Flat Tire

**Our Street**




Here's a riddle for you: How many men does it take to change a flat tire? The Answer? I have no idea; it was too dark to count them. It was Ethipian New Years, September 11, Ethiopia's most celebrated and exciting holiday. To celebrate, I had gotten out of town a bit in my borrowed car. While on the way back to town that evening, I found a spot overlooking the countryside and valleys. It was already dusk, so I decided to watch the sunset and found a spot to pull off the road.


In Addis Ababa you see many foreigners. But you don't see many foreigners sitting beside a road outside of the city. The people walking by me thought I was a bit of a novelty, so I got to have several small conversations. Just as the sun was close to setting, a large group of boys approached me and began to talk. One spoke decent English, and I used the little Amharic I knew. We talked about the usual things--the US, what we're doing in Ethiopia, the holiday, and even sports. The group was probably 8 boys, all around 18 years old. We were enjoying our conversation so much that I didn't mind too much when a cloud blocked out the sun just before it set.


As it began to get dark, I decided I should get back into the city. We all shook hands, and they invited me to come back the next day for lunch. As I walked to the car, I noticed a completely flat tire. Flat tires are very common here. I've heard many stories of people going on a one hour drive and getting three flat tires. In our four months of driving, we've gotten four flat tires. Like every other time we've gotten a flat tire, other people have jumped to help us. So the group of boys quickly began helping me with the tire. I shouldn't say helping me---they wouldn't let me do anything! I got out the jack, and after a few minutes of cranking they said the jack wouldn't work; it was too old and rusted. They found a large, flat rock, put the jack on top, and tried again. Still no success. After a few more tries, one of the boys ran down the street and borrowed a jack from another car. Of course, the occupants of this second car all came and helped...in their holiday dress clothes!


This second jack worked, but was too small and didn't raise the car up enough. Back to the large rock, which they again placed under the jack. More cranking, more crawling around on the dirt, more yells for the light (one cell phone light was all we had), and finally the car had four good tires. By the time it was done, the sun was down completely and an hour had passed. I had done virtually nothing, other than stand around hoping the jack wouldn't fail and crush someone.

In Ethiopia when a foreigner has a problem, it's common for people to flock to the scene to help. Many want to be paid for their work, even if they just stood around watching. But this group of boys was different. They asked for nothing and simply wanted to help out their new friend. Just like these boys, most Ethiopians are exceedingly friendly and helpful. They will do all they can to help one another or even a complete stranger. While I gave them money to buy dinner together, they would have been perfectly happy receiving a simple thank you and wave as I drove back down the mountain. So how many men does it take to change a flat tire? In Ethiopia, it often takes a village!

And...We're Back!

*Photos: One photo is of Asher with Daddy on the airplane back to the US. The second is Asher flexing his muscles at the Beach at Lake Kanopolis in Kansas. We got to enjoy a bit of both summer and fall while in the States.

It has been far too long since we updated our blog; so long that just about everything in our life in Ethiopia has changed. Since you would probably rather not read a novel, I'll do my best to summarize the past few months and our changes. In late July, Andinet was unable to fullfill their contractual promises. After several weeks of working to find a balance that would work for us and Andinet, in the last week of July we decided we could not return to Andinet. However, we love Ethiopia and wanted to stay, so I began my search for a new job by looking at other schools in Addis Ababa. Surprisingly, a British school here in Addis, Sandford International School, had an open English position and hired me. Because we switched employers, we had to also leave the country and get a new work-visa sponsored by Sandford, which is part of the reason we made a trip back to the US. While it was a challenging time, we were able to leave Andinet on positive terms and with a great deal of encouragement. In the US we were reminded so much of the blessed life we live: from our family and friends to the safety, access, and opportunities of being an American.

I (Keegan) returned to Ethiopia on August 22. Because my job changed to a new school, virtually everything else has changed as well. We have a new place to live, currently an appartment on the city's major road, Bole. While our apartment is nice, it's very far from school and along a busy road. In the next few weeks we'll likely be moving to a new house closer to school and with areas outside for Asher and Anne to play. We also have a new house-helper, Frehiwot. She is kind and helpful and we are certainly blessed by her, but we do hope to "steal" our previous helper, Tsehei, who has an amazing gift of being able to calm Asher at any moment, along with other gifts!

Of course a new job comes with many new relationships, which have begun to grow in the past month. Sandford, unlike Andinet, is quite international (especially the staff, who are moslty from the UK) and has a strong tradition here. About 60 percent of the students are Ethiopian, mostly very upper class. My students, because of their status in the country, will certainly be leaders in Ethiopia's future, which is exciting and challenging as a teacher. While this change was sudden and unexpected, we are looking forward to building relationships and continuing to focus on helping Ethiopia's wonderful people. I'm especially excited to play a role in shaping and teaching some of Ethiopia's future leaders.

In the coming weeks we hope to settle a bit more--house, Tsehei, my job, and additional relationships. As we do adjust and settle, we hope to update you more frequently. However, we mainly want to tell you more about Ethiopia and the wonderful people and culture here. Besides, a house is a house! And you would probably enjoy and learn more reading about my experience with a flat tire a few weeks back. I'll tell you more about that soon!