Thursday 15th July
I knew the Ethiopian wildlife would eventually get the better of me. Not the Simien leopards though, nor the stray street animals. It wasn’t the rats, or even the mosquitoes. Fleas. I woke up covered in tiny, but irritating bites, and it seems as though the bed is their hiding place. Taking no chances, I’ve covered every fabric in the room, and all my clothes, in super-strength flea spray. Tomorrow we’ll see if I’m successful, but for now the war continues.
This morning’s lessons were some of my favourite so far – attendance is still high, despite competition from a badly timed set of summer classes at another local school. Maybe the mint sweets we gave out today were the clinchers. In any case, we’ll be doing extra classes on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from now on, so that everyone who wants to come along is able to.
After lunch at Sefanit’s grandmother’s house, with some of the most succulent lamb I’ve ever tasted, I was back at the Kindu Trust for the afternoon. Today, having written up a couple of reports, we went on a visit to the home of Birtukan, a 10-year-old girl, orphaned by AIDS, who is cared for by her aunt and sister. They’d just received a gift of enough money to install a pit latrine behind their house. It sounds basic, and it is, but it’s a huge step forward for them in terms of health and hygiene.
Meanwhile, the fact we’ve had no running water for two days now seems a paltry complaint. If our enforced drought (it rained all day yesterday!) lasts any longer though, I’ll stop dreaming about hot showers, and start dreaming of just any shower!
Friday 16th July
Today I went solo. Just for the lessons, though, because Sefanit was going to Bahir Dar to visit some cousins. Having got them to give a speech about a difficulty they’ve overcome, it was soon evident that even being in school was a success for a lot of them. A host of stories about families who wanted to marry their children off, or wanted them to stay and work, make you wonder how many other potential students weren’t so lucky.
It was an odd, yet ultimately productive day. Even breakfast was strange. Me and Courtney happened to meet Steve, a British ex-forces guy, who works as a military trainer in the UAE, while having our daily coffee and bombolino (a doughnut-type bread they do for breakfast here). Having been here a monumental two weeks, we were able to answer questions he had on accommodation and how to find someone to arrange a trip to the mountains for him. He’s not the sort of guy you’d mess with though – he told us a story about how he got mugged in Durban, South Africa, only to mug the attackers back to retrieve his camera. I assume it wasn’t a disposable camera.
This afternoon I headed to Mother Theresa, having eventually negotiated the Gondar minibus system (the driver shouts out the destination and everyone just crams in!). Within minutes my preconceptions of these kids had been shattered. Yes, some of them are seriously disadvantaged, but at the end of the day they are still children. They still live playing ‘duck-duck-goose’, climbing all over the slide and drawing pictures (even if my arms became the canvas once they ran out of paper). I thoroughly enjoyed being there, and since my only job was to play games with them, the fact that they appeared to be having as much fun as I was means it was an afternoon that couldn’t have been better spent anywhere else.
Back at home we were still without running water for the third day. Out of growing impatience, and a growing desire for cleanliness (perhaps on the part of others, as well as us), both me and Sam went to Courtney’s to use her shower. We didn’t even care that it was cold, at least it was wet.
And it was at Courtney’s that we all ended up. A couple of beers and ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’ on her laptop meant that all five of us had a good evening, despite the small bereavement suffered earlier that day: Courtney had found and nursed an abandoned just-born puppy earlier in the week, which had unfortunately failed to make it, having refused all sorts of milk. In a town with such deep problems of its own, it’s easy to see how concerns for the welfare or animals pale in comparison to everything else.
Saturday 17th July
Perhaps it’s time to comment on the Ethiopian people, since I feel I’ve now been here long enough to grow accustomed, in a small way, to what they’re like. In general, they are an incredibly friendly, considerate and welcoming people. Many of them seem to understand that the presence of foreigners here can only be a good thing – whether it is through benevolent work or through tourism that boosts the economy. As such, we’ve found them to be helpful and obliging. It is true that for some our visit is a novelty, and that every day we hear shouts of ‘Hello!’, ‘You!’ or ‘Farenji!’, but these are never malicious, and always accompanied by a smile. But with every rule there exists exceptions.
Unfortunately there is a significant minority of those who see foreigners as a way of simply making a lot of money. We’ve been here long enough to know the price of things, but still find that bajaj (three-wheeled taxis) drivers try to charge us twenty times the standard fare, some cafés give out higher-priced menus to you, and bars will attempt to raise the price of a beer to more than the equivalent of dinner at a local hotel. Tonight we went out, and it seemed that wherever we went there was someone trying to rip us off. Of course, it’s not the price that’s the problem, but why should someone pay vastly more for an identical product simply because of the colour of their skin? I do wonder if holding such principles is worth it, and perhaps we shouldn’t complain because we can afford. But in a town that desperately needs a boost of tourism in order to develop, it’s worrying that volunteer teachers are being targeted, let alone potential tourists.
Speaking of tourism though, me and Sam walked up the hill to a beautiful Church this morning, which had 18th Century paintings adorning all the walls and ceiling inside. It was peaceful, and yet simultaneously majestic – with the bonus of some wonderfully colourful birds in the garden.
Having survived the lunchtime downpour, we relaxed in the local brewery’s beer house before dinner, and our not-so-successful night out. We still managed to enjoy some traditional dancing though, much to the amusement of the locals.
Sunday 18th July
I could be mistaken for thinking we’re back in the Simiens, the distance we walked today. It was decent weather, so we decided to make the most of it. Me and Sam headed off though the backstreets to the valley this morning, to be greeted by a stunning view. After playing with paper aeroplanes with some kids, and a quick kick-about with some older lads, we headed back into town to meet the others. There, we met up with Megan, Sheree, Courtney and new friend Steve, before going walking in a different direction after lunch. We ended up in farming country, but the views were magnificent and we made some friends on the way. One guy, Tewodros, has invited us to his place tomorrow for a coffee ceremony. And as he’s an Arsenal fan, I might go along.
Continuing to feast our eyes, we stopped for a drink at the hotel atop the hill, looking out over the reservoir. It was interesting to hear more about Steve, who increasingly sounds like a man you want to be on the right side of. He flies on to Addis tomorrow, so we had dinner to cap the weekend off. One great thing about being here is the solidarity between all the volunteers and travellers, ensuring there’s always good company.
Having returned home, it soon became clear that despite the fact we have running water for the first time since Tuesday, another issue is yet to be resolved. A new attack by our resident fleas means a prolonged offensive with the insect spray will have to begin in the morning – no bug will be spared.
Monday 19th July
Today was a teaching marathon. Aside from the usual morning of classes, we did an extra class this afternoon, and I then went to teach at a language school this evening. It was tiring, but enjoyable, some highlights including an 18-year-old male student imitating Shakira’s dance in her latest song. A good day’s work, but there was still room for some fun.
As I mentioned yesterday, I was invited to coffee at Tewodros’ house, so I went along for a ceremony this evening. It’s a great tradition, with the beans roasted as the family sit around, and I helped out by grinding the beans down myself. And to top it off, when it was served the coffee was deliciously smooth. The Ethiopians claim to have been the first to drink coffee, whether that’s true or not I don’t know, but it certainly tastes like they have been perfecting it for a very long time. In the ceremony, it’s customary to drink three cups of varying strength: each cup has its own name and special significance (as well as heaps of sugar). The only significance of the three cups to me is that I won’t sleep tonight for all the caffeine searing through me!
Tuesday 20th July
It’s nice when plans come together. Ever since planning this trip, I’d wanted to go to Lalibela, the home of a dozen incredible rock-hewn churches and a deeply spiritual place. But the price of flights had threatened to curtail that ambition. Like I’ve mentioned before, many places charge more to foreigners, and it seems even the national airline imposes this ‘skin tax’, as it is known. Unfortunately I don’t look like a local, but some gentle persuasion and proof that I was a volunteer helped me secure the local rates for my flights – a quarter of the foreigners’ fare. I fly out on Friday, coming back on Sunday night.
What this morning’s lesson lack in creativity – the story of the Mary Rose was met with some blank faces – it made up for in progress. The students are becoming less shy every day, and so tomorrow we’re going to try something a bit different. Whether it works or not remains to be seen though.
My afternoon with the Kindu Trust was rewarding as well, today I was helping with the accounts, cutting a day’s work down to just a couple of hours for Marta, who is still grasping how to use computers.
This evening was brilliant for two reasons. Firstly, I came home for a shower and nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt warm water coming out, instead of the icy water I had been braced for. After quietly celebrating, I thoroughly enjoyed the best shower I’ve ever had – three weeks of cold ones making sure of that. And instead of going out for dinner, the six of us decided to do it ourselves. On a little charcoal stove, we cooked up a tasty Spanish Omelette, followed by a crazy concoction of bananas, honey, biscuits and a doughnut. It sounds strange, but it was so much more satisfying than anything we could have got from a restaurant. And it’s always fun to act like you’re in scouts again, isn’t it?
Wednesday 21st July
Patience is a virtue, but moreso here than anywhere else. Whether it be overcharging waitresses or bureaucratic airlines, today patience was required in bucketloads. Hoping to join me on my trip to Lalibela, Sam and Sheree went to book their flights. Yet the same letter I had yesterday informing them I was a volunteer didn’t work today, so the airline continued to ask them four time the price. Even when they cited me as an example, they were told that there was no passenger with my name booked on the flight. Of course, this concerned me greatly, and after an hour of phone calls I discovered that even though I booked yesterday, my reservation had been automatically cancelled. Eventually re-instated, it looks like I’m back on the flight, but Sam and Sheree will have to try again tomorrow.
Fortunately though, the rest of the day could not have been better. In this morning and this afternoon’s lessons, we tried something new. Each class came up with several programmes for a TV channel, with various groups producing, between them, interviews, documentaries, sports shows and soap operas with incredible enthusiasm and hilarity.
And of all the places I thought I would end up in while I was here, I never thought a photo studio would be one of them. But since Sefanit is leaving on Saturday, she wanted some pictures of all of us. Cue ridiculous poses, cheesy grins and a rather questionable human pyramid. I can only hope that the photos never make it into wider circulation.
No evening would be complete without a badly-lit Ethiopian restaurant with one dish on the menu, though. Fortunately, it was pizza, and even if it was nothing like pizza we know (think cabbage instead of cheese, carrot instead of meat) it was a treat nonetheless. A quick stop at a cake shop on the way home did no damage either.
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