The Great Ethiopian Race

Well, you wouldn't expect a 10K in Addis, this is a developing country and all, but after all, we all know Ethiopians can run, right?? This race is held every year, starting at Meskel Square, which is the largest intersection in Africa -- 14 lanes across -- and winds around the downtown area of Addis. While there are lots and lots of Ethiopians that can really run, there are plenty that come out to walk it. I came back from Langano on Saturday so I could run the race on Sunday. It was great!! The American Embassy sent out a warning "advising" Americans not to run it because of the potential of problems with such a large group of runners -- 36,000 is the number I heard. The SIM leadership that I talked to did not have a strong opinion about running it, so our little group headed down to Meskel early Sunday morning. In the huge swarm of people, we ended up pretty far back among mostly walkers, so it was impossible to run. It reminded me of Bay to Breakers in San Franciso -- unless you register early, don't even think about running! We walked the first 5 kilometers of the race, running and weaving here and there. It didn't bother me not to run, as I hadn't done too much training and I get tired so fast- of COURSE blaming the altitude of around 8,000 feet here in Addis. We did run a few kilometers towards the end of the race, but slowed down to a walk before crossing the finish line. Isn't that a little anticlimactic??) It was great seeing such a great spirit in the crowd without the sense of getting jostled around in a huge mob. It was so fun!

Langano- Third Trip

So I headed down to Langano on Tuesday. It was a nice trip down with Jake and Sarah -- they are a couple that have been out here for a few years and they are working with the Langano Camp project. I stayed with them in their little teeny house. It was great.

This trip was more work oriented -- I was down to get a feel for things at the clinic before Kim, my American co-worker, goes home for Christmas for 2 months. So I worked Wednesday in the clinic, Thursday out in the community doing vaccinations, and Friday in the clinic as well.

It was good to get a feel for things.... maybe a little overwhelming in some ways. I have to adjust to down country living again. Things like hot water and refrigeration are harder to come by- - in fact, we are having discussions about what I should I buy. A solar fridge? Well, I better order one now if it comes in from outside Ethiopia. Then there's the rumor that the camp may be getting electricity. So do I wait on the fridge? Or order it now? And is solar the best bet, or should I go for butagas? And if I buy the solar fridge, I have to get lots of solar panels to fuel it. How do I do that? Transfer Nancy's from her old house to my new house? Buy new ones? Where do I get those?....... How do I figure all this out????

Kim is fun to work with in the clinic. I told her that as long as you keep your sense of humor, you do ok, I suppose. It is a very busy clinic: Wednesday is prenatal day, and I listened for fetal heart tones on maybe 30 women's stomachs, and did some measuring and such.

There is a "baby house" right next to the clinic that is part of SIM's
service in Langano. It is not an orphanage -- not for kids to stay in -- but for severely malnourished babies up to 9 months old, just to help them get back to health. Most of the babies' mothers have died, but when they reach 9 months they are returned to their family for raising. The babies are all SO cute, and once they have been in for a bit, they are all healthy looking.

Friday Kim wanted to show me how the reporting process works, (monthly reports required by the government) and it was overwhelming!! There are probably 20 pieces of paper hand filled in to turn in asking all kinds of questions: how many patients with each disease were treated, how many kids under 5 with diarrhea, then further broken down into age brackets, separate form for how many kids with respiratory infection, prenatal exams, nutritional help, vaccinations given by vaccine and age group, on and on!!

We had a bonfire on the lakefront Friday night with homemade marshmellows (?? never heard of such a thing) and some "biscuits" that were supposed to be graham crackers for smores. We invited a couple of the Ethiopian nurses down and were trying to explain, "This is something in our culture. We only eat these when we have a fire. They are very sweet." I figured they must think we are so weird, smores is kind of a weird idea, anyways! :) We kept hearing the hippos in the lake but didn't get to see them.

Saturday I took the bus up to Addis, which is always its own adventure. This time I was taking a nurse with me, as well as a boy with a cleft palate who was being sponsered by SIM and his mother. Strange to have this mix of cultures -- they are unfamiliar with Addis since they are from the bush, and I am an outsider from the US but I am showing them around!! How is it that I know more Amharic than they do???

Conversation on the bus was very animated for a while -- the entire front of the bus was all laughing and chatting with me asking the standard questions: How long have you been here? Are you married? Why don't you marry an Ethiopian? What are the differences between your culture and ours? It is fun trying to get my meaning across, and people are just genuinely friendly and seem to find most everything I say so funny!!

So we made it up, I got the boy and his mother situated in a hotel with some help, and headed home. I'm glad I left all my bags in Langano to come up with someone else- public transport is SO much nicer when you are traveling light!!

That was my week in Langano. I missed four days of language school including the jussive/third person command and a test, so I have a bit of catch-up.

My Halloween costume with my Halloween friends.

 

Making Good Use of Public Transportation..........

 

The Langano Beach!

 

The Fistula Hospital

Today is the day I visit the fistula hospital.  It is so groovy.  A couple girls right outside greeted me really warmly- I must have met them before- I see faces I recognize but don't always remember anything more distinct.  An old lady was sitting on the step- she only spoke Oromo, and told me she was going home the next day.  May God be with you, I said.

As I walked into the main ward, a woman was standing in the doorway, looking much more reserved than warm.  I said hi to her in Amharic and Oromo, and she responded in Oromo.  Her hand came out from under her knitted blanket and she said quietly, I came yesterday and I am sick.  She had the look of someone burdened by her problem.  She said it had taken her one day to arrive from her home.  I told her, the people here will help you.  They want to help you.  I only come sometimes, but we will see each other.  I look forward to seeing her again.

Tomorrow I will go back and tell a Bible story to those women.  Last week my Abraham story went ok, but I wished it was a bit more dramatic and I wished the pictures in my "Tiny Tots Bible Story Book" didn't show people ALL looking like white people!

So that is fun.  I could have stayed there a bit longer….

Langano, the Second Trip

Well, I somehow worked it out to go back down to Langano this last weekend. I went with two gals, Susan and Jenna, who hadn't been too much out of Addis. Strange being the one who knows the way to go!! Susan is staying with an American family who have a driver, so they graciously lent us their car and their chauffeur.

We made it down fine- took us a while to get out of Addis with trying to find gas- we went to 5 different gas stations and finally found some on Bole near the airport. We got to Langano in the dark (we had hoped not to) and Mike met us at the road to take us the last 6 km. When I heard we were taking a Toyota Corolla to Langano I wondered a bit if that car would make it in on the road, but when I saw the end of the road (in Mike's Land Cruiser) I knew for SURE we would not have made it in the Corolla- especially with all the muddy lakes across the path from the untimely rains.

The team there is great, and I am so glad I am joining it. We had a nice time, Genet was our lovely Ethiopian cook who specializes in strawberry pancakes and does everything well!

The way home, however, wasn't quite as peaceful and was a bit more eventful. The main road back to Addis is a good one, and we can go quite fast. I was dozing off in the back seat and woke up to Alazar (our driver) slamming on his brakes. I looked up just in time to see a little boy get hit by our car and fly forward, landing on the road 10 or 15 feet in front of our car.

We jumped out to pick the boy up- he was crying and whimpering, and he looked about 6 years old- and here, on this deserted stretch of highway, people came suddenly pouring from nowhere, swarming the car, trying to get in, yelling. Our driver helped the boy and one adult into the car and drove off saying he was going to take him to seek medical treatment. Everyone had tried pushing their way into the car claiming they were relative/mother/father, etc.

Eventually we made it to Mojo and the boy was taken to a clinic. Alazar had business to do with the police in regards to the legal implications of the accident- the three of us went into a little restaurant compound and had coffees and waited. He finally came back to say since it was a Sunday afternoon the police were not available and he was being required to stay in Mojo overnight, with the car. So we had to leave our driver in Mojo (about 2 hours south of Addis) and we caught a bus home. We saw the child after he was assessed, they said all his tests came back normal, and he was walking and talking and seemed calm but ok.

Today Alazar is still in Mojo but should be able to come back to Addis tomorrow. There is no way he could have avoided hitting the child, and he handled the whole situation very well.

Am I really ready to drive here? It would have been pandominium if I had been the driver myself. It was good to know that he knew exactly what to do and we could stand back and let that happen.

And we are safely arrived here! Now, can I get a trip in to Langano next week?? :)

The Fistula Hospital

Well, so yesterday I made it to the fistula hospital for my first "teaching appointment."  I had worked hard during my language helper time to get the story of Abraham ready- translating simple English sentences from a picture story Bible.  But there was a little misunderstanding in regards to when I was going to show up, so I didn't teach- I will teach my Abraham story this afternoon at 2 pm.  

However, I saw the same girls I had seen the day before and they greeted me warmly saying, "Where have you been?"  One girl walked me around to the whole hospital and I said hi to just about all the patients.  Some are so sweet and shy, some reserved and uncomfortable, but most very friendly and eager to interact.  I had a long conversation with a couple of them that were in bed in rows (always reminds me of Madeline) and we talked about Oromo culture, salt in the coffee, planting, plowing, and everything I had seen from before.  I realized, wow, I can bathe in Amharic and Oromo all I want!!  This is for me.  Talking to girls, telling them dramatic stories like how an egg cracked in my backpack, and making them laugh.

This morning I learned how to say, "God sent you here to this hospital."  And this afternoon, Abraham.