Hi all,

I have gotten some questions and reactions from several of you about my blog!  Thanks! It is much more fun to write when I know what people are wondering and can react to them.

You asked why students don’t show up for the first week of classes in the term. Jim and I don’t know.  Each class seemed to have about half come this week. We are told that the school is fining those who didn’t come this first week, but that it is a new policy so maybe people didn’t get the word. Some of them live a long ways away and have to travel by bus 12 or more hours on very bumpy roads to get here. Perhaps that is part of the reason.  Once here, they seem very diligent and interested in learning.

I met my English class last night. Students are in their first year of Theology study, which is taught in English. It meets 2 hours on Thursday, then nothing until the next Thursday. In my view, that isn’t a way to learn a language. I am told these people have studied 8 years of English already, but have been taught by non-native speakers so their speaking is poor and they have no confidence in their ability to speak.  I gave them a syllabus with lots of writing and speaking exercises built in. They were very excited about it. One thing they said was that in Ethiopia, shame is a big factor. They do not want to feel shame for their mistakes. I promised them no shame, as long as they didn’t laugh at the way I pronounced their names. I assigned two textbooks. One is a grammar book written by an Ethiopian, so it understands the differences between English and Amharic. I think it should help in teaching those differences.  I also assigned (and Jim and I bought for each student) a copy of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. Since this is English for Theology Students, I thought that would provide a body of theology, written in simple terms, that they could use to do writing as well as oral presentations for class. The first exercise last night was to write a paragraph on what the first commandment meant to each of them.  Though the Mekane Yesus church is a Lutheran church, their faces looked blank when I showed them the book. They didn’t know anything about Father Martin or his catechism.

Today at lunch I met 11 students who are in a Masters of Theology program and the dean has asked me to meet with them to help in an intensive way with their English. This group is much more competent in English, but of course they have already gone through 3-4 years of school in English.   They knew what they wanted:  possessives, conjunctions, punctuation.  I agreed to be available 2 ½ hours a day 5 days a week for the next three weeks. They can come and see me in groups as many times each week as they want for oral and written exercises which I will correct. They were elated! So I am going to be really busy, but that’s what I want, and what a wonderful way to get to know some people here better!

Our big issue now is how to deal with all of the needy people we see here. Today two students of Jim’s spoke with him about their need for money to continue their studies. An elderly man came to our front door hoping to sell us acrylic paintings he had done. When I said I wasn’t sure, he said he needed medical attention for his ears, teeth, had a wife and children. It makes your heart cry. One of my English students, a Swedish woman, works with young street people who have lost their homes, families and have no money. She has worked with them five years. She said one of those women is now studying dentistry, so there are successes. Walking down the street, we met a man who teaches at a nearby deal school. He said he is working with an English teacher here at the seminary to help deaf women who need help to become independent. They work in homes as domestics and are often beaten by the wife and sexually abused by the husband. They can’t express themselves to defend themselves against such treatment. We were invited to visit this school for the deaf. I think that should be interested. My heart goes out to them.

Tomorrow, Saturday, we are going to a craft sale sponsored by some local NGOs. Should be fun to see what they have. We also hope to go to the National Museum, where Lucy, the world’s oldest skeleton, is on display.

The photo is of me with a big pan of green coffee beans, washed, and dried in the sun, ready to be roasted in a fry pan, like popcorn. Then we’ll grind and cook it.  Fun to do the process from beginning to end!