Waking up in Ethiopia

Where to begin? All I can say is that this morning, I woke up in Ethiopia. There's so much joy that comes with reading those words as I write them!

Last night, I got into Addis at around 7PM. After finally seeing my luggage and exchanging a little cash, I met Surafel a TOMS consultant here in Addis. We jumped in a small blue and white taxi, drove off a beaten path and I arrived at the Don Bosco location.

A short man with a face mask met us at the gate, somewhat surprised by my arrival. But after checking with the powers that be, remembered me and they brought me to my room. I was greeted by Father Samala, known as Father Sam for short. He is a elderly Indian man who is probably the most hospitable person I've ever met. He gave me a quick tour of my room (which included a hot water shower!) and demanded that I get some rest-apparently I looked tired.

I began to unpack and shortly thereafter was met by Sara and one of her interns. Sara works for IOCC- an international organization doing work in health and education around the world. Sara recently began a podoconiosis treatment program just north of Addis. We spoke for about 30 minutes and then, the sleeping pills began to kick in, so we agreed to meet for a late breakfast in town.

I woke up this morning around 6 AM and laid in bed for about an hour, allowing myself to rest. The shower was heavenly. I'm not sure anything matches the feeling of being clean after a long day or so of travel. After getting ready, I walked down stairs and outside the compound and just smiled at how beautiful the surroundings are. My momentary "taking it all in" was abruptly ended by Father Sam yelling out the window, asking me if I wanted breakfast. I chuckled and then made my way into the cafeteria where I was met by about 8 gentlemen who all invited me to sit down and eat. I immediately reached for the thermos, which I soon discovered was milk- not coffee- much to the delight of the two Ethiopian brothers sitting to my right. I met Brother Cesare- the head honcho here at Don Bosco. He's from Venice and has a thick Italian accent. About 10 minutes later, Father Sam buzzed in and made sure that I had everything- offering me orange jam even though I had already finished my slice of toast. He was so busy tending to me that he forgot he had left his bread soaking in his hot milk. Are you getting the picture yet? This man is an absolute doll.

After breakfast, I met with Brother Cesare for a few minutes. He kept getting phone calls throughout our conversation- and with each call he got increasingly annoyed. "Hello?!" he would say. And then with no emotion, "Good morning." The person would ask how he was doing and he would say "Fine"- the kind of "fine" that clearly was meant to encourage the caller to get on with it. I am already in love with the man. He told me that we will get to visit some of the outreaches of this ministry including a daily street kid program. After arranging for a cab for me for my morning rendezvous with Sara, he said "Ok, good bye", vocally escorting me out of the office. (smile)

I met with Sara at the Lime Tree Cafe towards the center of the city. We enjoyed a light breakfast of scones, butter, and fresh lime juice with mint. I finished it with some Ethiopian coffee (which is AMAZING by the way) and made it back to the compound just in time to meet with Surafel and the real estate agent. We traversed all across Addis, looking at houses. Seriously, we took five hours just driving around, walking through houses for rent. The good news is that I narrowed down what it is we were looking for very quickly-gaining a better picture for this project I'm working on, but today was so good for me. I saw areas that I imagine many people do not see.

The center of town and the markets are literally buzzing with people. I stood out like a sore thumb, though, with my blonde hair and relatively pale skin. Surafel kept laughing at me as I asked questions about culture and why there were so many goats and sheep in the market. Although, I think my favorite reaction from him was his response to me realizing that it is 100% normal for people to relieve themselves on the sides of the streets. No biggie. He suggested that I be "adventurous enough" and try it. I told him that I'd pass this time around.

In about 30 minutes we'll head to the airport to pick up Josh, my colleague. Tomorrow is another full day of house hunting and exploring the city.

Again, it's really amazing and some what unbelievable that I am actually writing this from Ethiopia. It seems like somewhat of a dream. But here I am, it's only day 1, and there is much yet to see and experience.

Until next time,

ACW