First Day

Today we got up bright and early and met the social workers we are
going to be working with. We had breakfast and then went out to teach
an English class at one of the churches. We split up, and we had 7 kids
at the English class Mariam, Alex and I taught. This is less than
usual, as the kids started school again this week after being on
vacation. One little boy, Abayneh, lost both of his arms when he was
hit by a train while playing on the train tracks. In Ethiopia, if you
are disabled you cannot go to school, so because of this, he can’t get
an education. He loves English class though, and had a lot of fun. BCI
is in the process of trying to organize for him to go to America to get
prosthetic arms. First in the class, we had papers with opposites. We
handed out the cards and took turns saying the word, and then finding
the person who had the opposite card. We would then explain what the
words meant (for example, if someone had open and another person had
closed, we would demonstrate by opening and closing the door). When we
got to rich and poor, we asked them for examples. For rich, they said
Bill Gates. For poor, they said themselves, telling us that Ethiopia is
one of the poorest countries in the worlds. After we had a relay race
where we split the kids in two groups and gave each group cards. The
matching opposites were across the yard. They would race to see what
team could find all the opposites the quickest. It was a fun class, and
many of the kids only go to school for half the day, so it is nice to
keep them learning. It was so interesting walking through the village
and just taking everything in. We tried to go to an Internet café, and
I sat for 15 minutes before we had to leave for lunch, but none of my
emails would send. We went to lunch and Misgana (the 13 year old) told
me about the Ethiopian dishes). He, Alex, and I all got doro wat with
injera. Doro wat is chicken stew, and the injera is a spongy bread that
you dip it in. The doro wat comes in a bowl, and you use a spoon to
dump it on the injera. You then rip off pieces of the injera (with your
hands- Misgana made it very cleat that Ethiopians eat with their
hands!) and then dip it into the spicy doro wat. It was very good, but
I couldn’t eat all of it! Misgana ate all of his and half of mine, and
I was still stuffed. It didn’t sit too well, and I felt like I was
going to throw up about an hour later! Brogan told me later than a lot
of people feel sick their first time trying it, as it is so spicy. We
toured the city a bit and then it was time for another English class.
It was at this point that I experienced my first Ethiopian begging. I
have experience begging before in the DR, but never by kids. This
little girl, maybe 7 years old, came up to me in tatters, carrying her
baby brother on her back. I know a lot of people disagree with giving
money to beggars, but she is just a child and none of this is her
fault. It is really heartbreaking seeing what her life must be like,
having to beg for food just to eat. I was still feeling sick, so went
back to the Guest House to lie down. I was disappointed as I really
wanted to go, but the time change and the food had caught up on me and
I needed that 2 hour nap! I am feeling much better now. Misgana is so
sweet. He came in my room and woke me up, having made me a cup of tea.
We sorted through all the donations we brought, and handed some out to
Misgana and Melaku. Melaku (the 9 year old orphan who now went back to
his home where he lives with his aunt) came here with nothing but the
clothes on his back, and is going back home with three big bags full of
things like clothes, toothbrushes/toothpaste, toys, etc. I gave him a
care package and he loved the toy car in it, and played with it for a
long time. He also loved the underwear, which apparently is a rarity
here in Ethiopia. We had dinner and now have the rest of the night to
relax. I will be going to bed early! Tomorrow we are going to Addis to
do our own thing for 2 days- going to AHOPE, meeting my sponsor child,
etc.