Yosias in Ethiopia

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Good news! We survived the flood with out a scratch and have made it back to the seminary where we were originally staying. The other place was nice but the joy of sharing a room with 12 guys isn't all it's cracked up to be. It has still been raining but even more as the rainy season continues. It is raining twice most days and often at night. Surprisingly it is very cool here and often times I have long sleeves on.

Teaching is going well. It is interesting trying to teach with a language barrier even though many of my students speak some English. Also I realized that teaching is easier when students don't ask you questions you don't know the answer to. I absolutely love being at the orphanage. The kids call me by my amharic name, Josias (pronounced Yosias.) Many of them have started to shorten it to Yosi. It's so enjoyable to be make it to the orphanage in the mornings. The kids greet me with the ethnic hand shake, hugs, and a few kisses. A few of the boys have taken my under their wing to show my how to play soccer properly. The orphanage is small and all but one building are wood poles with corrugated metal as walls and a roof.

Yesterday we took a bus half way up a mountain outside the city. The bus dropped us off in a small village. Instantly kids swarmed us and were excited to pick at our clothes and bags. We stayed in the village a while just playing with the kids and talking with the adults. We had a 45 minute hike up the mountain to over look the entire city and on the other side the Ethiopian country side. It is truly beautiful and gorgeous in the country side. Twenty five of the kids from the village just followed up the rolling mountain. It was amazing all they wanted to do was be with us. Many of us had kids that continually attached themselves to our hands. We made to somewhat of a peak that was also in the middle of a eucilipta tree forest. The kids quickly showed us their ability to climb the trees. We decided to walk all the way down the mountain instead of just halfway the way we came up. Half the way down the mountain I had a boy on my back that would mimic the sounds as we would get the goats along the road to baaw at us.


Cultural things -
The main mode of transportation are mini buses. These are 12 person vans but up to twenty people pack into them to make it across different parts of the city. A 3-5 mile trip cost between .15-.20 cents.

Food is very cheap here because Ethiopia is an agricultural country. It is very hard to find a meal that cost more than $10 at the very best of restaurants. Most days we eat on less than $2

There are shoe shiners along the roads. Even though it is very muddy here after the rain your cleanliness of your shoes show how well you take care of yourself. Having dirty shoes show that you don't care about your appearance.

We actually don't take showers here everyday and most people don't. So of the guys may be taking advantage of this fact and stretching the expected 3-4 days to 10 or 12 days.

I appreciate all your messages and questions so far. It has been great to hear from some of you.

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Photos

At the orphane
Two of my coworkers and some of the kids

Comments

[Roaming Bulldog]

Hanging On Every Word
Josie - I have been thoroughly enjoying your blog updates. I have also turned Jan Wise and my parents on to them, so your fan base is growing. So glad that you are having the experiences you are while in a place like Ethiopia. Big an small, these are memories that will stay with you forever. Keep living everyday to its greatest extent and leave yourself a few minutes to reflect on what meaning you can take away from these things. All the best.

[Lindsy]

keep doin your thang
hey buddy, sounds like you're doing lots of good over there- i really enjoy reading your blogs. keep up the good work, i'm guessing you've got more kid in you then lots of the ones you're playing with, and that's probly why they love you so much- anyways i miss you and will be excited to catch up when we get back!