Happy Birthday MOM, I love you!

All smiles (before the burn)

sunset from the Quara hotel's rooftop restaurant on the eve of Meskel

Meskel Flowers

Amazing views from Mintwab's palace

My first African sunburn

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! I love you and miss you and can’t wait for your visit next month! Have the best day and enjoy your weekend in Chicago!

Meskel was a huge celebration. It seemed like everyone in Gondar was gathered in the Piazza to watch the ceremony. Tons of bright colors, extravagant umbrellas, gauzy garb, and the chanting continued. The religious service, song and dance and presentations were all in Amharic except for a brief mention in English of Montgomery County, MD, recognized for dubbing Gondar their sister city. After 3 hours of standing in the sun a huge cross made of sticks and flowers was finally lit on fire. There is some traditional lore as to which way the cross falls, similar to our ground hogs day. We left the scene of the excitement with lobster red faces and forearms. I’ve never seen a deeper V burned into Max’s chest, and he wasn’t even in a v-neck, rather a button down. We’re lathering with lotion and will never leave the house without our SPF again. We joined Fasil, our driver, and his mother and sister for lunch in their home. It was so kind of them to welcome us. His mother cooked chicken stew doro wat, rice, vegetables and injera. We sat around and drank tej and had a really nice time. It was so kind of them to open their doors to us. Fasil’s mother, Kanubish, works at the Goha Hotel and performs traditional coffee ceremonies for guests. We thought she looked familiar!

Meskel Celebration in Meskel Square, Gondar

The days are getting hotter. The rains are fewer and farther between. I think we’re about to bid farewell to this beautiful lush scenery and welcome the hues of brown. It’s very chilly at night though.

We came to school early this morning to see the flag raising and the children line up for class. It was in Amharic but I believe a student stood and read a poem, I could be totally wrong but it sounded nice. We have been sitting with Temesgen discussing our roles. We received teacher handbooks and textbooks. Excited to finalize our schedules which we will do on Monday. 

Meskel Celebration

The Meskel celebration is in full swing here in Gondar. Chants of “hoye hoye”, drum beats and horns can be heard all over town. There are large stick figure crosses decorated with the yellow Meskel flower that will be burned tomorrow afternoon. Tonight the festivities begin. Max and I broke fast at the Quara and were in for a treat as we witnessed a beautiful pink and orange sunset. We watched young boys dancing in the street and groups of men in traditional white cloths bang drums and chant. It is customary to give money to these groups when they come up to you, and we happily obliged. Tomorrow morning we will wake up early and head back to the Piazza to witness the burning of the crosses.

Life in Gondar is getting easier day by day. We have met with the school’s principal and introduced ourselves to Temesgen, the head of the English department. We sat with Habtamu, an English teacher, who would like to take us to eat raw meat and drink Tej, the local honey wine, with him tomorrow. I think we will fit in there and it’s good to learn their customs. We were given their calendar of school days and I sat and matched it with the Western calendar. (There are 30 days in every month and a 13^th month of 5-6 days depending on the leap year). Their biggest holiday is Timkat, or Epiphany, and that occurs in January. We are going to school on Friday to partake in the flag raising before class and then introduce ourselves to the teachers and classes we will be a part of.  

When we’re home, we entertain ourselves with episodes of The Wire.  Max downloaded the first two seasons and we’re on to the second already. We’re breezing through books too. I just started Shantaram and highly recommend Cutting for Stone.

I don’t think I wrote about our day with Manlio and Alemu. Manlio is the program director for Ethiopia and is based out of Rome. He was in town visiting with Alemu (from Addis) and two JDC staff from Israel, Danny and Sam. It was an eventful day, we began by visiting two wells outside of Gondar. It is neat to see the operation, the strategic placement, and then the implementation of these wells. We visited the Chilo Primary School out past Azezo and the airport. It was rainy and the dirt roads lent to a very bumpy ride out there. All of these projects are in place because of JDC donations, usually sponsored by a single person or family. The Chilo Primary School was a series of three buildings. We could see the initial classroom with a dirt floor built with slight mounds for the students to work on. Very little protection from rain or cold but if school is in session, the children will come. A second series of rooms had desks and chairs surrounded by dirt walls and floors and the newest installation is a building with tiled floors, plastered walls, windows and sturdy desks and benches. It was quite a treat to see the progression of these classrooms at this one school and to learn that every year the enrollment grows by over 50%. Most importantly, this school was donated by Max and his sisters after their visit to Gondar in 2008. JDC determined the best location, facilitated the work and implemented the Sandler’s generous donation in order to educate over 400 young children. We plan on being involved with the school directly. They will be receiving their first computer and we will assist in training the teachers.

We have a driver, Fasil, who is young and speaks English. He has been so wonderful with us, taking us any and everywhere and introducing us to his family. One day we woke up and said “we have no plans” and so he brought us to Kuskuam Church and Mintwab’s Palace. It was beautiful! He will drive us out to Simien Lodge in a couple of weeks. We are going to the Simien Mountains to celebrate Max’s birthday (October 8). We hope to make it back to Addis Ababa towards the end of October too. Once you stay at the Sheraton there, I’ll admit, it’s very hard not to want to return on a monthly basis (heated pool, large bathtubs, clean sheets!, an Indian and Italian restaurant and a breakfast buffet…) There also happens to be an NGO fair in Addis the last Saturday of every month and I’d like to see what that is all about.

All in all, things are good. I have to keep my head on straight and recognize that I will be here for a year, because I want to be, and so I will make the best of it. I’ll also divulge that having water the majority of the time makes a hell of a huge difference. Being here with my best friend helps too J

Miss you all and love hearing from you! Please keep me updated on what’s going on! We barely see the news, so a little current events on happenings in your life and around town would be a treat!!

L'Shana Tovah!

Rainbow over Gondar, on our walk to services

Max and I celebrated the Jewish New Year with Gondar's Jewish community. We attended services at the Jewish Agency's synagogue and celebrated at dinner with around 70 Israeli's, mostly volunteers and some travelers who were passing through. 

Rosh Hashanah services with Gondar's Jewish community

A very happy new year to you and yours! It's amazing to be able to cross an ocean and be connected to others with the same prayer, songs and rituals. 

Melkam Adis Amet (Happy New Year)

We celebrated the Ethiopian New Year in Addis Ababa. We visited the JSC Fellows who are stationed in Addis, Sam and Menachem, and friends from Rick's home. We finally witnessed traditional singing and dancing, wow, impressive. Max and I stayed at the Sheraton Addis and it was a little oasis, a very welcome change to our current electric, dirt and drainage problems.  Max woke early on Tuesday, Meskel 1, to witness the traditional sacrificial lamb slaughter at our friend, Bayelegn's house (while I entertained the hotel's breakfast buffet). From what I hear it was not much of a religious experience (well, maybe for Max) but rather the simple preparation of what would feed them and friends for the first day of their new year. 

Max and I decided to visit the Blue Nile Gorge and signed up with a tour guide who drove us out to the Gorge. The sights and sounds along the way were spectacular. Really, I have never seen anything so beautiful and expansive than the countryside in Ethiopia, it was truly stunning. We drove for over 3 hours and discovered every shade of blue in the sky, the patchwork of green on the ground and rolling hills interspersed with sharp cliffs and plateaus. Passing through interspersed towns where the main road seemed to be the epicenter of business. Donkeys, horses, goats, dogs sharing the road with pedestrians, shop keepers, shoe shines and automobiles. We happened to drive through a funeral where everyone was dressed in white, cries could be heard and there was a man clutching a framed photograph in obvious distress. A couple of cement factories and even a leather factory that looked out of place against the natural landscape.  

Lunch was atop a plateau where our views were obstructed by a massive rain squall. Once the rain cleared we were amazed at the view. We trekked down to a Portuguese bridge and discovered multiple massive waterfalls. Mostly dirt brown from the rain that had just passed and flowing with such force, the sound was awesome. We entertained a few monkeys with our attempt at "speaking their language". The babies were adorable, holding on to their mama's bellys or backs as they crossed the road. I contemplated the idea of running a small farm in the future, aloud, much to Max's amusement. You already know I want a piglet and have you seen a baby goat? Possibly the cutest creature on the planet. So, one day, I'd like to have a small farm next to my home where I can make my own jam, milk and maybe cheese and be surrounded by baby animals. I swear I haven't fallen off the deep end just yet but it'll be interesting to see what I come up with being given so much free time with my imagination.

All in all, Addis was a very nice trip. I'm amazed at the ease of planning such an excursion. We arrived at the airport at 6:45am Monday morning, bought our tickets at the counter and were on the 9am out (don't be fooled, we're 0/5 with actually departing at the scheduled time).

We are at the Lammergayer hotel (nearest the Fasilides school) because we are scheduled to meet with the Principal, Ayele, at 10am Ethiopian time (otherwise known as 4pm "your" time here).  I'll update you once we find out when we begin teaching. Upon hearing that classes would be over 60 children each, I'm eager to see how they facilitate this.

I have tons of great pictures from our Blue Nile adventure. If you don't already have but you'd like an invite to our dropbox folders please let me know and I'll be happy to send you one! The pictures take a very long time to upload here.

Residents of Gondar

I can’t believe Gondar has been home for an entire week already. It’s been good, we’ve seen a lot, met many people, learned some basic Amharic and can get ourselves to the Piazza. We’ve ridden in a minibus (for only 1birr a person), had a drink at the Dashen beer garden (fine, a few), purchased fresh garlic and onions on the streets of the Merkato, and been caught in a rain storm. The rains here are something out of a movie. They start around noon and don’t let up for hours.  Winds howl, thunder shakes the city, and the rain comes down with a vengeance, sometimes hail too. The town sort of stops during these bouts. People huddle under tin roofs and even find shelter beneath the massive trucks brought here by the Chinese to construct roads.  The rain is cold and turns the 2 main roads in the city into rivers.

We met Alicia and Liz (Florida Gator!), two Pediatric doctors who are here through a program with Baylor University. It is my understanding that it is co-sponsored by JDC. They are working at Gondar University’s Medical School in the pediatrics division. They train the teachers who will then teach pediatric medical students.  The rate of educated doctors who leave the country is astounding. There are more Ethiopian doctors in the metro DC area than the entire country of Ethiopia (I believe everything Dr. Hodes says so feel free to prove him/me wrong here…I’ve also lived in DC for years and would attest that he’s spot on).  We joined Alicia and Liz for dinner tonight at the Habesha Kitfo in the Piazza. It was a neat little restaurant, also home to an artist, Abenezer Mengistu, who’s work was pretty incredible and very reasonably priced by American standards. Dinner was fun, it’s very nice to connect with fellow Americans who are in similar positions with us and can relate to our tribulations. We live in the same neighborhood and Liz is without water as well.  Dinner discussion was lively and a bit of travelers health 101 for Max and me. They are definitely good friends to have nearby. Best part of the night was the bijaj ride back to our neighborhood. Bijaj’s (or Tuk Tuk’s as seen in India) are three wheeled motorized bikes essentially with a cart on them. Fit 5 of us including the driver comfortably and maneuvered these muddy rocky roads bravely (effortlessly on our part but the poor thing slowly huffed it’s way up the hills).

We remain without water. It was nice to spend last evening at the Florida (!) International Hotel and enjoy a hot shower (I’ll speak for myself because I used all the hot water, sorry Max). It is the newest hotel in Gonder and the pool and gym facility they are building has been in the same stage since they broke ground, but hopefully it’ll be completed in enough time for us to enjoy them.

We are attempting to spend our free time before school starts by traveling to Addis (would be nice to celebrate the New Year, September 11, with our friends there) or Bahir Dar (we need malaria meds and Alicia and Liz offered some from their supply) but we have yet to get clearance from the higher ups, so we hope we’ll have enough time to make arrangements.

The rain keeps coming, the dogs keep barking and the mosquitoes keep biting but all in all we’re happy and making the best of our time here.

Selamnu Gondar

Selamnu! We arrived in Gondar and set up our new home. It's beautiful (it belonged to a Doctor who was friendly with JDC and sold it to them when he left town) with an amazing view of the mountain side. We have two dogs, Sophie and Lilly, super cute smaller dogs. They're considered guard dogs, they're not allowed inside. Apparently, people are somewhat afraid of dogs, any size. Our first night was uneventful. We bought a kilo of coffee bean for her and she rinsed, roasted, crushed and boiled it into coffee. We had coffee (buna) with our housemaid, Asmara. She said it was our welcoming coffee ceremony (well, we said that, she shook her head yes), how nice. The coffee is good! We tried to leave to get some water but our security guard spoke no English and convinced us to stay inside by showing us his AK47. He was nice enough to share some of his water with us. We only realized today that he was being very friendly and sharing his personal supply with us, which is from a spigot in the yard, not something we should be drinking. But, we’re fine! We were exhausted and went to sleep early. 

It is now Tuesday evening and Max and I walked ourselves to the Kino Hotel nearby. Free wi-fi, cold beer, Adele, NSync and Britney Spears on the loudspeakers. We’ll be able to walk over here for internet as it is very close to our house. Otherwise, once we start working at the Fasilides school, the Lammergayer Hotel is nearby and a popular lunch spot for teachers, so we may be online more often.

We started our morning with incredibly frigid showers. We met our other security guard, Zelalem… who speaks more English than the one we met last night. We went to JDC’s clinic and met up with Menachem. We toured the grounds, it was a very quiet day there which I suppose is a good thing. It is an incredibly impressive site. We visited the construction site of a new technology and science center down the road. Fully funded by a Jewish donor (more info to come on this). Apparently, we’ll have the opportunity to be involved, possibly teaching students to use computers there. Construction overall in this area is booming. Everywhere you turn there is scaffolding (would be shut down in seconds in America, scary) made of wood sticks.  Men and women working side by side and speedily. The center will be done 2 months ahead of schedule, a total of 10 months (also something you don’t really see in America).  The development here is astounding.

We traveled to Goha Hotel for a wonderful view of the city and mountains surrounding Gondar. They are building a new pool themselves. We were met with a few obstacles on our way as the Chinese, who are here to build roads, were blasting dynamite.  This is where JDC houses visitors, so we will definitely return soon.

Enjoyed lunch at Lemmergayer Hotel which is nearby Fasiledes school where we will be teaching. We will likely have lunch here on school days and will be sure to bring our computers to take advantage of their wi-fi which is totally accepted and popular with tourists and visitors alike (SO unlike America. We learned firsthand after traveling cross country and being prompted to pay $15 for 20 minutes, ehem Intercontinental in San Fran). Menachem joined us for lunch and convinced me to try a new dish, Siga, and I loved it. We also enjoyed a coffee and tea spriss, which means mixture.

Afterwards, we met the Principal of Fasilides Secondary School. It was bustling with students eager to register for classes. He informed us that we would likely be teaching a class of 60! This is due to unfinished construction and therefore, they don’t have enough room so they cram the classes. We are going to meet with him in a weeks time, after their new year (September 11) to discuss our role further. Max and I have been brainstorming some things such as establishing pen pals in America to help the Ethiopian kids with their English.

We then traveled up to Fasilides castles. Our tour guide gave us a comprehensive history lesson and took us to the bathing pool that is only filled for Epiphany, Timkat, January 19-21. He also guided us through Debre Birhan Selassie Church, built in the 17^th century, which was stunning, really so impressive. “When the Mahdist Dervishes of the Sudan sacked the city of Gondar in 1888, they burned down every church in the city except Debre Birhan Selassie. According to local legend, when the Mahdist soldiers approached the church, a swarm of bees decended on the compound of the church and kept the soldiers back, and the Archangel Michael himself stood before the large wooden gates with a flaming sword drawn.”

Anyway, our first day was great. It’s still the rainy season but we didn’t feel a drop today. It was perfectly sunny and warm. Max and I are having the best time taking it all in. Don’t expect these huge blog posts every day and thanks for getting all the way down here. Just have to share every detail until you start learning Amharic with me. Also, everyone’s name means something here. We haven’t been asked for what ours means yet but we’ll be sure to come up with someone great. But they have their more common Bob’s and Emily’s too, they’re just not as easy to pronounce. A little girl in Rick’s home thought my name was the name in Twilight, Isabella. No, it’s not but they can’t really pronounce Elizabeth and prefer Liz, so I can deal with one more year of Liz.

If you’d like an idea of how much $ I’ll be spending this year, please check here and prepare to be jealous: http://coinmill.com/ETB_USD.html#ETB=100

Ciao!

(let me know if you want an invite to view our Dropbox photos!)

We're on African time

The rain started early today. We woke at 5am and met Alemu, program director in Addis, to accompany us to Gondar. We were introduced to Yossi, security guard for JAFI in Gondar. I think he'll be a great resource for us. He mentioned that 30 Israelis would be in Gondar soon for a 3 month volunteer program and he'd introduce us. We board the prop plane in the pouring rain. Scheduled departure is 7:00am. Mechanical difficulty has delayed the flight, we deplane antard turn to the airport building. It's 9:50am and we have yet to reboard. I am at ease having Alemu and Yossi by our side. They're translating and making sure we're in the right place. We'll make it to Gondar soon enough, we're not worried, we're on African time.

Melkam Ken!

Good day! and good news too, they have our bags at the airport! Thank goodness, Max can finally get a fresh pair of clothes, we're all thrilled.

With Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's funeral processional happening just down the street, most roads and shops are closed down for the better part of the morning. We can hear chanting and the gun shots prior to his burial from our hotel room. You need a special pass and invitation in order to attend so we didn't attempt to get a glimpse. There is heightened security and military people in blue camo on every street corner. Instead, we went over to Rick's house nearby. We were greeted by the friendliest and dare I say cutest security guard dogs. They're not used to physical affection so they loved us paying them attention.

Max has new best friends

We sat around the tv and watched the funeral with some of the kids who were home. Rick's home is warm and welcoming. Doors and windows open, everyone welcome.

The city stopped to watched PM Meles Zenawi's funeral today

We walked over to Bialen's new home with a group of amazing people. All past or present patients, good friends, or assistants to Rick. Bialen is very proud of his new home. Max is thrilled to keep learning that everyone's favorite team is Manchester United. We knew they liked soccer but who knew ManU would be their team and Rooney their player?! Max is immediately welcomed like family once the connection is made. Our visit was cut short as the rain came in and we walked down the way to find one of few places open for lunch. We sat with Bialen, Menachem and Antenay while sipping ginger tea (me) and a cocoa cappuccino (Max) and sharing fresh bread and jam. Max and I got a thorough Amharic lesson that we jotted on paper, we're learning slowly. It's wonderful to be welcomed so warmly by everyone. A friend of Rick is a friend of his children is a friend of everyone we have met thus far.

Max with Bialen and friends

Elizabeth with friends at Bialen's new home

Sights in Addis

Ferengi's in Addis

Our first day was eventful. Sam and Tzedeke met as at the hotel and introduced us to Menachem and Bialen. Tzedeke is a JDC employee, he is from Addis, attended University here and has never left the country. Menachem is the other Fellow in Addis who has been here for 3 months, working directly with Dr. Rick Hodes. Bialen is Ethiopian and assists Dr. Rick. He has the warmest smile that never leaves his face.  

We headed out to the Mercato with our driver, Alemu (constantly makes me think of my best friend, Al Lem). I was pleasantly surprised by the good smells that filled the air. They hit us unexpectedly during our ride and throughout the Mercato and none were offensive. I am impressed with the beautiful colors here. It may be a fence around the highway or rope hanging from a shop but all in bright colors. Nothing matches, nothing coordinates, just splashes of color everywhere. I was shocked by the unstable, rocky roads winding through the market where we walked along with cars going in every which direction, no stop lights or order to the mess. The Mercato is huge, you head to one area for car parts, another for spices, another for housewares... Habesha's carrying enormous boxes piled high or mattresses on their head from one place to the next. 

Overwhelmed with the smells, color and sounds of the Mercato we piled back in the car and were off to the CURE clinic to visit Dr. Rick. He is everything I could have imagined. A true miracle worker. He has a way about him that puts his patients at ease. Everyone is happy to be seeing Dr. Rick even with their own life on the line. It is awe inspiring to see the work he does first hand. Max and I were invited to sit in clinic with him while he attended patients. A little girl came in, Imami, with scoliosis. She was a huge fan of Max’s which didn’t surprise me a bit, he has a way with kids. She didn’t stop giggling and smiling as Dr. Rick took her picture with all of us around. Someone in her position is then nominated by Dr. Rick to travel to Ghana to be elected for surgery there. Reminded me of, although was vastly different from, my days working with orthopedic spine surgeon, Dr. Goldsmith in Chevy Chase, Maryland. 

The afternoon rain was rolling in as we drove up the mountain to Entoto. I hope to return there soon. The steep climb lent it's way to mystical looking trees with exposed roots, women running down hill with large amounts of fire wood on their back and donkeys returning home alone along a well traveled route. It began to pour and Alemu drove down the mountain to bring us back to the hotel.

First experience with an awful smell. We sat in horrendous traffic while Alemu maneuvered his way back to our hotel. The thick black fumes from the other cars can choke you. The roads were so bad because the city is shutting down for Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s funeral tomorrow. It was very interesting to hear what a certain local thought of the government here but we’ll have to chat offline about that.

Max and I rest up a bit and met Sam and Menachem in our lobby for dinner. I tried the local Axumite sweet wine and Max had the popular St. George’s beer. I mean, what can I say but it’ll do for a year J. We walked to an Italian restaurant and had delicious brick oven pizza. The last time I had pizza twice in one day had to have been in college. Max broke his trend of tibs and went for a pizza too. We figure we’ll have our fill of Ethiopian food in Gondar.

In orientation we had to say how we felt in one word and mine is still excited but I have to add "in awe" too.