Who are you and what are you doing here?

October 27th, 2007
Thursday, when we arrived in Sasiga at the compound, almost none of the men who lived on the compound were there because they were in Nekemt. But we got to meet the cook who is lovely and very young and cooking for all those men! I’m sure she’s happy that Kate and I are there are fellow women.
The accommodations here aren’t everything we expected, but they’re still good. It is a beautiful compound with much shade. It is made up of many small buildings that used to be government office buildings. There are many plants and flowers as well. There’s a separate building for showers and a separate building for toilets. We didn’t learn that until yesterday that we had been sing the men’s toilet all along and there was a much nicer one behind it. The men’s was a squatty potty and the women’s was a regular toilet. We learned that because a man almost walked in on me. Ha ha.
We hung out and talked for a long time. Then Kate and I took a much-needed nap. Once again we talked and Kate told horror stories about insects and nature while everyone else cringed in horror. But all of a sudden I felt sick again! So I left the table and puked on the ground over and over while Tekle, Kate, and Kidus fussed over me like mother hens – rubbing my back, getting water for me, getting a chair for me, and a cold cloth for me. They said things like, “Aozush” which means “you will be ok,” or “be strong.” I think I’ll remember that word best. If I don’t learn anything else, I’ll learn that word. I finally walked around a bit and placed a chair in a clearing where I could see the moon. As I looked at the moon, it was strange because I felt like God was using the moon to heal me. He was showing me that he cared. It was so bright that I could barely se any stars despite the lack of city lights. Tekle and Kidus came by to talk to me and make sure I was ok at different times. I was as long as I kept looking up at the moon. Tekle called a doctor and the country director to ask what we should do. It was very sweet. They even contemplated bringing me back, but I said that I would get over this sickness because it wasn’t serious. Also, traveling is the worst thing I can do when I’m sick! Andy told me to fast the next day, so I decided to take his advice. Hopefully it will kill whatever it was making me sick.
That night Kate threw up too because she had been watching me puke. The whole time I had been wondering if she could really be around while I threw and be perfectly fine. I know I couldn’t do it. The next morning we both felt fine. I fasted until dinnertime. The three men who drove us there left the compound in the morning to see a different project and they won’t be back until they pick us up at the end of practicum. It’s so sad because we enjoyed their company a lot. Tekle will be a good father. It is crazy how he is spending so much time with us and he just got married 2 weeks ago! He said that she was ok and that they would take a true honeymoon later. I’m really glad.
That morning we went to the school. While we were there, the teachers had sticks and kept threatening the students with them when they were staring at Kate and me. I think that the school director said that it is illegal to actually use them, but it still scares the students. I hope they don’t actually use the sticks on the children. That would be sad. We found that nothing was organized concerning our teaching and no one knew why we were there. Ha. They thought we were teachers. Ha, ha, HA! There has obviously been a lack of communication. But we finally figured it out. Kate and I will be teaching two different grades, but beside the same teacher. It’s crazy because the teacher instructs 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades! So many students! I will teach 8th and Kate will teach 7th. They way that they figured out who would teach what grade was so ask who was the oldest. So as the older of the two of us, I am teaching the older students. Of course they both (Matthewos and the school director) thought I was the younger one. We will observe the first couple days and then help teach and possibly teach by ourselves with the teacher looking in to make sure there’s discipline and to make sure we’re doing ok. I am a bit nervous, but it will be ok. I hope. There will be 130 students in each class! Another obvious lack of communication because we thought we would be teaching 85 students. Ha! The school is very near to our compound. We can see it from there, so it’s a nice short walk. Many children were playing volleyball in the schoolyard and I longed to play with them.
After lunch, we visited a project site. They built tables made of wood and covered them with clay. Then they set up bricks to start making a stove. The finished product will be a stove on top of the table. The traditional way here that people cook is over an open fire inside their stick homes. This is bad for many reasons:
1. The cook (which is usually the mother) and the children get easily burnt.
2. It is not fuel efficient because it is so open.
3. There is much smoke inhalation.
4. The house could be easily burnt down.
5. It keeps the house dirty with all the soot.
6. The food could easily be knocked off of the fire.
7. The cook has to bend over in order to use them.
The new stoves will remedy all these problems. Plus, FH is teaching the people how to build them instead of building the stoves for them. This way they can continue building them without needing anyone from the outside. The stove is covered and has an outlet outside for smoke. I thought that this was an amazing, practical way to help the people.
Kate and I had a good discussion with Getachew and Massamo about the Rwandan genocide. I was surprised with their interest. We’ve had many great talks about how the international community views the US too. Matthewos said he likes Canada better because it’s more peaceful in its international relations. The US is so nosy. I couldn’t help but agree. Maybe it’s not so bad that I’ll be living there. I do love my country, but I agree that our international relations need some help. I thought it was really good learning about other people’s points of view in other countries.
That evening (yesterday) we had another nap before dinner. After dinner Kate and Getachew took turns playing guitar. Getachew has a cool Ethiopian style voice. When Kate played, she and I would sing. Then Getachew recorded us on his cell phone singing “How Great is our God.” he played it back and it was so weird hearing my own voice. It has been a long time. It was a relaxing, enjoyable evening.
This morning Matthewos took us to the market in the village. He said that people come from miles away on foot to bring their goods, food, and animals to sell. It was definitely interesting to see. I couldn’t believe that they walked so far. I don’t feel many Americans would do that. They wouldn’t even be expected to. We had a good discussion with Matthewos during lunch. He said that he wanted Kate and me to talk to the young women of the community about their freedom and rights. Most women are not treated equally to men and are not as educated. They are usually forced to marry at young ages – as young as 12! He said that if they had role models they would be able o speak their minds after we share our experiences. Kate and I think it’s good, but it’s a little overwhelming to put that much pressure on us. I guess I’ve never thought of myself as a role model and having so much of an influence over people’s lives. We’ll see how that goes.
This afternoon we will be walking to the river. Oh by the way, Kate saw a goat slaughtered. We will be eating it tonight. I couldn’t watch. Originally, she was going to slaughter it herself, but she saw the goat tied up to the pole and she couldn’t do it. I watched it get tied up, but then I had to leave. She watched and said she wished she didn’t. She thought it would be one clean cut that would kill it, but they had to saw through its neck several times. Ugh! I’m so glad I didn’t watch.
Our cook is amazing because she makes home roasted, pounded, and steeped coffee! She does every step and we get to watch. She does this 2 times a day on the porch after meals and she decorates around the fire with ferns and poinsettias. I can’t believe all the cooking she does with all the tools that she has to use. Her whole life is cooking for all these men.