Leilani, Master Self-entertainer

November 5^th, 2007

“And here we have Suzy Q, the best bowler in the land this year. Her technique is quite unique, but it works for her. She hops and she skips and we have a strike ladies and gentlemen!” Yes, Kate and I bowled yesterday. We set up 10 empty water bottles as bowling pins in the hallway and used the soccer ball to bowl them over. We commentated on each other’s bowling and made up silly stories about each other like the one above. It was almost like a real sports event, only we were in a dark hallway in which there were spider webs and other things that I’m glad I could not see at the end of it. One of the bowlers even had a prosthetic arm. We experimented with different bowling techniques. Yes, we have become masters of self-entertainment. We even made playing cards out of paper and played rummy.

Before we entertained ourselves we had personal devotions and did a lot of homework. It was a very relaxing but productive day. Tanagne made us a very good lunch with chicken, which was amazing because we had requested it and had been craving it. It was nice not having anyone around to tell us to eat more, more! The men were in Nekemt all day. We kicked the soccer ball around for a while but the bees kept dive-bombing us. So we gave up. That’s one of the downfalls of our compound – the bees. There are a few hives and during the day you can always see the bees diving around and you can hear them buzzing from far off. It’s rather daunting. Since one of the hives is in the entryway to the office, Kate and I avoid going to the office during the day at all costs. Many of the men have gotten stung (or as they call it, ‘bitten’), sometimes more than one time in a day, but we have successfully avoided it so far. Every time bees come around, I become as still as possible and they eventually go away.

Matthewos returned from Nekemt with a man named Dereje whom we had met in Nekemt previously, the new driver named Alamo, and most surprisingly, his wife Gadise. She is a very beautiful woman and she is super sweet. Her English is really good too. She will stay until Matthnewos leaves for Addis on Wednesday. She had missed him very much. I’m glad she came.

On my way to school this morning my clothes stayed on, so that’s a blessing. Ha. Kate taught for her first time and she taught very well. She’s a more natural teacher than I am. Then I taught and didn’t finish as much as I wanted to. I think I’m a bit too slow, so I should speed things up. I was frustrated this morning because there was a misunderstanding about what I was teaching. It was on the plan for me to teach the last exercises in the book, but Teka told me to move to the next unit. So I started to, but the students freaked out and asked why we skipped it. Teka had to explain in Oromifa for me. Teka said that he had finished the unit on Friday when we were talking to Kassa. So I was thoroughly confused. Also, he told me to teach more exercises than I had planned for today. So I had to kind of pull answers out of you-know-where instead of being prepared. So frustrating! Kate and I should write a song about flexibility. But I guess it makes sense that I should be prepared for more than one day’s worth just in case we go through the lessons faster than I think we will. So maybe I learned a good lesson.

After class we observed 1^st grade English. It was so cute! They were so eager to learn. They are fortunate because there are only 65 students in their class and they have a better classroom. It was one of the newer ones which FH helped to build. The visibility is much better. With less students there’s more participation, more time to correct homework, and just overall better atmosphere for learning’s in some ways I wish we could have taught 1^st grade or one of the other lower grades, but at the same time it is good that we were seeing all the struggles that the school has by being in the upper grades. And it’s more challenging! Then we observed the 5^th grade English class taught by Teka which had the most participation and it seemed that there more comprehension in that class than in the other upper grades.

Then we talked to Kassa for a while about Girls’ Advocacy ‘clinic’ we are doing tomorrow. We will do it from 8:30-10:30. It will be split into 3 sessions that are 40 minutes long. Each session will be a grade: 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th grade. Then he will pull the adolescent girls out of the younger grades to listen to the clinic. We are supposed to share about our own lives and education and to encourage the girls to pursue education and to let them know that they have the right to make their own decisions. Usually their culture says that girls should stay at home. Also, their parents and husbands make their life decisions for them. We’re hoping to impact their lives, but not make their families angry. We’ll see how that goes.

Some 8^th grade boys from my class came to Kassa’s office. One of them, Salamaou, I had noticed from the very first day of school to be a very bright and eager student. He can speak English better than possibly all the other students in class (as far as I can tell because they don’t all talk to me). His questions in class always help me to teach better. They came to the office to learn about American culture. I told them about marriage and discipline in school. They said that from what they heard they think America is like heaven. We quickly corrected them. I told them about homelessness and crime in the US. Once again they couldn’t’ believe that there was homelessness. And once again, it shows how little America lets the world know about its problems. it was funny because one of them asked if I had a husband and some of the boys laughed shyly when they asked. It was cute. I really enjoyed talking to them. I’d much rather do that than be in front of a whole classroom with time limits and formalities. It’s so much more personal.

In ethic evening Matthewos, Gadise, Kate, and I took a walk to the nearest water pump. We met more children and one of them was also name Gadise. On the river, there was a dam which funneled the water to one spot so that the current would be stronger and flow farther. Many people use that water for cleaning and they use the pump for drinking. We took a walk among the sorghum after we crossed some mud and stick bridges. It’s crazy how these people depend on these water sources for survival. It seems like they could easily dry up. Since it’s the dry season, the water is lower than it had been.

on the way back we met a woman who was carrying a baby on her back as well as firewood on her head and an empty water bottle in one of her hands. I couldn’t help but admire her strength. We goofed off with her and some children for awhile. She gave me a water bottle to try to carry on my head, but it wouldn’t balance. I think my head is too rounded. We laughed at my inability to balance it. she said that I should carry her firewood and I said that I’d probably fall over. More laughing. Her name was Medema. She said she liked us and invited us over for coffee. We agree to go the next evening. Then suddenly she was breast-feeding somehow, while still carrying all those things. And I thought I could multi-task! We had to avoid two bulls that were fighting along our pathway. It was pretty sweet seeing their horns clanging together. When oxen walk past, you always have to be careful to get out of the way, especially if they have big horns that can impale you.

I love these interactions with nature and with the people in their daily lives. It’s so much more fulfilling than teaching. I learn so much more about them this way too. I can’t express the joy it brings me. It makes this trip all worthwhile. I feel privileged to get a glimpse into their lives and share it with other people.