Thursday, March 31, 2016

We started the day with our earliest departure time yet – 8:00am. However, the adults were pleasantly surprised to find us all in the van and ready to go by 8:02. While I could attribute our timeliness to good planning, we were all pretty eager to start our Abi chronicles of the day with our hour and a half drive out to the Born Free Animal Preserve. It was a big day for Abi and his quest for love, but I will touch on that later.

We took a beautiful drive outside of Addis to get to the Preserve. The drive was full of amazing landscapes, donkeys, goats, local people, and more. It didn’t feel even close to an hour and a half long because we were all very content with the playlists we sang along to and the sights… Also thanks to Amy, Ms. Floyd, and Ms. Davis because all the girls were able to ride in the big van with Abi together for our longest drive yet. When we arrived at the Preserve, we signed in at the gate (Ruthie Brady +10) and went on to the dusty parking lot. We met our tour guide, Million, and set out for our hour and twenty-minute tour around the beautiful preserve. We stopped many times to admire some plant life and such (Ms. Floyd was really in her element here) and observe the animals that roamed freely around Born Free’s land. Some of the roaming animals were Vervet monkeys, various bird species, and hyenas (which we did not see because they are nocturnal, but we did spot some of their tracks).

Besides the vast land that really seemed like it was made for frolicking, the real excitement of the preserve was when we saw the rescued animals at the preserve. The rescued animals, which included baboons, lions, and cheetahs, were animated and all had extensive stories/backgrounds. The baboons were rescued from a restaurant where they lived in awfully tiny cages. They seemed uninterested in us, until we started to make faces at them. When one baboon saw our faces, he leaped and clung to the fence rather aggressively, mimicking our faces by opening his mouth. He had very large canines and suddenly we were all very thankful for the wire enclosure that separated us. The lions were rescued from a military camp, where people would throw rocks at them to get their attention. Million explained to us that not only do the wars create human refugees, they also create animal refugees, because the lions’ habitat was invaded by soldiers. The lions did not hold back and also came charging at the sight of us, full movie roar and all. This made for some great go-pro videos and pictures, as well as the discovery that Abi is a brave man (again, do not fret more on Abi is yet to come). Then we moved on to the cheetahs, who were rescued from the black market pet trade. They basked in the sun and we all admired how adorable they were. We also passed some tortoises, cerval cats, and mice. We took our same hour and a half drive back into the city, which was equally as beautiful our trip out.

           

We went to lunch at Five Loaves. As every other restaurant in Addis, the building was unassuming from the outside, but when we walked in and up to our table on the second floor, the view of the mountains and interior of the place was amazing. Everyone was happy with their meals, including Mary Powell’s prosciutto sandwich, Mary Katharine’s chicken parmesan, Andy’s quiche, Sam’s chicken sandwich, and more. We all closed the meal with macchiatos (Ms. Davis had a latte with lunch and the art inside was a lion, which was pretty incredible).  

After lunch, we left for our second ultra-ethical event of the day, Salem’s. Salem’s is a small shopping compound (for lack of a better word) that features many artisans that produce their crafts on site. Some of the crafts included woven blankets and scarves, woven baskets, jewelry, ornaments, bags, and more. While shopping, you were actually able to go and see the people who are making the products and watch them practice their craft, which was a surreal experience. Andy, Jane, Zoe, and Allie even spoke with a weaver who also happened to be a bow tie maker and Ethiopian young life leader (he is expecting an invite to Raleigh soon). We all walked out with bags full of fairly made, quality items. Not only did we take away tangible gifts, we also spoke with Salem, the owner, who gave us an intangible gift. She shared her passion for empowering women through business and negotiation, instead of giving hand-outs. She inspired us all to value education, empower each other, and support fairly-run enterprises. She’s also pretty remarkable in how progressive she is since Ethiopia is much further behind in feminism than the United States, which Buffy pointed out during our yay and yuck ducks nightly break down. She also has a daughter who is graduating from Chapel Hill in May, so more Ethiopian friends in North Carolina!!

Now for the nightly update on everyone’s favorite, Abi, our driver. Today Abi really got on-board with our search for his perfect match, which prompted the creation of the necessary #abilovesit. He gave us post-it notes and Any wrote his name and phone number on them to hand out to potential matches (#sparks) we came across on our drives. We found 3!!!! The first was a miss due to some miscommunication on Abi’s preferences. The second was great fun, because Abi gave us the ok once she had already passed, so Andy and Senait jumped out of the van and ran down the street to giver her the number. She took it and we are hopeful. The third was the best match yet. She was walking in a beautiful area of Addis, looked around Abi’s age, and met all his requirements. We called her over to the van, assured her that Abi was the greatest guy we knew, and gave her the number. When we said to call him she responded “ok” so things are looking pretty good. We also developed more of Abi’s character today. We determined throughout today’s events, that not only is he modest and kind-hearted, he is also brave, practical, a renaissance man, and a whole lot of fun.

After Salem’s we got ice cream from an ice cream place in Addis, Igloo, which was really good. The sugar cones had “Ethopia” written on them, which while not spelled correctly, was still cute. We also stopped at a coffee bar to buy Ethiopian coffee and Elsa Kolo for kolo. After our ice cream, coffee, and kolo, we came back to the house. Before dinner, Andy and Mary Katharine put on an extensive, orchesis-inspired dance performance, which was beyond amazing. They embodied the moon and the sun (dressed in their new scarves to go along with the theme) and had everyone laughing at their dedication to perfecting the theatrical experience. Bini literally ran back from whatever errand he was finishing to make it in time for the dance- I don’t think he was disappointed. Right after the dance, we had dinner, which was spaghetti with a meat and vegetarian option. Everyone enjoyed it, even though Mary Katharine’s lips were burning (Ethiopians like spicy food). After dinner, we moved our nighty reflection (yay and yuck ducks) outside and shared around a great fire that Bini and Robert (one of the guards) made. The sweetest display of international friendship ever occurred when Bini surprised Ms. Turlington with one of the blankets she regretted not buying at Salem’s. Tears were shed and the hearts were up and crossed.

All in all, today was something of an ethical dream. Instead of going to a zoo, we went to a Preserve. Instead of going to a mall, we went to an artisan market. It was really amazing to see how we can enjoy the same kinds of activities we have always loved in a more socially and environmentally responsible fashion. I kind of got volun-told to do tonight’s blog by Ms. Turlington, but I totally didn’t mind, because the entire day was completely up my alley. Every day I get up and think there is no way today could be as good or better than the last, but somehow they always are.

Some highlights……

-       Abi not being scared of the lions (his bravery) because there is a fence (his practicality)

-       Both successful number transfers with Abi’s potential future partners

-       Realizing that Abi and Abush (the car driver) are Timon and Pumba

-       Buffy’s 3 braids and new necklace combo that make her look like an indigenous queen

-       Caroline’s lost voice that has turned her into a great singer

-       Tishomi (Younglife guy) giving Andy, Jane, Allie, and Zoe Ethiopian names

love,

jenni  

-       Jenni Struthers, ‘16