Home Visits

July 27, 2011
Hamle 20, 2003

We began our day with teaching grades k-9. We thought it went smoother than the first day because they are starting to recognize us and respect us as teachers. We have been working on our lesson plans and hope that we can see progression in their English and math skills by the time we leave. The library is coming along nicely, although there are still some things that need to be finished, it looks like the organizing and cataloging of the books will be completed by the time we leave. After the school day was over, kids stuck around as usual to interact and play with us. Instead of the usual play time this afternoon, we got to go on house visits of students from the school.

Lauren LaVelle, Sophie, Carly, and Heather went to a young girl’s house who is 21 and is a 12th grader at the school. It started off with a taxi ride Lauren, Heather, and our host, Saret, were in one car while Carly and Sophie got separated into a different one. This was very intimidating for all of us due to the fact that we did not know where we were headed (these taxis are nothing like the ones at home). We drove for only about 5 minutes and arrived at her house safely. She graciously welcomed us into her home and before the coffee ceremony could commence, she had us dress up in traditional Ethiopian dresses and headscarves. We sat in a very small room, that was very hot, and only got hotter with the fire for the coffee. She served/hand fed us injera with pasta and injera sauce as well as bread and popcorn. She had us help prepare the coffee by letting us take turns roasting the coffee beans over the fire. We started with listening to traditional Ethiopian music as she showed us pictures of her family and friends, but she decided we would feel more “at home” listening to the Pussycat Dolls. She also treated us to her own manicures with bubble gum pink polish, which we were all in need of. We had our own GNO (girls night out)!

We all send our love to our family and friends! See you all soon, we miss you a lot.

-Carly Iversen, Lauren LaVelle, Sophie Nord, and Heather Klosterman

Lauren, Laura, Jessica and Mikayla went to a boy named Bemnet Ali’s house. Bemnet is 17 years old and will be in 12th grade next year. He lives with his mother, brother and sister. He has another brother that is studying engineering in Germany. We took a taxi ride about 15 minutes out of Diré Dawa to Bemnet’s home. There, his mother welcomed us with 4 kisses each and prepared a coffee ceremony for us! First, she served us mango juice (that she makes herself), then we were treated to soda, bread and homemade marmalade. They bought us fresh fruit and served us two rounds of coffee. Bemnet’s family was very welcoming; even some neighbors stopped by to talk. After coffee, Bemnet’s sister, Tagist, gave all four of us French manicures! Then, Bemnet and three of his friends took us to Papa Recreation Center. It was almost like a carnival: there was a ferris wheel, swimming pool, arcade games and bumper cars. We played pool and ping pong there. We would have stayed out all night, but we realized that Dols probably wanted us back for dinner. It was fun to see a place where teenagers like us hang out.

Sending all of our love, God bless!

-Laura Mueller, Mikayla Hoff, Jessica Cook and Lauren Moore


Krista and Olivia’s House Visit:
Krista and I went to Nadi’s home which was located about 20 minutes from the school. Nadi is seventeen years old and is in grade 11 at the Brothers’ school. We took a small taxi to her house and got to see many parts of Dire Dawa along the way. Nadi’s house was located close to Diré Dawa University and she lived in a quiet neighborhood away from the city. We met her father, aunt, younger sister, and younger brother. They were very welcoming and were happy to have us in their home. Nadi first offered us bread and Fanta pop, then Nadi and her sister began the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. First, we watched her cook the coffee beans, then she ground them, boiled water, and served us the first of three round of coffee. It was delicious. We were also treated with popcorn that is traditionally served at a coffee ceremony and injera bread with a special sauce. During the house visit we learned more about Nadi and her life in Diré Dawa and we also told her about the United States and our families. Nadi is the only child in her family attending a private school and she loves biology and plans to become a doctor in the future. After we finished the coffee ceremony, Nadi and her sister took us in the taxi back to the school. It was a relaxing evening and we are glad we got to spend time with Nadi and her family.

Katie, Jake, Rob, and Clayton’s house visit:
The boys and I went to LemLem’s house. She will be in grade 12 and wants to study medicine. She has lived in Diré Dawa for 11 years, and previously lived in Harar (which we will be visiting Friday). We took a 10 min. taxi ride and went to an Orthodox church in the final stages of construction. The structure was present and the painting was in progress as well as the laying of the face bricks. We got to walk up the stairs to the roof. It was one of the coolest experiences yet. After visiting the church, we went to her house and had a coffee ceremony lead by her best friend and neighbor. With the coffee we had coke, popcorn, bread, injera, spinach, and a beet/potato dish that were all wonderful. Clayton was forced to show off his karate, and LemLem taught us how to dance. After the ceremony we walked around the town and got to see another Orthodox church, Diré Dawa University, and we even went to Papa Recreational Park, which had rides and an outdoor pool. Soon after it was time to go, so we took another taxi back to the school. Overall it was a great experience that we will never forget, she even promised to add all of us on facebook.
Ciao!

I went for my usual walk with the Brothers last night. It was longer than usual, we walked almost to the gates of the airport. There was a cool breeze blowing, so it was very comfortable. The Brothers were explaining to me that because of the climate in Diré Dawa it has a very large number of homeless; and indeed it does. They said in Addis the homeless suffer so much because of the cold and rain. Here the nights stay in the mid-70’s at least, it is in the mid-90’s during the day…and this is considered one of the cooler months. In the two blocks around the Orthodox church we pass, I count at least 30 people sleeping in the streets. I notice for the first time two women, both nursing what look like newborns. Further down the street a toddler sits in the crook of his mother’s arm as she seems to be sleeping. The women seem to gather together and sleep close to each other, for protection I imagine. When we go to Mass in the morning, there are usually people sleeping in front of the church. I know that on somedays, the altar boys are passing out bread to them. I don’t know if that is that attraction to the other churches as well.