Timket

Well, it’s the eve of Timket and we’re in for a night full of banging drums, traditional chants, hooting, hollering and a vuvuzela sounding horn. Max and I woke up and ran on the track at Gonder University. We got to four laps before keeling over and actually felt good about it since last time that came after 3. We walked to the clinic and finished up a project we’re working on. We’re analyzing the month of October last year and how many patients visited, how many returned more than once and why. The numbers of patients at the clinic should be decreasing as more Ethiopian Jews depart for Israel but we noticed that the number of visits remains about the same. Anyway, it ended up being a bigger undertaking than we expected….you think your Doctor’s handwriting is bad in America, wait until you’re reading it from someone whose first language uses a different alphabet. We created a few new words to add to the list of diagnosis but we’re still working on the important part and will be done soon.

This past week a group from the University of Maryland visited. It was an Alternative Break trip for 20 university students. Turned out being 17 ladies and 3 men, great odds (Evan, you’re a great trip leader..hint, hint, nudge, nudge). It was a truly great group of people. So eager to learn, get their hands dirty, full of energy and asked thought provoking questions. We spent three days with the group doing hard labor and constructing a school nearby the Falasha Mura village in Wollej. The progress was remarkable, the library had four walls by the time of our departure. Every person raised their hand when we asked if they’d be interested in the Jewish Service Corps in the future. They were so intrigued by what Max and I are doing here, it is very refreshing to be reminded of our impact on the Ethiopian community. They also were very generous to donate whatever leftovers they had at the end of our trip and we are happy to have a fully stocked snack drawer. We were able to donate all of their clothing and shoes to our guards, housemaid and driver. Our guard was near tears, he couldn’t stop thanking us for his new pair of sneakers and he was so happy to have something for his three daughters. Our driver went home to drop off his bag of goodies and when we saw him next he was completely outfitted in new hand-me-downs, head to toe! A little bit can go a long way and when Max and I depart we’ll be sure to leave our “extras” after seeing how grateful someone can be over a used pair of sneakers!

Next week our students take their finals for the first semester. I can’t believe it will be second semester when we return to class! The week after their finals is a semester break. Therefore, Max and I were able to book a flight to Axum on Monday and Lalibela on Wednesday, we will spend two nights in each and return Friday morning. We will be in Gondar for a Federation group from New York’s visit and then depart for a weekend in Addis Ababa. Looking forward to faster Internet and some alternatives to Ethiopian cuisine!

I was reminded today of a visit we took to a hand dug well in rural Gondar, Azaycaw. The mother, elder Ethiopian women are referred to as “mother”, squeezed my boob and asked, “how many baby?” I thought that was worth sharing. Today, we were sitting at Fasilides baths which are now full to the brim in preparation for the Timket celebration tomorrow when priests bless the water and everyone jumps in. A young girl sat next to me and asked my name, as other white visitors passed by she asked what their names were too. I told her I didn’t know them. She gave me the most confused look. Hated to disappoint her, I know we’re all white but sorry, I don’t know their names. They weren’t even speaking English. Lots of visitors in town so we aren’t the only ferenji! Max made an interesting point last week, no matter how long we stay here or how hard we try to make Gondar our home or how many children of the community we teach, we’ll never be treated like locals, we are just too white for that.

Will be sure to add photos after tomorrow's festivities!

Building Narchecha

This is a report I wrote for our project director who suggested I interview the Principal and community members of Narchecha Primary School. Two months ago the JDC Young Professional trip spent two days helping construct a new set of classrooms. 

Two hours past Gondar’s city center, on unpaved, rocky roads through rural Ethiopia, you come upon a small school called Narchecha.

I met with the Principal of the Narchecha School. He greeted me with a huge smile and took my hand in both of his and didn’t let go for a while. He led me past the older school buildings and finally up to the newly constructed classrooms. His eyes lit up when he spoke about the JDC group of young professionals who spent two days assisting in the construction. He told me that people in the village came to see what all the commotion was and when they realized it was foreigners taking on the role of construction workers, they were stunned. The villagers were honored to have had the time and attention of people who they recognize traveled very far to help their small town. The principal explained that JDC’s presence re-instilled a sense of community service and volunteerism. Since the JDC Young Professional’s arrival, 112 community members have come to participate and lend a hand in completing the construction of the school, without pay. “We, living here, we take even more care of this building” the Principal continued, “They taught us something, they teach us about working together”.

A new school building is something wonderful in itself. Being recognized by the international community as a village that has potential and deserves a new schoolhouse is a huge honor. It helps reinforce the importance of education and is a loud international cheer to support them in their struggle for a better future.

There will be upwards of 100 new students enrolling in Narchecha this upcoming school year. We created somewhat of a local celebrity in school buildings and everyone wants to sign up where the Westerners helped put brick to mortar. The villagers want to be part of the foundation we have created with our bare hands. They want a closer connection to the white people who spent two days of their vacation in a small village, rarely seen by the outside world and worked with their bare hands to build something that will stay with these people for a lifetime. Narchecha now knows the name of JDC, The Principal said, “We will always know. They are always welcome here”. The Principal extended an invitation from the community to join them for a big coffee ceremony to thank the young professionals for their hard work and immeasurable impact. We respectfully declined and asked that he continue to mobilize children to attend class and share the importance of education with others; that will be our reward.

Long after the paint dries, the story of the ferenjis from JDC who worked on this village school will continue and the education it provides for Narchecha students will live on for many lifetimes. 

The Principal of Narchecha

South African travels

Max and I traveled to South Africa in order to renew our Ethiopian visas. Mission accomplished and we’ve since returned to Gondar. South Africa was wonderful, I highly recommend it to anyone considering a visit.

We flew directly from Addis to Johannesburg where we stayed overnight before taking a small 9 seater plane to Sabi Sands’ private landing strip. We spent 3 nights and 4 days on safari at Earth Lodge. Early wake up calls at 5:30am for morning safari. We’d have coffee and a muffin and leave for a three hour ride into the bush. We saw elephant, giraffe, water buffalo, kudu and springbok. One night we followed a pride of lions walking through the brush. Since it is a private game reserve our driver, Andrew, took us off road in order to follow them on their way. We watched them for quite a while before they crossed over the border into Kruger National Park where it is off limits to off road. The Land Rover Defender that they drove us around in is quite an impressive vehicle, trees couldn’t even stop us. That night ended with a major rain and thunderstorm as we made our way back to the lodge. Max and I have never laughed so hard as we hung on tightly in the last row of seats being bounced around as Andrew sped us to safety. We were completely soaked and there was nothing we could do but laugh. The food was incredible and never ending. Snacks in the morning, tea and coffee on the ride, breakfast upon our return…lunch in the afternoon, a cocktail on the evening ride and then dinner! On our final evening the resort arranged for us to have dinner in their wine cellar. It was a nice surprise and very romantic.

We departed the resort and headed to Johannesburg for another night.

We stayed at a really great hotel, The Westcliffe. It had a beautiful restaurant and fun little bar with a horse and jockey theme overlooking an enormous pool that overlooked the entire city. We didn’t spend much time there as we wanted to see more of Johannesburg. Max and I paid our taxi driver to take us through Soweto where we visited Nelson Mandela’s home and the Apartheid museum and then stopped by the soccer stadium that hosted the World Cup in 2010.

It is a very industrial city, I think we saw enough but I’m sure we could have kept ourselves busy for longer. The traffic there is worse than DC.

Now, finally to Cape Town. It is unlike the rest of Africa, everyone speaks English (and Afrikaans), sidewalk cafes line the streets, nightclubs pump loud music to all hours of the night, runners and hikers everywhere, a lot of tourists and bronzed beach babes. The food

was delicious and endless; we ate a lot of seafood and sushi.

Beautiful sunsets that we watched from all over town. Max and arrived and stayed at the 12 Apostles hotel. It is named for the mountain range that the popular Table Mountain is a part of. It was set back in the hills with a great view of the ocean, a really beautiful hotel, decorations reminded me of Palm Beach. Max surprised me with a sunset massage in a private cabana overlooking the ocean, it was the best! We continued the birthday celebration with dinner at a restaurant called The Test Kitchen. Tasting menu was the best we’ve had yet and we had a great view of the action in the kitchen. Thanks to Max, I have to say, my 27th birthday was incredibly memorable and special! The second day we were there we went on an adventure and traveled to Gansbaii where we set off into the chilly waters (50˚ F) of the Atlantic Ocean to cage dive with sharks. We met some funky people on the ride out there who offered some good suggestions for nightlife. Everyone seemed to bond once we were on the boat. The seas were rough that day, my friend, but we only traveled 15 minutes offshore to the place where they set the cage in the water. We dressed in our wetsuits which were totally necessary for the cold water and far too tight from our eating extravaganza. 5 people to the cage and we pulled ourselves under only when the captain yelled “shark”. It was very cool. The sharks were very timid, not nearly as wild as you see on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. We were, however, only a few kilometers from seal island where most of Shark Week is filmed due to the high number of seals. It was off-season though and within minutes there was a shark circling the boat. The deck hands threw tuna heads as bait and dragged it in front of the cage for the best viewing. We found that the best sight was actually from the boat. When we were done with our turn we sat on top of the boat and watched the action from the top. Max rented an underwater camera and we snapped away. We both went in 3 times although it seemed to get colder and colder. Quite the exciting day.

We had a 2 hour ride back to the hotel and ate the most delicious seafood platter at Azure, the hotel’s restaurant. Needless to say, we slept really well that night.

Our second hotel while in Cape Town was the Cape Grace, recommended by The Dylan Sandler herself. On the V&A waterfront (Queen Victoria & Alfred, her son, not her husband) it was in a great location. We walked to and from the waterfront easily and enjoyed testing all the restaurants, having a drink at the watering hole, Mitchell’s, and shopping in the very nice and surprisingly large mall there. The hotel was great. There is a small bar downstairs called The Bascule where you can sit on the docks and watch the enormous yachts park for the evening and it’s great for seal spotting, they come and rest on the ends of the dock. The buffet breakfast every morning was incredible too, clearly worth a mention. We did the hop on hop off bus the day we arrived there so that we could get a better idea of our surroundings.

We sat on top for the best view and hopped off at the cable car for Table Mountain and were able to get to the top without a wait. We spent some time up there, it’s completely flat! Great views in every direction. We saw the “tablecloth” of clouds that encroaches on the summit. We hopped back on the bus and traveled all the way down to Camps Bay and back around to the waterfront. We knew we wanted to return to Camps Bay after catching a glimpse. Lots of beach, lots of sun and looked like lots of fun. Needless to say, we were sunburned by the end of this day.

After our stay at the Cape Grace, we checked into the Adderley hotel which is where our extended stay began. It was surprisingly very nice, great budget hotel right off of Long Street in the Central Business District. We took a day trip to wine country, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. It was beautiful, we drove through Paarl mainly for the Dutch architecture, stopped for lunch at La Petit Ferme with a great view of the valley, tasted wine at Delaire, also stunning and finally had dinner at Tokara. It was a wonderful day full of great scenery and delicious wine. Max and I started drinking white because it was so hot and became fans instantly. We brought a few bottles back with us since bringing your own bottle to dinner and paying a corkage fee is very common throughout the Cape.

We rented chairs and umbrellas and sat on the beach one day. We visited the Gardens where a street fair took place leading up to Christmas. We stopped into a few museums, the Holocaust one was particularly special, done very nicely. We discovered The Bay Hotel’s Sandy B pool club with large floating chairs in their pool. We did this a couple of times and met a very nice woman, Danielle and her mom, who had some more great suggestions for us. Danielle invited us to join her on a car ride up to Chapman’s peak, an incredible drive, twisting and turning through the mountains. We stopped in Llandudno to check out the beach, Chapman’s Peak to check out the view and Simons Town to see the penguins at Boulder Beach. We were very lucky to have met her, she was great and it was a fun day of sightseeing. The beaches on Boxing Day were packed to the brim, you couldn’t see sand anywhere, just umbrella after towel after beach chair after body. The traffic was crazy so we didn’t stop in the smaller towns but we got a flavor for them. We climbed lion’s head mountain one evening with Danielle and her mom and a few others we had met at The Bay Hotel.

Many people had suggested it, they said it was an hour drive and an incredible view of the sunset. We were not expecting that kind of physical activity and huffed and puffed our way up the darn thing.

Some parts were only passable by chain or ladder! Very relieved to make it to the top and very worth the sunset. We were sore for three days after.

We had an incredible time in South Africa. I have a huge list of recommendations for anyone interested. It was a long day of traveling back to Ethiopia but we are happy to be back. We started teaching on Wednesday and everyone greeted us with “Welcome to Gondar” as though we had never been, but we soon realized that they meant “welcome back”. It was good to see our students and all the teachers, really, everyone said they missed us and were happy to see us. One teacher said, “I homesick you” which we also figured meant “I missed you”. Our good teacher friend, Habtamu, won’t stop telling us “You are fat!” which we know is a compliment here and although I tried explaining to him, “It’s actually an insult to Americans” he says, “No, but really, you are FAT!” Figures, we ate reallllly well while we were away for 3 weeks! We have some walking to do and we’ve already started. It’s very chilly in the mornings and at night nowadays but people assure us it gets very hot after Timket/Epiphany which is January 19.

I return to Gondar with more determination and a clearer understanding of my purpose and mission. I needed to step away to realize that what I am doing is not easy and it is okay to struggle at times but that overall, I am only here for one year, I want to make as much of a difference as I can, affect change in as many people as possible and maybe most importantly, in myself.