I write today from St. Paul, Minnesota! Our month-long trip to Ethiopia has, sadly, come to an end. We have been welcomed home by Lila, my mom, and by Peder and Sarah, and little Ansel (who was very excited to see us and loved the little crocodile we brought for him).
But let me tell you about the rest of our stay, because the last day was so busy I didn't get a chance to write any more before we left.
The Wednesday evenin hourg before our Thursday evening departure, our friend and co-teacher, Carolyn, invited us to dinner at Taste of Abyssinia, a cultural restaurant. They served habisha (native, as opposed to firengi--foreign) food and had ethnic dancing and live music. Wonderful! We had injera, of course, though this time two kinds, both shaped like giant pancakes, but one of a darker color, almost buckwheat-like, and the other lighter, and closer to the kind we have eaten most often. The band had instruments new to us: a lyre or harp-like instrument played by two guys, each held one on their lap. Then African drums--I've spoken about them before, a wood flute and a violin-type instrument with only one string, played with a bow. I could hardly believe the level of sound and sophistication of music that combination could make. There were six dancers, three men and three women, and they did all the dancing, probably doing six costume changes and six difference dances. You could tell some were from more desert like areas, and some were from he highlands like Addis. It is amazing how much variety is in their country. So we ate and watched dancing, listened to music and then got to participate again in a coffee ceremony.
Our last day, Thursday, was a whirlwind. We had so many people stopping by the house to bid us goodbye, bring us gifts, and express their hopes that we would return next year. We heard some wonderful stories that day (as well as some very sad ones) and we won't be the same again--I am sure we will interpret life partly through the eyes of those we have gotten to know and love in Ethiopia. Our friend, and the general secretary of the Mekane Yesus Church in Ethiopia, Behanu, came to take us to lunch on Thursday at the Hotel d:Afrique. What an interesting restaurant. Every table was set inside a little hut with a thatched roof, benches in a semi-circle,around an injera table. These tables are woven of grass and have intricate designs of different colors. They are shaped like half an hourglass, from the floor up, and then there flat space is a table, just the size for a tray of injera to sit upon. Until the injera is brought, the table is covered with the top of the hourglass shaped basket, and then covered with a white cloth. It was instrucive to watch Behanu eat. He had a different technique with injera, very efficient and fast. We looked like the neophytes we are compared to him.
Back at our house, with students and friends coming and bidding us goodbye, we were packing, deciding what we could leave behind to get more interesting things in our suitcases!, trying to clean the house, help Carolyn, our friend, come and do an inventory of the house before it was empty, dispose of our borrowed cellphone and return the keys, empty the refrigerator, etc. etc. Then I had to run off to class at 5:30. When I returned at 7pm, Dr. Belai was there with his car to take us to the airport. We hopped in and were on our way.
The most interesting thing on the return trip (aside from the stop for refueling in Kartoum--which I missed because it was at 1 a.m. and I was asleep) was to turn on my phone in Amsterdam to call Jacob Ole and Sonja, only to receive an urgent SMS from Andy to call him immediately. Apparently the family thought we would get home Thursday and when we didn't arrive, they had visions of Somali pirates grabbing us. Perhaps I hadn't been clear enough that the trip would take us 24 hours and we would't make it home until Friday afternoon. Anyway, Andy had called the State Department and given info about us, so we were tracked down and he finally found out that we were due to arrive the next day. I better be more careful about such details!
I have really enjoyed writing this blog and am so overwhelmed by the interest you have shown in it. (Have you noticed, almost 1000 hits on the blog!) I thank you for reading it and for the comments you have given me. I hope now to go back and read myself what I have written. It will be a wonderful remembrance of the trip for me. Love to you all, and may we keep in touch!
Carolyn
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