Not Shiro again.....

If you’re not sure that you’ve ever had Ethiopian food, your stomach will
certainly remember.



Before our arrival, a major concern was, you guessed it, food. Back in New
York, I had Ethiopian food once, and I was totally clueless about the method
and flavors, so six months of it was a little daunting and nerve-racking, to
say the least.



Here are the basics:

- First there is injera, a sour, sponge-like flat bread,
made of a local grain called ‘teft,’ and is the staple that is served with
every meal.

-Injera lines a large serving platter, that is then topped
with a variety of different ‘weut,’ or stews, made of seriously spiced
vegetables and meat.

-Then, with your hand, usually the right one, you tear
pieces of injera to scoop up the weut, and eat.

-Dessert is not big here.

-Tea, spiced with ginger, cardamom, and cloves, ‘shai,’
after the meal seems pretty standard.



For the first four days, this was all we ate. Then, after discarding the
injera at every meal, it became obvious that we grew very tired of it. Using
our broken Amharic, we tried to convey to Tigiste (the live-in housekeeper,
and culinary expert) that we needed another carb besides injera, along with
more vegetables. So, the next time she came home from the market, she
brought a lifetime supply of pastas, as Italian cuisine is available here.


Because there is a large amount of rain, and the soil is very fertile, most
fruits and vegetables are available and abundant here. Now, our diet mostly
consists of vegetables like: tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, spinach,
carrots, onions, corn, all sauteed in various ways, day to day, accompanied
by either pasta or basmati rice, and fresh fish once a week or so.


Did we cave? Are we a little soft for giving up injera? Maybe, but I’m not
too worried about.

We would also like to wish everyone a Shana Tova U'metukah. May your new
year be filled with good health, happiness and lots of success! Keep
us in mind as you enjoy your honey cake!

So, it’s kind of like camping…

After a 4.5 hour drive, we have arrived in Awassa, the capital of the southern region of Ethiopia. Imagine an illustrated Children’s bible, that’s pretty much what the scenery looks like, lush, green as far as you can see, all the while dodging herds of goats, cows and donkeys on the road.



We headed straight to the “compound,” as everyone calls it, which is a sizeable piece of property, with a main house, and few smaller cottage-type homes, several well-kept flower gardens, a chicken- coop, and a small orchard with newly planted coffee trees.



We have our own room, with pretty modern furnishings, and bright blue, canopy-like mosquito nets to sleep under. Never having gone to ‘sleep-away camp’ in the traditional sense…I can imagine this is pretty close to it. Running water is a distant memory, electricity is totally unpredictable and shoddy, and we don’t have a phone (we’ll get a local cell on Thursday, fingers-crossed).



In order to conserve energy, rolling “brown-outs” throughout the country happen several times a week, dictated by the government. Hardly prepared, we played make-shift scrabble by candlelight, using the magnetic alphabet letters we brought for the children. Any suggestions you may have for any games/activities would be appreciated.



We usually help each other with the showering situation…not a one-man job. Conveniently, it was thunder storming this evening, so we kick-started the shower ceremony off au naturel…not kidding. Turns out, contrary to popular misunderstanding, it’s not blistering hot here. In fact, it downpours daily during the summer ‘rainy’ months, and the average temp during the day is usually a comfortable 80*.



In Addis, it is much more common to see foreigners/Westerners, relative to Awassa. When we walk down the street, we usually attract a small following of young children who shout “You, You, You, Yo, money! Money!” The level of poverty is staggering, and completely arresting throughout this country. Most families in this region can’t even afford the $3 registration fee to send their children to government-funded schools. After a few days absorbing these surroundings, we just find ourselves asking the same question over and over, “How do you pull an entire country out of this?”

Oh, so there's no electricity...anywhere?

Today was the first day in Addis, and it felt like one of the longest days of our lives. Sleeping a combined 9 out of 72 hours is not advisable, under most all circumstances, and certainly not if you're aborting take-offs, stopping in Sudan, and taking ice cold showers with a bucket.

Today was our first day in AFRICA.

*It wasn't the sweet melodies of garbage trucks, sirens, and honking horns that woke us up this morning...the day commenced with the combination of 2 choirs: deafening calls of what seemed to be a army of roosters, and the call to prayer from the nearby Orthodox Christian Church.

*Then we visited Yohannes' children's library in Addis- surprisingly well-stocked with classics such as Goodnight Moon and Anne of Green Gables.

*We've been traveling all over the city via overcrowded "mini-buses" with our trusty guide Micky, a 19 year old Ethiopian kid, who speaks 3 words of English, Yes, No and Come On!! He doesn't try to hide his laughter when we bombard him with such questions as "how do you say goat? in Amharic and "can we sit in the front seat of the mini-bus? (as the driver is blasting Akon)

*Ethiopian food is great..so far, although our stomachs vetoed it.

*In case you were wondering, you CAN feed a starving child in Africa for less than 10 cents a day.

Leaving the Concrete Jungle

When I tell people that I am going to Africa for 6 months to teach English, I have received one of three responses; "That's amazing!", "Why would you go to Africa, you can teach here", or just plain laughter. To be honest, I had those same reactions. When I first toyed with the idea of going to Africa, the thought was so preposterous that I just laughed. Then as the idea settled, I contemplated my family, my job, my obligations and all other realities keeping me back. And finally, I realized that I was going to embark on a truly amazing journey. A once in a lifetime opportunity that I couldn't pass up. That's when I decided I had to bring in reinforcements, my best friend LeAnne.

Some people think, well...maybe these girls were shit-out-of-luck finding or keeping a job, and they decided to go an alternate route. That wasn't quite the case for either of us. We both had perfectly good jobs that would have been thrilled to continue our employment.

So once the decision to go to Africa was made, it was very easy finding a school that would host us for 6 months and pretty easy getting my co-workers to support my decision. The hardest part, however, was facing my Jewish mother. How could I tell her that the luxurious, upper west side life that she had laid out for me wasn't quite doing it?? Actually, it is because of her undying support and encouragement that I am able to leave everything behind and take this trip. My parents have blessed me with a life most people only dream about; great home, good food, and a top-of-the-line education. I got everything one could ever ask for in life. Now it's time for me to give back. I need to help people who can't quite help themselves yet.

As for my anxieties, as wise woman once told me, "God will take care of you." And I hope she is right because we are jumping in head first.

Thanks to our families and friends for their love and support! We really wouldn't be able to do this without you.

Keep on Keepin' on,
D

Pre-Departure Ruminations

You all know me, and at this point in time, it seems like everything is uncertain and anything is possible.

There are, however, a few things that I do know:

A. I’ve developed an insatiable appetite for travel-it’s probably genetic.

B. I’ll work as hard as I can, if I care. Corporate life on the 39^th floor wasn’t the best fit.

C. Food and art keep my wheels turning.

D. I couldn’t be more in love with my family and friends.

Short list, right? Tell me about it.

Tonight, Danielle and I were talking about “leaving.” For the past 5 years, I’ve been in the revolving door of leaving, coming back, leaving again. Maybe I’ve packed one too many boxes, one too many times, but, the thought of completely removing myself from every known comfort and familiarity isn’t really terrifying…it’s a rush. Maybe I don’t quite understand the gravity of these next six months, but I have to say, knowing that I’ll be traveling with someone who has been putting up with me, and my shenanigans, for the past 5 years, and who I trust 100% , really helps. “Are you ready?” is now the question at hand. Yes, I’m ready to make this trip part of my story. That’s all it is, after all, right? All of these seemingly outrageous decisions become part of us, which is pretty damn exciting.

What seems to be the tagline I’ve dropped time and again is “how many times can you drop everything and run off to Africa to teach?” I’m curious to see how many, actually. This may be the start of something much bigger.

As a result of this decision to teach in Africa, I was able to go to Israel for 6 weeks, and subsequently come to LA to intern with Gen Art for the rest of the summer, rent-free (thanks Jenn). Who even does this? Beats me, but I’m incredibly thankful, and just trying to absorb as much as possible.

Giddy-up,
L