I have posted a lot of photos for you today--because a lot has been going on for Jim and me.  I already described for you the feast members of the Anuak congregation put on for us, but here are the photos. You can see the food--which was really delicious, nicely spiced and tasty--beef and ox dishes to put on the quan (which I spelled wrong last time) plus cabbage and rice.  But now you can see this food and these people, and can note that the men and women eat separately, and are equally comfortable on the floor or on a chair. The last photo shows me holding a beaded gourd they gave me, and wearing a beaded necklace they put around my neck. It is ecsquisite workmanship using tiny beads. And you can see the group gathered with us for a photo. Did I tell you the female pastor of this church, who is studying theology at present, but only has a 10th grade education and no English to speak of, was sold by her older brother when she was about 10 years old to an older married man. She was to work as a maid in their house, but ended up being a sex slave to this man.  She bore a child to him as a teenager. That child is now about 20 and lives in Kenya.  The church found out about how she was being treated, and negotiated for her release. She has been living a life of thankfulness and praise ever since and it certainly reflects when you are around her. She is a very strong woman. You can see her in green sitting on the floor eating.

Then you see a fun photo of a market stall selling chrome parts for cars. They seem to be every size and share and really gleam in the sun!

There are several photos of the garden of a hotel we visited yesterday. A Swedish woman, Karen, whose husband is also teaching a course here at the seminary, has lived here for about 15 years, and now she and her husband, having returned to Sweden, return every year for about three months. Anyway,. she took me and another Carolyn from the school here around the city yesterday. We saw pottery and  rugs and furniture and artwork and jewelry and lots of Ethiopian things for sale, and I was able to buy a few things. Then she took us to visit a Swedish friend of hers, also named Karen, who is a designer/architect married to an Ethiopian. After working for an NGO for 30 years in Kenya, they retired here in Addis and decided to build a house, which she designed. Actually they did this the year before they retired, their last year in Kenya.  They found a builder recommended for his quality, signed a contract, paid money to him throughout the year, and when they came to check on the house after a year, they found that he had built it not according to the plan, but in the way he thought appropriate for the site.  It was two stories tall and about five times bigger than the specs called for.  Long and short of it, they decided it wouldn't work for a house, and so they would build a hotel on the site, and a house next door.  Also, she said, almost every angle in the place was NOT 90 degrees as it was supposed to, so a lot had to be ripped out.  But she showed us the house and the hotel, used a lot by the British Embassy only a couple of blocks away, and it is all beautiful, extremely Swedish like in use of white walls and lots of windows, and flowers all over.  But the best part was the grounds. This Karen is a wonderful gardener, and she said things grow incredibly well. She had a 20 foot fence about 50 feet long totally covered with vines, and she said it was at most two years old, more likely one and a half.  There were flowers blooming everywhere and lots of cozy quiet nooks among the plantings.What a wonderful quiet place to spend time together drinking coffee and eating pastries.

From the roof of the hotel I took a photo of women washing their clothes next door. You can see the colored wash pans and women crowded around., You may have to double click to see it close-up.  Women work very hard here.  More about that tomorrow.

We had a wonderful day today, Saturday too and I am very excited about what we did. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see and hear about it. Jim needs the computer to write a lecture.

I am so happy to hear your comments about how you are enjoying reading this. It is good for me to write down these great experiences before i forget them. I am going to enjoy going back and reading them again. Love to all!

Carolyn.