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!

I Am Here!!

Introducing...

Bringing in Additional Help

Hi friends and family. Let me take a minute to introduce myself. I’m on my way to help in Ethiopia. I am about 17 inches long and weigh around 2.5 pounds. I have some hair, but I can’t tell what color it is because I don’t have a mirror. While I can blink and open my eyes, there isn’t much to see because it’s dark in here. I also wonder what color I am; either way, I’ll have a nice tan. Daddy really hopes I have Mommy’s smile, and Mommy wants me to have Daddy’s eyes.Lately I’ve learned how to be a kick-boxer. I practice a lot in the mornings, before bed, and anytime I just ate.

I can even hear everything going on around me. Recently I started hearing stories, but I’ve been listening to my Dad’s favorite music for months. Every month I go to the doctor so Mommy and Daddy can hear my heartbeat. They even got to see me a few times, though it’s just in black and white. I wonder if they saw me waving? I may be small, but I have a lot of power in my family. First, I have a big secret that Mommy and Daddy don’t know…I’m not telling if I’m a boy or a girl. Second, I already take Mom and Dad’s time: they do my shopping, read books about me, and pray about me. I don’t mean to, but I make mom tired and sometimes I even give her heartburn. She doesn’t complain, though, because she’s really tough and loves me a lot. I can even control Mommy and Daddy’s thoughts: they think about me a lot! When I move around, everything seems to stop and I feel hands touching me. You should see what happens when I practice my kick-boxing!

Even though I can’t see them, I know Mommy and Daddy smile when I practice. They sound really excited, too. I already get lots of kisses and hear my parents telling me they love me. They think I’m pretty special already. Whenever people see my parents, they ask how I’m doing. Well, I’m doing great. I spend most my time growing; I get stronger and bigger every day. Pretty soon, it won’t be dark any more and I’ll get to see all kinds of things. In about 11 weeks, I’ll be ready for a big and exciting adventure. Mommy and Daddy have a countdown paper chain in their room. Right now, it says I can come play in 80 days, around June 25th. That doesn’t mean much to me because I haven’t learned how to count just yet. So I’ll come when I’m ready. Attached is my picture. I’m the good looking one in the middle. Thanks for caring about my parents because it helps them care about me. I’m not sure how much help I’ll be at first, but Mom and Dad say I’ll be a big blessing while they’re in Ethiopia.

Tsehei and Aberash: Our Help We Couldn’t Live Without!

Photo1: Tsehei and Anne at a Christmas Tea

Photo 2: Aberash and Keegan outside our kitchen

When we were preparing to come to Africa, one of the biggest unknowns
was having a house helper. While we knew that having house help is
common throughout much of Africa, we weren’t sure how comfortable we
were with the idea. We wondered: would she live with us? Would we
have privacy? How do we be friends and bosses at the same time?
After seven months we’ve adjusted just fine and would even like to see
some aspects added to the American culture!

Our “house-helper” is named Tsehei. She is 28 years old and lives
with us in our compound. Tsehei is from rural Ethiopia and is
incredibly devoted to the Orthodox Christian Church. Tsehei has been
one of the greatest blessings to us in Ethiopia. She does far more
than we expected and for that we are so grateful. Like all house help
she keeps our house and compound clean, does our laundry (washes by
hand, hangs them to dry, and irons), and does our dishes. She also
cooks our breakfast and reheats our dinners. In addition to these
normal tasks, she helps us as foreigners with ever day life. She
speaks very good English, so she is always able to answer our
questions, give us directions, tell us about culture, and even helps
keep us in line! She takes us to Merkato, a huge and intimidating
open-air market where we would be overwhelmed without her, and
negotiates prices for us. She translates for us when we try to talk
with people in the neighborhood. And when we do mismanage our
shopping and forget something, Tsehei often fills in and buys the
items we’re missing. She gives us advice about the best places to
shop, hospitals, places to avoid, and any other information we need to
know. She does all this in addition to her everyday tasks. In
Africa, keeping up on the household duties is a full time job because
things need to be cleaned everyday; laundry is an all day event, etc.
Because these “ordinary” things take so much effort, everyone has a
house-helper, regardless of class. Our life here would be infinitely
more difficult without Tshei!

We feel that we’ve found a comfortable balance of friendship with
Tsehei. We’ll occasionally ask her to eat with us or go to an event.
We communicate freely about our days, how we are all feeling, and are
beginning to discuss deeper things like culture and church. She is
like an older sister in ways but the dynamics of being her “employer”
can make that awkward. Still the balance is challenging; we tend to
wonder if we are doing enough to be friendly as we value her so much.
We try to balance loving and treating her as family with the “work”
side.

In addition to Tsehei, we also have a cook during the day, Monday
through Saturday. For us the food situation in Ethiopia has been more
challenging than we expected. Shopping takes lots of time - there is
no Wal-Mart! – and we have to pick up a few items each day, often
going to multiple stores on our walk home. Everything is made fresh
and from scratch (there are no processed foods or frozen meals here!).
So every meal takes time, creativity, and planning! Doing just the
planning and shopping can take an entire Saturday, and we don’t even
cook it! So that is why we are thankful for Aberash. We don’t have
enough hours in the day to plan, buy, prepare and cook ourselves.
While Aberash has many specialties that we love (cinnamon rolls,
lasagna, and pizza!), we’ve learned that Ethiopians view food
differently than Americans. As Americans we want variety; most
Ethiopians eat virtually the same food three times a day. Most locals
have their house helpers also do all the cooking. However, because we
are foreigners and have more “unique” meals that take additional work
and preparation, a separate cook is needed. Whether it’s her age or
her home cooking, Aberash is close to being our Ethiopian Grandma.

While having a house helper and cook sounds extravagant, it’s no
different than having a microwave, washing machine, dishwasher, and
constant Wal-Mart access. We recognize the cultural norm and that
life without Tsehei and Aberash would be unbelievably challenging. We
are blessed continually by them. We try to be a blessing to them in
return.

Our House: Part 4

In our slow description of our home in Ethiopia, we've saved the best
parts for last! In this update we'll briefly describe the most
important rooms in the house, our bathroom and our kitchen.

We have one of the nicest bathrooms we've seen in the city! The
bathroom is simple but quite large. We have a full-size bathtub,
which we initially planned to turn into a shower. Unfortunately there
is rarely enough water pressure to really have a shower. When we say
there is no pressure, we're serious. The faucet has a shower head
attachment that has perhaps 50 holes that water is supposed to rush
through. Typically about 5 of those holes give a little stream for
us. It takes us 15 minutes to fill the tub a few inches, just enough
to cover the bottom so we don't have to feel the cold sides. So even
though we're technically in the tub we still have to use a pitcher to
wash and clean ourselves. (Attention possible visitors: with a little
patience, say 30 minutes or 60 really, one can have a real bath!)
We're just happy for hot water!

The only interesting thing about the toilet is that instead of having
a handle to flush, there is a knob on top that you pull. We had never
seen that before, but it is standard in all of Ethiopia—as are "squat"
toilets. We are also blessed to have a toilet seat, one of few we
have seen outside of our home. It even has one of those built in
plastic lips that serves as a handle! The sink leaks rather
frequently. Now that the weather is heating up, one highlight of the
bathroom is that it never gets sun, so the tile is nice and cold after
walking home from work in the sun.

So, that's the bathroom…pretty much like any American bathroom, minus
plush rugs and matching towels. One important thing to note: here in
Ethiopia the world is the toilet here – we have yet to go outside and
not see men peeing randomly in the streets. Considering this, we feel
lucky to simply have a bathroom.

Like the bathroom, the kitchen is functional and simple. We have a
medium-sized fridge, a large toaster-type oven, and a
smaller-than-average gas stove. There are two cabinets, one for
storing pots and pans and the other for our small assortment of
dishes. Other than some small glasses (I miss big plastic cups!), all
of our dishes are plastic.

Like every other part of our house, we cannot complain about the
kitchen. We used to spend little time in the kitchen because Tsehei
and Aberash, our cook during the week, did most of the cooking and
dishes. We'll write a post more about the lack of variety for meal
options. Lately, however, we've been getting creative and began
cooking more ourselves. While Aberash is an expert at cinnamon roles,
pasta, and Ethiopian food, we can eat it only so much. When the
internet has worked well enough to provide recipes, and when
ingredients are available, we'll cook our own favorites—tacos,
enchiladas, and grilled cheese. Recently we have even made calzones!
We are very appreciative of the care packages we have recieved from
Keegan's parents! They have helped the food adjustment tremendously!
We have also been able to find a few "American" things at some of the
supermarkets. They have been hard to find but we have BBQ sauce and
Mountain Dew in the fridge (saving them!) as well as Ice Cream in the
freezer. On our shelf of food we have salsa, syrup for pancakes,
coffee, and plenty of the essentials.

Now you know all about our home. As time passes we are slowly making
the house more of a home. In a bedroom we now have pictures up, so we
now have pictures of friends and family spread along the wall. It
only takes a few familiar and loved faces to make us comfortable!

Our Home: part 3

Life in Africa is supposed to have a slower pace. People typically take it easy more often than in the United States. Apparently we either are the exception or at least feel like the exception. Life has felt filled to the top lately, so much so that we have not even made time for updating this here Blog! So, we’re behind a bit and will attempt to catch up in the coming weeks!
Earlier we began giving details about our home. We shared about our compound and our bedroom. We’ll begin our catching up by sharing about our living room. Soon you can look forward to the joys of our bathroom and kitchen!
The living room also serves as our dining room. When we got here we had a separate dining room, a tiny, bare room with an empty echo. So we decided to combine them and moved our small, 4 person table into an open space in the living room…and voila, just like home in the US! The room is dominated by one very long and very low-to-the-ground couch. There is also a matching loveseat and two matching chairs. They are all a dirty gray, not our favorite color. But because we love each other, we sit only in the love seat. The rest serve as “eye candy” to distract you from the remarkably white walls. Above the long couch is our artwork, which we purchased at a price that was 90% less than the original quoted price, yet was likely still too much. It’s a very brightly colored painting that depicts the story of Queen Sheba and King Solomon (Short Synopsis: They fall in love and have a child who eventually returns to Israel and steals/borrows/receives the Arc of the Covenant. Or so the Ethiopian version goes.)
On the floor of the living/dining room is a large rug that is not soft. Actually, it’s more like a mat. We have our first ever glass-topped coffee table and a TV that is the same as our one in the US (Meaning: HUGE!). Along one wall are windows and a door that opens onto the driveway that serves as our patio. Facing these windows is our table with its plastic, green and white checkered table cloth. Other than eating and occasional TV, we don’t spend much time here. But it is nice to have room to host people.
After describing it, our house may not sound like much, but it is exactly what we need. Recently we received a bit of perspective about the house. A young man I (Keegan) had been getting to know from walking around invited me to see his house. We walked less than a block from our house into a field full of shack houses. Danny took me to a tiny room that is his home. It is one room, perhaps five feet square, with a straw mat on the dirt floor that serves as his bed. There is no running water, no bathroom, and one little light bulb. Imagine your closet made out of tin, but without the carpet. Cracks let in the cold night air and the roof doesn’t stop the rain. Beside his “bed”, Danny showed me his possessions—a backpack with one set of clothes and an old walkman. Even Danny is lucky in comparison to the many that sleep with only a plastic sheet covering them. We don’t have to go far to find these clear reminders of how greatly we are blessed.

Adventures in Cairo

Most of you know that we spent our Christmas vacation in Egypt.
After a few weeks back in Ethiopia, we've reflected enough to finally
tell a little about our time in Egypt. However, if you've been there,
you'll agree that writing about Egypt is futile—words fail to capture
the magnificence, history, and beauty of Egypt.

We went to Egypt planning to be awed by the Great Pyramids of Giza.
With the largest Pyramid standing fifty stories tall, we certainly
were awed. While riding horses through the desert around the
pyramids, we were stunned by the size, perfection, and workmanship on
display. Nearly 5000 years ago, how was man able to do such a thing?
Not just how, but why?

Despite the incredible pyramids, they represent only a fraction of the
splendor of Egypt. In south Egypt (upper, as they say), Luxor was one
of the highlights of our trip. Just as striking as the Pyramids,
Karnak Temple in Luxor is still nearly 4000 years old and just as
impressive. We were most impressed by Hypostyle Hall, one of its many
halls. Inside the Hypostyle Hall are 116 massive columns, some 20
meters high and 15 meters around. 116! All are carved with 360
degree hieroglyphics, once in bright colors. The hall feel endless,
with light and shadows cutting around the columns as if walking
through an ancient and perfect forest. While we were there I tried
taking countless pictures, bending down to the ground in homes of
getting a full column in the frame. But it never quite worked. Even
video failed to capture the place. And while Karnak is the most
impressive of the ancient temples, we saw five others, all amazing and
ancient.

Also in Luxor is the Valley of the Kings, home of the tombs of the
Pharaohs of Egypt…some of them. Imagine this: cut down and into the
side of a rock mountain, a hallway (hallway fails…more like large
driveway) leads over 100 meters down into the rock. Every surface is
perfectly flat, squared, smooth, and covered in brightly colored and
raised hieroglyphics. After over 350 feet, you enter into a massive
room, at the center of which is a sarcophagus the size of a truck,
carved from a single piece of granite. Imagine building this over
3000 years ago, the effort and skill required to do it, and then
imagine closing it up in hopes that nobody will ever find it. That is
the Valley of the Kings, or rather one of 62 tombs found there.
Clearly I could spend pages describing what we saw in Egypt. Even
after pages, I would feel frustrated that my words don't adequately
convey what awesome treasures are there. In order to grasp the scope
of human history and ability, everyone should see Egypt once. As an
American, it helped put into perspective the newness of our society
and nation.

Egypt was full of other highlights for us. We took a wonderful and
relaxing cruise down the Nile, watching the most important river in
history flow slowly by. We enjoyed some taste of modernism and
technology—high speed Internet, air conditioning, and even the taste
of home at McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, and even On the Border. All of
this spoiled us and made for a memorable vacation and escape from life
in Ethiopia.

Nobody warned us about how hard it would be to come back. When you go
on vacation, you always go home at the end. I think our minds were
expecting home…really home. Instead we came back to Ethiopia, only
partially home, and so vastly removed from even the amenities of
Egypt. At first we were bitter, annoyed by everything from loud
churches to beggars. Other expats tell us this is normal, which is
comforting considering the guilt I later feel after shooing away a
starving child. Now after a little more time, we're finding a
healthier balance with life in Ethiopia and our calling for being
here. Overall, our vacation helped provide needed rest, time
together, and some wonderful memories to share.