Settling In

Our second week in Ethiopia has been a great time of settling-in and new beginnings of relationships. For this update we'll focus on how we have been blessed to connect with some friends, relationships with people in our neighborhood, and growing connections at work.
We have already been able to build connections with a small group of friends who meet on a regular basis. Our first friend in Ethiopia, Antoine, who just finished teaching at Andinet, kindly introduced us to members of his small group. This Friday we were able to attend the group and meet many people from around the world—the US, Germany, Norway, Ghana, and of course Ethiopia. They are very friendly and welcoming and we feel immediately connected. We were also invited to a celebration for a new baby in the group, who happens to be a perfect tracker for how long we have been here—she was born on our arrival day. So on Saturday we ate tremendous Ghanaian food, much of which was meat...one of a long list of things that is available but expensive in Addis.
We have also settled in a bit to traveling around the city. Today, Sunday, we went on our first mini-bus trip alone! The main mode of transportation around Addis is antique blue and white Volkswagon vans. We've ridden them several times with others, which has been helpful to learn location names, prices, and simple things like how to say "stop" when it's our stop. Today we finally ventured out on our own. It went quite smoothly and greatly increases our confidence in getting around and even our general comfort level. On the bus people were friendly, so we felt safe and only slightly out of our element! Soon we will be venturing our more and more!
This past week was orientation at Andinet, Keegan's international school. The orientation was basically a quick covering of all kinds of topics related to education for all of the teachers and staff of the school. It provided some good opportunities for getting to know other teachers. We've been able to start relationships with many of the staff, who are all very friendly and will be fun to work with. Keegan is especially excited to work with a small group of teachers at the campus for older students. Hopefully this coming week will provide further chances to get to know people.
Perhaps the highlight of our week was getting to play with many of the kids in our neighborhood. We decided to entice them using our Frisbee. After a short time of tossing it between us, kids began showing up, and soon we were playing a full game of "ultimate" in the narrow street beside our house. We've only learned a few names but have been able to play with some of the same kids a few times. We see them allover our neighborhood, so our walks are no longer lonely! Even the adults in the area are recognizing us and greet us as we pass. We're excited to build on those small beginnings with the kids and adults of our area. We need to begin working hard on our Amharic to facilitate real conversations!
Addis remains far from feeling like home. While the idea of being here two years is still frightening, we're settling in well and feel much safer and connected with each passing day. Thank you for your thoughts and remembering us as we are away in Ethiopia. We miss everyone so much, yet are excited by the many relationship possibilities we are finding in Addis.

First Impressions

* Photo is of the intersection a few blocks from our house*

We have now been in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for just over a week. The time has gone both incredibly quickly and painfully slowly. In this our first real update we want to share some of our first impressions of Ethiopia and what we are learning.
The most striking thing about Ethiopia and Addis is the poverty. It is everywhere and unavoidable. We live in the Bole area of Addis, which is the wealthy area of town. Investors are building new structures all around the area and there are many homes that are extremely nice, even by western standards. In contrast there are tin houses all around and many people living in the streets, sleeping on sidewalks and in front of buildings with all of their possessions tucked under plastic sheets or a blanket, if their lucky. Everywhere you look you see little mounds dotting the sidewalks, which are people wrapping themselves in blankets to stay warm and sleep. There are street children and beggars everywhere. The sides of the streets are lined with people trying to make money by selling candy or shining shoes, men selling items like books and movies, and countless crippled beggars and street children. Even on small, residential roads we constantly encounter street children and elderly, crippled beggars asking for money. Addis is a large city; even on a short fifteen minute walk, we pass perhaps hundreds of people and countless beggars and homeless people, depending on the street. The poverty problem seems insurmountable and hopeless.
So far our most meaningful interactions have been with the street children, who are both heartbreaking and beautiful. When they approach us they have the saddest faces, are usually very dirty, and are often wearing little more than rags. A few times a young girl has had a baby tied to her back. Their desperation is overwhelming. Learning how to respond appropriately and effectively has been difficult. Many children, even street children, know a few English words and they love using them. Somehow English is a tool to the real joy that children have inside them, rather than the sadness of their situations. When we are able to make them smile and engage them, the children become absolutely beautiful. They have the most amazing smiles and laughs. We are hoping to use these interchanges to begin to show them that they are loved and cared for. We hope that our interactions with them, no matter how small, can be meaningful.
We are constantly stared at. Keegan draws the attention of anyone passing by, but Anne's complexion draws just as much curiosity. Is she Ethiopian? Is she not? Why is she walking with that white person? Many times people have started talking to her in Amharic because she does look quite Ethiopian. The staring seems very innocent, but can get very discomforting and even frightening, especially when we think of Anne walking by herself. Like the children, we have started trying to initiate some kind of exchange with many who we pass on the streets. Even a simple head nod or "Selam" eases the tension and can spark an exchange, especially with those that may speak English. We are adjusting to city-life just as much as to the culture; people are used to walking somewhere without engaging or acknowledging others. Just down the street is a group of men that is always playing cards on the side of the road. On Friday we began talking with them and learned that one speaks English. We learned the game they were playing and hope to play with them soon. We want to take advantage of every opportunity to build relationships with people here.
Other first impressions are that the language is incredibly difficult to learn; the traditional food is extremely unique but quite tasty; people drive like madmen and only follow the laws of playing "chicken"; living with a maid and cook is different but a great blessing as well as relationship opportunity; and 65 degrees sounds wonderful but is actually very cold, especially during the rainy season. Adjusting has been difficult but does get easier everyday. The more we get to know the people, the more friendly and beautiful they become. While it will take a very long time for this to feel like home, our first week was a good beginning.

We Have Arrived

*Photo is of Keegan and Anne at the Wichita Airport*

We arrived safely in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia late last night. No trip would be complete without some complications. For us, United didn't have the correct baggage information when we got there in Wichita, but it worked out and we saved almost $400 on luggage. As we entered the security line, we realized that Anne did not have tickets for the first flight because they didn't print. That, also, worked out. In Chicago we had time to talk to many of our friends and family one last time, which was such a blessing! Keegan spilled Coke on himself early in the long flight to Frankfurt. And when we got to Addis, the person picking us up was not there. After a tense 30 minutes, he showed up! I guess there was some confusion about our arrival time. So, we have been in Addis for about half a day now, most of which was spent sleeping. In the little of Addis we have seen, the poverty and need is quite clear. I'm sure the need will become clearer and more real to us later, when we're a bit more awake!
Our house is quite nice. We share a compound (walled, of course) with another teacher and our maid Tsahi, who stays here. We have our own private bedroom, bathroom, living room, and dining room and share a kitchen. It's rainy season here, so it's been pouring most of the time so far, especially this morning. We knew it wasn't going to be hot, but it's colder than we expected.
We just finished our first Ethiopian meal. It was cooked veggies, rice, and basically tomato sauce and bread. Pretty tasty, actually. Keegan gets to carb-load and Anne is enjoying the fresh vegetables.
We have not yet purchased power adapters, so that's all the time we have for now! We'll tell more as we learn more and experience Ethiopia.

26 Hours Between Goodbye and Hello

*Keegan and Anne, Asleep at Keyboard*

It’s 2:13 AM. Our bags are packed, all evenly weighing 50 pounds. Our lists are done (we hope), addresses are changed, flights are confirmed, and as we write this things keep getting added to the list. We’re hoping to be able to sleep a bit tonight before going to the airport at 8:00 tomorrow morning. If we don’t sleep (because of lists or nerves), we’ll have around 26 total hours of travel to sleep before arriving in Addis Ababa at 8:30 PM Friday, their time, which is about lunch time on Friday in Kansas/Colorado. Everything has gone very smoothly in Kansas, from selling our Focus at asking price to having wonderful quality time with all of our family members. Aside from not being able to fit Keegan’s 3 year old nephew Lukas into the bags, even packing has gone smoothly. We haven’t yet had time to think about what it’s going to be like in Ethiopia. Instead our thoughts are on all of you, our friends and family that we love and will miss so much. We’ll be thinking of all of you and greatly appreciate your thoughts, support, and relationships. Please remember us as we travel and try to make a difference in Ethiopia. We’ll post again as soon as we figure out how to and have access. If there is not enough power to get onto the computer, we’ll shoot off a flair gun for you all! We have lots of other details (some amazingly interesting, others not so much but all part of our story), so let us know if you want to be on our more-detailed e-mail list.