Reflections

After being delayed in DC for quite some time last Sunday, we finally made it back to Raleigh and jumped right back into our hectic lives at Saint Mary's. But, just like last year, we thought it might be a good idea to have the girls reflect on their time in Ethiopia.  

Meg also created a beautiful video to remember our experience: 
https://vimeo.com/90066576

Now that we have returned back to reality, I keep thinking about all the things I learned and all the people I met back in Ethiopia. Each person, even the people whose names I do not know, left some mark on my heart. Even driving through the streets, the images that I saw will remain with me forever. Words fail me when I try to describe it in full. There are a few things that definitely stand out in my mind. Firstly, when we served at the women and children’s soup kitchen, the food was running late and we played with the children as we waited. The mothers were bringing their children to us to play with. One lady commented that she had not seen the kids so happy in a while. This simple sentence showed me, as cliché as this sounds, that even simple things can make such a difference. And later, still at the soup kitchen, a boy who was about fourteen years old offered me some of his food when I was serving him. This boy was eating at a soup kitchen and he was offering me some of his food. I refused his offer and he just smiled and said “God bless you!” I cannot explain the feeling I had right then. Later on that day, I met some of the sweetest children. They attended Berhan Yehun, an after school program for the poorest of the poor children in the city. The boy and girl that I met that day were so happy to see us and had the biggest smiles that you could not guess that they were so poor. Just an hour and a half with them brought big smiles to their faces and gave me a sense of how small an act of kindness is and how it can affect not only the recipient but also the giver. It is very fair to say that those children left a large mark on my heart. All the people that I met in Ethiopia will be with me for a long time, if not forever. I am so blessed to have experienced this.

- Megan Blelloch, ‘15

I absolutely loved our time in Ethiopia and I would like to go back for a longer duration very soon!! I think overall, I really appreciate the relationships we were able to make with many people there. These relationships ranged from just waving and smiling as we passed by people on the bus, to extensive, tear-jerking-goodbye friendships we made. Everyone I had the privilege of talking to was incredibly selfless and kind. Although we saw a lot of devastating things, I also was able to see a lot of hope for the future through many programs we visited and heard about. For example, we drove through the "landfill district," where people live in shacks on top of garbage piles and sift through the garbage to find food. Immediately after this, however, we went to Berhan Yehun where kids who live in such shacks get two meals and hours of tutorial time to enhance their education. Playing and tutoring these kids was one example (out of many) of the hope we were able to find despite extreme poverty. I am so thankful for our group, as we all became very close and shared many laughs. It was an unforgettable experience that has confirmed my desire to major in public health or the like!

- Carson Clay, ‘15

The expected, “how was your break?” questions were immediately asked when everyone got back to campus. I quickly came to terms with the fact that you can only put our experience into so many words, but it is impossible to explain all that we saw in Addis. I can’t fully explain the beautiful people and faces, the exotic smells, the poverty-stricken environment, and the radiant hope that is Ethiopia. There is only so much that words can fathom, but some things are better left unsaid and close to the heart. If I hadn’t been physically pulled away, I would have stayed forever. Our trip together and experiences we each shared opened my eyes to things I wasn’t expecting, while also affirming things I had already known about myself. In only one week, Addis forced me to question my plans for college and goals for the future. Already knowing I want to pursue a pre-med major, I am now also considering a minor in public health/ international studies and possibly taking another foreign language class. I know I will return one day, hopefully, this time, with the ability to heal and help the people who now have a place in my heart. 

- Meg Cooksey, ‘14

My decision to go on the Ethiopia trip was pretty last minute and extremely spontaneous. Luckily for me this very under-thought-out decision was arguably one of the best decisions I have ever made. This trip was absolutely the best trip I have ever been on in my life. Ethiopia is such a beautiful country, full of incredible people and I am so thankful that I got to experience such an incredible country which was quite different from my own. The biggest thing I gained from this trip was an increase in my thankfulness. It’s crazy to think that things like spotty wifi and not being able to find a prom dress could easily ruin my day while my incredible friend Dasash from Berhan Yehun lives in a tiny shack in a landfill with her blind mother yet always replied with a smiling “Great!” when I asked her how she was doing. Now that we’re back, I feel like everything in my life has really been put in perspective and I have a new found appreciation for the little blessings like having a great house to live in with food to eat and a bed to sleep in because seeing it firsthand makes me even more aware that there are so many people in the world who don’t have these things. I can honestly say that every day since we’ve returned I have desperately wanted to go back. I hope to return sometime in the near future to a country which gave me so much in such a short amount of time.

- Kayla Gwaltney, ‘15

Every person I’ve seen in the past few days has come up to be wanting to know all about my trip to Ethiopia, and all I can manage to say is “amazing,” because you can’t put into words the experience.  I can’t describe the sights and smells and textures I felt/saw when I was there because it has to be experienced, not described.  I could talk about the children and work we did there and people might get a sense but the feeling was indescribable.  The Women and Children’s Soup Kitchen was probably my favorite day.  It was an awesome experience being able to help by doing something as simple as serve food.  I didn’t even cook the food, just served it, and the people were still so grateful.  Also, before we started to serve food, we were playing with the children which was so fun.  The children were smiling and laughing and the mothers even said this was the happiest they had seen their kids before when all we were doing was playing in the dirt and rocks and giving them piggy back rides.  I was astounded at how the children just came up to us and said hello and started to play, in fact it made my day.  They weren’t shy and it wasn’t awkward, we just jumped right in playing with them even though we couldn’t understand what they were saying and vice versa.  Overall, the trip was life changing, showing me a completely different side of the world and making me appreciate everything I have and enjoy helping other more.

- Relia Monk, ‘15

When I decided to go to Ethiopia, I did not know just what an experience I had signed up for. I had travelled a lot, but had never set foot on African soil; I had no idea what it would be like. During our stay in Addis, I was really surprised to see all these influences China had on Ethiopia, and yet I had always been completely unaware of them. As the days went by, I found out Ethiopia and my country had so much more in common. Like China, Ethiopia has been invaded and occupied by western powers, but was never once ethnically and culturally taken over; both peoples are very proud of their country, its history and contributions to the world. Both countries are developing countries, where huge gap between extreme poverty and wealth exists, but people are so eager and willing to make changes happen. It was gratifying to see that there were so many institutions and volunteers from all around the world making efforts to better people’s lives here. What’s more, the sight of the young students’ hands shooting up high with pride and confidence invoked in me a firm faith in Ethiopia that it will strive and thrive in near future, along with new hopes for my own country. What I cherished the most, was the friendship, the sense of connection and support we have built within these few days, not only with all the people we met and all the new friends we made in Africa, but also with our little group. Like Florrie said last year, it was a truly a gift to be able to spend my time in Ethiopia with such a lively group from Saint Mary’s. I will always remember Addis and my experience there.

- Evelyn Qin, ‘15

I still cannot believe I was in Africa. This experience was one of the most eye opening of my life. I saw and played with kids who were at the poorest level in the country of Ethiopia; I experienced everyday life that Ethiopians have to struggle with. Every moment, every car ride, was full of new things and images. I absolutely want to go back, and I miss the girls and boys every second of every day. I want to know what they become as they grow up. I pray that God will continue to work in my life and the group of girls that went to Africa with me, that he will show us how to continue to reach out to these beloved children. I cannot believe I got to be a part of this dream-like experience. Of course, so many things we experienced were sad and heartbreaking, but it showed us the life they live every day. I miss Ethiopia and I want to go back to Africa as soon as I can. I cannot thank those that supported me enough for this experience.

- Hannah Thompson, ‘14

It was such a fun and special trip with so many nice and funny people. Although we only stayed there for ten days, how easily the Ethiopians get satisfied and appreciate what they have was impressive to me. I remember when we were at soup kitchen, because the food arrived late, we played with the kids there to kill time. It was nothing significant for us, but one of the parents said that she had not seen her child so happy for a long time. One mom even gently pushed her daughter forward to let her play with us. Besides, even though the condition of the soup kitchen was not good, people were not desperate. Some people even invited me to join them. One man said “God bless you” to me; another said thank you in Chinese to me. All these details are still so clear in my mind, and I am still touched by how simple these people’s lives are and how they cherish every single little thing they get, even just a smile.

- Eve Tong, ‘15

 

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Everybody woke up half sad, half excited today. We were all excited abut going shopping this morning but everyone was sad that it was our last day in Ethiopia. With mixed feelings, we all loaded up the van and headed out to our first shopping stop; the coffee store. Meg and Mr. Orvis were pretty excited. When we arrived at the shop, the aroma of roasted coffee beans filled the air. After buying all of our coffee, we loaded up the van again and headed to  the post office area where all the little shops were located.  We all shopped around and bought souvenirs before heading to buy kolo, a barley snack mix or Ethiopian granola. Ms. Turlington out-shopped us all in this store.

Next, we all went to our last lunch in Ethiopia. This time was spent playing trivia with Bini for postcards, our last coffee and small talk about the time spent in Ethiopia. When the last macchiato was gone, we headed out to our final shopping destination, a store called Salem. I think Ms. Turlington and Hannah were the most excited about this store. We all came out with bags full of cool things to give to family and friends and a some things for ourselves.

When the van pulled up to the house after an exciting morning, Everybody hopped out with full shopping bags. Ms. Wahlstrom even commented "Now we look like total tourists." The group went upstairs and showed off all of the neat things the were purchased today.

A kind of silent gloom has taken over the house as we all pack and prepare to go home. Bags have to be re-organized to fit all of the new things we bought. Some people are scrolling through the pictures that were taken this past week. I know we all are going to miss the children we met this week, making awkward eye-contact with random people in the street, all the new friends we made, and waving to all the excited children as we pass them in the street. Everything here has been quite an unforgettable experience. Half of me wants to go home and half of me just wants to stay here. Getting on the plane in few hours will be pretty hard for all of us. As the plane takes off into the air and Addis Ababa shrinks as we rise higher and higher, we will all think of the amazing time we had here in Ethiopia.

- Megan Blelloch, '15

Friday, March 21, 2014

As said at dinner during our "Glums & Glows," today was overall a "glowy" day.

It started with the usual: waking up way too early, way before any of the other girls. Throughout this week, a Breakfast Club has formed, the cast including myself, Matt, Orvs, Amy, and the guard who comes in to make tea at exactly 7:00 A.M. After my 6th cup of to-die-for-Ethiopian coffee, we eventually loaded the car and battled our way through Addis morning rush-hour traffic to a different location of the Hope Enterprise Soup Kitchen.

When we first arrived, women were grouped together around the tables with children on their backs and at their feet. The gap between us and them was quickly bridged when the kids ran up to us, grabbed our hands, and smiled up at us. Before I knew it, I was sitting on the hot gravel with one in my lap, one playing with my hair, one holding my hand, and two others teaching me how to count to 100 in Amharic with rocks. Abraham was a perfect teacher, Mercy kissed my hand, and Isaac gave me a rubber band to wear as a bracelet. As time passed without even noticing, I was told the car, which had the food, broke down but would be coming soon. In our case, it was a blessing in disguise because if it had been on time, the beautiful moment with the children would not have been one of the many glows of our day.

Spoonfuls of soup and many You're Welcomes later, we went to eat lunch before visiting Berhan Yehun for one last time. While all the food we have eaten has been amazing, this restaurant was on the top floor of a building, overlooking the city. After the stunning view, strawberry-banana pancakes, and two cappuccinos (coffee count of the day: 8 cups), we drove to my favorite place in all of Addis.

Since I could write a novel on all we have experienced with these amazing children, I'll try to fathom some into words and summarize it up. First I should start with mentioning that I was married off on the first day to a cutie named Joel. Ever since our spontaneous marriage underneath the blue tarp and next to the dry-erase board, I have referred to him as "my husband" and I "his wife." As soon as we walked through the gates, I was greeted by my husband grabbing my hand, Wendu grabbing my other, and them begging for my GoPro. The boys recorded videos while the girls played with my hair and we talked about our day.

To explain the best glow of all, I have to first start with some back story: On the first day at Berhan Yehun, I quickly bonded with a 5th grade sweetheart named Meserete. She had grabbed my hand to sit down next to her and our conversation led to her explaining she wants to be a pilot, her dream being to fly anywhere in the world and travel. Before leaving, I noticed her toe was bloody but did not think much of it. On the second day, she told me she was sick and showed me her toe, which was completely black and made her limp when she walked. In complete shock to how quickly it had gotten worse, I asked around for any help but all I was told was she will be fine. Today, however, I was able to have my first doctor experience abroad. Although it was more minor of a procedure than I wish I could have performed, I carefully wrapped two band-aids around Meserete's toe and gave her two extra to change them out with. With her toe all bandaged up, we exchanged letters we had written for each other (thank goodness she reads English because my Amharic is pathetic) and we were all forced to say our goodbyes (for now at least).

Long-tangent later, today was filled with smiles, hand-holding, hugs, "will you be back?", and heavy hearts. Even though I would do anything to not get on the plane tomorrow and stay in Addis forever, I cannot think of a better way to end our time with the konjo (beautiful in Amharic) children at Berhan Yehun.

P.S: Shout-out to Mom and Dad, let the gap year and study abroad conversations begin!

- Meg Cooksey, '14

Thursday, March 20, 2014

This morning I woke up with the intention to shower as I usually do, because if I shower in the morning, my hair will not have those annoying folds and cricks in it that sleeping on wet hair causes. Evelyn and myself quickly discovered that the house's water was not working. After the previous night's dance lesson/party, I was not smelling too fresh so, in vain, I attempted to clean my body with a face wipe. Not my brightest idea, admittedly, but I didn't get any complaints so I guess it worked well enough! After my pathetic wipe bath and a delicious home-made cinnamon bagel, we all piled into the van to head on our 3(ish) hour journey to the Ethiopian Grand Canyon, Debre Libanos.

Last night after the dancing, Relia, Carson, Ms. Turlington (Turlz), Ms. Wahlstrom (Wally), and Mr. Orvis (Scotty O), and I were having another great late night chat. Turlz informed me that the van has a USB port so I could make a playlist for the car ride to the Ethiopian Grand Canyon. I immediately got to work and created what I believe to be the best car playlist ever made with songs ranging from Beyonce to Fall Out Boy to Hall and Oates and, of course, a huge dose of Bieber. This morning I was SO excited to show off my hard work to everyone else but my worst nightmare came true when the music wouldn't work so nobody got to hear the pure genius which was the "Ethiopia Car Swag #teamscottyo" playlist. Luckily for them, they got the next best thing as me and Carson sang each song (very well I might add) from the back of the van. After about 3 hours of driving through absolutely breathtaking country side, we arrived at the Ethiopian Grand Canyon. We went on a hike deeper into the Canyon to find beautiful grottos, dried up waterfalls, and cliffs overlooking never ending country side. The whole experience was so incredible and definitely one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen... if not the most beautiful place I've ever seen.

On the car ride home, everyone fell asleep except for the driver, of course, and Scotty O, as he was taking thousands of pictures to attempt to capture the beauty of the country side. When we got back into the city, we got to use the ice cream money that Ms. McGlohon generously gave us before we left the States at a place called " I SCREAM YOU SCREAM WE ALL SCREAM FOR igloo ICE-CREAM" which tasted heavenly (Thanks Ms. McGlohon!), especially to Carson as half of her sandwich at lunch was stolen out of her hands by some sort of giant bird of prey. Biniam (Beans) came to meet up with us at the ice-cream shop to eat with us and let us know that the water was still not working. I was a little worried considering my face wipe bath had most definitely worn off by this point so I was smelling real bad. We all piled into the van after we finished our ice-cream and awaited the news of how we were going to handle the water situation. Turlz let us know that we were going to go home and grab our shower supplies and then head to a so-called "day spa", and considering many girls had used holes in the ground as restrooms that day, she warned us it might not be very nice. To our surprise, we pulled up to a high class spa featuring a hair and nail salon, a hot-tub, sauna, steam room, and three lovely stone-tiled showers with rainfall shower heads. Our group got the run of the room which featured the hot-tub, sauna and steam room, an area full of massage beds, and the showers. Relia and I could hardly contain our excitement and nearly cried tears of diva joy. Carson, Relia, and I made use of the sauna and then transitioned to a relaxing lounge on the massage chairs and then ended the evening with warm showers. We all left feeling extremely zen and refreshed.

When we found out that we were having fajitas and guacamole for dinner, I thought that Carson would never stop talking about her deep and meaningful love of gauc. She ended up being right however - the gauc was so delicious especially with the homemade chips we were using to dip. Overall today was one of the best days we have had for sure and I know that our last two days will only get better. We will be going back to Berhan Yehun tomorrow and it is going to be hard to sleep through my excitement tonight! With a delicious meal and a spa trip under my belt, however, I should probably be able to fall asleep somehow! (also as promised, shoutout to Maddy. miss you homie!) Ciao!!

- Kayla Gwaltney, '15

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

I woke up to find out that our first event today had been changed to a visit to Destiny Academy, a fairly good private school in Addis. Destiny Academy has three campuses, a kindergarten, a elementary school, and a middle school. The Academy does not have a cafeteria or a dining hall, so students all bring their lunch from home. Mrs. Turlington, Meg, Relia, Eve and I visited the elementary campus first. Eve and I sat in a math class with the 1st graders, who were learning rather complex addition. There are always two teachers in class at the same time - one is the teacher of a specific subject, the other is the assistant teacher who takes care of the students and helps with grading. It was so cute that they began their class with a song which the kids sang with all their might and passion. Also, every time the teacher posted a question, almost every kid shot up their hands at once, standing up and leaning on the desks, eager to answer the question. The small classroom has educational posters, pictures, and class rules all over the walls.

After playing with the kids during recess, we went to the kindergarten campus. According to the coordinator, there are around 150 children there ages 3 to 5 in this one-floor building. Each small room has more than 20 children. Lastly, we hopped in the van for a short ride to visit the middle school. The photos and information of the Parliament Candidates were the first thing we saw as we entered. From the group photos of each class on the wall, I'm guessing that each class has around 25 people. The headmaster showed us their library; it only has two bookshelves and the room only allows one class at a time. To my surprise, I found some English learning books that were from China. The headmaster specially pointed out a book about Ethiopia's victory over Italy to me, and said that he hoped we would like to read it sometime. I can see that Ethiopian people are really proud of their country and the fact that they have never been colonized. The headmaster also showed us their simple Lab, and computer room.

After lunch at Sishu, a modern and trendy restaurant, we rested a little and went on to the after school program Berhan Yehun. This time, we took a different route so we could actually see the landfill area on our way. As we were getting closer, we started to see little sheds and shacks built out of tin board and shabby tents on the variegated hills of garbage. We spotted people going through the trash, looking for food and things to sell.

At Berhan, we watched a video about the landfill area in Addis, and gained a closer look at people's daily lives in the "landfill district". There was a woman who begged in order to support her family. For food, she usually spends 1 birr for injera in market. But when she doesn't have money, she can only get injera from other beggars but for 3 or even 4 birr with her credit, and pay them back when she has the money. A disconcerting problem is that because their terrible living conditions, many of the people get addicted to smoking and alcohol which are the only things that can provide them some warmth. They have to swallow their scanty meals in complete darkness since there is no lighting anywhere in the area. Their kids are able to go to public schools. However, they generally do not perform well in school. People started to notice that most of the kids from the "landfill district" had poor health and empty stomaches; some of them even fainted in class. The mission of the program is to provide the kids with necessary nutrition and tutoring in order to help them do better in school so that they will be able to change their lives through knowledge.

After the kids came in from school, we divided into groups to give them a little tutorial before playing with them. Eve and I took out the animal pictures everyone drew last night and tried to teach them animals' names in English. For the penguin I drew, I tried to explain to them what it is like and where it lives. The kids learned really fast, and we soon ran out of things to teach. Eve and I also taught them about body parts. When we realized that they already knew the things we were trying to teach, we taught them geometry they were about to learn in school. The kids were such great little teachers; they taught me numbers in Amharic and tested me repeatedly so I wouldn't forget. I taught them numbers in Chinese in return, and they were so happy to learn.

After dinner, we had an amazing African contemporary dancer to teach us some Ethiopian dances. I had a hard time but everyone else was doing a great job. :) The dancer then performed for us with his fluid and amazing moves.

Today has been a wonderful day! We're all looking forward to going to the Ethiopian version of Grand Canyon tomorrow. And if this goes on for any longer, probably no one will want to proof-read for me... Ciao!

- Evelyn Qin, '15