Getting through an airport is always a hassle. There's the worry that your bags are overweight, the taking off your shoes, getting your body scanned, the worry that your carry-on bag will get checked, something you want will get taken away, etc. etc.
I walked up to the Ethiopian Air ticket counter at Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. and said the one phrase that I knew in Amharic to the man that took my passport, "Salem No," peace be upon you, a common Ethiopian greeting. He gave me a big smile and quickly found my information on the computer. I was so excited to see that one of my bags was underweight by 4.5 lbs, but that lucky feeling soon went away when my other bag was over 4.5 lbs. He said no problem, that they compensated for each other.
Through excitement and almost tears, I said goodbye to my family and went in the security line. I'd finally gotten through the screening when I realized that my mom was still holding my jacket! I'd forgotten to take from her. Once again, kindness came and the security guard happily got my jacket for me. I had been so worried about getting through security, that I actually got to my gate over an hour early. As I stood near the counter, a man approached me with a smile commenting on my Ohio State tee-shirt. Turns out he's from Dayton, Ohio, did graduate school at OSU, and just so happens to be in charge of the UN Food Programme in Western Africa. We had a nice conversation and went our seperate ways.
I was lucky enough to have a window seat with the seat next to me open. Sleep didn't come too easily, but the food was good. It seemed like the 14 hour ride was taking forever. Then, all of a sudden 12.5-13 hours in, we began to land. I guess the wind was on our side?! I was surprised to make it through visa entry as easy as I did. Excited, I waited for my bags and chatted with an American high school junior who'd been living abroad since she was 4 years old and had been in Addis for the past 2 years. Her bags came and she left, and around and around I watched every bag but mine come and go. I must have waited at least 30 minutes if not longer to see my bags. Finally, I made it through customs and was free in Ethiopia! Except, I was an hour earlier than what I'd told Eyasu (co-founder of Life to Live Africa and my host) and Alyssa (a friend from high school whom I recently reconnected with who's starting her second year in the Peace Corps in Southern Ethiopia).
I was greeted by Alyssa first, so good to see a friendly face and so weird to think back to our high school theatre days. We went outside where I took my first breathe of fresh Ethiopian air. The weather was absolutely beautiful. Sunny with a few clouds. Mountains in the distance. And then, I finally met Eyasu, who'd I'd been skyping with for months.
Alyssa had a Peace Corps training she had to get too so we all shared a taxi. My bags were placed on top of the car in a rack/bin with low sides, not strapped down. We then got into the car, no seat belts in the back, took a few tries to start. We then proceed to drive on a road that Eyasu later told me was called Confusion Road. We almost hit a goat. There are very few traffic lights, none that I saw in our 30 minute ride, only roundabouts. No lanes. People crossing when they please through 30mph+ traffic. We dropped Alyssa off and began the way to the house that would become my new home.
Now, Eyasu had once shown me the house on Skype, which gave me a little bit of an idea of what I was in for, but still seeing it in person was so different. I'm not sure if my words are able to capture to the reality that is now my home.
I first met Eyaus's sister, Marta, who is a nurse. She is very sweet and knows some English, which is nice. Eyasu's mother has taken in 5 children from the countryside (all extended family) so that they can get a better education here in the city (I've heard that it's a common to take in rural children. The youngest girl, Boosa (boo-say), although old enough to go to school stays at home for now. She doesn't speak Amharic, but a different language that even Eyasu doesn't know. It was odd to see a child out of school, listening to a TV that she doesn't yet understand. She wore a tattered, seemingly dirty shirt, and sports a bald head. She is very, very shy. I immediately got out crayons and some paper that I brought and showed her how she could color and draw. Marta knows her language and helped to translate for me. I told Marta that we can be students together, both learning Amharic.
I'm very excited to get to know this adorable little girl and hope to help coax her out of her shell. Eyasu's father was also there. A man of few words, who I saw laugh and light up most when wrestling came on TV. Marta made for me Ethiopian coffee, which is prepared a very special way by roasting the green coffee beans and then mashing them. It was quite a long process, but so delicious! (side note: I have tried to resist drinking coffee for most of my life. I have this six-year old image of my mother being zombie-like in the morning until she had her coffee. I vowed to myself that I would never rely on a substance to wake up).
Eyasu and I went for a short walk, a block down to buy a bottle of water. Now, I've been "the white girl" before. I was the only white girl on my high school step team and I worked at South High School, a low performing Columbus Public School, in a very diverse classroom. But, none of that compared to the feeling I had walking down the street. All eyes were on me. Stares from everyone. Curious? Excited? Disgusted? I do not know. I had picked up a few Amharic phrases pretty quickly earlier in the day and tried my best to greet those eyes that lingered the most as I walked by. I got quite a few surprised faces.
I came back to the house to rest, though sleep once again did not come easy. Up until this point, I had not been hungry and so earlier in the day had declined food. Once I awoke and came in the main living room/communal space, Marta was there finishing up dinner. This was going to be my first Ethiopia meal. Injera, a common flat spongy bread that's eaten with almost every meal. The shuro (a bean mixture) is poured on top. It smelled amazing and I was so excited to try it. Reality sank in with the first bite though. It wasn't totally awful, but not something I'd ever choose to eat. The injera has an odd texture. Eyasu asked me later if I thought it was sour, saying that that was a typical response the first time someone tried it. The shuro was alright, but had a kick to it. My mouth does not take fire well, not that it was actually very hot, my taste buds are just weak with heat (hoping that will change soon). The main spice they use there is called burberry. I did my best and ate as much as I could with a smile on my face. Eyasu reassured me that I did not have to finish it and that if I don't like something I don't have to eat it. As I said, it wasn't thattttt bad, but it's something that I know is served a lot, so I'm going to have to suck it up.
Slowly the other kids came home from school for their lunch break. I met Solomon, the one boy of the extended family crew in grade 3, Teresa who's in grade 8, and Sawhi in grade 9. I didn't meet the fifth of the kids, Esther (pronouced Aster), and Eyasu's mother until later in the evening. They were polite, but seemed unsure what to think of me.
In the meantime, Eyasu and I went on a much longer walk down the road. We walked out the backdoor of his home which leads to a wide walk path between the houses. Everything seemed so quite and rural compared to the front door which opens up on the sidewalk on the main street. Before we were back on the main street, I'd passed a donkey and rooster.
We ran into two of his friends who're both interested in helping us with our after-school tutoring program. One of them is an Amharic teacher of ten years at the Catholic school who's a licensed lawyer and the other use to be a science teacher and is now back at university studying physics. We spoke very briefly about the problems with the Ethiopian education system. I asked the Amharic teacher if he could change one thing what would it be/what area needs the most work. He said he'd have to think about it.
We continued on our way down the road. It was an absolutely beautiful day out. Perfect jeans and hoodie weather. Light breeze, a few clouds in the sky. We walked and talked about the city, religion, family. I kept asking him to quiz me on the few Amharic words I'd learned early that day. We came to a busier part of the road, the mecaniza, where people sell random items from kid's chairs to cooking utensils to fruit and vegetables to flashlights and posters. We rested at a cafe as it got dark and then started the walk home. Bringing my timberlands was definitely a plus as the edges of the roads, the "sidewalks," and sometimes the road itself is just stones and dirt.
Back at the house, I finally met Eyasu's mother who greeted me with a hug and kisses. I immediately gave her the gift I'd brought her, a scarf. She loved it and put it on right away. Even though I wasn't so hungry and neither Eyasu nor I had asked, suddenly food appeared. It's called bulla, a soft couscous like pasta/grain mixed with cabbage, and what I think was okra and what tasted like parmesan cheese. Besides the kick that this dish also had, it was delicious and one I won't mind eating again.
I came to bring the tray back into the main room, where the entire family sat before me watching tv and eating dinner. They told me to join and I sat there in the awkward space, not yet family but no longer a total stranger. Marta commented on how much she like her mother's scarf. That's when I realized that they were all together and it would be a perfect time to bring them their gifts. I'd brought OSU hats for the boys, another scarf for his sister, uno, a puzzle, gloves, and tee-shirts/blouses (thanks to my mother) which I think the girls loved the most! They thanked me repeatedly and I was grateful for their smiles. I thanked them right back for inviting me into their home and letting me stay with them.
It was a great end to my first night in Addis, besides the two spiders (no sign of the rat yet) that I found throughout the evening. Makes me all the more excited to be sleeping in my room. Here's to diving in and embracing this new and completely foreign way of life! I hope I can hack it. I'm not too worried. Though both the shower and bathroom are outdoors, covered by a tin roof. That's going to be interesting once it's cold and/or rainy out. The bathroom… well not much to say besides it's a hole in the ground (see the above picture). Use your imagination and that's exactly what it is! As for the shower… that shall be tomorrow's adventure!
