Marley

In an earlier post I mentioned that we have 2 dogs living outside our gate.  Unfortunately, the puppy, Marley, was attacked by something a few days ago.  Yesterday, his head was swollen on one side and he couldn't hold it up straight.  Today, both sides of his face are all puffy.  He is still walking up to us and wagging his tail, but it doesn't look good.  If you are the praying type, I would really appreciate it if you could send up a prayer for him.  Otherwise, if you could just send him good vibes that would be great.  I'm very heartbroken over this.  I realize it's a little silly to be this concerned over a street dog in a country where so many people are dying, but Marley is part of my Ethiopian family here.  I will keep you all updated.

Arts and Crafts

  I have started a new volunteer schedule at Little Ahope, and one thing we are doing lots of is Arts and Crafts!  I am not very experienced in this area (it's been a loooong time since I was 5), but thankfully I am working with a school social worker, plus we have an arts and crafts book.

  On Friday, I came up with the idea of making paper crowns.  We had so much fun!  I cut the crowns out of construction paper ahead of time and then we let the kids color whatever they wanted on them.  They all loved it and looked super cute!  We took some great pictures that I can't wait to show you at home :).

  One song that the kids love to sing here is the itsy bitsy spider.  They can sing it in both English and Amharic (the Amharic version has a different tune).  Tiffany came up with the great idea of making spiders out of construction paper (we have A LOT of this here).  This was another project that the kids loved! 

  We already have a few ideas planned for the next couple of weeks that will hopefully turn out great!

Bazaar!

  It is hard to believe, but up until last Saturday I had not gone shopping since being in Ethiopia.  I certainly made up for it though!!!  On Saturday, a bazaar held by numerous NGO's was held here in Addis.  They all had booths set up in the courtyard of a church and were displaying numerous handicrafts such as quilts, woven bags, table cloths, jewellry, coffee pots, and many other things.  I was able to get some great gifts as well as souvenirs for myself. 

  Some of the NGO's helped with leprosey, helping women escape poverty, and helping orphans.  It was so nice to be able to shop for a cause!!!

Gladney Part 2

  This post is not well written, but these are my honest thoughts...

  Last Friday, I was fortunate enough to spend the day with Gladney's In-country rep.  He offered to show me around the 3 Government orphanages here in Addis.  These orphanages are not run by Gladney, but they show them to their adoptive families.

  The first orphanage we visited was Kolfe.  This is where the older boys live.  They can stay until they are 21 as long as they are in school.  I had heard a great deal about Kolfe before I left home, so I was very excited to have the chance to see this place myself.  We were unable to spend a great amount of time with the boys, but they all were very polite.  Of the 3 places we went to, Kolfe was probably the most depressing.  Their cafeteria has no table or chairs.  The kitchen was extremely small and simple.  We were told that a couple of boys will share each twin size bunk bed.  I barely fit on one by myself.  I can't imagine living in a place like this.  Yet living on the street would be so much worse.  Gladney is the only adoption agency to show adoptive parents this orphanage.  I wish Kolfe could get more exposure. 

  Next up was Kebebtsehay orphanage.  This is where the younger boys and girls live.  All of the children were so excited to see us.  Every visitor had at least one child holding their hand.  Whenever we entered a bedroom (that would have at least 18 bunk beds per room), all of the children would swarm around us shouting, "You! You! Photo! Photo!"  They know that visitors take their pictures back home and this gives them a higher chance of being adopted.  I took pictures mainly to please the kids, but I was uncomfortable with the situation.  It is so tricky.  By taking pictures of the kids, they do have more exposure and yes, some kids will find homes.  On the other hand, when they start hamming it up for the camera, I begin to feel like they are a tourist attraction, when in reality they are children, no different from your kids at home.  We also saw the baby room at Kebebtsehay.  The good news is that most of these children (with the exception of those with special needs) will be adopted.  There were at least 25 cribs packed in a small room. 

  The final orphanage was Kechene, which is for older girls.  I thought this seemed like the nicest of the 3 we saw.  There is quite a bit of space and the surrounding land is very pretty.  The girls that we spoke with seemed very nice.

  This day really opened my eyes to how many children around the world are living.  I did not even realize how nice Ahope truly is until seeing the Government orphanages.  Ahope truly looks like a palace compared to them.  I am so thankful to Gladney for letting me tag along with their adoptive families on Friday.  This experience has given me a lot to think about.

Ethiopian Kiddieland

  Do all of you  Chicagoans remember Kiddieland?  Ethiopia has a smaller version of this little amusement park, Veeras, here in Addis.  Last Sunday, we took the Little Ahope kids to Veeras.  It was so much fun!  There is a ferris wheel, a huge slide, a couple of small rides, bumper cars, and a swing set.  It was really great to get the kids out of their daily routine for a little while.  They had a blast!
  This past year Tiffany's school raised money for an Ahope field trip, so we went back to Veeras on Wednesday with the Big Ahope kids.  They also had a great time!  They were all obsessed with my camera.  I let them walk around and take pictures, which they loved.  I ended up with some great shots :).  5 of the girls decided to do a photoshoot.  They are all so pretty!  For most of the day I just relaxed and watched the kids have fun, but I did get to drive a bumper car with E., a stunning girl.  When it was time to eat, Tiffany and I were shocked as each kid ate an entire pizza themselves!  That is one thing I have noticed here...Ethiopians sure can eat!  I haven't spent a whole lot of time with the older kids, so spending the day with them at an amusement park was a great icebreaker.
  Veeras was such a big success, that I am planning a couple of field trips myself.  I can't wait to tell you about them!

 
 

Home Sweet Home

Before coming to Ethiopia, I was nervous about my accommodation.
Ahope has a guest house for its volunteers, but I had no idea what to
expect. Honestly, I pictured really tiny rooms and a squat toilet.
Thankfully, the guest house is really nice! There are 2 bedrooms
with Queen beds, a small kitchen, a dining room, a living room, 2
western toilets, and a washing machine! We even have a satellite dish
and receive about 10 English channels on tv (by the way, MTV Arabia is
hilarious). The whole compound is gated and we have 3 guards that
keep an eye on things.
Behind the actual house are a few individual rooms. Last week the
3rd volunteer arrived, so I moved out of the house and in to one of
these rooms. My little room is actually pretty nice! It is maybe 8
ft. by 10 ft. and has a twin bed and a night stand. The only
negatives are that there really isn't any storage space (I live out of
my suitcase) and my window doesn't latch shut. We don't have window
screens and one time I saw a feral cat jump into an empty room. I now
duct tape my window shut each night.
Like I said, there are 3 volunteers living in the guest house.
Besides me, there is a social worker from Chicago and a teacher from
D.C. who spent 7 months volunteering here last year! Everyone gets
along really well! We also have 2 dogs that always sleep against our
gate. The older dog is very shaggy and has dreadlocks. We call him
Bob after Bob Marley. The second dog is a very hyper puppy that looks
similar to a yellow lab. We named him Marley to go along with Bob and
also after the movie Marley and Me.
Our housekeeper, Selam, comes every day to make us breakfast. She
makes amazing things like french toast, crepes, oats, and pizza (yes,
homemade pizza for breakfast). She also insists on doing our laundry,
scrubbing our shoes clean, and making our beds. She is very sweet. I
always try to speak a little Amharic with her. Selam also makes life
easier by filling buckets with water when we run out of it in the
house.
In speaking of which, we do not always have water and electricity.
We typically have electricity every other day. Whether or not we have
water depends on a few variables like electricity and how full our
water tank is. The longest we have gone without water so far is 3
days I think.
I didn't know what to expect, but I have been positively surprised
with my living arrangements. Ethiopia is beginning to feel like home
sweet home.

Amharic Mixup

Most people have a funny story or two about trying to learn a new
language. There are over 70 different languages spoken in Ethiopia,
but the most common language is Amharic. Right now I know and use
about 60 words.
Our housekeeper, Selam, is a really great cook. Anything she makes
for breakfast is amazing, but my favorite is her french toast. Selam
does not have an extensive English vocabulary, so each time she makes
french toast, I say "Gobez!" (excellent) or have her read, "Hats off
to the chef!" in my Amharic phrase book. I do this as a gentle way of
encouraging her to make it as often as possible. She often hugs me
and repeatedly says, "awadeshalo". I thought she was teaching me to
say "I love it."
Awadeshalo has been a word that I often use to describe various
things. The male social worker at Ahope often asks me if I like
Ethiopia or the food. I always reply, "Ow. Gobez. Awadeshalo" (Yes.
Excellent. I love it). He often looks at me funny, but I just ignore
that.
This past week I was talking with another volunteer when the subject
of amharic words entered the conversation. She has volunteered before
and knows a lot more Amharic than I do. She told me that Awadeshalo
means I love you when speaking to a female. So basically I have been
telling the male social worker, "I love you, girl".
Oops. I will be apologizing to him this week.