Happy New Year!!

*Two photos this time to make up from last week. The first photo is with Ole Ronkei, our friend and co-worker from Compassion back in the states. Although he now lives in Kenya again. The second photo we are celebrating the New Year by the "bonfire".*

Yes, that is the correct title! This past week we celebrated Ethiopian New Year, which for us was September 11th. Ethiopia has a funky calendar—in fact it is now the beginning of the year 2001 in Ethiopia! Throw in the different time system most Ethiopians use and coming to agreement on dates and times can be challenging. At least our works follow the Western time and date system!
We brought in the new year with some traditional but humble festivities. We spent the evening at a friend's house. They covered the floor in local tall-grass clippings, had a lot of Ethiopian snacks, and even had a tiny bonfire in the night. We didn't realize until nearly midnight that in Ethiopia the day doesn't begin until 6 AM, so we were early! Either way, it was fun to celebrate with a group of friends that we are fast growing close to.
Of course with any holiday we had a few days off. So, we finally toured Addis Ababa and took in the "sights." We learned quickly that, as Westerners, we have to change our expectations. It isn't the latest technology or the neon lights that catch your eye. Instead it is the colors, the never-ending stalls selling any and everything, and especially the contrast between the chaotic streets and the peace you find inside the gates of the Orthodox churches. At the National Museum, we saw "Lucy," the oldest recorded predecessor to man. At a small Lion Zoo, you can get within inches of Lions, and many decide that isn't close enough. We were shocked to see them putting their hands into the cages to get the Lion's attention. At the Piazza, the old Italian part of town, we spent most of the time trying to avoid a downpour (umbrellas aren't completely helpful!) While there wasn't much to see, seeing Addis was still an experience. The places are bustling with people, many of whom go out of their way to talk to us—especially the kids. We now know our city better, feel comfortable getting places, and it was a nice reminder that "This is Africa."
This week we also learned that we can survive much. Keegan can survive mild food-poisoning. Anne can survive riding a Mini-Bus on her own, even if it takes a few tries to catch the right one. Keegan can survive not knowing if Anne is surviving the bus ride because his stupid cell phone died randomly! We can survive getting lost in the Piazza and searching for the bus, all while having to pee. When the copy machine at school does not work, we can survive. Work can still be done, even if it has to be done again because a computer virus deleted everything. When kids throw our Frisbee into disgusting drainage water and pick it up and throw it to us, we can survive having gross hands. Even if you've shaken countless dirty hands (dirty is an understatement), you can still eat lunch—with your hands. The longer we continue to survive these small things, the more Addis slowly becomes home. After having half the week off because of New Year, we are now left with one question about survival: can we survive several consecutive full work weeks?
We also had our first visitor. Ole Ronkei, a Kenyan friend and coworker from Compassion, was in Addis for work and took us to dinner on Tuesday. It was a blessing spending time with a friend, and he passed on wisdom for our time here. As we reflect back on the week, we recall one particular piece of advice. He said not to focus on "doing things," but instead to take interest in the people, culture, and country. As we take interest, explore, and even just shake hands, our love for Ethiopia is growing.