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.

Our First Fourty Hour Work Week!

***Ok I know this is not a fun picture of us in Ethiopia but we thought it important for you to know where our country is. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa (which means north east). We live in the capitol Addis Ababa, which is located in the middle of the country. Now if you ever need to find us you can at least know where Ethiopia is located. There will be a test : ) .***

This past week was Keegan's first week with students at Andinet International School. Despite what we learned last week about "Chiger Yelum" (we've learned the correct spelling), Keegan got to school early on Monday expecting to have a schedule and prepare for class. Though kids were supposed to get to school at 8:00, most staff members got there either at 8:00 or even later, some trickling in around 8:45. So the lessons continue!
The kids at AIS are wonderful so far. I'm teaching 6th grade, 7th grade, and a combined class of 8th and 9th graders. For the most part the kids are extremely polite, welcoming, and friendly. Most of the students are also extremely hard working—the rate of turning in homework has so far been remarkable compared to US kids. Two highlights from the week came outside the classroom. On Thursday I played basketball with a bunch of boys at lunch time. We had fun, and many of them have reacted differently to me in the classroom since then. And on Friday a group of six students stayed after school and helped me assemble packets. They helped for about an hour, which gave me time to ask questions and get to know them more. Overall, I am excited to get to know my students more and to show them love. Many are in great need of role models and positive, adult relationships.
Meanwhile, Anne is exploring new territory as she is in charge of overhauling the revamped computer lab and updated network at AIS. She wasn't able to get much of a start this week—it took all week to actually install the new network connection. At Compassion she finished her first large project—designing and layout for an annual report. Unfortunately, the week ended with Anne spending the weekend in bed trying to fight off a sore throat. The highlight has been the relationships with the staff at the Compassion office, they are full of laughs. They are teaching her many words in Amharic or maybe they just enjoy laughing at her attempts to repeat the words.
The language is coming very slowly, and we feel at a stand-still in many relationships until we learn more Amharic. Our language focus has been on greetings - which are very important in the culture. It is good that we started here as it shows respect to the people but so far there are over 7 different ways to greet and each has a male, female and plural form. So as you can imagine, we are learning lots but really can only get through the first minute of a conversation.
We have been in Addis for nearly a month now. While we continue to be happy for good beginnings, we're ready for more. It has been a good month, albeit trying and exhausting in many ways. We're excited to see what the next month may bring.

Chigriyelum

*This picture is of our street. The road was just paved a few monthsago which makes a huge difference especially as it is the rainy seasonnow. We live next to Bole High School so that is why there are nohouses on the other side of the road.*

Our third week in Addis taught us the most important Amharic wordyet: Chigriyelum (though it probably isn't spelled that way).Chigriyelum means "no problem" in Amharic and is now our favorite word. We are quickly learning that Ethiopians are very laid back and really have no problem with what we would interpret as chaos. A few instances that have called for Chigriyelum: "Oh, by the way, Keegan, did anyone tell you that you are the head of the English department?" asks the School Director on Tuesday, four days before school starts. "Also, can you give a presentation on 6-Traits to the department?" Sure, I say, thinking October sounds like a nice time. "How does Friday sound?" My response? "Chigriyelum." During two weeks of lesson planning in advance, Keegan planned out almost a full term. Oddly, nobody else was doing this. Now we know why. On Friday, the last work day before school, the schedule changed. So almost all of the work he did must be adjusted to combine two classes and double another class. "Chigriyelum!" School starts tomorrow, yet there is no official schedule or classroom assignments."Chigriyelum!" We had to get a complete health evaluation for our work permits. It was the typical poking and prodding, blood work, urine sample, chest x-ray, and our first ever stool sample! As if stage fright wasn't enough, the bathroom we were directed to had no toilet paper. (Actually, no public restrooms do; we should not have been surprised). Chigriyelum! While we are adjusting to the laid-back nature, it has been in our favor much of the time. The school continues to be so flexible with Anne's work schedule and work with Compassion—Chigriyelum! Two weeks of orientation and half days have allowed us to rest and build relationships. "Chigriyelum!" And people have been very willing to help us, from providing rides to using something like the black market to make our American phone work here. "Chigriyelum!" With all of this in mind, our first hospital visit was successful and we had plenty of time to get comfortable with the hospital. (Our simple exam took about 7 total hours). And as laid-back as the school is, they are great teachers and on the cutting edge of education. I can learn a ton from them, especially in the "Chigriyelum" sort of way! In three weeks the streets we usually walk have transformed. As we leave our house, we almost always see one of our Frisbee kids in the first block. We have to wait a moment to give knuckles, high-5s, and handshakes. Two blocks down are the usual cardplayers. We learned they are actually security guards for the nearby houses. The next block we always meet the same little boy in purple crocks. He stands in the middle of the road and holds up his arms,wanting a high-5 from each of us at the same time. Then we come to the group of shepherds (seriously, urban shepherds with whips and all!) who often stand, remove a hat or two, and are always friendly.They cheer when we say a new word correctly. So, our walk is becoming a very social and encouraging stroll. We're excited to learn more of the language so we can develop these relationships more. For the time being, we are slowly venturing out with our limited Amharic, and everyone is very understanding when we mess things up. They smile,wave, and respond when we say "good morning, Woman" to a man in the evening. Again, "Chigriyelum!" One highlight of the week was winning our first round of cards with the group of men that always plays, day or night, rain or shine, a few blocks down our street. We played with them for several rounds, waiting to finally win. On the last round, we finally won and prepared to leave happy. It made us even happier when we realized that on that final round they let us win, even though one of them had winning cards for some time.

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.