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
Then back home for a light supper of fruit, tea, and leftovers, and a bit of TV and bed.
(Continue to Meserete Kristos church)
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