One Final Post

Per the request of several people, I've decided to write one final post.  I've been asked to write about several things...what I realized I took for granted about America, differences I see upon returning home, that sort of thing.  I'll do my best to include it all in here!  There’s just so much…where to begin?!

1. Running water.  Or just water in general.  Wow.  I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with myself for living without running water for the first two months of my trip.  I wouldn’t have thought I’d be able to do that, but I actually got used to bucket showers pretty quickly.  Anyways, needless to say this is something I took for granted in America.  I don’t think I have ever once been without running water here at home.  We may have been without hot water once or twice, but never without water in general.  We even had several water shortages while I was in Kore, at which times even a bucket shower was hard to come by.  Could you imagine that ever happening in America?  No way.  We don’t just run out of water.  That would be crazy.  I’ve been home for almost a week now, and am still ever so grateful for the long, hot, amazing showers I take every morning.  Sometimes I shower twice in one day…just because I can.  Part of me realizes this is wasteful, but the selfish part of me loves it so much that I can’t help it.  I’m sure I’ll soon get used to the fact that there will always be water, whenever I want it, but until then I’m going to continue to shower excessively.
2. Electricity.  So, like I said, I’ve been home for nearly a week.  Have I had one power outage in that time?  Nope.  Because the power rarely goes out here.  I’m a little bit weird because I thought the nighttime power outages of Ethiopia were kind of fun…but still, it is nice to know that there will most likely be electricity whenever I need it.  I can write this blog, and if my computer dies in the process I can plug it in.  I don’t have to worry about a four-hour power outage in the middle of the day keeping me from charging my computer or plugging in my cell phone.  Electricity is here.  It’s funny, because I flipped the switch in my bathroom the other night and when the lights didn’t immediately turn on (because they were warming up or something, I don’t know) I thought, “Oh, power’s out”.  I was pretty much unfazed.  As the lights came on, I remembered that I’m in America now.  I don’t know, obviously it’s much more convenient to always have electricity but…I just thought it was kind of fun to bust out all kinds of candles every time, do a little candle light reading or card playing, have a little dinner by candle light.  And the people there are so used to it, and don’t even get that bothered by it.  Because really, having electricity constantly is not crucial.  You can make do for a few hours without it.  Sometimes they would get a little annoyed, but for the most part some candles were lit and we went about our business.  Here in America, once in a very great while the power goes out while you’re watching your favorite TV show and you freak out and get all angry and upset at the world for making you miss ten minutes of it even though we have things like DVR or can watch pretty much any show online, which makes it really not that big of a deal.  At all.  But it’s different here, because we live in America.  We aren’t grateful that we have electricity…we don’t think every time we flip on a light in the morning, “I wonder if we have power?”  We’re supposed to have electricity.  If we don’t, it’s absurd.  I’m speaking sarcastically of course, but it’s true…it’s definitely something I take for granted in America.
3. My very own car.  What?  No more minibuses?  It was kind of convenient to never have to drive myself anywhere or pay for extremely expensive gas.  And I enjoyed walking places.  Still, I’m not upset to have my car back.  I can go where I want, when I want, and I’m not sharing a seat with three other people, or practically sitting on a stranger’s lap.  It’s quite nice.
4. My closet.  It’s confusing because it’s exciting and extremely overwhelming all at the same time.  In Ethiopia, I chose from like three pairs of pants and six shirts every day.  I’m not going to lie, I got super sick of those clothes and am really glad to have new things to wear.  I have my full wardrobe back and it’s awesome.  However, it’s almost too much.  If you know me, you know how bad I am at making decisions.  Well, since I’ve gotten home picking an outfit in the morning has been torturous.  There’s too much to pick from!  The decision is too difficult, and it kind of stresses me out.  And then I feel kind of bad because I realize how much I have, when the kids I worked with in Africa had maybe two outfits to their name.  Spoiled much, Deanna?  My closet is bigger than Desta’s house.  Are you kidding me?  I literally cannot go into my closet without thinking this every day.  It’s not a huge closet (by American standards), but it is a small walk-in closet.  And it is definitely larger than Desta’s house.  This makes me feel absurd.  I have so many clothes.  Obviously it’s a different lifestyle over here in America, and if I wore the same five outfits over and over I would probably be judged.  But still.  I have so many clothes.  End of story.
5. Outlets.  I am happy about this.  You know how there’s that one thing that you always misplace?  Well I feel like I had that problem with my converter.  I think I had to search for that little thing every day in Ethiopia…I was never quite sure where I left it.  If I was smart, I would have left it in the same place every time.  But we know I’m not quite smart enough for these sorts of things.  The first few days back, I found myself searching for my converter to plug something in before realizing the plug would fit…I’m in America.  I just did this so often, that it became routine.  Occasionally I still get confused for a second about where my converter is.  The best part, though, is that my plug actually stays in the outlet.  In Ethiopia, not so much.  My things were constantly falling out.  Either the outlet was falling out of the wall (which I think is just not safe), or the plug was falling out of the outlet.  Of course, taping the plug into the socket worked sometimes.  Or setting up an extravagant system of things to lean against the outlet to hold the plug in.  But this is inconvenient.  It’s much better to just plug it in and be done with it.  I like it.
6. Communication.  I can talk to people so easily these days.  I can text, I can call, I can email, I can Skype…I can do anything!  At any moment!  I have wifi in my house.  When I finish this blog, I don’t have to travel on multiple minibuses for a half an hour to post it.  I can just do it, right from my bed.  It’s definitely nice to be able to talk to people again, and I love that I can get online whenever I want.  I feel much better connected with America, and I’ve been very happy to catch up with everyone again.
7. Lack of rats.  At night, I don’t hear rats running around above my bed.  Enough said.
8. Invisibility.  I am no longer a very pale white person walking the streets of Kore.  I’m a very pale white person walking the streets of Saint Charles.  I blend right in.  Nobody notices me.  I go out running, and no one cares.  Random kids don’t follow me; parents don’t bring their children over to shake my hand.  Strange adults don’t come over and strike up a conversation with me about where I’m from.  Nobody cares what I’m doing, where I’m going, or what my name is.  I can be invisible here.  It’s nice to go somewhere without constantly being stared down, but I do miss our entourage of children.  I loved that when I left my house all kinds of kids I worked with would come running over just to walk with us for a few minutes.  I liked knowing all kinds of random people on the streets and feeling like a part of the neighborhood.  I miss having those kids walk me home, and I miss walking out the door and seeing them.  Sometimes it was annoying to constantly be noticed and pointed at, but it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.  So I don’t know, I won’t say that I miss standing out so much, because I don’t.  I just miss being so easily spotted and continually greeted by so many awesome, wonderful kids.
9. Street names.  This concept is practically non-existent in Ethiopia.  No longer do I need to find a place based on directions like, “Get off the first minibus in Mexico, walk around a curve towards this building and find a minibus going to this area then get off the minibus when you see a gas station…”  Instead, I ask my mom for directions somewhere and she uses street names.  Because we have those here.  Convenient. 
10. Target.  Again, it’s confusing.  I love Target, and I was so excited to go there when I got home.  I went, and bought face wash and like, one other thing.  When I said I was done, my mom looked at me and was like, really, that’s all you’re getting?  But it’s a giant store and I got a little overwhelmed and thought I didn’t really need anything…besides face wash.  So I left.  I’m excited to have Target and other similar places in my reach again.  I can go there anytime and get whatever I need.  But, I miss having a little store right across the dirt path.  I miss walking five steps to buy fresh bread.  I think if I walk across the street here and try to buy fresh bread my neighbor would be confused.  And probably not have fresh bread for me.  Which is just unfortunate really.  Of course I can get this at Target or Jewel, but I just liked the little shops all up and down the road in our neighborhood.  It was nice.

So that’s ten things.  I think I’m going to stop here.  I could probably go on about a few more little things, like having so many English channels on TV again (though I do miss MTV Arabia…best channel ever) or seeing so much green grass, or eating apples.  But I’m back in America now, and I have grown-up things to do…sadly.  I can no longer sit around and blog all day.  I’ve been procrastinating long enough as it is.  Time for this girl to find a teaching job.  So let me end with this.  Everyone asks me how happy I am to be back.  It’s a hard question to answer.  Yes, I’m very glad to be back in America.  I’m so happy to see my family, to talk to my friends here, to sleep in my own bed and to shower.  I was ready to come home.  But at the same time, it’s actually kind of difficult.  I know I was only there for three months, but I miss everyone so much.  The people I got to know out there I saw nearly every day for those three months.  I feel like I got really close to a lot of them.  I miss my Ethiopian friends, and I miss the kids.  I miss them so so much, and it’s hard because I don’t know when I’ll see them again or how often I’ll get to talk to them.  I definitely think that they changed my life, as cliché as that is.  It was an amazing experience, and leaving it is hard.  But I know that someday I’ll go back.  Someday, hopefully soon, I can take a trip back to visit and maybe bring along some other people to show the awesomeness of Ethiopia to.  It’s an amazing place, with amazing people, and I know I will most definitely never forget the experiences I had there.

The Final Goodbyes (4-8-12...maybe?)

Right now I'm sitting in Turkey, and I'm a little confused about things like the date and time and whether I'm hungry for breakfast or lunch or nothing, I just don't know.  All I know is that I've been awake for a very long time. 

So while I await my final flight home, I'm going to tell you about the verrrrry end.  All the goodbyes.  Not the most exciting part of this trip :(  I shed more than a few tears.

We stayed at the house pretty much all day on Saturday, until we had to leave for that airport at around 9:30 at night.  We finished packing, and just hung out with whoever came around.  There are a few people that I need to yell at (like Fancy Pants...have I told you about that awesome dude?! He's so fancy!) who either didn't stop by or stopped by but left without me knowing it was the final goodbye and that just totally bums me out because I need to know when these things are happening...I need to be aware when I am saying goodbye to someone for the last time!  Anyways, we got to see most of our friends, which was wonderful.  They came by most of the evening and we took pictures and got some last videos.  I cried when Amare started talking to me about how we would still talk when I was in America.  And how I'll get to see them all again someday.  Don't worry, he says.  I also cried when Amen started talking about how this was the last time he would talk to us in Ethiopia.  Really?  Is that necessary to discuss, Amen? :)  I cried a few other times, too...if I'm being honest.  I tried to keep it together most of the time, but it wasn't easy.  Most of these people I've seen nearly every day for the past three months, and they are all amazing.  They're funny, friendly, helpful, caring, and just awesome.  I know I'll get to talk to them still, whether it's through email, Facebook, or the occasional Skype.  But I don't know when I'll see them again and I'm just going to miss them all so very much.  And of course, saying my goodbyes to them just made me realize even more that I was actually going back to America, not only far from them but also far from the kiddies I said goodbye to the day before.  I miss those kids an incredible amount already.  I could go on and on about them, but I won't do that I here.  I'll do that in person.  I just want to see them again so bad, already.  And I just saw them on Friday.  It sounds so stupid, but it's killing me!  I can't wait to show pictures and videos and tell stories about them.  I just can't tell you how fantastic they all are.

Anyways, we said our goodbyes at the house.  I sure am going to miss Desta, the best guard I've ever had!  Yeah, I've never had a guard before but...I'm pretty sure he'd be the best anyways.  He's hilarious!  Even though we can only communicate using like, five words.  So we had to say bye to him at the house because, well, he obviously had to stay and guard the place while the others took us to the airport.  We went to the airport via minibus...just when I thought I'd ridden one for the last time, I got one more chance.  Phew!  We had quite the crew take us, which I was pretty darn happy about.  Cause clearly this meant I didn't have to say goodbye to them for like and extra half hour...win.  Amare, Amen, Masresha, and Joel came with, and we had a little party in the minibus on the way.  They walked us as far as they could at the airport, and I waved until we were out of sight. 

I still can't believe I'm not going to see them until I don't even know when.  I can't believe I'm really going back to America.  And I'm sitting in Turkey right now, so I'm obviously going somewhere.  Duh.  But I think I'll still be a little caught off guard to see my parents waiting for me the next time I get off a plane.  I know it's only been three months, but it seems like such a long time.  Maybe because I've been far from America, or maybe because I've been living in a place that's like a different world from America.  I don't know, but I know America is going to be a big change in a few hours!  I'm excited to get back home, I just really can't believe this trip is over.

It has truly been the trip of a lifetime.  I backpacked through Europe two summers ago, but this was something entirely different.  There were a lot of people (especaily my family!) who were really unsure about me going to Africa.  I have to admit, I was a little unsure, too.  Definitely nervous.  But I can't imagine not having this experience.  It was the most amazing thing I've ever done.  I learned so much about so many different things, I don't even know where to begin.  You can ask me about that in person, too.  I don't know that I can blog about all the things I've learned from this trip before my battery dies (and I can't seem to find an outlet in Turkey...what?).  And I don't feel that I can do it justice in writing.  I met so many incredible people, kids and adults, and as stupid and cheesy as it sounds, it definitely did change my life. 

I miss it so much right now that it just makes me sad.  I know that after awhile it won't be so bad, and I know that I'm going back someday.  Definitely.  Hopefully I can bring someone else and introduce them to all the amazing things I've learned there.  And hopefully it's sooner rather than later.  But no matter what, I'm planning on returning.  Maybe not for three months...maybe for only three weeks.  Whatevs, I just can't imagine never seeing these people again.  It was most definitely the adventure of a lifetime, and I am so beyond happy that I had the opportunity to go.  I owe a huge huuuuge thank you to everyone at home who helped me get to Ethiopia, and everyone in Ethiopia who helped make my trip absolutely unforgettable.  I love you all!

And so, bekah (finished).  Until next time, Ethiopia. 

America, here I come.

Goodbye, School Kids! :( (4-6-12)

I was right, saying goodbye today was rough.  We went to the kids soccer game this afternoon and had a lot of fun.  Lots of the kids showed up, which was wonderful.  We told them it was our last day and that we were flying to America tomorrow, which resulted in many, many, mannnny giant hugs.  The entire time, it was looking very dark...a big storm was clearly coming!  We were hoping that it would hold off until the end of their games, because we certainly didn't want our last day with them cut short.  Thankfully, it didn't start downpouring until we walked into the door to our house.  I mean literally, we shut the door and buckets of rain started falling.  Good timing! 

We had a pretty huge group that walked us home today, all fighting over who got to hold our hands.  When we got to our street, the real goodbyes began.  It wasn't soooo bad just yet, because the kids we were closest to were walking us all the way home.  As we stood outside our house saying goodbye to that group, I basically almost lost it.  I may have cried a little, but Kendra was holding it together so I tried my best!  It was just so sad.  So many of them telling me that they love me, and thank you, and to come back to Ethiopia.  Solomon (who was also pretty near to crying) came up to me and said, "It is my only wish to come to America".  Oh my gosh, if I could take you, you amazing little boy, I would do it in a heartbeat.  Honestly.  Him and another boy that I really like asked me when I would come back.  I told them that I was going to try my best to come back as soon as I can, which is most definitely the truth.  But realistically speaking, there's probably a good chance that I won't see them ever again and that's what kills me a little bit.  What if, for some reason, we can't write and keep in touch?  What if I never see them again?  How do I know these kids are still okay?  I know that they're used to living in the incredibly poor conditions that they live in here, but it's still so difficult for me to know that they'll be alright.  I don't think I've ever been this bummed about saying goodbye to anyone before.  It's just so hard!  I don't even know what else to say...we hugged them all about a million times, and then it was time to go inside.  And that was that.  There are a lot more goodbyes to say tomorrow, and then it's home to America for us.  I can't wait to show you all so many pictures and tell you even more about these fantastic children.  I miss them so much already.

The Solomons (4-5-12)

I probably won't get to post this until I get to America because I don't think I'll have wifi again in Ethiopia (since I leave the day after tomorrow...what?!?) but I wanted to write it anyway :)  Today may have been the best day of my trip.  You would think maybe it would have been a bummer day, because perhaps I have a parasite.  Ok, I don't really think I have a parasite...but I did google symptoms today, just in case.  Something's clearly not right, due to the fact that my entire body just hurts and standing up makes me rather dizzy.  But no worries, because with a lot of advil and awesome school kids, my day turned out pretty much fantastic.  Here's why:

Tomorrow is our last day with the after school kids.  We wanted to do something little for  them, and since they all play soccer on Fridays we figured we should do it today.  We bought lots of cookies and pop, and when the kids saw it this afternoon they were way excited.  They came in and sat down the quiestest I've ever seen them...it was kind of amazing.  We passed out the snacks and had a feast.  We got to spend the afternoon just talking with them and hanging out.  At the end, we got a lot of giant hugs and "thank yous", and it was a really good time.

If you recall, I wrote in one of my last posts that we had gotten a gift for our "brothers", Solomon and Solomon.  We got them each a soccer ball and some candy after my Solomon told me how much he wanted a ball.  Just in case, let me explain briefly about these boys.  They are teenagers, and a while back were talking to us about siblings.  We became "brother and sister" when my Solomon told me he was the only child and wished he had a sibling.  He said, maybe jokingly, that I should be his sister.  After that, we began talking with them a lot more.  They were incredibly happy to see us every day, and always wanted to be by us.  They even brought us "gifts", which may or may not have essentially been garbage they found on the side of the road (a broken watch, and plastic necklace...all kind of little things).  Long story short, they are awesome, sweet, funny boys.  So today, we planned on giving our bros the gift we got them along with a letter we wrote and had translated by Masresha.  While we were having our little cookie party, neither of the Solomons showed up.  We were a little bummed, but hoped we would see them tomorrow.  Towards the end, my Solomon came and called me outside very excitedly.  He said, "Today is...today is..." and then spent about five minutes trying to think of the English word.  Turns out, it was his 14th birthday.  He was so excited, and yet I doubt he got much or did anything special.  After all, he basically lives on the street.  Kendra and I asked where the other Solomon was, and told him that we had something for both of them at our house.  He wasn't sure where he was, but promised they would both come tomorrow to say goodbye to us.

Well as it turns out, we were right outside our house when we saw both Solomons walking by tonight.  They were both excited to see us again and we told them to wait here while we got them our gift.  We gave them the letter first, and I can't even describe their faces.  They were standing arm in arm, reading it together with the biggest smiles on their faces.  They looked so genuinly happy.  When we gave them the soccer balls, their smiles got even bigger.  I got two huuuuuge hugs, and my Solomon told me that he loves me.  It makes me want to cry just thinking about it.  First of all because such a little thing made them incredibly happy.  Second of all, because I don't know how I am going to say goodbye to them tomorrow afternoon.  I wish I could do more for them, and I wish we were guarenteed to be able to stay in contact.  We told them in our letter that we would absolutely love to write back and forth to them from America, and we gave Masresha our address and money so that he can send any letters they write.  But it's not even close to certain that these boys will be able to keep going to the after school program, and if they don't there's no way for them to keep in touch.  They don't have an address, and they most definitely don't have email.  I just hope so much that we can keep talking with them, even if it's only a tiny bit.  Today was just the sweetest thing, and I wish so much that I could do something to make sure they are both always okay.  I'm just going to miss them both so much. 

I'm looking forward to getting back to America (especially as I lay here shivering and aching in bed...what is my problem?), but I'm not looking forward to all the goodbyes during the next two days.  Today was a wonderful day, and it really has been a fantastic trip. 

My last week in Ethiopia begins (4-3-12)

Today is my last Tuesday in Ethiopia.  Yesterday was my last Monday.  The day before was kind of my last Sunday...although my flight leaves at like 1:00am this Sunday, so I guess I still have one hour of Sunday in Ethiopia.  Anyways, it's the last week.  I can't even believe it.  There  have definitely been times during the past twelve weeks that I've thought, "I have how many weeks left until America?!"  For instance, when I was up sick all night.  Or when massive amounts of flies were trying to eat me.  Or when I had gone an unbelievable amount of time without showering.  At those moments, I felt like this trip might last forever.  Now that we are down to the very last days, I can't believe how fast it has all gone.  I feel like I just got here!  And yet, I also feel so at home here in a lot of ways.  While this last week is going to be a week full of relaxation, fun, and seeing friends, I think it's also going to end up being a really hard week.

Like I said, I feel really at home here in certain ways.  Don't get me wrong, I am so incredibly excited to return to my actual home and use my own shower and sleep in my own bed and all that.  I have literally had dreams about using running water in my bathroom at home.  I'm not kidding - I dreamt about flushing my toilet at home.  That was the entire dream...me flushing the toilet.  And I was so happy.  Really?  So believe me, I'm looking forward to that.  And when I say I feel at home here, I don't mean that I feel like I could live here forever (don't worry, Mom!). I just mean that I've gotten very comfortable here.  I've met so many amazing people, and Kendra and I have really made this guest house ours...perhaps this annoys the new guests a bit, but you know what?  We've been here three months...we have seniority.  We've even been given our very own gate key, which totally throws Desta off.  Every time we open the gate ourselves, he looks totally confused.  I'm assuming he misses us standing outside knocking an absurd amount and yelling, "Desta, na!!!  Desta, kafet!!"  I mean, that's not obnoxious at all.  How could he not miss it?  So back to the point, we have our own key.  No other guests have a key...it's legit.  It's been our home for the past three months and it's going to be hard to say goodbye (well, Kendra's been counting down the days since like week five, so it might not be so hard for her...).

Last Friday was our last official day at the day care, and we took about a million pictures of the kids.  We still see them on the streets though, and we're going to stop by this week because I have to get Kim's souvenir.  Yeah Kim, your souvenir is coming from the day care.  I hope you like it, cause I love it.  In fact, I bought myself the same souvenir.  So get pumped.  So it hasn't really been goodbye to them, yet.  Even when we do say our final goodbye to them, I don't think it will be as difficult as it will be to say goodbye to the school kids.  I know I've told you before in my blog, but I have just gotten so close to some of the kids at the after school program.  I've been with them every afternoon for weeks and weeks, and I'm going to miss them so very much.  Before coming to Africa, I was the director of an after school program in Northbrook, Illinois.  I can't tell you how different it has been to help at the after school program here.  If you know anything about Northbrook and Africa, you can probably figure out that the two are very different.  I really liked the kids I worked with in Northbrook, and I was definitely a little bummed to say goodbye to them.  I do miss some of them, and I'm excited to stop by when I get back home...even if none of them have missed me ;)  But being here has been a completely different experience.  The kids I've gotten to work with out here are incredible, amazing, wonderful kids.  I'm not saying the kids at home aren't (I hope I don't sound like a total jerk), but it's a whole different life the kids are here are living.  It's a different kind of community, and you build a different kind of relationship working with kids who are literally living on the streets.  They are so thankful for everything, and just have a different perspective on life than a lot of kids I know in America.  Here's a conversation  I had yesterday with one of the boys I've gotten really close to here (the "brother" I've told you about, Solomon):

Solomon: Friday, you go to America?

Me: No, Saturday I leave.

Solomon: Ok, so, Friday you come to our football game? (On Friday afternoons, our group plays soccer)

Me: Yes, we'll be there!

Solomon: Then you go to America, then you come back to Ethiopia?

Me: Yes, someday I will come back to Ethiopia (news flash everyone at home - I'm coming back here someday).

Solomon: Ok. When you come back from America, will you bring me a ball?

Me: A ball?

Solomon: Yes.

Me: You want a ball?

Solomon: Yes, when you come back from America someday.

Me: Ok, I'll get you a ball.

Solomon: Oh, thank you! (He then proceeded to yell across the room to his best friend about how excited he was that some day I was going to bring them a ball from America).

Alright, so, he doesn't even know when I'm coming back or what kind of ball I would get him or anything.  He doesn't care.  But he was beyond excited just about the fact that I was going to give him a ball, one day.  Well, Kendra and I went out and bought them each a soccer ball today.  They cost about $20 each, and I think it was a $20 very well spent.  Part of me feels incredibly bad that I went out and bought a gift for one boy when there are 70+ other kids that we work with.  Obviously I'm not going to walk into the school and be like, "Hey Solomon!  I have a present for you!" in front of all the other kids.  But still, I feel bad that I got something for him and not for everyone else.  But honestly I just can't afford to do that for every kid.  We are going to have a little celebration on Thursday with all the kids, and we're going to bring them all a little something that day.  But yes, I spent more on this boy.  While it makes me feel a little bad, I also feel like making one kid super happy is better than making zero kids super happy, right?  Or I'm just telling myself that so that I don't feel guilty, I don't know.  Either way I'm giving the kid the soccer ball, so too bad.

I feel like I've gotten super off topic here.  Sorry.  I sometimes just write like whatever pops into my brain when I do this blog.  I might have writing ADD or something, because I think I'm often quite random.  Like right now I don't even really remember what my goal was for this post...I'm just sitting here, listening to some Augustana and type-type-typing away about giving Solomon a soccer ball without really thinking about anything.  No organization.  So I apologize for the rambling and all......I think I apologize for that a lot.  Therefore my point is made.  Moving on...

As I was trying to say (I think), I'm really going to miss these school kids.  After hanging out and working with them every afternoon, and even walking home with them every day, I just feel like I've gotten really close to them.  The biggest bummer is that it's not like we can just say to the older kids, "oh, we'll keep in touch! No problem!" because they don't have street addresses, let alone an email or something.  As a result, I think Friday is going to be a bit rough.  I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye to all those kids, and I expect the first tears may come Friday night.  Saturday won't be any better, I don't think.  We've been telling everyone we know that they need to come over to our house any time on Saturday so that we can say goodbye to them before we leave for the airport.  It's an all-day party.  If anyone doesn't show up, I'll be totally bummed.  A lot of these people I've seen nearly every day for the past three months, and I'm just going to miss them a lot!

To end the rambling, Friday and Saturday are going to be a bit sad I think.  And I just can't believe that this Sunday, I'll be back in America.  Time has absolutely flown by, and I know these last few days will as well.  I'm looking forward to the rest of this week, though.  Hopefully it'll be a fun ending to an amazing trip!  And just think - whoever still reads this - you'll only have to read a couple more posts! ;)

April the Fool

It’s been a busy last weekend in Ethiopia!  We started it off on Friday with a trip to Sishu for some delicious American style burgers.  Yum!  And guess what?!  They had bacon this time!  What a rare treat…I got a bacon cheeseburger!  It was basically fantastic.  On Saturday, we got up bright and early to hit up the bazaar at the church by our house.  An hour or so later, we were leaving with lots and lots of souvenirs.  I’m pretty much loaded with gifts now, and I can’t wait to hand them all out at home.  Very exciting.  We took all our wonderful purchases home, and began attempting to pack them safely.  We have a lot of breakables, and not a lot of wrapping…unless socks and pajama pants count.  We soon found out that with a couple pairs of PJ pants and the amazing hands of Amen and Desta, we could safely wrap anything and everything.  Seriously, they were incredible!  There I was, struggling to wrap a really cool mug into a pair of pants.  I wrapped, unwrapped, tried again, and again and again.  Desta’s watching me, laughing.  After a few minutes he takes it from my hands and second later gives it back to me, wrapped like a beautiful little package!  He even used the string on my pajamas to tie it shut!  Obviously I left the rest of my wrapping to him, and am now pretty confident that my things will make it back to America in one piece.  Thank you, Desta!

That afternoon, we took a trip to Mount Entoto.  It’s a big mountain on the other side of Addis, and we had been meaning to get up it before leaving.  Amen came along, and we had a really nice guy we had met a couple of days before for our driver.  It was a lot of fun, and very beautiful.  We got home exhausted, and began preparations for April the Fool…dun dun dunnnnnn

So, evidently they really enjoy April Fool’s Day in Ethiopia.  In fact, all of our Ethiopian friends have been talking about “April the Fool” for weeks now.  Kendra and I decided awhile back that we had to do something to them.  We came up with the perfect trick, and informed the necessary accomplices last night…Desta and Amen.  Since most of our peeps are in Awassa for the weekend (mainly Dundee and Amare), Masresha has been “in charge” of taking care of us at the guest house.  He’s taking his job very seriously and has been concerned all weekend about getting food to us, drinks, water, anything.  We figured that the best prank would be to pretend that we got upset, changed our plane tickets, and left for America a week early.  This was simple to pull off, since we are leaving next weekend.  We were already mostly packed after buying souvenirs, and everything else got thrown into an extra suitcase.  Desta was an important partner in crime, because he’s the guard to our house.  We needed him to wake Masresha this morning and tell him that he had seen us get into a taxi with all our luggage.  Amen was important because we needed him to translate our plan to Desta…we have awesome convos with Desta all the time, but an important detailed plan such as this requires translation for sure.  So anyways, we would have Desta kick off the prank after we had hidden our luggage and ourselves in an extra bedroom.  Last night we did a little prep work by acting all bummed out right before bed.  Apparently it worked, because Masresha was asking Amen and some of the other guys what happened to us.

This morning went perfectly.  We woke up early, left a note explaining our early departure to America, and went outside to get Desta.  He was so excited.  We hid, and Desta went to wake up Masresha.  Even though we could hear them, they were of course speaking only in Amharic.  Long Amharic story short, we heard Masresha find our note, make some phone calls to Amare and Dundee in Awassa, and go find Amen for help.  When we came out about 20 minutes later, the look on Masresha’s face was completely priceless.  Confusion, surprise, relief….it was hilarious.  Masresha, Amen, Desta, and a few others that had showed up were cracking up.  Our friend Isaac was there, and one of Amen’s cousins.  Both were laughing hysterically.  Amare had even called his mom when he got the news in Awassa that we were missing, and she came running in saying, “You lost the farenje?! We have to find them!”  It was amazing.  The best part was how excited Desta and Amen were…they could barely contain themselves.  A successful April the Fool day for us.

In other news, rain has come.  Hard.  It hasn’t rained once since we got here, until this weekend.  The past couple of days we had some showers, but this afternoon as we made our way to Bole to use wifi (which isn’t working, hence my blog-writing), it poured.  Hellooooooo rain.  Wow.  We were walking through Mexico when crazy winds started blowing, thinking about how happy we were that we were probably in busy, crazy Mexico for the last time.  When the wind picked up, I got about six hundred things in my eyes and was walking pretty blindly.  Obviously this means it’s a good time to pick-pocket me...jerk face.  So Jerk Face tries to unzip the front of my backpack.  Well, all my important stuff is kept in the big pocket of my backpack, which you can only unzip when it’s off my back.  Had Jerk Face been successful, he would’ve gotten away with nothing more than an empty gum package, a bottle of hand sanitizer, and a dum-dum.  But he’s a jerk face for even trying.  Anyways…he was not successful, because Kendra saw and smacked his hand away.  There are a million people walking in Mexico, so she knew that giving him a little smack would make him leave.  Ha, fool.  No dum-dums for you!  We made it to our next minibus just in time for the downpour.  By the time we arrived at the wifi café ten minutes later, the floods had begun.  Water was everywhere, and the streets were essentially small rivers.  This was an even bigger problem, considering the fact that the street in front of the wifi café is gone.  It was torn up a couple of weeks ago, and what used to be a three-lane road is now a giant ditch of dirt.  Given the fact that it was pouring rain, this had turned into mud underneath flowing water that was deeper than my ankles.  There is no other way…no detour, no way around the giant torn-up road.  You have to cross it to get to the café.  So, we did.  As sheets of rain came down, we climbed down a small mud cliff into the ditch.  As we made our way across, the strong current tried to capture my flip-flop.  It came off my foot and began floating down stream.  I chased it, half bare-foot, and luckily got it back.  We then climbed up the other side, another mud cliff, and made it safely inside.  We are soaked.  My pants are so wet, and my feet are so muddy.  We went on this adventure just to be able to Skype with our favorite people back home.  And you know what?  The wireless internet is still out.  While the adventure was exciting, I sure hope it wasn’t all for nothing! 

Air Conditioning: Shock to the System (3-28-12)

Tonight was a delightful night with our wonderful American friend, Lisa.  We wanted to hang out with her once more before going back to the States, and she suggested dinner.  She told us that she would take us to dinner near the U.S. Embassy so we could get a drive-by view.  Not that I really need to see the embassy, but really?  We've been here for three months and we haven't seen it?  What?  So we were pumped cause we planned on driving by, singing a little "God Bless America" or something...you know.  But when she came to pick us up at our house, she said maybe we could eat dinner by the movie theater instead and then catch a movie afterwards.  This sounded like a fantastic idea!  There were three movies to chose from at the theater, the best option being The Vow.  Sadly the Hunger Games isn't playing here yet.  Bummer, right?

Well.  We went to dinner at a pretty delicious, fancy place.  There was fetuccini alfredo on the menu.  Obviously this is what I ordered, and I was pretty thrilled (Ben, I'm sure you can imagine).  It was a disappointment when the alfredo was actually tomato sauce.  Totally not the same.  But you know what?  It's alright because I can make my own fetuccini alfredo in nine days.  Mmmmmm.  Also, I'm going to eat an apple when I get home.  There's a lack of apples here...

Dinner was yummy, and we made it to the movies just in time.  As we were getting comfortable in our seats, I realized that I felt something odd.  I was indoors, and I was cold.  It was strange...the air felt oddly cool.  After a minute, it came to me.  This was air conditioning I was feeling.  The last time I felt such a thing was on the plane from America.  I know I don't have air conditioning on every day of my life in America, but when it's 90+ degrees outside I sure do.  And it's certainly that hot here, but being a third world country and all there just isn't a cold blast of AC when you walk into a building.  As I sat and enjoyed the movie, I couldn't help but feeling very, very cold.  Like, freezing.  At the end, all three of us agreed that we needed to get back outside into the warm African air.  Weird.

The other sort of strange thing was seeing Chicago.  In case you haven't seen The Vow, it's set in Chicago.  Weird to see and think that I'll be there in less than two weeks.  I know I haven't been here that long, and while it kind of seems like I've been here for such a long time it also feels like time flew by.  But even if it did go fast, and even though three months isn't forever, it's still a little crazy for me to think that I'll be driving through Chicago again the weekend after next.  Wow!  But I'm not going to get into the whole I-can't-believe-I'm-leaving thing now, because it's late and it's past my bedtime.  And I'm pretty sure I've already talked about this in previous blogs anyway.  I really just wanted to write this quick to let you all know that I felt air conditioning tonight...that's all. 

So, dena edairu (good night), my friends!!