Home!!!!

Monday, 21 January

We arrived home on Wednesday, 16 January [2008] in the evening. We are still somewhat jet-lagged, but beginning to adjust. Giggles went back to school today; last night she said she was ready to go back (after a 5-week break).

Poppet is adjusting to a new family, new climate, and new language. He desperately wants to go skating; he saw Giggles take her skating lesson last Friday afternoon, watched the Zamboni resurface the ice, and saw a few hockey players come out and start a practice. This afternoon I brought home a skating helmet for him, and he promptly put it on and walked around with it for some time. Then put on his skates (hand-me-downs that Giggles used last year but has outgrown - a lovely bright pink) and walked around the house in them for a good two hours. (Yes, skate guards are a must!) I think we'll head to an arena this weekend, or to a friend's backyard rink. Then we'll see how quickly he picks it up!

Weather back here in Canada is cold! But Poppet seems not to mind. The first day, when I said he could go outside with Giggles, he just shook his head and said "No" (one of his favourite words) but as soon as we showed him the snowsuit and he saw Giggles getting into hers, he was out like a flash.



The kids went to the local slope every day until Sunday for a half hour or so of sliding at a time. You'd never guess he'd never seen snow until five days ago!

And so life goes on, as we all get used to our new relationships. It will be fun.

Meserete Kristos Church

Sunday, 6 January 2008

Today, our main agenda was to attend a service of one of the 27 Meserete Kristos churches here in Addis. We had received an invitation from Mekonnen, one of the Ethiopian workers with Mennonite Central Committee. We found a taxi to take us to the area, and once on our way we called Mekonnen to give the driver directions. The trip took about 20 minutes, mostly along the ring road and another wide, good paved road.

The church is a good-sized, well-established congregation. Although it is only three years old, most of the members have come from other MK churches and are fairly well off, making it a stable congregation. It is in a new part of Addis, where many new houses are being built, mostly by middle-class Ethiopians who can afford to own a nice home on a small plot of land. The church building is a fairly rough structure, as it is on rented land and the landlord will not allow them to build a permanent building. They are hoping to find a plot to buy and build on, but for now this is sufficient.

The service lasted about three hours, with singing, prayer, and a sermon that lasted over an hour. As it was all in Amharic we did not understand, but one of the congregational members sat behind us and gave us the occasional English summary of what was being said. The singing was lively and many people clapped and half danced in the pews. (Mekonnen later told us this was not as lively as some of the churches!)

After about two hours, I took Giggles and Poppet into the courtyard where many other children were standing or playing. They had done well so far with the markers and paper, and some magnetic toys, we'd brought along, but by that point it was getting hard to keep quiet and sit still.

After the service, Mekonnen took us to his house for lunch. It was a new house not far from the church.

The compound was very small, but the house very lovely. The living room was furnished much like a Canadian living room would be, but the kitchen next door was small and rather bare-bones by our standards. Mekonnen lived here with his wife and a nephew, the son of his brother from the country whom they were helping to put through school, as their own five children were grown - two daughters in Addis and three sons in the States. One daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren joined us for lunch. It was a traditional Ethiopian meal, with injera and a variety of wat - cooked not too spicy, Mekonnen said, in light of our western palates.

After eating and a bit of visiting, Mekonnen drove us home. It was mid-afternoon, so we walked down to our usual haunt for an afternoon ice cream, followed by some play and supper at home.

While playing, Giggles noticed that a sheep had taken up very temporary residence in the landlord's courtyard - tomorrow's Ethiopian Christmas dinner. She and Poppet took a good look, but did not pet as it was a ram and could kick - or so Giggles told me.

(Continue to 7January: Merry Christmas, Happy Birthday - A challenging Day)

A little note...

Hello faithful readers,

 

Eight new posts are published below. I think I've made it easier for you by posting them in what would be reverse order than if I'd actually published each post on the day it was written, in otherwords the oldest are at the top and the most recent at the bottom. That way you can start reading immediately below and keep going.

 

It picks up in the middle of our southern trip, skips over Family Day on the 30th (as I already posted that one) and then continues to Saturday Jan 5th, except that it lso skips the 4th as that was a busier day and I haven't had time to write it up yet.

 

I had hoped to post earlier this week but it's been busy. Yesterday the internet cafe was busy, but today it's almost empty and the connection is the fastest I've experienced it yet in Ethiopia. I'll definitely post at least once and hopefuly twice more before we leave (in 9 more sleeps).

 

You'll note I haven't written too much about Poppet specifically. We're still figuring out his little character and enjoying getting to know him. He's definitely taken to Laoye and Giggles; I think Laolao and I are lower on his totem pole - at least for now. He is bright, cheery, focused, coordinated (boy! can he kick that soccer ball!) and interested in gadgets. He is very much into doing things his own way (so is Giggles, but it's different). He already knows what "ice cream" means - when we asked this afternoon "want to go for ice cream" he jumped for joy! He is a delightful little boy, given to some mischief, but mostly well-behaved (at least for now).

 

Happy reading!

---

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Arba Minch - A good day after all

Friday, 28 December

If we thought we'd be able to sleep in today, we were wrong. Breakfast at 7:00 to be on the road by 8:00. The tour of the Nech Sar National Park is an 80 km circuit over very, very rough roads and would take about five hours; then we would lunch, have some time to relax, and have a boat ride on Lake Chamo in the afternoon.

So be it. During the night Laolao had had a bad bout of stomach upset and bowel distress, but she felt better now and decided to come on the park tour.

Immediately after entering the park gates we saw a troupe of warthogs, a good half dozen, munching placidly nearby. Wow! Our first animal sighting already! We looked eagerly through the van windows for more, but saw little; the bush grew thick on either side of the track. Still, we caught some glimpses of baboons and monkeys. Paulos said the land opened up further along the trail; we would have a clear view to either side. That would be where the zebras would be found.

After about a half-hour in the park, the track began to wind along a cliffside above the lake, with some very steep stretches. The driver slowed, bounced, and spun his wheels. The grade was steep, but this was a 4WD vehicle, surely he could make the grade? He backed up and tried again, giving it more gas – again he got no purchase and spun out. Was he even using the four wheel drive? If so, there should be no need to back up and give it gas; a slow and steady acceleration would suffice. The driver backed up again. He swerved to avoid something and slammed into the cliffside, breaking a taillight and seriously denting the back door of the vehicle. He went forward, spinning out again. Laoye was getting upset, telling Paulos to tell the driver to put it into 4WD. He didn't seem to know how. (Giggles found all of this rather distressing.)

Then another vehicle approached, coming down the hill. Yikes, what would he do now. The other driver got out, assessed the situation, and told our driver to back up to a certain point. It didn't look like there was enough room, but once he backed up (managing narrowly to avoid a second collision with the cliff face) it became apparent it would work. But how to go forward? The driver of the other vehicle jumped out, came to ours, promptly engaged the 4WD and slowly eased up the hill past the trouble spot. Our driver go in again, but not before the other driver showed him how to engage the 4WD. Knowing how to engage it, however, is not enough – one must also know how to drive with it engaged. The driver kept revving up the gas, expecting to need the power to push the vehicle up the hill. This made for a jerky ride. We told Paulos to tell him to ease off on the gas and let the 4WD do the work. "Slow and steady; slow and steady." Paulos told him but it made little difference. We hadn't got far when another vehicle approached and we needed to back up again.

At this point Paulos made a decision. He told us he was going to go back to town and get an experienced driver who would do a better job. We said that was a good idea, but we didn't want to sit in the car for the hour and a half (at least) it would take to get back to town and return with a competent driver. We would get out and walk along the trail until the car returned. Paulos was concerned about this, but said okay. (After all, there are no lions, cheetahs, or other major predators in the park, so extra-vehicular activity is not life-threatening.) We started to walk along the path, enjoying being out of the bumpy van and breathing the fresh air. A moment later Paulos appeared. He had sent the driver back on his own with instructions; he felt he should stay with us to ensure we were taken care of.

Unfortunately, as all this was happening, Laolao was also experiencing a recurrence of the stomach and bowel distress. At first it wasn't too bad, but it quickly grew worse and she'd forgotten the medication at the hotel. Paulos grew more and more concerned. He tried numerous times to reach the driver or other contacts on his mobile phone, even walking ahead to the hilltop for better reception, but could get no connection. (We discovered later that the entire network was down for the day so nobody's mobile was working.) After about 45 minutes, a park ranger's vehicle came along and we flagged them down. They agreed to take us back to the park entrance. We had almost reached the entrance when our van reappeared with the new driver at the wheel and the regular driver in the passenger seat. After a moment's discussion, we all headed back to the hotel to take Laolao to a place she could rest. (The worst of the bout had passed, but she was tired and in no condition to continue.) At the hotel, Paulos gave the rest of us the option of going back with the new driver for the park tour, or staying at the hotel for some rest and then proceeding with the boat ride in the afternoon. If we did the park tour, however, we would not be able to do the boat ride as we would run out of time. (It was already almost 11:00). None of us felt like going back into the bumpy van for another five-hour drive, so we chose the second option.

After lunch, Paulos said we didn't need to wait until 2:00 for the boat ride but could head off right away. If we did so, then we would have time to visit the mountain-top village that we had missed from the itinerary the previous day. That sounded just fine. Laolao was feeling a lot better, but decided to stay at the hotel just in case. We stopped to pick up the boatman; 20 minutes later we'd arrived at the launch area. It was a pleasant, hot and sunny day.

Even out on the water it was quite warm; one didn't need a jacket. We saw cranes and storks, kingfishers and geese. Passing by some reeds, we saw two hippos at a distance; as we passed the place they had been, one of them came up to breathe, blowing our his used air less than three metres from the boat. Then we rounded an island and came to another reedy area and there lounged over a dozen hippos, half-submerged, enjoying the cool water on a sunny day. We slowly motored by, zig-zagging a few times to allow for good photos.

Then it was a short hop across an open stretch of water to a round, dome-shaped island and on a narrow spit of land, basking in the sun on the dirt beach, lay two dozen large crocodiles.

Paulos told us to be quiet here; no whistles, hoots, shouts or any loud noises, as we did not want to startle them out of their slumber. They were powerful-looking creatures, at least four or five metres long with stout bodies and thick legs and tails. I would not have wanted to be anywhere within grasping distance of those jaws!

Our animal-viewing desires at least partly satiated, the boat turned around and sped back to the launch area. Paulos said they almost always saw hippos and crocs at those locations; that's why they take the tourists there!

We dropped off the boatman, then proceeded north towards the Dorzie village. The turn-off led us in a westerly direction and immediately began to climb. The grade was steep and winding; multiple switchbacks carried us higher and higher up the mountain. As we climbed, the vegetation changed noticeably. We entered a forest of conifers – juniper perhaps, or spruce. The air grew cooler and my ears could feel the pressure change. Even here, along this steep mountain road, we saw women carrying heavy loads, climbing towards the village, and cows and goats grazing in the sloping fields along the road. (The road was quite good; gravel but well-packed and well-maintained, with only the occasional rough spot, including one area where it had been washed out by a creek. The driver engaged the 4WD to cross that patch – I guess he'd learned something – but disengaged it right after.)

After a half-hour's winding climb we reached the mountaintop village. This is a place supported by World Vision, and it showed. Though we still saw the traditional houses, the road was good, things just seemed different and not so miserably impoverished as in other places we'd passed.

We entered a compound of one of the families and the second son, Mekonnen, proceeded to give us a tour (in very good English – Paulos said the guides like to take their groups to his compound as his English is among the best).

This community houses 7,800 people, Mekonnen told us. The Dorzie people build very tall houses of bamboo poles thatched with the leaves of the false banana tree (a banana-like tree that bears no fruit). These houses are up to 15 metres tall and can last for 100 years, though the thatch will require redoing at least once during that period. However, termites eat at the bottom of the bamboo, causing the house to slowly shrink (which means the entrance must be cut higher every couple of years so one can still get in!).

Inside, there are places for sitting and sleeping and a small central hearth for cooking.

The smoke from the fires keeps the termites from climbing above the bottom couple of cm. Gourds hang from the roof along the sides; these are filled with butter, grains, and other things.

The hut includes a section for the animals to sleep; they enter the main door and then pass through a small door inside into their own enclosure. The heat from the animals helps to warm the house on cold nights and keep the people warm, too. (The manure is thrown out of the house through a small window cut into the animal enclosure.)

Each compound will have two or three of these houses. One is a "honeymoon" house where the couple enjoys their first three months of marriage; after that it sits empty until the next person in the family marries. The honeymoon house in Mekonnen's compound was currently being enjoyed by his oldest brother, who had recently married. The third hut in a compound is for storage, and occasionally for guests.

Beside the houses, Mekonnen showed us his aunt, spinning cotton into thread, and his uncle, weaving at a loom.

In a garden area behind the compound, we saw his mother preparing the false banana plant for consumption. The trunk is sliced and the slices scraped to create a coarse pulp. This pulp is wrapped in leaves from the plant, placed under a pile of rocks, and fermented for three weeks. Once the fermentation has reached its desired state, the pulp is chopped (as it is still quite fibrous), mixed with water, and baked into a flatbread. This bread is one of the staples of the Dorzie people. (We later learned that it is apparently quite low in nutritional value, to the point that more energy may be expended in its preparation than it provides.)

We then were shown the "guest-houses" the village has constructed – very simple traditional huts consisting of little more than an entrance area with a raised sleeping platform, equipped with an electric light. These are for the benefit of the occasional tourist who might choose to spend the night in the village.

The final stop was the village meeting place.


Here we were served a piece of false banana flatbread accompanied by a very spicy pepper sauce, and its neighbouring vending stalls where I did the tourist thing and bought a few woven items for souvenirs and gifts.


Giggles also saw something there that caught her fancy – an ostrick feather bound to a piece of carved wood. I said okay, I'd buy it for her. I asked Paulos what it was; he said it was a ceremonial object but did not elaborate. When the time came to bargain, the young man of the village was very reluctant to sell it and kept asking what seemed an outrageously high price (well, outrageous in comparison to what they wanted for the woven items that involved so much hard work to produce). The older man kept pushing him to go ahead and sell it. I asked what was so special about it; what kind of ceremony was it used for? It seems it is an object of respect used in funeral ceremonies. When an old man dies, this ostrich feather wand is waved at the funeral and then placed over his heart. With that explanation in hand I felt a bit bad about buying it as a child's plaything, but by then the deal had been struck and the object included in the final price. (For one shawl, two thin blanket-size spreads, two caps, and the ostrich-feather object, I paid 300 birr or $33.)

By this time sunset was fast approaching and we wanted to be down the mountain before dark. So we hopped into the van and began the descent. Laoye was quite concerned the driver was going to strip the brakes by constant braking, as he was not using the gears efficiently as a means of slowing the engine. But we made it down safe, just as the sun was setting. (And still there were people walking up the mountain.) We bought a few bananas (the tiny ones) and mangoes from a road-side vendor at the junction and drove back to town.

Here we learned from Paulos what the people were wanting when they looked through our van windows and pointed at our water bottles, saying something I couldn't understand but that didn't sound at all like "water." Paulos pointed to the label on one of the bottles we had with us. It was Highland brand. The people were saying "Highland" and what they wanted was the empty bottles. What need do they have for bottled water? They just drink what flows wherever it flows (tap, stream, river…). But the empty bottles are eminently useful. They can be filled with any number of other things. Cooking oil, gas, milk, you name it, if it's liquid it can go into a bottle.

That leads me to another observation. There is very little garbage to be seen littering Ethiopia. In other countries – India, Mexico, China – one sees garbage all over the place, filling dry riverbeds, lining streets, piled in piles everywhere. But here, we've seen the odd pile of garbage in Addis, but virtually nothing in the countryside. I put it down to three reasons. First, not much garbage is produced here. Ethiopians do not have many things made of plastics or other things that do not decompose quickly and there is not much in the way of packaging, let alone excess packaging. Secondly, Ethiopians for the most part simply do not have many things, period. So there is no need to throw out the old to make room for the new. Thirdly, and related to the other two, this is not a disposable society. Things here are used until they are worn out. If they break, they are fixed and used again, or dismantled and the pieces used for something else. Anything that is potentially useful is used. If its original purpose has been fulfilled (as in a water bottle), it is reused again and again for some other purpose. Things will only be thrown out once there is no more purpose for them; by that time, there may be little left to dispose of.

To get back to my narrative, it was full dark by the time we reached the hotel. The driver needed to turn on his lights for the final section of the return journey; to do so, he had to stop the van, get out, lift the hood and connect some wires. He still had no dashboard lights. Maybe Laoye's assessment that the vehicle was a piece of junk wasn't so far off. (Especially now that the tail had been bashed in and one couldn't open the rear doors to access the luggage compartment.)

We met Laolao at the restaurant, ate a light supper, and hit the beds, quite worn out but satisfied after all that the day had not been a total disaster. Tomorrow would be yet another early day. (Laoye complained briefly, saying he would like to sleep in a bit, but I sided with Paulos, saying if we wanted to enjoy the hot springs waiting for us at Wondo Genet, we needed to get there in time to do so. After all, we had seven-plus hours of dusty, bumpy road to cover first.)

(Continue to 29 December: Wondo Genet - A hilltop paradise)

Wondo Genet - A hilltop paradise

Saturday, 29 December

By shortly after 7:00 we were on our way, back up the rough and bumpy road. It was a long, hot, dusty day. Giggles and I played clapping games, we played word games, we played rhyming games. We played "hungry bear" and "monster walrus" with her stuffies. She napped; I napped. She played with Laolao; I told her stories. Slowly the miles passed.

We stopped at Wolaito Soto for an early lunch (the same place we'd stopped for lunch on the way down) and at Shashemene for tea. The last 20 or so km before Shashemene were on good road again so the going was much smoother. From Shashemene we turned east into the hills, towards Wondo Genet. The roads here were bumpier again, as it was once more off the main highway. But it was only 20km, so it wasn't so bad. And we knew that rest and relaxation were waiting at the end of it.

Around 3:00 pm we pulled into the hotel compound. It was immediately obvious that this was a relatively classy place. (Still not quite up to the hotels we'd stayed in at Bahir Dar and Gondar, but close.) The gardens were beautiful – many flowers, trees, hedges and even a few patches of grass spoke of a well-watered place, a place where one could feel at ease. This had apparently once been the private retreat of the Emperor, Haile Selassie. Since his demise (and possibly since the fall of the Derg government? – I'm not sure) it has been turned into a "resort" hotel. (Laolao said if this was supposed to be a resort, it was sorely lacking, but I figured it was a wonderful African resort. The bathrooms were the nicest of all the hotels we'd stayed in, except for Lalibela.)

As we were checking in, we had another surprise: the couple working with MCC, whom we'd met at the Christmas Menno potluck dinner on the 23^rd and again at the Christmas Eve service on the 24^th, arrived to check in as well! Turns out the MCC staffers were having their annual working retreat here; they had just arrived and were staying for three days. We arranged to have supper together that evening.

We took a few minutes to freshen up, then headed off for a swim at the hotsprings, a short walk down the hillside. The change-rooms were quite basic, and the showers appeared to be simply diversions from the hot springs, too, so four heavy spouts of water cascading over the cliff edge, down onto the slippery concrete floor. But lovely warm! The swimming area consisted of three pools. One was a shallow pool, which was also a bit cooler – just right for Giggles to play in. It was not large, but only three or four other kids were there, so it wasn't bad. Beside it, a medium-sized, much hotter pool was about right for grownups to stand in (I could just keep my head out of the water by standing on my tippy-toes – but I'm rather short!). We all felt it would have benefited from some benches along the sides that one could sit on to relax and soak up the warmth – but it did have a set of steps at one end, so we used those for sitting for a few minutes. The third pool was also quite warm, and deeper yet – one had to either swim, or hold on to the bar that went around the outside of the pool. The four of us stayed mostly in the kids' pool, playing with Giggles, or in the mid-depth adult pool.

We basked in the pools for over an hour, letting the day's dust and bumps and fatigue fall away while our bodies relaxed and grew calm. Giggles would have stayed longer, but we promised her that we'd come for another swim tomorrow morning before we left, if we woke up in time. (Though I wasn't about to set the alarm clock to ensure we did so.)

Back at the hotel grounds, Giggles found the three daughters of the couple we'd met checking in and joined them in play, running around the gardens and feeding the monkeys. (They didn't like Ritz crackers, but loved the bananas I gave Giggles to feed them.) I sat with the grown-ups and chatted. At 7:00 we all went for supper, and after supper fell into bed and a deep and weary sleep.

(Continue to 30 December: Back to Addis again)

Back to Addis again

Sunday, 30 December

A little voice woke me at 6:20: "Mommy, can we go swimming?"

Well, sleep had been good while it lasted. "Sure. Let's get our swimsuits on and you can go see if Laolao and Laoye are up – but if they're not DON'T WAKE THEM."

Laoye was not inclined to go for another swim, so the ladies headed off. The morning air was crisp, here up in the hills, and we were glad of our jackets. At the poolside, we quickly stripped off our outerwear and slipped into the lovely warm water. The pools had filled more overnight (or had not yet partially emptied from a day's worth of swimmers) so the mid-dept grownup pool was too deep to be comfortable for me. (I can swim, but wanted to sit or even stand and relax, not swim and overheat.) Even at that early hour a fair number of swimmers were out enjoying a relaxing start to the day – including our guide, Paulos, who hadn't joined us the previous afternoon.

Breakfast was at 8:00, then we again climbed into the van and began the final leg of our journey, back to Addis Ababa. On the smooth highway surface, the miles passed more quickly and easily. We stopped for lunch around noon, and shortly thereafter rejoined the major east-west highway. To my surprise, we stopped again for tea at around 2:30, at the town of Debre Zeit (which means Mount of Olives). The restaurant was called Dreamland, and once we entered we saw why. The terrace behind it was a little dreamland, made up of cascading patios down a steep hill with a lovely view over a striking, round and shining volcanic lake. We found a spot in the shade of a canopy and proceeded to order. They didn't have 7-Up. They didn't have Sprite. They didn't even have tea! We ended up getting a few bottles of Mirinda (orange pop) and a beer for Laoye. Giggles once again chased after the restaurant cat, and this one actually let her pet it.

From Debre Zeit to our house in Addis was a short hour's drive. I had barely settled down for quick nap when we were there! It felt good to be home.

After unpacking and organizing, I called the Weygoss and made arrangements to meet K&M for supper again. They were leaving for Canada later that evening; they'd had their little Elsha for five days now.


While we ate and chatted at the restaurant, Elsha wasn't as smiling and cheery as I recalled her being on the 24th, which wasn't a huge surprise. K said she was starting to open up and smile for them. We wished them safe travels and good luck getting through immigration in the 100 minutes they had to catch their connecting flight after landing in Canada

Then it was back home, some reading and into bed for a deep and restful sleep in a now familiar place.

(Continue to 31 December: Family Day!)

A New Year for a new family

Tuesday, 1 January 2008

Giggles came to my bed shortly after 6 am for a short snuggle, then said she'd go back to her and Poppet's bed so he wouldn't be scared. But he was also awake, so they both came to me for some morning cuddles. I tried to convince them that it was still night and they should sleep some more, but they would have none of it. So they went to Laolao and Laoye's bed and engaged in some morning gymnastics.

After five or ten minutes I decided I wasn't going to sleep any more anyhow, so I might as well join them. We had a family playtime in bed for about ten minutes, then it was time to start the day for real.

While Laolao fixed breakfast, I got the kids and myself dressed and we all had a few more minutes of playtime. We started off the New Year with bacon and eggs, toast and jam. Poppet ate fairly well. After breakfast we brushed teeth and had fifteen minutes of sun and play outside before beginning the schoolwork routine.

Today's schoolwork did not go nearly as well as yesterday's. For one thing, there was the distraction of a little brother to contend with, and the fact that he did not have schoolwork to do. For a few minutes he sat at the table opposite Giggles and Laolao helped him write the alphabet (which he'd done numerous times at the Transition House, as evidenced by the school notebooks they gave us with page after page of alphabet filled in). But Giggles complained that he had such easy work to do and wanted to do that too. I told her that she did that kind of work when she was four, but now she is seven and she knows all that stuff; it would be far too easy. I told her that when he is seven he will have to do the kind of work she is doing now. But of course when you are seven and have never had a little brother before, all that is just blah-blah.

When I had first taken the day's work out of the folders and laid it on the table, I had thought "Oh, that isn't so bad. We should be able to get that done easily in less than three hours." But after half an hour at the table, Giggles had not yet completed even one page of phonics, which she normally can do in about five minutes (or less). Laolao took Poppet outside to play, so his presence wouldn't be such a distraction, but we could still hear them playing ball. After 45 minutes Laolao slipped me a note – she and Laoye would take Poppet out shopping, to go to the department store Laoye had found two long blocks south on Bole Road, to buy him some shoes that fit. I nodded okay; they departed and we plugged on. After an hour Giggles had managed to do two pages of phonics.

And so the morning went. We slogged; we took two breaks; we slogged some more. She finished the phonics pages and most of her reading; we did her one science worksheet and a bit of Smarties math. The final task was to do some math exercises; I had planned for two pages but one was all that she could handle and after almost four hours of frustration, cajoling, and complaints, it was all I could handle, too.

During one of the two breaks we took, Giggles chose to spend half the time preparing an alphabet sheet for Poppet – she wrote the letters and underneath drew a picture to represent each letter. It was quite sweet, really. At the halfway point I persuaded her to take a real break playing outside otherwise we'd have to start our next round of schoolwork and she wouldn't have had any fresh air. So she did. I do hope she finishes the alphabet sheet; it was a nice thought and a nice gesture on her part.

In the end I was mostly pleased with the way she was working hard and doing a pretty good job, though it would have been nice to start out the same way. However, once again I am left thinking that the paper-based exercises they give for homework just don't work for her, and it pains me to feel obliged to force their completion just to be able to hand in the stuff to the teachers. Especially in math. Math is not her forte.

So for the morning I had little chance to interact with Poppet except during the couple of breaks we took, when the three of us played outside (once they were back from the shoe-buying expedition). We ate a light lunch, then Laolao and Laoye headed off once again, this time with Giggles for an ice cream while I stayed home with Poppet for naptime.

It quickly became apparent that he was having none of this! (I seem to be spending the day trying to get kids to do what they didn't want to!) I had wondered if he truly napped any more. When Giggles came, we were told she was still napping, but after a short nap the very first afternoon in our hotel room, she didn't nap again. I suspect the Transition House enforces nap/quiet time. Even if the children no longer sleep, they are expected to be quiet in their beds. Poppet wouldn't even lie down, and didn't seem to want to sit with me to play on the bed or to look at books. After having seen him watch the television with interest last night for the few minutes we had it on, I figured he'd like the computer – and I had brought along a few simple software games for toddlers. (He may no longer be a toddler, but with no English, the toddler level will be enough until he understands more. It took Giggles a few months to move beyond the toddler and into the preschool software.)

Sure enough, as soon as I had fired up the laptop and loaded the software, he was off. The only real computer skill this particular software focuses on is mouse control; as for learning, it focuses on matching, colours, numbers, letters and shapes, as well as some basic vocabulary. After half an hour I shut the 'puter down and tried to interest him in books again, but he wasn't buying it. Seeing as I'd been up rather late last night, I could have used a nap, so I lay on the sofa (after locking the house door and removing the key so he couldn't get out of the house in case I did fall asleep). I thought he might be enticed to snuggle with me, but again, no. However, he did turn on the television and watch until Laolao, Laoye and Giggles came home a short time later.

This is another indication of his good learning capacity. Last night the landlord's son, Abraham, came and showed us how to turn on the television as we'd not managed to get anything but static before. Poppet was watching and after seeing it once, he knew how to do it again. Similarly, he'd found Laolao's camera and Giggles had shown him how it worked; that one demonstration was enough for him to remember how to turn it on and work it again. On the one hand, this augurs well for his learning capacity; on the other, I'll have to watch out as he may pick up more than I want him to!

With the other grownups at home, I did go lie down for a bit of a nap while the kids played. (Never has it been so easy to get Giggles to play without me. Little brother is good for something already!) Then Laoye headed out on his third trip of the day, this time accompanying me to the internet café and buying a few things forgotten on earlier trips, while Laolao stayed home and made supper while the kids played in the yard with a ball purchased during the morning's expedition. (BTW, internet in Addis and the south is a quarter the price as it is in the north – 1 birr for 4 minutes, or 15 birr ($1.65) an hour. Still slowish, but much less expensive.)

Poppet ate heartily at suppertime. He hadn't eaten much at lunch, though he'd comsumed two bananas during the afternoon. Now he downed four meatballs and a good-sized ball of mashed potatoes, along with some juice. He's not into milk at all; we'll need to work on getting him to consume milk once we get home to Canada. I recall a similar challenge with Giggles!

Bedtime routine went much better tonight. I started off by reading a chapter to Giggles in the living room before teeth time, while Poppet played with Laoye and leafed through storybooks on his own. Then I paged through an Encyclopedia of Animals with him as he lay on the sofa, naming the animals as we went. He would repeat the names; I would make commentary about them or imitate their gestures; he also made some commentary in Amharic and I would nod sagely and say "Yes, of course." While we did this, Laolao read to Giggles. Then we all brushed teeth and the kids got into jammies. We all lay in bed; I asked Giggles to stay in bed resting quietly as I thought this would help Poppet fall asleep more quickly; then she could come out to the living room and watch a bit of TV and snuggle with me. The ruse worked; Poppet fell asleep within ten minutes. After 15 minutes of TV and snuggling, and another ten minutes of whispered conversation in bed, Giggles fell asleep too, leaving me free to do some more blogging and get to bed earlier.

(Continue to 2 January: Swimming in January)

Transit Visa

Thursday, 3 January 2008

The morning started off with what seems to have become the routine, at least for now – the kids wake up and head off to Laolao and Laoye's bed for some morning playtime. I join them after a few minutes and we have a family snuggle. Then it's dressed and they kick the ball around outside for a few minutes until breakfast.

After breakfast today, I got Giggles started on her schoolwork with one of the "fun" things she had to do – a lesson in symmetry that involved some drawing, cutting and pasting. (Anything with drawing is a sure winner.) I think because of that, and perhaps also because she was getting used to it, she was happy enough to do the work.

At 9:30 I left Laolao in charge of ensuring the work got done while Solomon and Germatchew, two of the adoption agency's local staff, took Laoye, Poppet and I to the Dutch embassy to get a transit visa for Poppet. We are flying via KLM, and since we have about a seven-hour layover in Amsterdam, we hope to leave the airport to go into the city for a few hours. While Ethiopian nationals are supposed to have a transit visa to fly via Amsterdam even if they stay within the airport, many people have reported bringing their kids home without one and never being asked to show a visa. But since we hope to leave the airport, I expect it will be necessary to show the visa as we exit and re-enter the airport. (Though given that Poppet is just a child and we are Canadian citizens and can produce adoption papers, they might not object, but I am not going to take the chance.)

We arrived at the embassy and found a line-up waiting at the gate. Solomon procured an application form right away and we discovered we needed two passport-sized photos. I'd wondered about that the day before, but not more than fleetingly, so we were unprepared. But we all hopped back in the van, drove down the road a minute or two, and found a shop that could do the job in 25 minutes. Back at the gate, they told us we needed a photocopy of Poppet's passport main page and Canadian visa page. (Why didn't they say so before?!?) This time Solomon sent Germatchew off with instructions while the rest of us waiting; it was 11:05 and the consulate was to close at 11:30.

Germatchew returned with ten minutes to spare. But now, a group of Ethiopians was being admitted just ahead of us, so we had to wait for them to be "processed." Everyone had to show photo ID and then they were patted down and scanned with a hand-held metal detector. I saw this happening and told Laoye he had better leave his jackknife, that he always carries around, in the van. But when it came our turn, after obtaining our ID they gave us our visitor's badges and let us in with no other security procedures whatsoever. Strike one for discrimination. (Yes, these were local Ethiopian employees of the Embassy handling things at the gate, but they would have been following the Embassy's rules.)

Inside the fortress (for such it felt – surrounded by a brick wall two metres high, topped with a metal grille another 60 cm high and barbed wire above that), we walked down a curving roadway towards a small building, inside which we waited for several minutes until our turn came to talk to the visa processing officer. Again this was an Ethiopian local employee, who spoke very good English. She took the completed application and copies of Poppet's passport pages, then said she needed copies of the adoption documents. I had the originals along but no copies, so I pulled them out of the envelope and asked if there was somewhere to make copies. She said she could photocopy them for me and did so immediately. (So why couldn't she make copies of Poppet's passport pages, too?!?) Then she also wanted to see flight information. Thankfully, I'd anticipated that they might want to see this, so I had those along too. Again she made copies. Finally I paid the fee – a whopping 800 birr ($88). The high price might be because I'd asked for a "transit" visa rather than an "airport transit" visa, because we hope to go into the city. But maybe not. And we were told to come back in 24 hours to pick up the visa. (We'll actually go next week, as we have plans for tomorrow.)

We got back home around 12:30, just as Giggles was completing her final page of schoolwork. She'd actually had a good break already; she and Laolao had walked down to the icecream shop and each had a cone.

In the afternoon, we played ball for a while, then went out to Bole Road. I wanted to find a place to get my films developed. After a bit of asking around, and finding someone who led us to the shop (and whom we tipped, of course – every small service here seems to demand a tip – but at 5 or 10 birr a time, it's not that onerous), I handed over my films and was told they'd be ready in an hour. I also asked to get the pictures on CD; that was going to take 24 hours. Then we enjoyed a family icecream cone (Giggles' second one of the day!) and walked down to the Friendship Centre to get some more groceries. On the return journey, my pictures were ready!

I haven't told you much about the area we're staying. It's on a road that cuts across from Bole Road to the Ring Road, providing a short-cut for access to the Ring Road. There are several embassies along the street, though none of them belonging to big and important or wealthy countries, so nothing like the Dutch Embassy we visited this morning. We are, rather, in the vicinity of the Embassy of Congo Brazzaville, the Embassy of Brazil (right next door), the Embassy of Senegal, and the residence of the Ambassador of Guinea Bissau.

The Embassy of Japan is apparently near the corner of this street and Bole Road (because some of the taxi drivers seem to know it as the Japan Embassy Road), but I have yet to take note of it. The house is near the top of a hill, so as we walk towards Bole Road we have good view over the city to the northwest. (I have been turned around for the longest time, but have finally gotten straightened out – what I thought were north and south on Bole Road are actually southeast and northwest, respectively.)

As most everything is behind gated enclosures, it is hard to tell what is what, but there does seem to be a mix of relatively wealthy (by Ethiopian standards) and poor. Down the hill some 50m from our house, in between two walled and gated compounds, is a row of about six or eight dwellings that would be best described as hovels.

These are more the tin shack variety – narrow and rough, with a wee garden of sorts in front of the house, a pile of tires, and other sundry items. When we walk by we see the women out washing their clothes or doing other work, and recently several large baskets of chili peppers and other spices have been laid out to dry in the sun. It is here that Giggles has spied several cats, including a couple of kittens. She has gone down to visit the cats several times with one of us grown-ups, each time attracting a small crowd of interested people, and by now the ladies know her and greet her as we pass.

Across a side-street from the hovels is what appears to be a metal-working place. Outside the compound walls we see several large metal contraptions in various stages of construction. In this vicinity is situated the "School for the Deaf." Laolao and Laoye peeked in through its open gate one time and saw several students coming out who signed to them, but they could not understand.

Last Tuesday, as we returned from the internet café, Laoye and I saw a small herd of sheep being driven into one of the compounds not far from our house. We wondered if they lived there, and if so where had they come from or where did they spend their days? Or if they had just been purchased for a Christmas feast. Ethiopian Christmas is next Monday, and a primary reason, we have been told, for the flocks upon flocks of sheet and goats we have seen in the city this past week. Tradition has it that a family will buy their mutton or goat on the hoof and slaughter it at home for Christmas dinner. I think we'll settle for store-bought meat.

Near the bottom of our hill, just before Bole Road, is Aladdin's restaurant, which we have been told is a very good restaurant and one of these days we will check it out. Opposite is a sign pointing to a Korean restaurant down a side street. Next these is a fruit and vegetable stand, a bakery where we have been buying our buns, and then as one rounds the corner onto Bole Road, shops of all sorts and descriptions. The internet café I've used is on the other side of Bole Road, down a couple of buildings.

All in all it is a very interesting section of town and we have enjoyed getting out these past few days and exploring the neighbourhood.

The evening was uneventful – supper, stories, and bedtime. The one note out of the ordinary was that Germatchew showed up around 6:30, saying tomorrow they were taking the other family that's in town at the moment, D&C, up Mount Entoto and then to the National Museum. He asked if we wanted to go too. Unfortunately we had to decline; we already had plans with our friend JN, who wanted to show us some of the projects she works with and knows of around the city. Otherwise we would have loved to; we had just been commenting that we really should go visit the museum one day.

(Continue to 4 January: Around and about Addis)

Swimming in January

Wednesday, 2 January 2008

Today was a fairly slow and lazy day. During the morning, Laolao and Laoye took Poppet out on a grocery-shopping expedition while I stayed home with Giggles to do schoolwork. Once again, it was a challenge to complete the work, as it was "not fair" that Poppet got to go out and do fun stuff and she didn't. But she managed to get started on it more quickly than yesterday, and focus somewhat better.

One thing that helped was the promise of a swimming expedition in the afternoon. Giggles quite enjoys playing in the water, so this was a good enticement. We ate a simple lunch, then I played with the kids while Laolao and Laoye took a quick nap. By 2:00 we were off. The taxi dropped us off by the front entrance, and as we walked up the covered passageway to the hotel lobby, I remembered walking under that same passageway ten years ago.

When I was in Addis in 1997, I stayed at the Ghion Hotel, which is the top-level Ethiopian-owned hotel. It is not far from the Hilton, down the hill a short distance. Some of the delegates at the meetings I was attending were staying at the Hilton, and several meetings were held there, so we had occasion to walk or take taxi from one to the other several times. It struck me now that much has changed in the intervening ten years. Then, we walked either a "back route" through the Ghion gardens or a slightly longer route along the main roads, which were rough and crumbling, with several gravelly, bumpy patches as we approached the Hilton. Today, the roads are smooth, new pavement with actual sidewalks that appeared to be even and smooth as well. One of the people we know working here told us that over the past ten years the government has made a concerted effort to pave (or repave) 7,000 km of road in the country. They seem to be well on their way to completing the job, from all the smooth, new roads we've seen – and from the major roadwork projects that are to be found everywhere you turn, creating very rough detours and bypasses while they are underway

But ten years ago I did not have occasion to visit the pool at the Hilton – I doubt I even knew it existed. One should perhaps say pools, as there are several of them. One very shallow one, for toddlers and young children; one about a metre deep, for bigger (but still young) kids; one larger deeper one for grown-ups, and another we didn't check out.

The pool complex is outdoors, surrounded by luscious gardens, with lounge chairs along the edge, and tables with canopies to shade from the sun if one tires of swimming. The pools are all fed by natural hotsprings, so they are lovely and warm. (Compared to this, the pools and resort at Wondo Genet pale significantly…)

We stayed in the older children's pool, which was just the right depth for Poppet and Giggles. I expect this was the first time Poppet had ever been swimming, and he quite enjoyed it. It took him a few minutes to get used to the feel of being in the water, and the buoyancy it provides. But he had no fear of it – on the contrary, he kept dunking his face in the water, bouncing up and down, and thoroughly enjoying himself. A small spout of hot water fed this pool; Laolao, Laoye and I enjoyed sitting close to it and soaking up the really, really warm water. Even Poppet liked it – he kept running his hand through water below the spout, or even through the falling water itself, which was quite hot.

After an hour or so, we took an icecream break, then hopped back in the pool for another soak. Finally, at 4:30, we climbed out, somewhat reluctantly. Giggles was all for coming back tomorrow or the next day. I told her we already had plans, but perhaps next week we could come one more time. It is by no means an inexpensive treat. Entry for the five of us, and five ice cream cones, cost 450 birr, or about $50.

Supper was a simple meal at home. For bedtime, I followed much the same routine as last night, with similar results. Okay, that one's figured out – for now at least. We'll have to readjust once we get home, no doubt, but for now it works.

(Continue to 3 January: Transit Visa)

Meserete Kristos college

Saturday, 5 January 2008

This morning Poppet and Giggles both came to snuggle me in bed for a few minutes before we got up. That was nice.

We'd barely finished breakfast and brushing teeth when the driver, Tadeus, showed up for our day's excursion to Debre Zayit. The Meserete Kristos (Ethiopian Mennonite) church has a theological college there, and today was graduation day. The fellow in charge of fundraising is one of our contacts from Canada (a friend of a friend) whom we had met at the Evangelical church and the Menno potluck on Dec 23rd.

Our departure from Addis was slightly delayed because the driver had to go to Meskal Square first and obtain a "transmission paper" for the vehicle. This was one of several small signs we've noticed that Ethiopia is still a tightly controlled, if no longer communist, state. People appear to be watched and controlled more than we're used to, and movements not as free.

Once we were really on our way, the drive was pleasant and not too long. We saw no camels today. We reached Debre Zayit in good time, and found the turn-off to the college with only a little difficulty. By the time we arrived shortly before 10:00, the graduation ceremonies had already started. We were ushered to choice seats near the front, from which we had a good view of the proceedings. Much of the event was conducted in Amharic, with just two speeches in English, but we also enjoyed the choir singing at the beginning and the celebratory aspect of the graduation parade. About 40 or 50 individuals received diplomas, and another 10 or 15 Bachelor of Arts or Theology degrees. Most of them were men, but a few women crossed the platform too.

The proceedings went on a bit long for the kids, who got a bit antsy after an hour and a half. We had brought a few things for them to play with, but even so it is hard to play quietly after such a long time, especially when it was preceded by an almost two-hour long van ride. But they coped (and so did we) and finally it was all over, just a little after noon. We proceeded to the next building for munchies.
After some time spent getting pictures taken with various grads, our friends took us on a tour of the campus.

The Meserete Kristos college is located on a lovely campus, about 3 or 4 km northeast of town. They moved onto this campus about a year ago, so all the buildings are new. Most of the work (90%) has been financed by overseas donors from the US, Canada and Europe. The main building is a five-storey red-brick building with an interesting exterior staircase.

The ground floor is open; that is where today's graduation ceremonies were held; in the future the plans are to turn it into a library (once the container with some 10,000+ donated volumes has been received from where it currently sits in port in Djibouti). The upper floors house offices, classrooms, and a few rooms where students live. They do not yet have the capacity to house many students on campus, but plans are to build two dormitories, one for men and one for women, each capable of housing 200 students. (Fundraising has already begun for these projects, and it is expected that construction will be completed within a year or two.)

Beside the main building are two long single-storey buildings. The one nearest the main building is a dining hall; it currently doubles as a chapel. It is a single open area, with brick walls, concrete floor, a tin roof, and openings near the top for fresh air to blow through (necessary during the hot months). We saw a pigeon nesting atop one of the walls; birds in the room can be a problem as they come to eat the scraps off the floor, then perch on the chairs and do their business.

The second building, a mere three metres away from the first, houses the kitchens. One room is just for preparing injera.

We saw several vats of fermenting batter, two or three large pans for cooking the injera, and a few piles of cooked injera waiting to be served. Pleasant aromas wafted from the second room, which was the main food preparation area. It houses a basic storage shelf, and some washing areas. Two women were at work preparing the day's wat. Most of the work is done on the floor.

Our friend said, even if you build cupboards and counters, they still work on the floor. That is what they are accustomed to, even though it means a lot of squatting and lifting heavy containers around with bent backs. (But they do intend to build some cupboards anyhow, for storage if not for working on, once the container of donated tools is released from Djibouti. They even have a workshop building in which to do the work, and several skilled people capable of doing it.) The third kitchen room appeared to be a mix of preparation and wash-up. It contained a single refrigerator, a single gas stove, and a set of sinks.

The washroom facilities were in a separate building in a corner of the campus, not far from the dining hall and kitchens. This seems to be standard practice in Ethiopia, to have washrooms separated from dining and kitchen areas, at least in public places. Every single restaurant we've eaten in has had washrooms a short walk across a courtyard or down an outdoor corridor. In a mild climate like this, it's quite feasible, and I suppose the separation helps somewhat with sanitation. Many of the washrooms have a common sink for handwashing situated in the open air.

A short distance from the kitchens, a guesthouse is under construction, to house visiting lecturers (often from the US or Canada). It will contain six bachelor rooms, each equipped with a bed, desk, and private bathroom, and two family suites, plus a common room with a television and space for relaxation and games.

The area is apparently quite fertile, and next door to a rainy season lake. During rainy season, we were told, the entire lowland fields on the other side of the main road becomes a shallow lake. After the rains, as the water evaporates and soaks into the ground, the remaining water is used to irrigate nearby fields for growing vegetables. Once the lake has completely dried up, the farmers plant chickpeas on the lakebed, as these require very little rainfall to grow and can thrive on the moisture retained in the soil.

The college has a good well and a good-sized garden plot where they were able to grow most of the vegetables they needed this past year, irrigating as necessary. Water piping has been run around the campus perimeter, so as they build each building will be able to hook into the water supply quite easily.

As we took this tour, Giggles and Poppet were very happy to be free to run around wildly, pet the kitty found under the kitchens (cats and kitchen seem to go together here), and just let off steam. Poppet likes to do everything Giggles does, which at times pleases her and at times bugs her to distraction. He studiously repeats words and phrases he hears, mostly with little understanding – he's just trying the words on for size – but he's starting to pick up a few things, in addition to the few words he learned at the Transition Home (one of which was "toilet" – an essential word!).

We were very pleased to have attended the graduation and seen the campus. Our friends had another engagement at 2:00, so couldn't spend more time with us, but pointed out the way to the top of hill behind the campus, from which one has a view of one of the region's many volcanic lakes, and recruited one of the students to make sure we found the right path. Our driver took us partway there and parked under the shade of shola tree, amidst a herd of cows and sheep and next the lounging herders. Giggles and Poppet immediately oohed and aahed over the little lambs. They might have tried to pet them, but a few big cows with pointy horns were standing close by, which acted as a deterrent.

The way led us first across a field of teff stubble. Then it grew steeper as we reached the place where the old volcanic cone peaked. Here grew thorn bushes, taller grasses, and larger shrubs. The student led us along the narrow path up the hill until we went over a little rise and saw the lake spreading out below – a lovely blue-green lake nestled in the old volcanic crater, surrounded by steep slopes dotted with trees and shrubs.

We saw evidence of hyenas (scat), and two beautiful blue and green birds swooping over the cliff edge. We sat there for a while, drinking in the view, then headed back down.

By now it was high time for lunch. Our driver took us to the Dreamland restaurant, the same place we'd eaten at on our way back from the southern tour. Service was slow today, desptie there not being nearly as many customers as a week ago. But the food finally came and it was good.

Then home again. Poppet, Laoye and I mostly slept on the way home. Once home we freshened up, then walked down to Bole Road to pick up a few things (bananas and buns) and for an icecream treat. (I hope Poppet doesn't start to think that icecream is a daily occurrence all the time!) I nipped into the internet café, but it was busy with a few people already waiting in line, so decided to try again tomrrow.

Then back home for a light supper of fruit, tea, and leftovers, and a bit of TV and bed.

(Continue to Meserete Kristos church)