Greetings from the
motherland!
I have read solely one
sentence from Mary Powell’s personal journal and cannot have come up with a
statement more true; “Well, it seems like this trip is going to be one where I
come back everyday and say ‘this has been the best day of my life’”. Today was another one of those days.
We woke up at around
7:45 am, showered, ate breakfast, coffee, all that good stuff. Packed up the
van/car and headed out at 8:45. On the way to our first activity of the day, we
jammed too hardly to some old songs on Caroline’s phone, getting all kinds of
luck from everyone on the street. We arrived at the Destiny’s School, a private
school. As we walked in the gates, a flock of beautiful kids in bright orange
uniforms greeted us (and stared lol) and met the founder of the school, Hareg. The
first thing we saw was a table full of inventions and models that the kids
created out of resources that were easily accessible to them and recycled
(backpacks made out of plastic bottles, flower vases and rat traps made out of
bamboo, just to name a few). Next we split up into three groups that were to
play with the big kids and the little kids, and one to go to this science
exhibition/fair type thing that the school participated in. I was in the
exhibition group – we waited in the library before it was time to go to the
exhibit site 10 minutes away. The library was full of kids reading textbooks,
taking notes, and playing on the computer. These middle schoolers were learning
about the brain and nervous system and were incredibly bright. After helping
draw some brains, and being impressed of how quickly they learned and how
advanced their curriculum was, we got in Abi’s van and headed to the
exhibition. At this science fair, we were able to walk around and see
inventions and presentations from about 30 other schools. We also got to spend
more time some with the students from Destiny as they explained more about
their projects and shared their snacks with us. We went back to the school and
enjoyed a traditional coffee ceremony. With popcorn, crackers, and three rounds
of tiny cups of coffee, we learned that this is a major social activity, where
people seriously spend time enjoying each other’s company. Afterwards, we went
to talk to Hareg and hear about her experience starting the school. She was
incredible, and the story was incredible, leaving some of us teary eyed. She
told us about the importance of education and following your dreams.
Next thing of the day
was lunch at Aba Guben, an Italian restaurant. We were happy to have Hareg join
us, as we were able to talk to her more about the journey of life and her
experiences. Sitting at lunch after eating, everyone became really, really
tired. But – we could not give in to the exhaustion and heat, as we were about
to head back to one of our favorite places, the afterschool program, Berhan
Yehun.
Walking back into the afterschool program, we were happy to see many familiar faces and excited to show them the things we brought to play with. We had balloons, bubbles, and strips of bandanas to make bracelets with. The bracelets were a huge hit… actually everything was a huge hit – but it was really cool to have something that the kids could make and keep for themselves. Loved blowing the bubbles, playing that game where you don’t let the balloon touch the ground, and passing around cameras, as the kids love having their picture taken and taking photos! Everyone really connected with these kids – I saw Buffy and Jenni having major girl-talk with a group of girls (Jenni getting her hair braided per usual), Mary Powell basically found a new prom date with the smoothest and most charming kid, and Ms. Turlington got to spend more time with a buddy that she had hung with in years past. We left at about 5:45, as it was time for the kids to eat dinner. It was very sad to leave these kids but we were all very happy with the laughs, lessons learned, and time we spent with them.
Getting back into the van…
this is the part where I am going to tag-team this blog post to Buffy – as I
got a bad headache and wasn’t fully there for a good part of the rest of the
day. Also, what comes next is very important, and very up Buffy’s alley. –
Allie
Hello all, it’s Ruthie
(Buffy), the love guru speaking. While Allie was experiencing her migraine, I
had the great pleasure of sitting beside Andy in the front of the van. As we
ventured back into the thick of the city, Andy leaned in and promptly told me
that she was nervous. Why you might ask? We were quickly approaching golden boy
aka papaya boy aka Tekley. As soon as those whispers passed her lips there was
a scream from the back and a swift blinker, initiated by our one-and-only, Abi.
“THERE’S THE HAT” said Mary Powell. Before Andy could think twice, we were
parked on the curb, approximately 2 feet from Tekley and his papaya stand. Andy
muttered the first thing that came to her mind.
“Can I buy a papaya?”
His head swerved to
face her and he gave her the look. Every teenage girl knows what look I am referring
to but considering that I’m assuming most of our audience of readers are
adults, I will explain. “The look” is the look that every girl wants. The look
from a beautiful boy that makes you feel like you are the only woman in the
world; the only woman he wants. “The look” is one of awe and that is the look
Andy received today.
Andy exited the car and
Tekley immediately took her hand in his. Andy presented him with a homemade
bracelet that she wanted him to have, in remembrance of her. The language
barrier became a slight setback so Dougie was quickly beckoned to alleviate the
confusion that was why she had a bracelet and why exactly she was trying to
tightly wrap it around his arm. Dougie came in clutch and explained the
situation, along with presenting the question of how much his papayas cost.
With the newest Ethiopian couple’s hands still intertwined, he led her over to
his papaya stand and told her that she did not have to pay. Andy insisted but
he refused her birr time and time again. He plucked a ripe papaya from the
bunch and placed it into a plastic bag for her.
Let me also say that
while this entire episode was occurring, a crowd had formed; I’m talking the whole
nine yards. Ethiopians swarmed the scene with snacks and smiles, while we all
crowded the doors and windows of the van to get the best picture of Golden boy
and our very own Ethiopian princess. We all yelled encouraging words. The
atmosphere of the crazy moment was contagious.
Anyway, as the
conversation between the two continued to progress with Dougie’s help,
anticipation began to arise as we realized that the interaction needed to come
to an end. The two released hands long enough to share a beautiful hug. He
moved his hat to the side in order to hide to small form of PDA, but the sweet
action did not go unnoticed by us. The moment was breathtaking and it gave us
all a sense that love can in fact be found in a hopeless place, just like the
Rihanna song which played a huge role in the situation as we pulled away from
the curb and blared the song. There was no hiding our exciting and love for
Andy at this moment. We were all in shock and proceeded to play a wonderful
playlist (put together by yours truly) of love songs from the decades.
Long story short, this
was obviously a very iconic time in all of our lives.
Moving on, we arrived
back at the house around 6:30. The weather of the day was literally perfect so
we decided to stay outside for a little bit and enjoy the dusk of Ethiopia. During
this time, we were blessed with the presence of Abi and Abush! After much
convincing/forcing, one last performance of MK and Andy’s Orchesis-inspired recital,
and a solo from Sam, they decided to stay for dinner!!!!!! (Another very
exciting time for us all.)
During dinner, we
celebrated Mrs. Floyd’s wonderful life with fasting (vegan) birthday cake that
was actually bomb. We sung to her and dug into literally some of the best cake
I’ve ever had in my life. I’m pretty sure I ate about one-third of it but oh
well. Mrs. Floyd’s birthday is a cause of happiness through too much cake
consumption.
Following a very heated
game of Catchphrase (that my team won, I might add), we had a night of
reflection through many glows and the sad mention that this was our last night
as the glum. That thought was something that we had been pushing aside all day
and if I’m being honest, a thought that is hard to type about because it makes
me sad and I am in an absolutely amazing place, with amazing people, and
amazing experiences, so I refuse to be sad.
This trip has been
incredible and I know that I speak for the whole group when I say a big thank
you to all of the parents reading this who gave us this opportunity. We love
you all so much and we will never forget the happiness through service and
immersion that this trip has caused us.
Signing off on our last
night in Africa. HEARTS UP AM I RIGHT?!
-Ruthie Brady
Highlights
- Mary Katharine met a
cute girl with apple bottom jeans on
- Mary Powell got an
attack of kisses on the cheek from the kids at Destiny’s school
- dougie pulled a successful
April Fools joke on us
- #abilovesit
-Stalking Abi and
Abush’s facebook and realizing that Abush thinks he is a model (no judgment –
love yourself)
- Mrs. Davis was
attacked by 4th graders for dried cranberries.
- Mrs. Floyd’s
birthday/Amazing vegan cake
-#AbushToleratesIt
- Allie Swanson, ‘16 & Ruthie Brady, ‘16
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