A Taste

This entry was written 8.16.09

I’ve been living on my own here in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for a week now, and I am quickly learning that the Lord has more confidence in me than I have in myself. Last Sunday I was anxious about being on “my own,” getting around, living by myself and essentially staying here without a team, team leaders or an itinerary that directs me each day. Now, seven days later, I am excited to say that I have done better than I thought I could and am so excited to be experiencing a taste of what it’s like to live here…in Africa.

Let’s start with the basics. Electricity is a treat. So is toilet paper. Running water is more dependable, but there have been days without it. There is no heat or air conditioning, hence the extra blanket on my bed. Bugs are a normal part of home décor. I have a daily routine of going around my flat and taking care of them. Needless to say, my baseboards are lined with flies. (Even as I have typed this in my bedroom a fly just went in my mouth and I ran to the bathroom thinking I had swallowed it! That is incredibly disgusting! EWWW!) The government blocks blogging, or so I've heard. Mexican food is a rare delicacy. Su asked me what I missed and I said “My family and friends, Mexican food and parks.” He took me to a restaurant here in town that serves tex mex and those nachos were heaven in my mouth (as opposed to that fly I thought I swallowed earlier). Cheese is SO expensive here (Over $6 for a half a kilo!). Islam is one of the biggest religions here (Christian Orthodoxy is most prominent, I think; Evangelical Christianity is also in the top 3), so I hear the call to prayer about 5 times a day, including 5ish in the morning, followed by loud roosters, braying donkeys, rain and radios blaring Ethiopian music. I fall asleep to fighting dogs, fighting cats, more fighting dogs and hyenas, rain and more fighting dogs. My bug bite collection is growing slowly and steadily. I have about 20 on each limb as well as my stomach, neck, and back; I go to bed fully dressed with socks, but I think one of the guest houses I stayed in prior to the one I’m in now had bed bugs. I have my own little apartment/flat in the guest house that has a porch overlooking the neighborhood. People here are like people in the south: super friendly and nice. I ride a scooter/car/thingy from Ayat to Murray which is about a couple miles. It’s 2 birr (less than $.20) and I get excited every time I hop in. I take the taxi from Murray to Hayahulet (that’s Amharic for 22 – a lot of sub-cites are names after numbers) where the Gladney office is, and to meet friends there – I love that I can take the taxi on my own and it’s great for people watching. Yesterday Su and I were on a taxi and the woman sitting next to me had a live chicken in her bag. Tea time is a normal part of the day here and I have absolutely no problem with that. Addis tea is amazing. Everything is very cheap here – I got a full-body, 1 hour back massage for $20. I will say this over and over again, but the people are amazing and you will never meet a stranger. Injera is the main deal in Ethiopian cuisine. It’s like spongy bread and you use it to pick up different meats and vegetables and sauces and you eat with your right hand only (I finally got the hang of that). I had injera before in Nashville and loved it, and I love it here too. If you eat spicy injera, you are a real Ethiopian, so last night I was called a real Ethiopian. To show love for someone, Ethiopians will feed you a handful of injera to your mouth…It took me a while to get there, but the Gladney kids were great. The Italians occupied Ethiopia for a brief time during WWII, so Italian food is pretty big here, too, and fire cooked pizza is common and delicious. Depending on the tribe they are from, women will have tattoos on their faces as a sign of beauty. Scarves are common for women to wear (obviously muslim women wear them all the time). Men don’t wear shorts…except Travis, from Gladney. My friend Tadie has the most amazing dance moves and his mom is hilarious. My friend Sammy is the most talented singer I know here. Teddy Afro just got out of prison. He is a very famous Ethiopian reggae/pop singer who speaks out against the government indirectly through his music. Conspiracy theorists say that’s why he was thrown in prison even though the gov’t says it was for a hit and run. Su works for TOMS and I’m jealous. I think Nati has read more books than I have. My friend Yemamu works for Gladney and does ministry where he lives with his family in the leper colony. Driving here is crazy. It’s like that in Kenya too. People definitely drive relationally here, not by the law. Is your donkey in the road? Maybe your heard of goats? Don’t worry, the cars will drive around them…most of the time. Construction here is like nothing I’ve seen in my western world. It’s about as primitive as you can guess for basic block laying and cement pouring: two people carry a tray with cement piled on top, they walk to the place and dump, go back and get more…repeat a million times. I watch BBC news sometimes and enjoy it thoroughly. Need a pack of gum? Toilet paper? Cigarettes? Shoes shined? Don’t worry, there are a million kids with all these things and more on every street you walk down.

I think this is the latest I’ve stayed up in a long time (it’s midnight and I usually go to bed around 9 or 10). I will get to the more serious things, don’t worry, but I wanted to give a glimpse into my life here. There’s never a dull moment.

Ciao!
Christy