Rendez-Vous

Yesterday night we went to Rendez-Vous, an Ethiopian restaurant in Toronto!! There is a very small Ethiopian population in Hamilton, so to get any Ethiopian food, we have to drive an hour into Toronto. There were 9 of us; me, Alex, Kerry, my Mom, my Gramma, Jodnel, Meron, Nebiyou, and Noel, and we had a lot of fun... and I got an excuse to wear the shirt I bought in ET! Walking into the restaurant was like going back to Ethiopia- the smells, especially... the spices, the injera, the coffee. It is a beautiful restaurant and pretty cheap too- $80 for all of us. Meron and Nebiyou were so excited when we told them that we wanted to take them into Toronto to an Ethiopian restaurant. Kerry, my Mom, and my Gramma had never tried Ethiopian food before, and Alex and I had only tried some, so they gave us lessons on what to eat, what it tasted like, how to eat it, etc. We ended up getting 4 platters- doro wat (chicken stew), tibbs, spicy tibbs, and another wat, I think it was beef? Tibbs are the safest choice (and also my favourite) as they are not as spicy as some of the other dishes. Of course, injera was served in large proportions (as it always is) and coffee afterwards. They gave us a bit of a coffee ceremony, although nothing like we saw in Ethiopia. It is such a beautiful culture- it was so much fun to get to experience it again, if only in a little way. I gave Meron a copy of the documentary A Walk to Beautiful and I am excited on hearing her thoughts about it. It is about women in Ethiopia who suffer fistulas after childbirth- it is a really amazing film.
















I also found this website on another blog where you can order Ethiopian food and have it delivered to your house, for those who don't live near an Ethiopian restaurant!

Video... Enjoy!

Noel

Last night Meron, Nebiyou, and their son Noel came over to our house to visit! They are from Ethiopia and were so excited to hear about our trip. While we were in ET, we met Meron's sister who she hadn't seen in 5 years, and we delivered pictures of their family. We gave them a ton of teff (to make injera) and the spice for injera (I can't remember what it is called... it starts with a b). We also bought Noel a little hat, and he looked so cute! Meron looooved the hat and hearing about the trip. She told us that we must all go to Toronto soon to the Ethiopian restaurant there.

Tips and Important Things About Ethiopia

-When I got to Ethiopia, I switched half of my money to Ethiopian birr and kept the other half in USD, thinking I would be able to use American dollars in some places. This was wrong- no where by the airport can you use any type of money but Ethiopian birr. Also in regards to money, Ethiopia is very inexpensive, and you do not need a lot of money to get by. At a restaurant, you will eat for about 40 birr ($4) and you can buy shirts for around the same price (although, they may try to get you to pay higher, so always bargain with them and they will lower it!)
-Stay at the Ethiopia Guest Home! This place is amazing. It is run by an American couple who adopted from Ethiopia (they do not live there, they run it from the States). The staff is amazing, great prices, and VERY helpful. They catered to us and made everything so easy. We also got free internet and local phone calls. They have a driver that will take you anywhere, they serve great meals, beautiful view, hot water (yay- warm shower!), etc. Best of all, part of the money you spend on your room goes back into the country in aid programs. It is amazing!
-Definitely try the national foods. Doro wat is my favourite (very spicy). Doro means chicken and wat is stew. It is eaten with injera, the staple food for most families in Ethiopia. Just we sure not to have too much the first time, or you will be sick!
-You haven't seen Ethiopia until you have seen the countryside. Be sure to venture outside of Addis and go to a village. If you are interested in learning more, a great option is to contact World Vision, or a similar organization, and have them escort you. They will pick you up in Addis and drive you out in the middle of nowhere to their villages. This way, you won't only get to see village life, but you will learn more about what is being done to improve the quality of life in these areas.
-If you are bringing donations, consider underwear and vitamins. Be sure, with the vitamins, not to give them out without explanations (even to organizations that you think may understand how to use them). Vitamins aren't very common in Ethiopia and so you need to explain what the purpose of them is and how to take them (get a translator for this to ensure they understand). Vitamins are great because most kids in Ethiopia eat injera all of the time and don't have a varied diet. Most Ethiopians also go without underwear, so that is very appreciated.
-Another good option for donations is care packages. Before I left for Ethiopia, Alex and I put together about 60 care packages for kids. I am really glad we did this. We used a large ziplock bag to hold each package and filled it with lots of things (some examples include skipping ropes, beanie babies, underwear, socks, snacks (granola bars, fruit chew snacks), flash cards, school supplies, books, jewelry, hair clips, bouncy balls, toy cars, t-shirts, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.) This way, when we saw kids in need, we were able to give them things rather than just money (although, we often did give them money as well, or went and bought food for them). The only thing I would have changed was I wouldn't put underwear in it. It made it difficult as when we saw a kid we would have to search through the packages to find one with underwear in that child's size.
-The weather varies so is hard to predict. I was in ET during the dry season (I was there in February). It was very hot (around 27 or 28 degrees Celsius) but with no humidity, so it didn't seem as hot. I burned easily. At night and early in the morning it was quite cool (pants and sweatshirt). There were no mosquitoes during the dry season. Most of the time I wore pants and a t-shirt. Sometimes (on really hot days, or when we were building) I wore shorts, but they were long shorts that went to my knee. Ethiopians are very conservative and it would have been considered rude to wear anything shorter. I did have sandals, but I wore shoes most of the time as it is so dusty that my feet would just be covered in dirt by the end of the day.
-Just beware that you will come across begging. It is typical to give beggars 1 birr (equal to about 10 cents Canadian). I would usually give more than that, sometimes up to 100 birr, especially if it was a child. I would not give any in areas where there were lots of beggars. Once you give money to one, in a few seconds you would have a dozen Ethiopians surrounding you with their hands outstretched. It is always better, at least in my opinion, to go and buy food and give them this. I would usually buy a loaf of bread or something that I knew they would like (not Canadian-style food that they may not like).

Ethiopian Shopping

Shopping in Ethiopia is very inexpensive, and very fun! Addis has amazing shopping... such beautiful and cultural pieces. Market areas in Addis do tend to have a lot of begging, so beware of that. Worse, though, is the pickpocketing. Just take precautions and you should be fine. We experienced incidents when they would team up on one person- someone would grab leaves from a tree and slap Alex's legs with them to distract him. When he reached down to push the leaves away, another guy reached into his pocket (thankfully, it was empty). Other incidents I have heard about and/or experienced included people riding by on bikes with outstreched arms to quickly grab bags or cameras, or using knifes to cut bags off straps to take them. Most of them time though, these things don't happen and all is fine. Just a few things to be wary of. Below are some things I bought, and the approximate prices to give you an idea of cost (very inexpensive!) They always give you a high price, especially if you are a foreigner, but they will go down quite low.

An Ethiopian hat I bought for Noel, the baby boy who lives here in Hamilton and whose family are immigrants from Ethiopia. This cost about 30 birr ($3). I definitely could have bargained this down, but at this point I was feeling sick and just wanted to get out of there!


Beautiful painting of a girl collecting water. This cost 100 birr, or about $10 Canadian.


A buna pot. This cost 20 birr ($2). These are gorgeous- the only problem is bringing them home, as they break easily. Alex bought three, and two chipped. One tip we heard is to boil water in them before you leave, which makes them stronger.


A shirt I bought for myself. I love this shirt!! It resembles the traditional Ethiopian wear, but in a style that I could wear in Canada. I bought this for 50 birr, or $5 Canadian.


A traditional outfit I bought for my sponsor child Tsehay. I couldn't find any while shopping in Debre Zeyit, but Addis is full of them. It is two pieces (a skirt and shirt) and cost 70 birr ($7 Canadian), I believe.


Do not even think of buying anything in the airports- they are so ridiculously overpriced. A shirt that would go for 30 birr in a market would be 150 birr at the aiport ($3 or $15).

Heading Home

As I write this I am in the plane flying from Germany to Chicago. We had already gone from Ethiopia to Sudan, then to Germany. After this flight, we will get on another plane to Buffalo, and then will drive home. My time in Ethiopia is over, and it is hard to believe. This trip was a dream come true for me, and something I have been wanting to do for many years. When I began sponsoring Tsehay, two years ago, I knew that one day, I would meet her. I am still in disbelief that this actually happened. This little girl who I have been exchanging letters with for so long now is ‘real’ to me- when I think of her I can picture her shy expressions, her dark, tiny house, and her quiet yet sweet voice. The culture of Ethiopia is so incredibly beautiful, and I am sad to be unable to experience it daily. There are so many things that I noticed, so many thoughts flying around in my head about the beauty of Africa, but it is hard to put it all in words. It is hard to express everything I saw and experienced and portray the beauty of it all.
My last day was full of mixed emotions. As usual (as anyone who followed my Dominican trip knows) I get travel sickness and despite trying to prepare for this as best as possible (pills, wrist bands, etc.) I was still stick and my last day, after the drive from Debre Zeyit to Addis Ababa, was pretty miserable. But I won’t dwell on that.

Before we left for Addis, we had one stop to make. We split up- Beth and Brogan went to Beth’s sponsor child’s house (Genet, and her brother Yohannes) as she bought them backpacks and shoes and toys and wanted to deliver it and say goodbye. Alex and I, as I mentioned before, had prepared a package for Tigist and her girls- dresses for Sara and Fassika and toiletries and food. Anna, Alex, and I (along with the boys Melaku and Nicky) went there. I was worried that she wouldn’t be home, but as their tin gate was open and we walked through the gate made of sticks and called her name. Tigist’s expression was priceless- she just giggled and giggled and was so happy for us to be there. The girls must have just been bathed, as they were clean and their hair freshly braided (although their clothes were quite dirty). We gave Tigist the bags of food and toiletries and pulled out the dresses for the girls as we sat on little wooden stools on the dirt floor. Sara and Fassika changed into their new dresses right there, and I kept telling them how konjo (beautiful) they looked. Sara sat on Alex’s lap and Fassika on mine and as we were kissing them and loving on them, I looked over at Tigist and she had tears streaming from her eyes and a huge smile on her face. It was a really meaningful moment for me as I was reminded how huge one small gesture can be to one person.
We went shopping and Addis has amazing shopping- not just cheap souvenirs but beautiful authentic pieces that remind me of the country. I bought two shirts for myself (one, a cheesy tourist t-shirt, and the other, a gorgeous traditional shirt), a painting of a girl doing a buna ceremony, and an Ethiopian hat for the little boy, Noel, who is in the family that I posted about earlier, the immigrants from Ethiopia who I have become friends with through a volunteer program. Alex bought buna pots, 2 masks, and a knife. Everything is very, very inexpensive. Afterwards we went to the coffee shop and Alex got coffee beans to bring home, and then Tadesse, the man who helps to run BCI here in Ethiopia, had his brother bring us some teff, which is the ingredient to make injera. Injera is the staple food here in Ethiopia. I had it for the first time on my first day here, and was hesitant to try it again as it made me sick (I later learned that the first time you have it, you should have just a little as your body isn’t used to it). I did try it, several other times, and it is quite good. We are going to give some to Meron, the lady we know who is living in Hamilton and is Ethiopia, and we are going to keep some for ourselves and ask her to teach us how to make injera. When I met Meron a few weeks ago, she gave me the phone numbers of her mother and 2 sisters who are still living in Addis. They moved out of Ethiopia before their baby boy, Noel, was born, and so her family has never seen him. I had taken pictures of them together, and some pictures of Noel, and put them in a little album to deliver to Meron’s family. When Alex and I were in Addis last week, visiting AHOPE and Tsehay, we had called Meron’s mother and arranged for her to come to our guest house to pick up the album, but she never showed up and I am guessing that there had been a misunderstanding somehow. I asked Tadesse to call them today, figuring it might be easier if someone was talking to them in Amharic, and he arranged for them to meet us at the airport. Meron’s youngest sister came to pick up the pictures, and although I only talked to her quickly as we were on our way to fly out, she was very sweet (just like Meron) and happy to have the pictures. After we said goodbye to them, and watched them (Meron’s sister and friend) walking away and flipping through the album with smiles on their faces, it was time to leave. We had a full van and said goodbye to other missionaries first (Mariam, Anna, and Brogan) as well as Tadesse. It was hard to say goodbye to the boys, Sisay, Misgana, Melaku, and Nicky. We hugged them all goodbye and Misgana was acting a little funny- he hugged us quickly and then walked away to the van by himself. I looked up at Mariam, questioningly, and she said he was crying. I peaked in the van at him, and sure enough, he was hiding his face to cover the tears. He is such a sweetheart. My favourite memory of him, and the one I think best describes his personality, occurred the two times I was sick. On the first time, after I was sick and was napping it off, he came in and woke me up with a cup of tea. Today when I was sick after the drive, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight and when I had to leave the restaurant we were at to be sick outside, he came out with me and asked repeatedly if I was okay. He is such a sweet 13-year old and very wise beyond his years. I miss those boys already.
While my time in Ethiopia is over (for now) I will be posting videos and more pictures as soon as I get time to organize my thoughts and footage. While as usual, I can never properly describe how amazing the trip was, I hope that the photos and video clips will be able to at least partly portray this!

Painting For Ashenafi

Our morning began with work on the school. We set out quite early and worked until lunch, putting up more rows on the wall. As we were packing up before lunch, I saw three kids standing by the fence staring at us. This happens often, but since we were all done, and they had been standing there for awhile, I decided to go over and say hi. There was a boy, about 8, a girl, about 7, and a younger boy (who looked 2, but who I later learned was 4)- very similar to the family I met yesterday. The youngest one kept burying his face in his sister’s skirt, and I just thought he was shy. As I continued talking to the kids, the little boy removed his head, but covered his right eye. After a few minutes of him holding his eye, I asked what was wrong and if I could see it. I convinced him to pull his hand away, and he could barely open his eye- it was bloodshot and swollen. I called over Eshetu, our social worker who was helping us build, and Brogan, another missionary, came too. I got him to talk to the kids in their language, Oromifa, and find out more about what was going on. We learned then that the little boy was 4, they do not go to school, and his eye had been like this for a few days. They had not been to a doctor. The kids looked very, very poor, and when we asked, they said there were no adults at home- they were all out. Brogan remembered seeing eye drops in the office back at our guest house. We have a ton of medical supplies, in case they are even needed (but most of the time they are not, and are there ‘just in case’). We had Eshetu tell the kids to wait there, and we walked back to the guest house. Brogan went to get the eye drops. We did not know what was wrong with his eye, but we hoped this would help. I got a package of vitamins I had brought, as well as soap, toothbrush/toothpaste, and a toy for each kid (a car, a skipping rope, and a beanie baby). We stopped on the way and I bought biscuits and pasta for them. We walked (quickly- by now close to a half hour had passed) back to the worksite. The little girl came running when we got there. She went to get her brother, who had left. He had been scared of us before, but when he saw the drops and Eshetu explained that it would fix his sore eye, he sat very calmly on Brogan’s knee as she put the drops in. We showed his sister how to put them in, and gave them the little container, telling them to put it in 3 or 4 times every day until it clears up. I explained to Eshetu to tell them how often to take the vitamins, and what they were for. We also had to take the toothbrush out of its case and explain how to use it. As this was happening, a crowd had gathered. One man said that his daughter also had a sore eye. He ran back to his house and brought back the baby, maybe 2 years old, but very, very tiny. I am not sure how often she had seen a white person close up before. She opened her mouth and screamed- completely terrified. I could not see anything wrong with her eye (unlike the other little boy who clearly couldn’t open it), but we put a drop in anyways. By then, about 5 minutes had passed since we put the drop in, and although the boy’s eye was still red and slightly swollen, he was no longer walking around covering it in pain. I was so glad, and they were very grateful. I hope the vitamins will help to keep them healthy in the future. **update... it seems I caught the pink eye- went to the walk in clinic this morning (first day back home) and I have pink eye in both eyes!**

After lunch we went to the house of Ashenafi. He is a 5 year old boy in the BCI program whose parents died of HIV (and who is available for international adoption). He lives with his grandmother in a one room house made of mud. I used a small portion of money I brought to donate to paint their tiny house. Paint is very different in Ethiopia than that in Canada that we are used to. It is more like coloured glue, and it is what keeps the mud houses from crumbling. We got one liter of blue paint and three brushes for less than $10 Canadian. Alex, Brogan, Beth, and the social worker Eshetu and I went to their house this afternoon. Everything had already been taken out of the tiny house and they were very excited. It took us about two hours to paint. We only had three brushes, which slowed it down a bit. The first paint store we went to only had one brush to sell, and the second we went to had two, so that was all we could do. We took turns painting. It also took longer than a ‘normal’ room (not made of mud) because in spots the mud was crumbling and difficult to paint on. Sometimes a small chunk of the house would fall on the ground- we had to be very careful. This paint will hold it together better, and make it more like a real wall and less like clumps of mud. Ashenafi was very shy, but very cute. He warmed up to me a bit when I would peak through the open window and he would duck, and run and hide on me. When we were all done, the grandmother gave us two papayas as a thank you. They were so grateful. I liked knowing that not only was the small, dark house brightened and looked more welcoming, but it would also help in making the house stronger and holding the mud together.
Today was our last full day in Ethiopia, and I have mixed feelings about it. I will definitely be sad to leave. Every night we go out and play with the kids who live in the area, and I had to say goodbye to them today. There are a few kids who come every night and who I have gotten to know well- Malcolm, Dagim, Hawit, Helen, Teddy, Mahry, and Selam. I promised them yesterday that I would bring chocolate today as it would be my last night. I went to the store on the way home from painting and got 10 small chocolate bars. Apparantly the word had spread that I was bringing chocolate. As Alex and I turned the corner to the house, about 30 kids came running towards me screaming, “Nikki! Chocolate!” Not knowing what to do as I was all out of all other sweets I had brought, I told the kids I had none today, but then whispered to the kids I had promised chocolate to that I had some and would sneak it to them. They felt very special, and kept our secret well! Tonight we have 4 boys staying with us- Misgana and Sisay live here all the time, and Melaku arrived as he comes every weekend. We also have Nicolay (Nicky- he finds it very funny that we have the same name)- a 7 year old boy whose father was a Russian who abandoned him very early on (not sure if they ever even knew each other). It is going to be a fun night- they are already running around and screaming excitedly!