes, our tailor) Sammy needs a visual to work from since his English and my Amharic are limited.

Another thing I’ve been meaning to talk about is how I socialize with ZERO women. The modern woman for the most part is in the capital. The further away you go from the city the more you will see that women are not in the work place/work force.  Once I was eating lunch in town with one of the women I work with and a visiting female guest and the guest remarked that we were the only women in the restaurant. I hadn’t even noticed because I always feel like an oddity whenever I’m out in the town because of all the starring and comments I get on the regular. But when I looked around there were  nothing but men and the three of us women eating together.

The majority of women are  at home, not given access to education (there are only FOUR women in the graduate school at my university that has a student body of like 18, 000) or job training skills, married off very young etc. There are certainly organizations working to empower and change this but…And at my university most of the women employed are secretaries, runners (errands etc.), counter helpers in the student cafeterias and teachers lounge. What is very different from home is that a great deal of women work in repair and maintenance. There are lots of young ladies who are electricians here and also work in construction (in dresses and skirts).

And speaking of construction I’m amazed at how much gets done here in terms of construction without machines. For example, digging is done manually (no matter how deep or wide the hole has to be/maybe not in the capital), dirt and rocks are carted away on these wooden gurneys by people (women).  Oh and the scaffolding here is made of wood (yikes!). And all the cement cynder blocks used to create all the university buildings are made by these two small machines that only make several hundred blocks a day and then they have to cure in the sun for 14 days before they can be used. The campus is under major construction/expansion and over 125 hectares!

new dormitory

So I’ve totally given up trying to find any women/thinking about the social norms (fit in, hah!/that’s the orientation-training talking) here because it’s unavoidable that 99.9% of the company I keep is with men. So I’m learning alot more Amharic phrases and proper inflection (not too much) just from going out with the guys. By guys I basically mean one or two IT guys and one engineer guy who also teaches at the university part time. And this means I also eat alot more traditional food. My favorite yesom migib (fasting food/read: no dairy, no meat) is Beyainet (which is just different veggies like beets!!!, greens, cabbage, potatoes and at least 3 types of lentils).

I have to cook here more than I'd like to...

new kicks!/desert gold

R.I.F (Reading Is Fundamental & Writing Too)

Generally when I travel, reading, writing and music are huge components. I’ve already covered the music (did I mention Donna Summers, Zap Mama, Nas, Culture, Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Philly Sound Box Set (you want it), Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Patti LaBelle, a wind fall of BMW & P-Funk, Sizzla, Luciano (I almost needed sedation when I rediscovered these mighty tracks), Natalie Cole (my eyes were damp but I held it together), Goodie Mobb (Ooooh Yeah), Simply Red (I can’t vouch for anything after he left his band behind. And that is truly sad because I’m a huge fan and Mick Hucknell is phenomenally talented), Prince…)

Music People Who Are So Golden/ It’s Never Going 2B  Over 4 Me

Sananda Maitreya (formely Terrance Trent D’arby/yes I continue to be an ardent fan and follow his career/ life. Please contact me directly for discography as well as my unique insights on composition of songs and his boundless talents in general.)

Simply Red ( I’d be happy to list the albums and the order in which you should purchase them.)

Bg Daddy Kane (Okay, so a part of me died when he did THAT book with Madonna. He remains a champion. And yes, I’m aware of his mini come backs (The Apollo, the track with Patti, the video cameos etc. ) it’s kinda like seeing your favorite boxer punch drink years later. Sadness….)

Oh but I was  supposed to be having a literary moment. Okay, I just recently mentally settled down here  so I wasn’t really reading too much well not books anyway. But so far I re-read Mama Day (one of my all time fav books/I brought it with me) and The Dance of The Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd (borrowed from roommate/she shipped like a small library here). I like Sue Monk Kidd  and will give her more chances but this one was sometimes too much for me. It’s kinda her feminist spiritual awakening I guess and she referenced lots of works that I might be interested in but… And I read her Mermaid’s Chair and that was just aiight for me too. The Secret Life of Bees remains her best for me.

I’m reading Eat, Pray, Love (is that right?) now as well as Meena Alexander’s memoir, Fault Lines (also brought with me/had for years but never read) and a history of women in the Eritrean war.  Yeah, I like to go back and forth sometimes between books. And as far as writing, I’ve written two essays here, started like two others that I haven’t touched in a while and started to articles that I also haven’t touched in a while. And there have been no poems thus far. Oh, and I started a book proposal (should I say it?/there is a theme emerging here), re-ordered an old manuscript (again) and have been ignoring a newer draft of another manuscript.  Read a good interview with Nikki Giovanni and another one with Nalo Hopkins (they rank high with me!)

And I find myself making lists here all the time (on paper and mentally). Most of them are things I will do, see, buy, eat or consider when I’m back in Brooklyn. A most recent and really short list (maybe I will add to it later) is:

Artists That I Will Show More Devotion To
Lucille Clifton- I can’t see any good reason why I don’t read and purchase more of her work. I enjoy her poems, think she’s very frank and a bit eerie.  It doesn’t make sense to deny myself and I’ve come to this conclusion before. But no more Ms. Clifton! I am on the case (or I will be when I get home).

Michael Jackson- There is no denying the discography, the talent, the creativity.  Say what you will about the man. As the years go by I must admit there are hits and albums that I must seriously re-consider as I may have been complacent, hasty etc. and thusly again denying myself goodness.  And why should I  choose to continue to do that? Exactly no good reason! So Mike, I’m on it  just as soon as I touch down.

Okay party people, this has been an extremely long one. So I’ll end it here.

new hot spot in town/our house & dish

until, me in abyssinia

I know it’ s been a minute but we had no internet for many, many harrowing (I always wanted to use that word. Have you noticed that broadcast journalist and the like use the word  harrowing often? It’s so dramatic) days. The African Union was here and I’m told most of the country’s internet mega bytes were “loaned” to them. Cut to me shrugging shoulders, hands thrown up in the air. So I’ve been writing this update in Word and then I cut and pasted it, so chances are that it’s gonna look janky. I can already see the font difference…

Okay so I know everyone wants to know how are you living girl with no O’Jays? Marginalized. There is absolutely no reason to sugar coat the hard cold reality that life without one iota of a note of music that is crucial to me like the pumping of blood that my heart does has left a dark, silent,deep, deep and endless void. Nevertheless, I have persevered. Meaning, I’ve burned music from every Tom, Dick and Harry or in this case every Selamawit, Haile and Getachew that I could find.  I’ve been able to secure some Bob Marley, Tupac (score!/I am his biggest fan. It’s all in the book), 50, Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse (i’da worn down the needle if this were an album with grooves), Stevie, Nina, Aretha, U2, pj harvey, estelle, Raphael Saadiq (what a talent! I’ve blathered on about him before on these pages) and The Pixies (one of the best things to come outta New England). And probably some other stuff not including the 4 albums I’d brought with me cuz I didn’t have time to burn them.

As for Ethiopian music I love it.  Alot of the popular music  reminds me of dance hall just in the sense that if there’s a catchy beat everyone uses it. I don’t know if  the beat, the ethnic group or the region dictate the dance but everyone does the shoulder dance (insert real name). So far, I’m enjoying Gigi, Jonny Ragga, Shewandagn Hailu and TEDDY AFRO! He is my favorite Ethiopian singer to date. I don’t know how to classify his music but there’s some traditional and some roots mixed in. Teddy Afro, Live! is his best album if you ask me. It’s just very vibrant and up, he has alot of life and so the music is uplifiting. He’s locked up now (womp, womp).  The courts say he is guilty of vehicular manslaughter, hit and run etc. The people say he wasn’t involved and that he had  been critical of the government.  Whatever the case he is HUGELY popular and  his face and Obama’s are what you will see on nearly all t-shirts in any market place.

In terms of life here on the range, there’s simply no way to adjust it remains a work in progress.  We are officially in the dry season so power goes out at least three times a week and  I don’t fight these anymore. I’m totally conditioned and I keep mental track of all power outages. Sometimes I’ll be making some plans mentally and then out of the blue I’ll be like oh the powers going out tonight I won’t be doing any of that. We’ve lost water a few times too but I’m definitely seeing my grass as greener. In our house we have hot water (4 other people in our group don’t and the cold water here is cold like it was freshly fetched from off top a mountain. I’ve never experienced anything like that not even in sleep away summer camp in the hills of Tennessee. You don’t want it.), our bathroom is indoors, so is our kitchen and our power outages last for a few hours then it’s back to the usual.

Aside from our comfy home, I’m usually a bit bored. Our town is Little House on The Prairie except with Blacks/Africans but I haven’t met any Olsen’s or Ingalls’ yet. As usual there’s much that I didn’t really think about or plan for like I’ve really had to submit and hunker down (it’s country here) to this life. That required giving myself some sort of routine because, I live here and it’s gonna be a minute. And that’s an adjustment to make the shift to the reality that I’m a resident (temporarily) and not a visitor/vacationer. Although, I’m in Africa I have to be at the university everyday or for the most part. But I’ve managed two road trips and will definitely do at least two more.

Speaking of road trips for MLK jr/Obama week we went to Dire Dawa where one of our colleagues is assigned to the university there. Dire is the 2^nd or 3^rd largest city in Ethiopia. It’s firmly in the eastern part of the country and is near Somalia and Djibouti. The Djibouti railroad also goes through this city. I’m thinking about taking that train from Dire to Djibouti. We were originally going because our colleague there was throwing an inauguration party but I had to come back that Tuesday because my office had a meeting the next day in Addis. The meeting was rescheduled and the power went out (but my spidy senses told me it would) so I went to one of the big hotels in town and watched the inauguration in the lobby. And make no mistake the Obama craze is alive and thriving in Africa. I try not to talk about Obama (except now). I’m glad to be here too because we only get a sliver of the mania in the states. I feel like he has a lot of work to do, so the sooner you let this love fest simmer on down the better. And more to the point he can’t do everything. But let the man do his job and stop this endless reporting of his sneezes, colors of his ties etc. Yeah, I’m often not down with the hoopla. I have nothing against him and totally understand the importance of now but I’d be okay if things settled on down tomorrow and it was back to business as usual. That’s just me.

Okay, yeah so we went to Dire Dawa and took a day tour of the ancient city of Harar. Yes, the place where neither foreigners nor Christians were  allowed through the famed gates to the city.  And they say if foreigners or Christians were found, death to you.  By the way did I say Harar is a main hub for Ethiopia’s Muslim community and the city is considered the 4th holiest of cities after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. It also boasts 90 mosques, the most in one place in the world! Harar’s got a bloody history mostly over religion and wasn’t really made more “inclusive” until 1887 by prince Menelik who later became Emperor of Ethiopia. That’s  like only 122 years ago!

just outside the wall of the old city

The title of this entry is due to the Harar Women who right from the gates of the old city greeted me with, Hello Africa!  And no one starred and it was pleasantly warm. I should also say I was sick as a dog, really the first time here for me. I think it was a salad that I ate in Dire. That’s what we narrowed it down to because for one, I shared some of it with my roommate and she also got sick (sorry). Secondly, no one else had salad and they didn’t get sick. I didn’t know what I had so I was afraid to take anything and just kept drinking mint tea and bottled water. On the bus ride to Harar (maybe 45 minutes) I had my head out the window like a dog just in case time became of the essence. By the time we got into the old part of the city, I was having hot and cold flashes. As we walked through this narrow labyrinth of houses I was just saying, well I should take pictures because if I survive I’ll regret not having any pictures and the picture taking was taking my mind of the discomfort. Secondly, I thought it would be better to will myself to make it back to a major city just in case I had to visit a doctor/hospital. Mind you, I was so not even entertaining a visit to ANY doctor. I just figured it would have to run its course. That took 3 days and even five days later I was still on soup, crackers, tea and water. But I write to you here today from the seat of triumph!!! And look at the pictures I took with each and everyone of you in mind.

our mini tour guides for the day

Timket Festival in Harar

This is another Ethiopian religious holiday that I know nothing about. I do know it is the Ethiopian Epiphany and I know that because it says so on the calendar I was given. White is the national color here and that is also what’s worn alot on religious holidays, on their new year, when going to church etc. We were caught in a traffic jam because the revelers were walking through the streets. In the background you can see the soldiers and through the trees the end of a caravan. Love the lady in white!

young boy & camel # 1 (Dire Dawa)

This is when we first got into Dire Dawa by bus. I was sitting right in the front and when I looked up this boy and his camel were right there.

on road to Dire/me never tire of mountains

I have alot of pictures of mountains and desert type landscapes and I’ll probably take alot more before I leave. I just love mountains; seeing them in the distance, by day, by night, in the afternoon, riding by them on an endless road…

professional shoes

This type of shoe (mad pointy) is worn by alot of professional men. I’d say they are in the wingtip family and they appear to be quite durable. If they made a female version with say a stacked, wedge or kitten heel I could see myself foraying into that good night. We were still on the bus on the way to Dire.

Chat Time

perty stones & baubles/ 2 sick 2 shop

In the Chat Time photo the green leaves you see on the ground are a plant called Chat. It is a mind altering stimulant, is legal here and the closer you get to Dire Dawa and Djibouti the more plentiful it becomes. We drove through whole towns where everybody was sitting on the ground chewing Chat. It’s exported massively from Djibouti and our colleague says in Dire, they take Chat breaks daily so the town kinda closes down from 12 to 3. These leaves are old and dry so people just lay on them and the animals eat them. Many of the drivers who take people back and forth around the country chew Chat to stay awake. More on Chat later.

The other picture is a private shop that we went to. The weaving of baskets and the like as well as the amber beads were really beautiful and costly.  If I go back there I may get a little basket. Oh I didn’t include the picture of the baskets. I should also add this is as close as I’ve gotten to shopping and I was too sick to shop. I took these pictures from a seat that the shop owner could see I really needed.

oooh hand woven

Okay here some of the hand woven items but not the baskets I was eye balling.  Harar is also the place where they have the famed men who feed the hyenas by hand. You wait until dark and you can pay to hand feed them raw meat or watch from a car and take pictures. WE were gone long before sunset.  And speaking of hyenas, not one but two (one one day and then another a few days later) crossed the very road I was walking on. I nearly had a massive coronary but all the students just kept walking and talking. Thank GOD I was with one of the IT guys or I might not have made it. The only thing that kept me on my feet was the thought that if I passed out I’d be dinner.

Then on that same road (there’s only two on campus and the other one is for cars) we (me, some students and the same IT guy/he’s from Addis so he doesn’t know how to handle all this live in your face nature either) a 700 lb Ox came barrelling out the tall grasses. Ofcourse, ever vigilant me saw the large mass of darkness moving first and stopped. Then all the students on the road saw what it was and got down on the ground in fetal positions.  It was crazy. Then these two tiny Ethiopians come breaking through the tall grasses, one with a whip to tame this clearly upset beast. I just stood in the middle of the road thinking a few things. One, maybe you should forgo the whip. Two,  you’ve got to be kidding, I was almost stampeded (can I say that?) by an ox and please no more incidents like this. And the other thing I was thinking was you get in the fetal position for the ox but it’s life as usual when the hyena crosses your path ???

until, that black girl in africa

]]> http://winddaughter.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/6-hello-africa/feed/ 1 winddaughter img_0512 img_0503 img_05171 img_0491 img_0490 img_0485 img_0499 img_0509 img_0507 http://winddaughter.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/5-things-i-been-meanin-to-say/ http://winddaughter.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/5-things-i-been-meanin-to-say/#comments Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:33:58 +0000 winddaughter http://winddaughter.wordpress.com/?p=114 Continue reading →]]> Howdy & Hey All,

I can hardly believe it but it’s been a little over 3 months since I touched down here in Abyssinia. And I guess you could consider this kinda like my out takes and extras. First let me say that I’ve been taking Amharic lesson for like the past six weeks. I figure I should at least make an effort to participate in communication. Let me also say I’d need like 3 years here to even get a toe hold on Amharic.  I think it is  unique and  I’m always thinking to myself, there’s no familiar place to rest here with regards to the Amharic language. It isn’t similar to any languageI’ve ever heard or learned and I find fragments of other foreign languages floating to the surface all the time. It’s almost like mental or physical reflex. The mind and the body know they possess language capabilities so the next thing you know some French or Spanish is flying out of your mouth. But this experience has made me think alot about people who are functional illiterates as well as people who are struggling to learn English (almost everyone is trying to learn and /or improve in this area). But this is all in essay…

I’ve been meaning to also mention how much we (Blacks) are starred at. Basically, at this point I’ve had enough and I mean “neck craning” starring. It doesn’t really happen in the capital but in the more rural areas it’s just bananas. I’m thinking of writing something for the university staff newsletter entitled, Could You Please Stop Starring At Me. It has gotten slightly better as people no longer stop talking and eating when I enter the teacher’s lounge. They’ve learned to talk, eat and stare. I think it has something to do with my hair. I’ve only seen one other woman here and that was just like 3 days ago who has locks. Many of the students (all male) have started locking their hair and when I mentioned this to one of the IT guys he said firmly, “They started that here. They would not wear their hair like that at home. Their families would not allow it.” He also added that he grew his hair into an afro just so he could start to lock his hair and his family forbid it also. They told him it was a style for a woman (long hair).

Which brings me to another topic. Gender is very finite here. For example, I was looking in a clothing store for a hoodie (I think I mentioned that I have no idea what was in my two (50 lb) pieces of luggage because I have nothing here!) and I didn’t want any slogans on it. Did I say that bootleg Sean John T-Shirts are all the rage here? Sorry I digressed. So anyway I say to Laura J. out loud in the store when she points to a hoodie, that I don’t like that particular color. The sales guy immediately comes over and tells me it’s a sweatshirt for men. Hunh?! Yup, it’s like that.

Something else I haven’t mentioned are the beggars. They are generally women with children, children, the blind, crippled etc. The worst are the children because they are trained  to be relentless. So they will tug at your clothes, pockets and walk with you saying ‘migib’ (food) or calling you mama and if you are  a ferenji (foreigner) you are totally a target. Some of us have had alot of conversations about this because we are confronted everyday. I’m just not used to this at all. For one back in the states,  the homeless, hungry etc.  don’t really violate personal space.  In fact personal space just isn’t really violated in the states not without a problem anyway. Like I’ve said before, there’s no such thing as personal space here. Not in banks, not on dollar vans, not walking down the street….

Anyway, as you know I was raised in New York  (Brooklyn!!!) and I took alot of karate as a pre-teen/teen and kickboxing as an adult.  And on both fronts it’s lesson #1 that you don’t let someone get right in your personal space because well as Sensei Eddie used to say,  ”Now it’s too late.”   So I sometimes walk in the streets to avoid the unwanted touching and the straight up accosting. It’s very uncomfortable (several reasons) for me to have someone that close and asking me for money.   This all may seem very harsh but that isn’t my intention and I would add, come and experience it for yourself. 

PART: TWO

How Far Is Brooklyn?

At this point in the season, I guess it’s like late spring here aka the dry season. So since much of the electricity is powered by water and there’s no rainfall now we have many, many power outages as well as water rationing. Just when I think I’m adjusting a bit more, here comes another curve ball. This dry season is also the reason for the long blog silence as power goes out at almost any time now, so you can’t really work on the computer with any real level of security as you have to keep hitting save. Before the dry season power did still go out but it was a very consistent thing, like twice a a week and from say 6:30 pm to 9 pm then it was back to normal (whatever that is wherever you are).

New Year! What New Year?

Due to the aforementioned dry season we had no power or water almost all day December 31st and right on through January 1st. I went to bed about 9:30 pm and the town was silent as a tomb. Ethiopian New Year is September 11th so December 31st is no big deal here unless you’re with a bunch of expats and/or in Addis at a Ferenji venue. I would have liked some electricity but otherwise was glad to be able to escape the frenzy and pandemonium of New Year’s Eve, the ball dropping, the gun fire, the endless end of year countdowns (top song, top movies, who died, tragic  world events, historical/ great moments yada, yada). 

It’s Christmas Again!?

Ethiopian Christmas is January 7th, so just when the rest of the world that celebrates Christmas was winding down, over here things were just getting started. More modern Ethiopians do put up Christmas Trees, garland, lights, the whole bit. But I’ve been told that the tree piece is not Ethiopian culture. And there’s no gift giving either. For  Ethiopians that are traditional Orthodox Christians they fast ( from morning until lunch time/no dairy, no flesh at any meals) for the 40 days prior to Christmas and there are lots of evening church services with singing and prayers. And most also attend Christmas eve service with their entire family.

A Christmas Story

Sooo, one of the professors at the university invited us to Christmas dinner with his family. I want to state right up front an important habit that I formed when I was a vegetarian/vegan. It’s rare to catch me without bottled water and some snacks in my bag. This habit could easily save your life here in Ethiopia. Thus begins a slight diatribe on food. Okay, after being a Veg. for roughly 20 years and a vegan for 2 or 3, some things die hard. Let me also say I planned to eat meat while I was here because I just thought it would be much easier and I’m all about the self preservation and I’m not a nice girl when I’m hungry/not eating well.

Anyway, I went into  the office  before we were to go over to this professors house for dinner (it was at noon).  I called my roommate because I was gonna meet her on the road and then we’d head over to their apartment on campus. Anyway, Laura J. (Chicago) arrives at my office to tell me that she’s just bumped into said professor.  He told her we were right on time, he and some other university staff had just slaughtered an Ox for today. Then pointed to a figure in the distance hauling something bulky and wrapped in white up the stairs, “That’s our meat.”

Well, first I felt very queasy then I ate alot of this dry Ethiopian cereal called ‘Kolo’ that I keep stashed in my office. And then I checked my bag, yup two oranges and a bottle of water.  Oh, I think I only briefly mentioned the stands that sell raw meat all over the country. A favorite food for Ethiopians besides injera (spongy, fermented bread made from tef) is kitfo which is minced raw meat. To give you an idea of how popular kitfo is let me explain it like this, if Ethiopia were Brooklyn all the bodegas would be replaced with Kitfo stands (literally, a very small corner store/stand that has a metal rack with a carcass hung from it and a man who slices from the section you point to).  So when we got to the professors house it was all meat;  raw minced meat (kitfo), regular raw meat, meat that was very rare, cooked ground meat in wat (sauce) and injera and dabo (bread).

It would have been rude not to eat so since I like injera I had that, a little cooked meat in wat then a half a piece of dabo (it was home made). And of course I had the coffee! This is the birthplace of coffee. And if you are invited to an Ethiopians home for a meal they will usually also have a coffee ceremony. Basically, they go through the whole coffee process except growing it. They roast the beans , then they pound (if real traditional) or grind the beans (with electric grinder if more modern), then make the coffee fresh over a little fire. Incense is also burned and popcorn is popped and served (haven’t gotten clarity on the popcorn piece yet, I’ll get back to you). It’s also considered rude not to drink at least 3 cups. The coffee is served in rounds and each one has a name and I think it’s the third round that is for luck, so you’re supposed to drink. I should add coffee (buna) here is served black  in these like shot glasses or demitasse cups and with lots of sequar (sugar).

Where Ya Been Girl?

Okay so aside from being in Addis and going to Sodere (the hot springs place I told you before) I took a little road trip with one of the guys in our group. We went to Shashamane (pronounced shash like gosh a-mah-knee) this is the town where Haile Selassie gave some land to the Rastas in like 1955 (expect more from me on this later). The town is not entirely made up of Rastas but they are there. It was great for me because for the first time in nearly 3 months I wasn’t starred at and no one yelled out Hamaica, rasta or Africa! I had alot of veggies  and tofu and bought some reggae mix cd’s (lest we forget DULA/I gotta rebuild). 

They (Rastas) have their own school, I’d like to visit but we were there on the weekend.  This might have been the place for me like about 15 years ago but now it was nice to visit. I went to the studio of an artist who makes all these pictures/paintings using banana leaf (or some vegetation here that is similar to the banana, I’ve forgotten now). He, Ras Hailu is originally from Saint Vincent (gun shot/shout out to all the Saint Vincentians, is that correct?) I want to own one of his paintings and he’s hilarious, very dry. I love that!

Shashamane Sunset

I’ll definitely go back again and visit his studio again, try and see some schools and especially for Bob M’s B’Day Celebration(you know it) and to talk more with some of the repatriates/expatriates etc., etc. and other teachers (think I’m writing something). For such a small town it has many schools. BONUS: Luciano (only in my top 3 of highly favored/highly ranking reggae artists/ “Oh you don’t know (head nodding yes, emphatically), he’s comin’ with the word”) performed there (at the every hotel we stayed at) just before we came here. In all honesty they may have had to bring in the gurney and hook me up to the fresh supply of oxygen if I’d been able to see him perform in Africa! Chile, hush…

Hmmm, it’s been so long what else do I have to tell y’all? Oh yeah, we had our mid-year conference like 3 weeks ago in Addis and we all had to give report backs etc. They put us up at a nice hotel so that was good.  I also met two Ethiopian women who were born here but then raised in the states and now have come back to Ethiopia. One woman did this same program like 4 or 5 years ago (thanks for the hook-up Iya KoKo/ Hi Selamawit & Jabari, is the baby here yet?) and the other woman came back withher husband who is doing his dissertation on Higher Education in Ethiopia. So I think they all will be interesting folks to have further talks with and also have come talk to the students here at the university.

whoa donkey

Otherwise, I’ve gotten really good at taking pictures of myself with my camera. Did I say I haven’t found any cultural fabric here? Most fabric aside from the traditional clothes are made of rayon. I’ve found like 3 pieces that I’ve turned African and had made into shirts . Did I say that I haven’t found one stick or cone of incense yet? This is the land of incense and I’ve got none, but people burn it whenever they hold a coffee ceremony. I think I have to go to the Merkato (this place is billed as the largest market place in Africa but there seems to be some debate about this).  I went once to a particular section with Laura J. (Chicago) and it doesn’t meet my mental pciture of a market place in Africa (READ: Flea Market-y feel and not open air/drat). It is vast (I ‘m not really into vast places. I just start feeling annoyed, overwhelmed and duped that I even sipped the kool aid). They say you have to go with a guide who knows all the areas and can manuever well. I haven’t worked myself up to it yet. But I will check out the jewelry and fabric sections and give you my unabashed rating.

camel walkin' downtown

 And I think I keep running into that camel in and around town because it’s a message to me. One that says, “You are trippin, girl. You live in the country, in a desert, get into it!” Lastly, the donkey is my new favorite animal. The poor, poor donkey is truly a beast of burden here. You see donkeys hauling trees, people,  water and always getting whipped. And speaking of donkeys  and water I am VERY grateful/thankful and feel that I was placed in the right geographical location in Ethiopia and in the right house in the best living situation for me. Why do I say that? Because thank the LORD I don’t have to wait for the ‘Water Donkey’ to come by to get my water or have to haul water from a town well or spiget. Definitely, a deal breaker for me. I can only handle so much of living close to the bone.

signed, maintaining & building

Soooo, anyway this blog is titled Beautiful Chicken or Doro Konjo in Amharic because my roommate, Laura J. Chicago is ALL about the holidays! She even packed Christmas lights in her suitcase and considered buying a Christmas tree when she was in Kenya these past two weeks.  Meaning, Thanksgiving and Christmas mean nothing here as our friend and driver so politely told Laura J. Chicago when she inquired, “Uh, it’s not Ethiopian Culture.” Or when Laura J. Chicago remarked to the President’s Assistant “Oh you’re wearing a Christmas tie today and he replied, “What Christmas? I’m just wearing a tie with faces of a happy man on it.” Mind you, it was a tie that had faces of a man who wore a red cap tilted to the side with a white ball on the end, was fat, jolly and many, many people (perhaps in other parts of the world) would identify him as Santa Claus. I thought it was hilarious because I know he was totally serious and I also know Laura J. Chicago was thinking, WHAT?!?!

So like I said Laura J. Chicago is into all the holidays etc. She was sad on Halloween because she wasn’t home to give kids candy or see all the costumes and regular Halloween Hoopla. And now that we are basically in the state-side holiday season she’s almost beside herself. I feel a little bad because I stopped celebrating these things years ago and I actually feel great not hearing any piped in X-Mas music everywhere I go. It’s also like an average of 75 degrees and will only be warmer when it’s Christmas so she’s totally down and no one here can really relate-at all. But she’s been talking about hosting Thanksgiving dinner for some of the other folks in our group at out house since late September. So four other people in our group will be coming down and/or over for the weekend. And as you should have guessed there are no turkeys here-so Laura thought we’d have chicken. And we basically were on a wild goose hunt (chicken hunt) in Addis Ababa yesterday looking for a chicken that didn’t look all scrangy and sickly. So I kept telling our friend and driver Beleta (who does speak English but I’ve been trying to practice the little bit of Amharic I know) that we wanted a ‘Doro Konjo’ and NOT a (cut to me, eyes closed,turned sideways with both hands folded under my head in a mock distressed fetal position). He laughed hysterically and probably thinks we’re total weirdos. I say all this to say that we’ll be having a Thanksgiving meatloaf as we never found a ‘Doro Konjo’ in Addis.

Also, we’ve been trying to get our hands on one of the used stoves the university has locked away in some campus store. A Filipina who was recruited by the Ministry of Education and has been here for nearly 4 years told us she secured a used stove from the university. How have we been cooking without a stove you ask? We have the regulation standard double hot plate thingy.  Anyway obsolete and irreparable items are kept under security that’s equivilent to secret service protection and you need to get ‘umpteen’ signatures and purple stamps before anyone will dare release anything to you. We almost had an altercation when we wanted to take two empty wooden crates that computers had arrived in off the campus  to our home. So after a month we finally got the stove and ofcourse it didn’t work, uses gas but also plugs into the wall and neither the gas or the cylinder to hold the gas is sold in our fair city. Sooooo we won’t actually be having meatloaf but will be having dinner reservations in town.

I’ve finally been working with some students through the English Club and the ELIC (English Language Improvement Center). Yesterday, the students were holding a public debate but just before the program was scheduled to begin, power outtage! So we’ll try again next week; same bat time, same bat station. My other work here aside from writing proposals, press releases, letters of introduction and lots of editing is to research the history of this school for the website. So far I’ve found out that this school is built on a graveyard and they did uncover remains when they were constructing the campus. Yeah, I’m less than enthused about that information.

TOUCH & GO-Talking Heads

The aforementioned song title basically sums up how I feel here from day to day. Any little thing could make it a sucky day as well as any little thing could make it a stupendous day. Like when I discovered my new favorite gum (mastica in Amharic). The brand name is Lido and I love the Tutti Fruiti flavor-yum! So we had an uneventful Thankstaking Weekend here. Only three instead of four of the expected guests arrived. We took a day trip to Sodere which is about 35 minutes from our house and it is nautural spring resort. Also, the Awash River (I’m told this is the longest river in Ethiopia) runs along this resort area. The water was quite brown, quick and the guide book was correct in that crocodiles are present. We didn’t get close enough to confirm this but Beleta said it was true, so that’s enough for me. There were monkeys all over the place and people clearly feed them so they weren’t afraid to sit, relax and eat bananas etc. We didn’t get in the natural springs because they had piped all the spring water into two shower like areas (no ceilings); one for women and one for men. I wasn’t at all enticed.

I’M SICK Y’ALL-Wilson Pickett

Well the worst has happened: Felled by a computer virus!!! It name be dula and it totally corrupted my computer and emergency intervention is necessary. Basically, right now my computer is a glorifed and extremely heavy/bulky cd/dvd player. All my itunes and any other software and programs ate dust. So I’ll be in reconstruction/Bionic Woman & Man mode “We can rebuild him/her” for the rest of the month. It has to be rectified or I have to come home-there’s no way I can stay here without The O’Jays, Natalie Cole, Al Green, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Funkadelic (What no Glenn Goines?!?), Gerald Levert, Patti LaBelle, Ckaka Khan & Rufus, Tupac, dead prez, Luciano (!), Sizzla, Culture, Prince,The Smiths, Raphael Saadiq (no one could tell me he released a new album?!), Sinead O’Conner, Nina Simone, Thelonius Monk etc., etc., etc…….it’s only been like a few days but  I feel sick every time I think of this. I could barely sleep for the last two nights and yesterday I just wandered around this dusty town wondering how can I go on if there is no music. What is the point? I’m filled with rage and sorrow.

Fortunately, I’m stuck in a time warp and still use floppy discs, proudly own an external floppy disc drive and until very recently had and utilized a cell phone with an antennae. I say all this to say that not one word that I’ve written has been lost! Y’all can toss an external floppy disc drive and a portable cd player (that’s here with me too) right in my casket. Say what you will…

Oh yeah, so a huge shout out goes to the IT department at the university. I bother them no less than 3 times a day and due to this emergency I’ve barged in on their saturday too. They may regret telling me that they work 6 to 7 days a week cuz I live right across the street from the school. It’s nothing for me to stroll over here. And my office computer also was corrupted by viruses too. Today makes time # 3 that they’ve had to dump everything on my computer and re-format it. It’s all really too much for me. I’m a simple girl. I  still use pen and paper and look forward to picking out composition notebooks in the drug store.

On other fronts there have been some more attacks. The hynenas have taken another life. This time a male college student. He had been missing for days and his family had been posting missing flyers but then his remains were found some place on the campus. Then two female students were both bitten by snakes, one fatally but the other survived. I should say that the campus is pretty modern but it is out in nature. There are gates and security posted in the front entry of the campus at all times but otherwise it is a sprawling field that goes on for miles and is not  fenced in-at all.  The campus is beautiful, there are many varieties of trees, birds, stoned aqueducts that run throughout the campus as well as all that comes along with being out in nature in Africa-really tall grass, snakes, hyenas and I don’t even want to know what else.

Oh and I’ve somewhat rectified my shoe dilemma-tire sandals. Yup, they cost 25 Birr (like 2 dollars and 50 cents u.s.d) and so far I have two pair and I’m gonna buy at least two more and I’ll be wearing them about 80% of the time. I’m gonna get one of the guys who makes them to hook me up with a custom pair (gonna pick my own colors. I may save those to sport in Brooklyn! Otherwise, almost three months in and I feel like Jimmy Carter when he ran some marathon when he was president. It made the news because (well he was president or maybe a former one, can’t remember this is in my random data base) as he was running and well into the race as he passed bystanders holding cups of Gatorade to give to runners, he asked for one and held out his hand but dude either ignored him or didn’t hear him. So Jimmy got no Gatorade. I’m Jimmy right now-denied.

beached & tuneless in africa,

Greetings from the Rift Valley. Right now there’s a power outage (# 3 or 4 so far) so I had an abbreviated dinner (you don’t wanna know). By now we have gotten with the program and have penny candles on every window sill and table accompanied by a box of matches. There’s also a covered bucket filled with water as well as several litres of potable water under the stairs. Yeah, it goes down all the time around here.

Because I walk the same way (there’s only one way onto campus) to the university everyday I tend to take note/study my surroundings. So I told y’all how people burn their trash here (see entry # 1). Well now that we live in a house our guard (yes) burns our trash for us. And Laura J. (formerly refered to as my roommate/still is but heretofore known as the previously stated, Laura J.) realized that he burns our trash right in front of our compound door because she recognized the charred remains of a broken bowl we’d thrown out. I suppose that’s one way to reckon with your wasteful side. I think about my waste/garbage here alot more probably because it’s so in your face (you’ve gotta get rid of/burn your own garbage,regularly!). Recycling at home assuages some of my guilt-no such luck here. It all gets tossed (not glass). Also, people do highly prize empty water bottles. We keep anything that’s plastic and has a lid and wash and re-use storage bags (these don’t exsist in Ethiopia but I’d heard that and brought alot of them with me.)

But I went on a tangent. I meant to talk about my walk to campus. Periodically, there are items that appear outside my compound door. For example, about four days ago the broken front half of a women’s shoe appeared; pink with a little bead work and a black sole. Whenever my eyes fall on that “piece” of shoe I think of stumbling or running and falling. It’s kinda rocky right outside of everyone’s compound door on this street. I attribute this to the fact that this street was newly paved but not the “sidewalk” in front of anyone’s door. And the paved road ends abruptly about 4 doors down from me, so the remainder of the walk to campus is dirt and gravel. But the rocks outside my door remind of rocks from the beach. Like the type of rocks you know were created from waves crashing against boulders and mountains over a long period of time. So I feel like I’m walking on a rocky beach but I don’t smell, see or hear any water.

Oh yeah, I should probably backtrack to why I’m even in Ethiopia. I might not have been clear or didn’t say at the beginning of all this. I’m here as an international fellow under the auspices (ha!) of IFESH. One of my godsisters called this program the Black version of Peace Corps. Yeah, you could use that if that gives you a point of reference. It works for me but don’t take that too literally because it’s not Peace Corps. Anywho, the now deceased founder Rev. Leon Sullivan started this initiative as a way for Black educators in America (now international educators) to help Africa help herself. IFESH has several initiatives and this one is established in about seven diferent African nations. Candidates are selected by country and institute based upon their unique background/expertise. Sooooo, at my university I am a technical assistant (writing/editing etc.) liaising all over the place and I’ll probably teach a course too. I’m not really going to go into all that’s going on here because it’s dizzying how much is needed (I’ll give y’all an overview of higher education & the current undertakings next time). I’m not sure what I’m going to take on yet but I told myself at the first orientation back in August, “My energy and time are finite. I will not claim this.” I have to go into this with some boundaries or I face being swallowed. Basically, I intend to do something well and to serve but this thing cannot have me. I haven’t even done anything yet and people are already talking about, “in your second year.” As I write this update by the light of my battery operated lantern (and goddess bless the hands, hearts and minds of whoever invented the battery and their descendants) I don’t know if I’ll finish this year!

Okay, let me talk about the beauty. I never tire of seeing the women and young ladies here draped in their traditional scarves (not the business we have that just covers a neck) which are like this type of muslin cloth. The edges are embroidered with different colored threads and patterns and alot of women wear them everyday but especially for church. And God is big here. Church seems to happen everyday as well as there are religious fasting days (Wednesday & Friday)when no dairy or flesh is eaten. Also, a very common response to someone greeting you is, Igzhabir Yemesgen (“Thank God”) and everyone assumes you go to church and ofcourse believe in “God.” It’s just part of the everyday to see stickers, posters etc. of Bob Marley, Haile Selassie and Jesus all displayed together. The most common questions that I’ve been asked are, “Have you had Injera (the national bread )?” and “What church do you belong to?” I just say Baptist because I know there aren’t any here and because I don’t want to go into it/more on this later folks. Most Ethiopians seem to be either Orthodox or Muslim but many practice traditional religions and also go to Orthodox churches etc. More on that later too. Anyway, one day as we headed into town early for dinner on the dollar van (15 cent van here) we passed a church and the courtyard was filled and all you could see were the petite shapes of hundreds of women swathed in their traditional scarves praying. There was absolute silence, you couldn’t distinguish one women from another it was a sea of white cloth and they were all kneeling in this gated church yard…

Speaking of petite shapes-I’m like an amazon here. Most of the women and men for that matter aren’t very tall and have small builds. In every vehicle I’ve ridden in my knees are wedged up against the seat in front of me. My theory is that most of these vehicles are reconstructed from salvaged parts etc. especially the dollar vans and mini-buses that take people back and forth to Addis Ababa. I think they put as many rows of seats as possible thus making the trips more economically advantageous to them. However, this means that whenever we take a bus to Addis I have to sit on a 45 degree angle which leaves me always having to pull in my legs to let someone get down the already non-existant aisle. Last time we went to Addis, Laura J. couldn’t even sit comfortably and she’s well under 5 feet. Yeah, it was hilarious. So this also means I can’t find any shoes my size either. The shoes I brought are quickly being beat down by all these treacherous roads. If they weren’t so heavy, hot and unfashionable I’d just wear combat boots everyday. And I’m still ruminating about purchasing some of the cheap flip flops they have here and just wearing them to work everyday. I know that’s ghetto but necessity is the mother of invention and the reality is that I may be barefoot on the return flight home at this rate.

On a final note I’ve never been called an american so much in my life as here. Mostly by Ethiopians and folks from Europe who know I’m from the states. And here perhaps, nationality takes precedence over ethnicity (but not if you’re talking in-country politics). I personally have never called myself american or african-american. I suppose you could say I have a fixed definition of an american and I see myself firmly outside of that. I’ve never been a supporter of african-american, hated the term from the day they started the shenanigins. It sounds too sanitized, politically correct and sheepish. I know Black is the name of a color in a crayon box, doesn’t denote an ethnic group/identify where one is descended from-but it’s my preference and I’m not bothered by any of the aforementioned. Black, also seems less like the issue is being skirted. For example, there’s no conversation when I say, “I’m Black.” Whereas it could be misconstrued that I might want to entertain certain conversations/line of questioning if I were african-american. Like I could totally hear someone saying at a “mixer”, “Oh there’s an African-American woman over there. I believe she works in your department. Let me introduce you…” (no thanks).

So I’ve been afforded numerous opportunities here to think about identity, america, yada, yada. And I started writing something due to the reaction I get everyday wherever I go here (flat out starring-as in neck-craning but more on that in the essay). I’ve been called a native of quite a few African countries as well as Jamaican or one guy put it best (perhaps because he wasn’t even going to guess a country)and just called out, “Africa.” I don’t negate where I’m from (Brooklyn by way of Africa) but I have a problem with anyone tossing out an identity for me. A woman here made a joke (hardly) in reference to the 1st “home” the university assigned to me (aka breakdown #1) saying, “Americans are so picky.” and a friend from home told me to, “Stop being an American.” I’m not sure what my friend was responding to but to her I say Bobby Womack said it best, “Girl you’re welcome…stop on by.”) and I do know exactly what that woman on campus was saying. I also know exactly what a ghetto looks like as well as when I’m expected to live in ghetto conditions (ie; overcrowded, infestation of roaches, unattended children running through the halls 24 hours a day etc.) because that’s just how it’s going down and nobody’s complaining because it’s FREE. That sounds just like the plentiful, not even hot b.s. that served up at home. Yeah, I know all about this and it’s not because I’m american. Nobody’s going to make me drink the kool aid just because I’m far from home. I still know what I know…

signed, she’s going the distance?

p.s. In spite of myself I’m excited about the movie version of The Secret Life of Bees (although I already have issues with some of the actors chosen; Alicia Keys you better be good damnit!). For the record I don’t like books (especially ones that I love) being made into movies (except for the original Charlie & The Chocolate Factory).