The end of the year provides us a chance to ponder upon the regrets of the previous year....

while the dawning of the New Year gives us an opportunity to avoid those same disappointments. ~Anonymous


Day 136, Dec 25, Sat, Christmas day, 92°F – 4:38pm,

(first things first, last night, I decided to try and stay up and hopefully watch the Popes midnight mass on the BBC, however I forgot to take into account the time difference, so when 12:00am rolled around and there was still no sign of the mass beginning, I decided to hold a candlelight rosary in the chapel instead, it was very beautiful, if a bit lonely.)



When I woke up this morning, I really expected today to be not particularly special, (as most of Ethiopia will be celebrating on the 7th of January) and definitely lonely. (Thankfully I did receive a restful night) But when I went to the sister’s compound for Christmas play practice I discovered that they had canceled practice and were going to visit Abba Tulio in Itang for a Christmas luncheon, to which I was invited to join! So after walking back to the office and grabbing some pictures that I had been meaning to give to Abba but had never found the time to, I rushed back and hitched a ride with the sisters.

I found the sisters a hoot to travel with, it seems whether they be nun, mothers, or single, women will be women, and when you get a group of them together in an enclosed space they will talk…a lot! Lol, which is fine by me, being as I am an introspective person, I don’t mind listening. (Also, the Sisters recite a beautiful rosary, I’ve found that several of the groups I’ve previously said rosaries with have neglected several parts of it, but the Sisters skip nothing, and even accompany it in several parts with musical hymns, quite lovely.)



We made it to Itang after about an hour of driving, and were greeted warmly by Abba Tulio and his guests. (There was an Anglican couple from New Zealand who had been working in Tanzania, who had come to visit Ethiopia for a month.)

After showing the some of the sisters who had never been here around, and after meeting/greeting the youths that lived at the church hostel, we gathered inside for our feast. And a feast it was, Abba had really outdone himself this time, there was perfectly cooked rice, (it was wonderfully fluffy) Beans, (the proper name of which I do not know, I affectionately call them butter beans, because of their wonderfully smooth and rich taste) Beef, (which I admit I did not try, having only just recovered from my most recent sick episode I didn’t want to tempt fate) corn porridge, (which is better than it sounds) and a kind of lentil gravy, (which was particularly tasty on the rice and porridge).



The candor during this banquet was as equally interesting as the meal itself, with conversations covering such topics as our respective countries climates compared to Ethiopia, as well as the latest work we had been doing, (It was like a meeting with the UN, one sister was from Romania, another from Croatia, there was a sister from Kenya, and also one from India, as well as a sister who was Ethiopian, Abba Tulio was from Columbia, there was the couple from New Zealand, and of course there was yours truly as the representative of the US). Alas, all good things must come to an end though, and the time of parting had come much too quickly, so after saying our goodbyes to Abba, (The NZ couple were going to hitch a ride with us into Gambella, where they would be catching a flight) we were on our way.



Despite the regret of departure the ride back was not a somber one, for soon after we had started on our way the confines of the vehicle resonated with the salubrious and joyful strains of Christmas carols as we belt out one after another, until our entire repertoire yuletide hymns was exhausted. (at which point we stopped to stretch our legs and gather dried grass and reeds for the sister, which they used to make brooms) The miles seem to fly under our tires, and before I realized it, we were back in Gambella, and after dropping me of at my compound, the rest of the party continued to theirs.



The rest of the day was spent leisurely, and all in all, it turned out to be a very good Christmas, one that I won’t forget for years to come.



Day 137, Dec 26, Sun, 93°F – 3:00pm,

I had a marvelous encounter after mass this morning. After the service had ended and as I was conversing on the ground just outside the church with Br. Legesse, a gentleman approached me and introduced himself as David Bock, a Canadian, who has been working in Gambella for the past two years with IOM (the International Organization of Migration, which is affiliated with the UN). It appears that he became aware of my presence here in the city when he stumbled upon my blog, how freaking awesome is that!?

We tarried at the church for awhile and held an animated discourse on how our respective roles and what led to our presence here, (turns out he’s been in Africa for five years! and has lived and traveled through many of the various countries located within!) as well as the various challenges and inconveniences that working in Ethiopia presents. (To which he gave me some very useful information, particularly regarding computer usage, which I shall definitely be implementing if or when I get the chance.)

Our conversation eventually lost some of its forward momentum, but before we parted to go our separate ways he gave me his mobile number and informed me that he would at least be in Gambella approximately 2 more months, (Longer, he hopes, I guess it depends on if he can renew his contract) and said we should get together again sometime. (Which I would really enjoy, it was really nice to be able to talk to another person who didn’t speak with a heavy accent, lol, so I definitely think I shall be taking him up on his offer some time...Hmm, I wonder if he plays cards?)



In the afternoon, I was finally able to finish “Uncle Tom’s cabin”, and as I look back upon it, it seems to me that the message it carries can still be applied to today’s society, particularly to that hideous genocide of the unborn, as the view point of that 19th centuries society had in seeing the African peoples as nothing more than things, with no rights of their own, mirrors the current societies viewpoint that the unborn are simply things with no rights of themselves as well.

The next book I have started is titles: “Microbe Hunters, by Paul de Kruif”, which is about some of those earliest and greatest scientists who made leaping advancements in the realm of not only microbiology, but science in general, a very fascinating book. At 4:00 I headed to the church compound for play practice, which seems to be going well, the kids are learning their lines, and I’m getting some good ideas for scenery layout. (I’ve also started learning “Angels we have heard on high” which I shall be performing for the play) Not much happened after practice, the only thing of note that I did was tidy up my room.



Now, instead of a prayer, I thought I would include a poem that I had written when I was feeling particularly spiritual one day, so here goes:



In Nomine Patri, et Fili, et Spiritus Sanctus:


1. Forgive me Father; I confess, my life, indeed, is a mess,
Wracked with guilt and sorrow beset, offending you, my hearts regret.

Joy in soul as darkness leaves, a blessing in which I have received,
stay and pray, instructions given, to live my life, for I’m forgiven.


2. Enter in at his request, sprinkle, as I do, w’ water blest,
Kneeling now, my soul at rest, waiting for that special guest.
As I wait, impatience brooding, thinking thoughts, each topic ruling,
I try and shift my gaze to thee, so, as to prepare, for the day’s decree.


3. As He enters, all do glory; hands are folded, the presence holy.
As we stand, to thee we say, Glory be, I confess, and Agnus dei.
After these, we prepare, to rid our live of all despair,
As we sit, knowledge learning, filling all our hearts of yearning.


4. As we reside, as words are spun,
Heralding, teaching, readying for the setting sun,
I prepare, as I confide, to ponder all these things inside.
Now we stand, after lectures briefing, (to each his own as is his seeking),
Now we do ask, that as we live, answers to our prays please give.


5. Now we take a stand and say, this we do, this we pray,
As we enter, into the place, that defies all time and space.
Now, fruit of the earth n’ vine we give, symbols of our life we live,
Offered up, for man most selfish, so that we, in divinity, might relish.


6. This My Body, and this My Blood, held aloft for you above,
As the Sacred Host proclaimed, as He died, yet, His Life reclaimed,
Held aloft above the frame, is that Savior, who for us was slain.
Say we now the Lord’s Appeal, as between us, our wounds do heal.


7. The meal is ready, a sacrifice prepared; though I am not worthy, I declare,
I move forward, eyes ahead as I stare, at his gift of love so rare.
As I receive this bread of life, words abandon, “this I believe”, must suffice.
After time of silent hearing, the mission now, our fate endearing,
As we all in grace go out, “Thanks be to God!”, as one we shout!





Day 138, Dec 27, Mon, 91°F – 2:50pm,

We did the usual exercise for English composition today, which they seem to be doing a little bit better, although I still have to stay alert for cheating. After class, I had gone back to my room during a quick break and had decided to clean out a corner of the room that I had missed yesterday. When I moved a bucket in order to sweep underneath it, behold there was a scorpion sittin’ there as pretty as ye please!

After first resisting the urge to find the nearest big rock to squash it, and after exchanging my current footwear of sandals for a more “sting proof” pair of shoes, I carefully escorted the critter outside with a broom, where I disposed of it in the farthest corner of the immediate compound. (after masculinely poking and prodding it with a stick to see what it would do, of course, lol) The encounter left me more than a little perturbed, freaked out, and more aware than ever just how much I am at the mercy of God, lol.



This afternoon I was able to call Br. Endalkachew, who is still in Addis, and ask him to pick up a cell phone for me, (Which I will be paying for of course) he responded that he should be able to find one. I am hoping that with this phone, I will be able to receive more calls from home. (during the past few weeks I am pretty sure that I have missed several, due to either being nowhere near a phone, or because there was no power)



Day 139, Dec 28, Tue, 89.7°F – 2:57pm,

Conducted kindergarten class again today, but the order had been changed and I taught the K-3 class first. Besides the Abc’s, (Which will be teaching every week) I am trying to include something new each week, and for the K-3’s this week, I went over continents, countries, and the planets, the kids soaked up everything like a dry sponge. The K-2’s also responded well, and I was able to cover continents, colors, and some numbers. The K-1’s class was a nightmare though, for starters, since it was the last class of the day, and was held right before lunch, all the kids were tired and hungry, and on top of that, the other classes that were going on at the same time were conducting singing and dancing practice for Christmas, which was quite boisterous and distracting. Needless to say, the beginning of the class was pure chaos, with the little urchins practically jumping all over each other screaming and yelling, and it wasn’t until Sister and a teacher entered that what little remaining peace was restored. In the end I wasn’t really able to teach them much; we were only just barely able to get through the Abc’s before time ran out. (That’s the last time that I teach the K-1 last, next time they will either be first or second) Before I left after the classes I was asked by sister to do up the ordination script like I had done with the Christmas one, splicing together the English & Amharic, she will be giving me an updated version of the script after mass tomorrow.



After lunch and a much needed short nap, I conferred with Bayu concerning the Christmas play for the Tech’s Christmas party. I had finally come up with a plan for the festivity and all that I needed to do now is make sure everyone else was on the ball and the arrangements are executed properly. I also started working on the “Address” that I would be giving this coming Thursday to the primary school students, which of course will be including a magic trick.



Day 140, Dec 29, Wed, 93.4°F @ 3:50pm,

During English class today I implemented a “word knowledge” exercise, which basically consisted of 51 sentences that had anywhere from 1 to 3 plank spaces in each line, in which they were to insert a noun that would properly complete the sentence. Most of them were only just barely able to finish it in the allotted 1 ½ hour’s time limit, that, coupled with how often they used the same words to fill out the sentences and how often they had to ask what certain words meant, clearly demonstrates just how lacking they are when it comes to their vocabulary. There was a positive side to this though. Since they asked about the words they didn’t know, that means that every time they come across one they don’t know and I have to explain it to them, they end up learning a new word…Hopefully thus expanding their thesaurus-al horizons…one would hope.



The next task of the day was the play practice with kids for Christmas. For some reason the children were a bit overly disorderly and raucous this afternoon, and it was fairly difficult to get them to stay focused on learning their lines, however Sister did an amazing job and the little waif’s ended up making some decent progress. After escorting some of the urchins and Sister back to their compound and continuing on to mine, I greeted Br. Endalkachew, who had just returned from Addis. During our evening talk, I learned that the reason for Br.’s trip to the capital was to visit his mother, who had recently been diagnosed with a nervous disorder, as well as malaria, and while Br. was taking care of his mom, his uncle passed away. This year has been a trying year for him, so I encourage all you readers to keep him in your prayers. After dinner, I finished the Microsoft Word chapter of the seminarian’s class, so starting next week we’ll be delving into the world of Excel. (Also, as I was coming back from the church compound, I noticed that someone had put up Christmas lights on the front of the Salesians office building, seeing that really made me feel nostalgic)



Day 141, Dec 30, Thu, 72.8°F @ 3:34pm,

This morning I carried out my spiel for the primary students, in which I explained how important it is to do their school work properly and diligently, so that their futures would be secured. To demonstrate this, I explained that working hard at their studies is like folding the 1 birr note that I was holding, and after covering the note with my hand I explained that once they graduated, all their hard work would pay off, as I said this I unfolded the note, revealing that it had become a 100 birr note. I then cautioned them to ask and thank God for all His help, (Folding the 100 birr note and covering it with my hand as I said it) because after all, we are just human. (And I unfolded the note again, revealing that it had turned back into the one birr note)



This afternoon I was able to join the primary students again, this time it was to observe contest that the school holds yearly, (or semi yearly, it wasn’t clearly explained to me) where the school hall was basically converted into a game show, there was the panel of judges, the contestants, (which consisted of six students) and the audience, (This consisted of the rest of the students). The contestants were asked questions concerning the topics that they had covered this past year, and as they answered, the ones who replied correctly advanced, until there was only two left, and after a very tense sounding question, the victor was declared. I had been standing out of the way, taking photographs and pictures of the event, but I was then asked to dispense the prizes to the winners, (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and the consolation prizes, and so I was able to participate in the carousing as well.



Day 42, Dec 31, Fri, New Years Eve, 80ish°F @ 12ish pm,

I can’t believe the New Year is almost here, it seems almost unreal how quickly time appears to pass at times. This evening I plan to celebrate by counting down to 12:00am (most likely by my lonesome), at which point I shall eat the remaining chocolate chips my family sent (which has s-l-o-w-l-y been dwindling), which I have mixed with peanuts and have been saving for this particular occasion, Mwahahah, lol. I’m hoping tomorrow something abnormal might happen, (Like what happened on Christmas) but I’m pretty sure I shall be left up to my own devices again, so I’m going to at least try and get a card game going with some of the youths at the oratory.



This past year has had so many ups and downs, like some sort of demented rollercoaster ride, at times peacefully gliding unperturbed through life, at other times cavorting and twisting in sickening spirals of chaos and destruction! And even though there are a lot of uncertainties, (particularly about what I am going to do at the end of my tenure here), I am really looking forward to this coming New Year and all the new opportunities it presents. So to all mah peeps back on the western front, I hope you all take the experiences you have encountered this past year and apply them to the coming year with a positive outlook, and I hope and pray that the coming year will bring with it a much needed advancement of brotherly peace to all our neighbors around the world, may the love of God and man carry us into the future!

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. ~Harry S. Truman

Day 128, Dec 17, Fri, 2:10pm - 96.0°F,

The event that stood out most today was my visit with Abba Thomas to a prayer meeting. Abba had invited me this morning to come with him and take pictures of the parishioners for I.D’s, as well as a chance for me to experience something of the local’s way of life. We left at three (with several members from the church) and drove to the outskirts of the Baro-mado district; the ramshackle buildings and green fauna seen at the heart of Gambella soon gave way to mud huts and dried vegetation.

(I learned that the prayer meeting takes place at various places throughout the city, depending on which particular parishioner is hosting, with every week being hosted by a different member) On we drove down the dusty road until we reached the particular grouping of hut Abba had been looking for. After parking, we proceeded on foot for a couple hundred feet until we arrived at the hut of this week’s hosting family. The hut in question was indeed a humble one, settled on a small patch of relatively level ground, the cracked mud walls rose from the ground maybe 15-13ish ft, and was topped by a slanting corrugated metal roof, the doors and windows were also made out of old metal as well, but these and were painted an aqua green that had been worn by age and use. (The structure of the house made by creating a “skeleton” out of various branches, and then layering layer after layer of mud onto it, which dries into a surprisingly sturdy foundation)

The inside of the hut was split into three compartments, there was the main room, which was maybe somewhere between 3 and 4 square yards of space, and two separate rooms which I didn’t see the inside of. (But judging by how the hut looks on the outside I would guess them to be around 2 yards2, probably just big enough to sleep in?) The main room was furnished with a mosquito net in one corner, along with a bedroll folded neatly besides the wall. There was also a small table in the center of the space, with a couple stools gathered around it, and three benches along the same number of walls. The décor of the room was sparse; the main wall was adorned with various pictures of family members and religious paraphernalia, (pictures and Icons of Jesus, Mary, the Holy Family, Etc.) which were embedded into the surprisingly smooth mud, and there was some writing near the entrance in several languages saying “Welcome”.
We were quickly ushered in and greeted warmly by a group of parishioners who had been waiting for us; I think altogether we were about 14ish people. (I am not sure how many people were actually family members, but judgeing by the pictures and the mannerisms of several of the people, a few of whom I recognized from church and Wednesday’s catechism meeting, I think the family was made up of Father, Mother, a Son, {possibly two, the other is in school?} and may be an aunt and/or uncle who also live with them.) The first order of business was for me to take some pictures, which was accomplished with little difficulty. (As I was taking pictures I couldn’t’ help but notice that the was little puppy that was tied to a post, and was obviously the pet of the little boy, and I couldn’t help but take a couple snapshots after I had finished my I.D pictures, lol)
After the photo’s we all gathered together in the main room (well, most of us, two of the gentleman who had joined us later pulled up stools just outside the door) and prayed the rosary, offering up as we did so, the intentions of the hosting family. After that organized divine entreaty, Abba conversed with the family for a bit, and although most of it was in either Amharic or Annuak, there was enough English interjections, for me to gather that he was inquiring into the wellbeing of said kin, including asking the little boy whether he had been practicing his prayers, to which the boy started reciting the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary. Abba became so delighted at the boys progress that Abba gave him his rosary. (I learned later that apparently the boy used to be a bit of a trouble maker, a real urchin, and had recently started to become quite civil) After that, Abba blessed the family, and then we started back for our compound. (Stopping several times to drop off people whom we had been giving a ride back into town) This was a very interesting excursion, one I shall be repeating with Abba hopefully every week. (I learned from Abba that the house of the family we had visited today was actually a very nice one, and that we will be visiting some very poor dwellings in the future, which will definitely set in perspective just how lucky I have been)



Day 129, Dec 18, Sat, 3:00pm – 95.8°F

I wasn’t able to wake up soon enough to climb Mt. Jejebe, so I guess I’ll have to try next week. (Since mass starts at 6:45, I’d have to wake up early enough to walk to the mountain, climb the mountain, spend some time at the top of the mountain, and the descend and walk to church in time to attend the service, which is just too darn early, so I have been thinking, maybe I should try on Sundays, since mass doesn't begin until 8:30.) At the oratory today I had brought with me a deck of cards and managed to initiate a game of hearts with a group of 4-5 youths (lol, I think I’ll have to start calling it jumping hearts, because the kids kept exchanging places with onlookers) We all had a lot of fun, (especially when one of us made a mistake and ended up taking most of the hearts in that round, there was a good deal of friendly jesting and jibbing) We will definitely have do that again some week. After the oratory had come to a close, a student gave me another list of Christmas carols that the sisters wanted copied, so for the rest of the evening I engaged in that project. (This ended up needing the help of Br. Legesse, since several of the carols that they wanted had a few Amharic lines in them.)



Day 130, Dec 19, Sun, 1:30pm - 96.1°F,

Whew, another scorcher today. After mass I consulted Sister Maris concerning the format of the Christmas carols, and after receiving some feedback, (and a request to attend and help out with the play practice today at 4:00pm, to which I assented) I headed back to our compound to restructure the songs. (After eating lunch of course) I finished the carols with an hour and a half to spare, (I was also waiting for Okello to drop of the Anuuak version of the play which I still haven’t received from him) so I ended up continuing Uncle Tom’s cabin. (I ‘m almost done with it, it seems like It’s taken forever to get through it though, especially with most of my free time being used for various tasks for the sisters) 4:00 rolled round, so I set off for the nuns compound, (Okello still hadn’t shown up) but instead of starting right away, I ended up waiting around for a bit in the compound before the play practice actually started…at 5:00…well, we are on Ethiopian time after all, (Which means everybody is late for everything…except when there’s the possibility of receiving food, lol) so during the waiting I discussed scenery setup and prop stuff with Sister Maris.
Once everybody had finally showed up for practice we started reading the script to them to get them familiar with it contents, and to figure out who would be cast in which role. However part way through the scrip, we found out that Abba Berhane, who had translated it into Amharic, had mixed up some parts, and so there was much confusion for a while there. As a result, I was asked if I would splice together the English and Amharic script so that it would be easier to follow, which will require obtaining the Amharic file from Abba, and the use of Br. Legesse’s Amharic skillz. For the moment, we managed to suppress the confusion and assign a few of the more important roles, including mine…other than helping set up scenes and making props, I was asked if I might carry out a Christmas ditty upon my tin whistle.
This last request required much coaxing on their part, as I was and still am rather hesitant to do something that I have not much skill in. I haven’t really practice to much since I’ve been here, the only time I really have to practice is either after lunch, which is usually spent reading, or napping if I’m tired. I would normally practice in the evening, but the whistle is rather loud and several of the Abba’s go to sleep early. Despite my reservations, they managed to get my consent, so now I have to figure out which particular melody I will be able to adequately learn in time.



Day 131, Dec 20, Mon, 1:45pm - 94°F,

Gah, I was so frustrated with this morning’s English composition class! It seems like every chance that they get, the students try to cheat, I mean, come on, this isn’t a group of elementary or high school students for crying out loud, this is a technical college! Most of them are adults! How do they expect to learn anything? I had thought that my new system would minimize their ability to cheat, but I’m afraid my vision had been rather shortsighted. Several of the less proficient students had started to fall behind, so while I am explaining for the umpteenth time how to do it, several of the other students are passing papers back and for and copying answers. I didn’t quite realize the scope of the problem until the class had ended and I was going over their exercises, (I started having them turn in their pages after class, regardless if they are done or not, to minimize the chance for cheating) At least ½ of them had cheated in some way or other. By the time had finished and headed back to the residence for lunch, I was furious, and since I had a few minutes of free time before lunch started, I decided to listen to my ipod and play mah whistle, which calmed me down a lot. Once I had been sufficiently cooled and had ingested the afternoons repast, I started thinking about how I could confront this most “stiff-necked” people…(To quote a bible word) I didn’t have much time to think about it though, as had to get to the sisters and and obtain from Abba Berhane the Amharic Christmas script file. After watching the play practice that the sisters were holding, (Today there were teaching a couple of the Christmas carols) I managed to locate Abba Berhane, (Not without much walking hither and thither) and obtain a copy. Unfortunately, I also obtained a virus from Abba’s computer as well…Argh, T.I.A!



Day 132, Dec 21, Tue, 2:30pm – 93.8°F,

This morning at 8:00am I walked to the sisters to begin my K-1 through K -3 classes with the children. Yesterday I had managed to prepare a binder containing the English ABC’s, (in capitals and lowercase, and in large bold print) which I intended to use as a teaching implement. The classes start at 8:30, and last until 12:00, and are broken into three periods which consist of 30 minutes of class time, and then 30-45 minutes of play time in between. My first class of the day was with the K-1 students. (Consisting of ages between -6 through 8) After taking a bit of time introducing myself and explaining where I was from and why I was here, (Thankfully one of the regular teachers stayed with me during class to help by translating) I brought out the binder which I had prepared and started going through the abc’s with them. After I had gone straight through it once, I went back and went through it again, but this time I did it randomly, to make sure it was the actual letters they were remembering and not just the order that they are supposed to go in. (While I was going straight through it the first time, many of them were calling out the next letter before I even flipped the page) After they had demonstrated that they did know most of the letters, I started again at the beginning, but this time I had them repeat the sounds that each letter makes. They had never done this particular exercise before, but they picked up on it rather quickly. Once I had become satisfied with their progress, I wrote my name out on the chalkboard, one letter at a time, and had them say the name of the letter, then the sound that it makes, then I had them repeat the sound of each letter in sequence faster and faster until they combined into the word, I’m hoping this approach will make it easy for them to see how the letters spell words. They seemed to enjoy all the exercises, although at a few points I noticed that their attentions were starting to wane, so I made sure to “Ham” out the exercises whenever I saw that happening, it also helped to have them do some clapping sequences, which manages to refocus them for a few minutes, lol.
After we were all done with our exercises we still had a few minutes left, so I decided to try and teach them “Rock, Paper, Scissors” which was easier said than done. At first they had absolutely no idea what the heck I was doing, but after a bit of explaining by the Amharic teacher and a bunch of examples, they finally started getting it. It was then time for the first break, which I spent the first half of just observing them.



The sisters & teachers passed out biscuits to the children, who had started forming a line to receive said acquisitions, which basically consisted of a whole lot of pushing, shoving, cutting, (as in cutting in line) hitting, and even a few instances of fighting. During the latter half of the break, I noticed how much scrapes of paper littered the ground of the yard, and thinking that I would make some use of it, I gathered up some pieces and started folding, crimping, and tearing the pieces into paper helicopters. Now when the kids saw that was doing something with a piece of paper, they naturally became quite curious and grouped around me, and when I threw my finished paper Helicopter into the air and they saw how it twirled to the ground, the rather peaceable group practically turned into a freaking mob! As I continued to make more they pushed and shoved each other to get closer and kept shaking pieces of paper at me, yelling what I imagine was a plea to make one for them. I made as many as I could as fast as I could, but it wasn’t fast enough and they started getting impatient and started jostling and even fighting to be the one to get the next one I made. Some of the bigger kids even started stealing from the smaller kids whom I had already given a helicopter to. I tried to stop the injustices when I saw it, but I’m afraid that It didn’t really have much of an impact on them. Thankfully one of the sisters rang the gong for the next class, (is that what you do to a gong? Does one ring or beat a gong? Hmm…) so I was saved by the bell, so to speak.



The next class was with the K-2 students, (ages 7-9) which proceeded in much the same manner as the first group, however this group was a bit quicker in understanding the concepts, which meant we could cover more of the exercises, and this particular group really enjoyed “Rock, Paper, Scissors”. The second break was a little less chaotic, (just barely)I tried to get the kids who wanted paper helicopters to sit down, (which I tried to encourage by only giving the helicopters to the kids who were patiently sitting and waiting) but most of them just popped right up after a few seconds and continued begging, yelling, pushing, and generally partaking of all the previous havoc that they had been engaged in.
During the second break I managed to find time to talk to Sister Maris about the situation that many faced. Most of them came from broken homes, (many of them having lost at least one parent) and almost none of them have been taught any form of manners, what’s more, the adults here (the Sisters & Salesians being the exception to the rule) generally treat these kids rather roughly, whipping them with switches when they are slow to perform some task, hitting them none to gently if they get out of line, etc...So it’s no wonder that they are so violent to each other.
Also, apparently there are only two kindergartens in the entire city, (both run by Nuns I might add) the vast majority of children who are too young for the government run or salesian run primary schools basicly just run freely about the streets causing the normal amounts of wanton mischief that children who are left to fend for themselves can come up with. There are only so many urchins that the sisters can take care of, especially without the help of any other organizations.



Before I knew it, it was time for the last class of the day with the K-3 students, (Ages 8-10+) which, like the previous classes, consisted of going over the abc exercises that I had created, and like the previous groups, performed well, although with this particular group they had some difficulty pronouncing some of the sounds that the letters make, so I made sure to make a mental note to create plenty of exercises to address this in the future. The last break led right into lunch for the kids, so after staying around for a bit to watch how they conducted it, I headed back to my compound for lunch.
After lunch I would have loved to take a nap, as the little dickenses had taken quite a bit out of me, but I had to print out a Christmas carol for Abba Larcher, (who was being frustratingly particular about it) and I had I had yet to finish the Amharic/English Christmas script, as well finish planning for tomorrows English composition class. Yeah, I’m definitely going to fall asleep quickly tonight.



Day 133, Dec 22, Wed, 3:30pm – 94.4°F

So, the challenge of the day, English composition class, En guard! Yesterday I had crafted an exercise that they couldn’t possibly cheat at, an exercise where they had to name a place, choose 12 nouns that are found or are associated with that place, and then write a paragraph describing the place, which includes each of those nouns at least once. I had to spend a little extra time this morning restructuring and adding an example to the exercise so that it would be easier for them to fill out, so I ended up being five minutes late for class, and when I arrived at my classroom, there was not a soul in sight. After inquiring around, I was informed by Bayu that my students, having noticed my absence, decided that there must not be any class today, and had headed to their respective fields of study. (Makes me wonder how late they actually waited) So I had to go a ‘searching for them and inform them that, yes, there was indeed class today, and that the only day we wouldn’t have class is if there is a holiday, or if I was terribly sick, which would be informed to them before hand, and if I was late it was because I had to use some extra time to prepare a special exercise.
Once everybody had assembled, I passed out today’s assignment and explained how it was to be filled out. (And how anybody who tried cheating would fail the course) Once they had started, I went amongst them and answered any question they had, kept a sharp eye out for any underhanded behavior, and offered encouragement and critical analysis to those who needed it. By the end of the class, almost everyone had finished their exercise and had been critiqued by myself, (without any instances of cheating) so I think we will be repeating this exercise several times in the future.

In the afternoon, I had to take a rain check on Abba Thomas’s catechism class as I had a prior engagement with the Sisters and students to help with the Christmas play practice, but when I arrived at the compound where practice was to be held, I found out that the practice had been postponed for Saturday morning, so I spent the evening reading (still haven’t finished Uncle Tom) and planning for the seminarian class. (Which went well, I covered how to edit the page layout, how to use charts, and how to insert special symbals.)



Day 134, Dec 23, Thu, 2:30pm – 90.7°F,

I’ve been having a weird desire of late. One day, hmm, about 2-3 weeks ago, a thought and desire to fly popped into my head. Now, this isn’t to strange because one of things that I wanted to do when I was a kid was to fly airplanes, but as I grew older, (and became aware of my hearing problems and how much it costs to get a pilot’s license.) I kind of gave up on that dream. However, recently this desire has been really strong, (and has been accompanied by very vivid dreams) and what’s really odd about it is it came out of nowhere, usually these kinds of things are introduced by a medium, like a TV program, or a book, but it just came to me out of the blue. As I dwelt on it, I started thinking maybe it isn’t such an impossible dream after all. I remembered that there had recently been introduced something called a sports pilots license, which allows you to fly ultra lights and small two seater airplanes, and if I remember correctly it is only a third of the cost of getting a regular pilots license. It’s something that I’m definitely going to keep in mind when I get back stateside.

So, anyhoo, during these past two days I have really felt like it was the Christmas season, which I find rather odd, because at the same time it feels absolutely nothing like the Christmas season…I think it’s the weather, it’s been really hot lately, which is probably throwing me off because at the same time I’m really into the Christmas spirit. (Although I guess it would be kinda hard not to be when one is on a volunteer trip with a Catholic organization, lol) Unfortunately the feeling of nostalgia that is accompanying the Christmas spirit is rather disheartening, I am really feeling rather lonely of late, I really miss my family, and I think that feeling is going to pinnacle tomorrow, as Christmas eve midnight mass with my folks was one of my favorite times of the whole entire year. And to make things worse, my bowels have been acting up lately, which means I’m probably going to be spending some time in the ol’ levorotary sometime soon…Yay…



Day 135, Dec 24, Fri, Christmas Eve, 92.4°F,

Well, I was right about spending time in the lavatory, last night I slept fitfully, until I finally woke up at some ungodly hour and basically spent the next hour and ½ puking my guts out, as well as sitting on the porcelain throne, so, yeah. Thankfully once I had literally emptied my system of EVERYTHING, I was able to get back to sleep, (although I didn’t sleep very soundly) and when I woke up at 6:20am, the only ill effects that I was suffering from was my stomach, which felt like someone had pumped the thing, a headache, and general feeling of exhaustion. I decided to skip mass this morning and get as much sleep as the day would allow, and so I was able to sleep, (in fits and starts) until around 10am, when I had to get up and start preparing this blog for posting.
I think last night was one of the few times where I have actually regretted being here; I think it’s the combination of frequent bowel sickness, as well as the acute homesickness during this Christmas season. Once I started moving about and doing my normal Friday routine though, I started feeling a little bit better, (I actually started feeling very happy when I was able to check my email and read some letters from back home) and I guess I should count my blessings, at least the food poisoning (or whatever the heck it was) only lasted for so long, and that I am surrounded by a group of very holy and caring people. To help alleviate my feeling of dejectedness, I am going to make sure I do something special in the chapel tonight, maybe a kind of vigil watch, which will help get my mind back into the season, lol.

Well, I hope all you peoples are counting your blessings during Christmas, and that the day itself is filled with happiness and joy. (And hopefully no ill wanted bowel movements, lol)

If you don't know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere eles. ~ Lawrence J. Peter.

Day 121, Dec 10, Fri,

I forgot to mention in my last post, last night the power had gone out and I was rearranging some files on my laptop, when from out of nowhere a praying mantis flew in and alighted upon my knee, and with a little coaxing I was able to get it to crawl on to my hand, where it promptly “snuggled” up and rested while I continued to update my computer. Lol, I guess if I was a comic superhero I would be “Mantis Man” capable of controlling an army of the bugs. (Actually that would be pretty cool!) Today I tried to come up with a schedule (admittedly somewhat half-heartedly) for the Technical institutes Christmas party but I have had little luck thus far. In the first place, I have never been one for parties, (unless to involves food….I really like that part, lol) and to make things more difficult, I have to keep in mind that this party will be for a people whose mentality I do not fully comprehend. (Thankfully the “party” is more of an event, lasting only 2 hours, still, its two hours that I have to fill with something, and I’m completely stumped.)



Day 122, Dec 11, Sat,

Today I alternated working on the ordination play & reading “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. I wish there was something more exciting that happened today. I keep telling myself that “Next” Saturday I will climb Mt. Jejebe, but it seems that every time Saturday comes around I have some sort of assignment to do in the morning. One of these Saturday mornings I am definetly going to climb it, so I thus solemnly swear. (Maybe I can get to sleep super early Friday night and then wake up super early, climb the mountain and watch the sunrise? Should make for a killer photo opportunity) Br. Legesse has been feeling under the weather these past couple days with abdominal “difficulties”, of the same kind I occasionally experience, which means it probably has something to do with what goes on in the kitchen…not something I like to dwell on.



Day 123, Dec 12, Sun,

After mass this morning I turned in the first part of the ordination play to Sister Maris and she gave me the second part, which I wasted no time in starting on after lunch. At 3:20 I was joined by Okello, (the student who had translated the Christmas play into Annuak for) and I gave him my typed up version of his translation and asked him to go over it and fix any errors I might have mistyped as I was copying it. (which apparently was a good bit of it, because he spent about 1 ½ hours working on it, lol) Unfortunately as he was closing the word processor he was using, he forgot to save, so he lost all the work he had just done. I really felt sympathetic for him, as that has happened several times to me. As a result of this I have developed a habit of saving frequently, which has saved (Hehe, literally) my work countless times. I imparted this kernel of knowledge to Okello, so hopefully that won’t happen to him again.

This evening, my thoughts drifted to an interesting topic. I don’t know how or why I started thinking about it, but I started dwelling on why zombies have become so popular (Lol, I told you it was a strange topic) I had heard many years ago that American Sci-Fi horror movies tend to reflect the current fears of the times. Now, I am pretty sure that Americans don’t particularly find zombies themselves frightning, but rather, what they stand for. For instance, during the late 40’s and trough to the 60’s, aliens served as the main antagonists, which I have heard represents the fear that society had of being invaded. (Especially during the cold war) I think the rise of zombie popularity is because our current society has replaced the fear of being invaded with the fear of diseases, especially with the recent and frequent media coverage of things like the bird flu, swine flu, HIV, Malaria, yellow fever, SARS, etc, etc. You can notice the same thing happening with disaster movies as our knowledge and subsequent fear of global ecological catastrophes increases…Lol, just a thought.



And for the prayer today, I have the Our Father in Nuer.



-Guàndan a nhial,
a ciötdu buœy,
a ròlu bëë ræyda,
a göru latkæ piny
cetkæ min te nhial.

-Miethda cäñnì diaal
mockœ walæ,
päl ñuälkœ
cetkæ min la pàlkœ
næy tin tee ñuälkæ kœ.
/Cuu kœ bòth kæ ræy cuåm,
la luäkœ mì jiääk.

Amin.



Day 124, Dec 13, Mon,

This morning I walked to the Sister’s compound to drop off the 2nd finished portion of the ordination play as well as to pick up the next one. The 3rd part was not yet ready though, so I’ll be picking up that one sometime tomorrow after mass. While I was at the convent was given a short tour of a couple of the facilities here. There was the Mothers center, where they assist women in raising and caring for their children by teaching proper mothering techniques as well as handing out various aid materials like formula and children’s clothes. I also saw their “kindergarten” school, which was more like a prep-school that prepared the children to enter the Salesian primary school. Similar problems exist here as they do in the primary school. Some of the teachers that the Sisters had hired are not very qualified, (as are some in the primary & technical school) and as a result many of the children are getting by, not by learning, but by imitation and copying. Sister Maris asked me if it was possible for me to help them in the school sometime, to which I consented to, so sometime in the future I will be helping them with that as well.

With the visit to the Sister, the morning passed quite enjoyably, the same cannot be said of the afternoon though. The power went out no fewer than six times, for duration between half of an hour to nearly an hour and a half. I found it incredibly vexing because it became next to impossible to do anything on the computer, so most of the time I read mah book. Mass this evening helped me relive my vexation, I had expressed my reservations about taking by hand the Eucharist (as I am neither a priest, deacon nor lay brother.) to Abba Thomas, who understood my concerns and gladly adapted to relieve my anxiety, so these past Mondays have turned into a real source of joy and relaxation.



Day 125, Dec 14, Tue,

It was rather soggy outside this morning and there was a light drizzle of rain as I walked to mass. With the abundance of green foliage, overcast skies and the light rain, I couldn’t help but think of Washington in late summer/early fall. After mass I obtained the final piece of the ordination script from Sister Maris. It was a bit shorter than the previous pieces and with my newly repaired Ipod (About four weeks ago my Ipod computer/Charging cord had been damaged somehow and I was unable to charge the Ipod battery, but then, miraculously, last week the cord started working again) I was able to finish the script in no time. (I think I’ve started to get used to how Sister Maris writes her letters, allowing me to recognize them faster.) After I finished I spent of the morning catching up on my journal writings. (I had neglected to write in it the last few days and I wanted to make sure I was completely caught up) After lunch & a rosary I went ah-searching for Legesse. When I found him I explained that I had been tasked with the planning and execution of the Christmas party at the Technical Institute and inquired what kinds of things Ethiopians like to do at parties. I was informed that they like to watch dramas and play games…Which I found only slightly helpful. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent planning for the English composition and seminarian computer classes, as well as reading, “computering” (lol, new word says I) and an interesting and informative piece on TV.

It was about the IG Nobel prize, which is held annually to reward those scientists that discover, invent or test things that have to do with appeasing curiosity, even if it is not necessarily a useful discovery. (For instance, one IG Nobel winner suspended a live frog in midair using nothing but a powerful magnetic field, lol. There was another scientist who had built a harm-proof suit which allowed people to be hit by sledgehammers & moving vehicles and to be mauled by angry bears without suffering any injury) My favorite IG Nobel winner was a Japanese scientist who proved that slime mold (which many scientist considered to be one of the least intelligent organisms) to be quite clever. He subjected the slime mold to various puzzle, maze, and efficiency tests, and in each case the mold learned to travel through the most efficient route. In one of the tests he had the slime mold navigate a map containing nutrients placed on each of the major prefectures, and the slime mold created a route that ended up being uncanny in its resemblance to the Japanese rail system!
In the evening I had to go to the primary school to obtain some printer paper to print out the completed ordination Script, and I noticed that one of the nearby hills was on fire. Now, having never seen a wild fire before, I was immediately struck by how frightening and apocalyptic it appeared, and how terrifying it would be if that scene had been repeated throughout the surrounding countryside. I was then informed by Legesse that it was a “semi” controlled fire that they were using to burn the weeds and long grass; still, it was a bit unsettling to see a hill on fire.



Day 126, Dec 15, Wed,

At breakfast Abba Thomas asked me if I could come with him in the afternoon to take some pictures of our parishioners for I.D. cards, so at 3:00pm I will go with him to Baro-mado. At the composition class I tried a couple of the techniques I had come up with. I separated the students so that each student sat at their own desk, (Before, two students sat at each desk) and I made sure that each person had just a much help as the next. (This is also helping to stop the cheating) The downside of this is that I am constantly running from one side of the classroom to the other explaining the same thing over & over again, lol, however It’s allowing each person to go at their own pace though, so I think it’s worth the inconvenience.

After class I started working on a schedule listing the usual things I do each week to help me plan efficiently when special tasks come along, and it’s coming along quite well. At 3:00 Abba picked me up from the compound, and after picking up two of the Sisters at their compound, we headed off to Baro-mado, a district in Gambella, kinda like Manhattan I guess, lol. After taking all the pictures that Abba needed, I stayed around and observed him teach a catechism class, (which is his main purpose for coming here) they covered topics like naming the Ten Commandments and the seven sacraments, and explaining each, and I was amazed at how into it the locals got. There was this one somewhat elderly lady, who was very boisterous in her replies to Abba’s questions, to which most of the rest of the locals laughed. I learned later that she apparently speaks in a peculiar dialect that few people use any more, and that most of her answers were false, but were said with great enthusiasm, it was very funny to watch. After Catechism Abba invited me to say something to them, so I demonstrated how to sing “Oh come, Oh Come Emmanuel” (Poorly, lol) and then explained what the song meant and its relationship to the Christmas season. I was then asked about my family, how many we were how often we went to church and prayed together, things like that. After that we all said a rosary together and then we headed back. I really enjoyed connecting with them and think I shall be joining Abba on his trips more often.



Day 127, Dec 16, Thu,

It has just occurred to me that I had forgotten to mention how yesterday evening’s seminarian class had progressed. We have finally achieved the “Meat and potatoes” segment, the Microsoft Office programs, beginning with the Microsoft Word Processer. That night I covered how to perform simple font changes, such as color, size, style, etc.

So, on to the present, occasionally I’ll have one of those surreal mornings where I forget where I am, today featured one of those mornings. I had slowly been roused from unconsciousness by my alarm clock and by and by I eventually collected enough conscious thought and momentum to deactivate the buzzing chronometer, however, enough groggy cataleptic thought remained for me to imagine that I was back at my apartment in Washington. I lay there in my bed, lost in the simple revere of the midmorning twilight, until I was finally jolted to active consciousness of the Veritas of my current situation by the howl of the jungle primates, (as is their customary morning habit) and with stark realization I dwelt on the thought that “Holy smokes, I’m in freaking Africa!” Sporadically these periods are followed by a moment of disbelieving incredulousness as to what the bloody heck a guy from the Pacific Northwest is doing smack dab near the middle of the African continent, which thankfully did not accompany my moment of confusion this morning as I find that materialization of melancholy revelation to be rather disconcerting.



Anyhoo, let’s see now, what else has been happening lately…Well, the usual salubrious atmosphere of Gambella has been sullied of late by the proliferation of bonfires. The majority of the articles being reduced to ashes by said flames are grass cuttings, however, oftentimes the locals add refuse and litter to the mix, resulting in an acrid smoke that can be very unpleasant on these ol’ lungs o’ mine, and sometimes there is so much ash being produced that it flies up yonder into the sky and then descends like so many snowflakes.

While I’m fresh on the topic of winter, (by my allusion to snowflakes) One of the things I miss most about the Christmas season that I don’t get here in Gambella are the Christmas lights. I really pine for the soft glow of those twinkling rhizomes as they illuminate the snowy (well…some winters, lol) winter landscape, although I will admit that I don’t terribly miss enduring the freezing and damp conditions that must be hazarded in order to assemble said decorations, lol.



There is another event of interest that happen which I consider to be incredibly auspicious, the peanut crop that Br. Endalkachew had planted earlier this year has finally been harvested and roasted, which has made for a most palatable addition to the dinner table. (and even the breakfast and lunch table as a matter of fact)










A rainy day in the month of june (actually november) as I was eating with my fork and spoon...

On the road to Addis from Gambella

Pictures of Ethiopia

A flower in Addis Ababa - which means "New Flower"

Addis Ababa

Gambella Flag Day

Coffe with Br. Endalkachew & William

Graduating class of I.T. & I



Itang class and I

Day 107, Nov 26, Fri,

Day 107, Nov 26, Fri,

I have made an interesting discovery while on my break; our T.V receives a Japanese broadcasting channel! Is this coincidence or fate? Regardless of the providential aspect of the discovery, I am now able to continue one of my other favorite hobbies, the pursuit of learning about various cultural, historical, and economical facts and traditions about the Nipponese people. The programs that run on this channel are as varied as my interest in the subject, from the latest sumo scores, the current economical situation, the various cultural trends that have existed throughout the ages, information about historical landmarks and peoples, to various tips about visiting the island, as well as some helpful Japanese words and phrases.

Of particular interest to me is the culinary industry, Nihon no ryori ga suki-desu (not sure if I spelled that correctly, lol) In fact, today I learned how to make Udon noodles, as well as pickled black soy beans with various sorted veggies, though I am afraid I will have to wait till I get back state side to try out any of my newly acquired recipe’s, all I can do for the moment is copy down the ingredients and instructions. Just thinking about the Udon noodles, with their spicy & umami sauce make me think: Onaka ga suita. (I think I spelled this one correct, lol.)

What are the odds that I would find aspects of the Japanese culture all the way out here in Ethiopia? Actually, I learned that there is quite a strong connection between the Japanese and Ethiopian people. In the 1920’s and up through the early 1930”s, there was a great deal of ambassadorial action back and forth between the two nations. Ethiopia was interested in Japan because of their quickly advancing modernization, and Japan was romantically fascinated with Ethiopia due to its long and long and rich history, similar to their own, as well as the fact that both of them were one of the few countries that were able to resist the colonization of the English empire.(Although there was also a “military” interest as well)

The bond was so strong that there was almost a marriage between an Ethiopian prince and a Japanese princess, but due to the political situation at the time, (the impending war with Italy was a large dark cloud in Ethiopia’s horizon) the marriage never happened. Nowadays the connection might not seem readily apparent; however, Japan is one of the largest importers of Ethiopian flowers, which is Ethiopia’s largest international export, and there have been several delegations from Ethiopia to Japan, and from Japan to Ethiopia in recent years. I can’t help but think about what Ethiopia might have been like now if the war had not happened and its relationship had been fostered with the developing worlds. It’s an interesting thought.



Day 108, Nov 27, Sat,

Today I ended up helping Okoth, an animator (which basically means a volunteer youth group leader) at the oratory, to print out a pamphlet that he would be studying, sounds simple enough, right? That’s where you’re wrong! Because of course T.I.A (This Is Africa) so it is never as easy as it seems. It ended taking close to two hours. There were a few reasons for this; one was that “pamphlet” was OVER 300+ PAGES LONG! Although that in its self should take much longer than twenty or so minutes, what delayed it the most was a severe paper shortage, Okoth had brought with him what he had thought was enough paper, but it turned out to be over forty pages short of completing the massive task, so the printer was out of paper with less than 1/4th of the project remaining. Okoth went off to look for more paper at the primary school, which seemed to take forever, and when he finally came back he was empty-handed, apparently there was not a single page to be seen there. So, despite my reservations about the possibility of there being paper in my office, I headed to the Tech. Institute, and proceeded to search my office from top to bottom, only to confirm my fears about the lack of paper in the vicinity as correct. Despite this, I was able to make use of some lined paper that I use in my English Comp. class. It wasn’t perfect, but in these conditions it would have to do. So after trekking back to the residential compound, I managed to complete the printing process.

As I finished printing the document, I discovered to my delight that the subject of the pamphlet was of interest to me, it was a copy of “The Republic”, written by either Plato or Socrates, (I have forgotten which Greek wrote it, the document states that the author is Plato, but Socrates is the protagonist, so I am unsure if it is a typo, lol) I is basically a dialogue between Socrates and a student about various aspects that a political system should have. What is even more surprising is that this is apparently a fairly common resource that colleges and institutes in Ethiopia use to teach political philosophy.



Day 109, Nov 28, Sun,

Sometime in the coming week I will be typing into a computer and printing out a play that the Sisters of Charity have been writing, and will be eventually be teaching, to their residence for Christmas, (Something to look forward to, which will help a little bit to ease the feeling of loss at not being able to celebrate with my family.) but until then I am going to have to do some typing. I’m not entirely sure what it is exactly that I’m going to be typing, because at the moment I have heard that it is being translated into Amharic, so am I going to be typing up that? I think I’m just going to be typing up the English version and correcting an typing or grammatical errors, but what they are going to do with that is beyond me, because to my knowledge none of their residence speak English, lol.



Since I missed last Sunday’s “Weekly Prayer” I have something special today, the “Our Father” in Amharic!



Besemay yemitenor
Abatachen hoy
semeh yimesgen
mengisteh yimta
fekadeh
besemay endehone
endihum bemider yihun.
yeeletet
injerachinen zare siten
egnam ybedelunen yiker endeminel
bedelachinen yiker belen
kekifu hulum seweren enji
wede fetena atagban.



Day 110, Nov 29, Mon,

For the past week I have been trying to come up with a different way of making basketball nets, (the net I had previously made the past week has already been torn asunder by the fierceness of the playing youths, Also I think it might have something to do with them hanging on it, Lol.) And today I finally came up with an Idea that I put into motion. In the last net I had crafted, I had used a technique that would have worked if I had been using the normal rope that is used to make basketball nets, but the only thing I had at my disposal was the plastic rope stuff, which is very stiff and hard to keep tied, (although if used properly I think it will “weather” the elements better, namely that most terrifying of elements “Children”) however because of the stiffness it is very hard to tie knots, as they have a habit of just popping lose in a couple of days, which I find incredibly vexing.
So this time I repaired it using a series of more complex knots, which are somewhat more difficult to do, which in the end makes the darned thing take longer to make. However in the end I was very happy with the finished product. Now all that is left is to test the net by leaving it out for the “Elements” to abuse. If it is still there in a couple of days I will make another one using the same method.



Day 111, Nov 30, Tue,

Having completed my first basketball net project, (while I wait to see if the net gets obliterated, so far it looks good, but I’m going to give it another day) I have now turned my attention to the futball nets, (or rather the lack thereof) which like most of the basketball nets, are none existent. This project is going to be quite a bit more challenging. Again the biggest problem that I face that I have to use that stupid plastic rope stuff, which means I’m going to have to tie A LOT of complex knots to keep the thing from shaking itself loose after a couple of games. I’m basically going to have to weave it, starting from one corner and progress until the thing is done. The only thing I did today is take some measurements and play around with a couple of designs; I’m trying to figure out which would be the simplest and most economical.

I guess I should explain why exactly I’m doing these projects myself when it would probably be much easier to have someone in Addis ship us some nets. One reason is that it is keeping me busy, as well as a sense of purpose, because honestly I don’t really feel that I am accomplishing very much in the office. (Except for the days where I actually teach classes.) Another reason is that it is something I can do and leave for the kids. I also think that it is helping to build my relationship with the kids; I am out and about, actively building something for them instead of hidden away in my office, lol. (Hopefully they might also learn a thing or two about being resourceful, as they are always standing around and watching as I mend or make the nets, perhaps in the future one of them will be the one mending the net.



Day 112, Dec 1, Wed,

Today I started another Basketball net. The previous net has passed through the darkness and into the light unscathed, it seems to be holding up quite well indeed, so I thought I would make another one. This time I used a single length of rope instead of several separate ropes like I had used in the previous one, thinking it would make simpler and easier as I wouldn’t have to tie as many nights…BUT I WAS DELUSIONAL, because it became exponentially more difficult as it went along. It started out fine, but the further I went, the more the rope would become unraveled and difficult to work with. And in the end, the finished net was of a sub-par quality compared to my previous creation, the net has a habit of catching the basketball in “pockets”, holding it there for a couple seconds before gravity finally does its job and it drops thru. It only happens occasionally though, and over time I think the net will loosen, allowing the Basketball to drop through the net unobstructed.



Day 113, Dec 2, Thu,

Today was another somewhat long day. The day started at 6:20am, (Awhile back I decided that it was un-human to wake up by 5:50, so I extended my sleeping time by half an hour. Instead of catching a ride with the rest of the Salesians I have been walking to church, but I think the extra 30 minutes is worth it. During the last bout I had with sickness though, I basically slept in until I naturally woke up, and it has been somewhat difficult breaking this habit.) As I walk to church, I like to say a rosary; I have to say that I have really started become somewhat fond of, (maybe even to enjoy) my morning walks. (Although I’ll be honest, half the time I don’t even remember them because I’m still asleep, lol) They really help me to wake up and clear my mind before getting to church and starting the day properly. It was really nice to be able to go to mass this morning. During my most recent illness, (as I have already mentioned, I ended up sleeping in a lot) I missed most of the morning masses. And during this past week it has been a somewhat hit or miss situation. For some people, doing meditations, or tai-chi, or maybe simply a cup of coffee, helps center their mind for the coming day. For me, Mass has become the same thing, so when I am unable to attend (whether it is due to my tardiness or an act of nature) they docent quite feel the same.

After Mass & breakfast tarried around the rec-room and explained to Abba Thomas the physical make-up of the solar system and the universe. Fr. as of late has showed some interest in my mild hobby of astronomy and has even voiced his desire to join me in star gazing one night, when he is not feeling so tired. After my short informational blurb (yes that is a word, I say so) I began to feel very fatigued, so I decided to take what I thought would be a short nap, but it ended up being 6 HOURS long, which meant I had missed adoration, so to make up a little for this fact I spent some time in our chapel reading my bible. (Here’s a tip for those of you who are trying to read it in its entirety, it is very easy to get stuck in some of the books, *cough* Leviticus *cough* so to help you get through the whole thing, start reading in three different parts of the bible, two in the Old Testament, and one in the New Testament. When you get bogged down in one section of the Old Testament, just jump to the other part, and every now and then mix it up with books from the New Testament.)

After dinner, Br. Legesse gave to me the project that the Sisters had asked me to type up and told me that if it was possible they wanted it typed up by TOMMORROW! Lol, Thankfully all I had to do is just type it into the computer, correcting the grammatical and spelling errors (which is made easier by the use of Microsoft Word) but it still took me a while, because there were several parts that I had to basically rewrite, which meant I had to think about how best to illustrate the meaning of what had been written. For this reason I think the super long nap was actually a gift of Divine origin, as I didn’t end up getting to bed until around 1:40-2:00am. The Lord will provide lol.



Day 114, Dec 3, Fri,

Made it to mass and was able to give the sisters a printed copy of the Christmas play, they were very thankful that I was able to do it such short notice, and commented that they would try and give me more time the next time, so I don’t have to rush so much. The next part is to copy a few Christmas carols into the computer so they could teach those as well. Thankfully this is a much simpler task since I won’t have to do any grammar or spelling checks, in fact I was able to finish it in about 45 min. This evening something very special happened as we were saying evening prayers. Half way through our prayers the power went, and thus the lights went out with it, revealing dozens of fireflies all over the ceiling and walls of the little chapel, lighting up like so many sets of flashing Christmas lights, it really was spectacular!



Day 115, Dec 4, Sat, National Ethiopian Nationality day,

I dropped off the Christmas carol sheet to Sister Maris after mass. Yesterday evening I had learned that today was National holiday that celebrates the various peoples that call Ethiopia their home. Br. Legesse had invited me to go with him to the stadium to see what they were presenting, but he forgot to tell me what time he was going, so after breakfast this morning I pulled up a chair outside of my room and grabbed a book while I waited for him. (I was still reading “The H.M.S. Saracen”) And I waited…and waited…and waited. I eventually ended up finishing my book and starting another one: “The Carolina way” by Dean Smith. It’s about the management and coaching style that he used to coach his many college teams.
Now, I’m not a big fan of watching professional sports, (Mostly due to the way the media & society practically worships specific players as gods, who get absurd amounts of money to play a form of recreational entertainment, which is accompanied by a way to much boastful attitudes and poor sportsmanship, {with a few exceptions}) However, how coach Dean describes his teaching method (A very unselfish and team oriented form of playing) and how the players positively responded to it (which lead to many record setting teams) has filled me with a desire to watch some of their games in action. I really think that professional sports could benefit a great deal if the organizations pay their players according to how they play (like in golf, in that sport if you perform poorly, you get less money, etc) and encouraged team based recognition more than individual achievements. If those things happened I think sports like Basketball, Football and Soccer could be raised to a whole new level.

Anyhoo, enough about my thoughts concerning the professional sports industry. Br. Legesse ended up strolling in after lunch, apparently he had left right after mass after noticing that I had gone back with Abba to the compound, he had decided to walk to the stadium, lol oh well. There wasn’t really anything else to do for the rest of the day, so I continued to read for the majority of the day.



Day 116, Dec 5, Sun, Feast of Christ the King,

The liturgical calendar officially ends today; I can’t believe that advent is just around the corner. At the oratory a student who had been translating the play I had given to the sisters gave me his annuak version in a notebook, my job now is to type it into the computer. I was able to do a little bit tonight, not as much as I thought I would be able to though as I am constantly having to try and divulge just what letter is written in the notebook before I can copy it. (The annuak script can be written using the English alphabet.) Today’s special prayer, is the our father in Annuak!



Wääwa ni en maal,
nyengngï wøør, buyï öe.
Beera man tïm
mana manynyï
ni di tïïö bäät piny,
keda man bëëde
ni di tïïö maal enø.
-Mëëk wa caapwa wangcängi,
ni weyï moa bacwa,
bëët ka man wø wecwa
mo wø bac jø møøki dëëtwa.
Kär wa kith kany
mo wa di päänynyø yie
‘ba piem wa yïth raay.
Enøgønø



Day 117, Dec 6, Mon,

This morning I periodically worked on the annuak version of the Christmas play while I continued to read the “Carolina way”. Br. Endalkachew had returned from his trip to Addis yesterday evening and I wanted to return the books I had borrowed from him. Reading the book while interjecting fierce periods of arduous typing of the annuak script makes it a bit more enjoyable. I ended up finishing the book at around 3:00pm, so after gathering up all the books I have borrowed and checked out from Br. Endalkachew and the school library, I returned them to their respective parties and decided to check out some more from the library. The selection of the school’s library is quite interesting, most of the books are educational textbooks (as expected from a technical institute) but there is a case dedicated to various forms of English literature. They’ve got classic fiction like Huckleberry Finn and Frankenstein, as well as books from renowned authors such as Stephen King and Dean Koontz. They have older books written by G.K. Chesterton, Books containing translations of ancient Chinese poems, philosophical and sociological treatises by Plato, Aristotle and St. Augustine. They even have one of the Harry Potter books, lol a little bit of everything.
As I was browsing through the collection I noticed Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and to my disbelief and chagrin I realized that I had never read it! I vowed to rectify this travesty and added the book to the ones I would check out. In the end I settled on two other books, “Microbe Hunters” by Paul de Kruit, and “The Man who Knew to Much and Other Stories” by G.K. Chesterton. So, Along with these three newly acquired tomes, I am also still reading several “plays by Chekhov”, “A fundamental introduction to chemistry”, daily “lives of the saints”, the “Imitation of Christ” by Thomas A’ Kempis, and of course the Bible, never a dull moment lol. After I had checked myself and my book out of the library I hunkered down and went about typing up the play with wild abandon, I didn’t end up finishing it till around 11:00pm though. (This may or may not have something to do with the program that was on the TV at the time, about the island of Isso just off the southern coast of Japan. sugoi!)



Day 118, Dec 7, Tue,

I have obtained another project; I am now the church chronicler as well as the institute chronicler. With all these different projects going on here and there, I think I might be a good idea to come up with some kind of a schedule to help me keep track of everything that’s going on. Speaking of things going on, I have noticed that during these past few weeks the average ambient temperature has risen from 87° F to around 93° F, that’s in the shade mind you. When your walkin’ about in direct sunlight it feels like your trekking through the world’s largest convection oven! And of course T.I.A. so it’s always a bit worse, the power has been going out more than usual t recently, (which normally is quite a bit anyways lol) and while that might make for an awesome experience with fireflies, it also means that there are no working fans. To counter this I have begun taking my showers right before bed, which helps a great deal. I’ve been told that the worst of the heat comes around April & March, so I guess I better get used to it, eh?

I was able to read a few chapters of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, and I’m quite impressed with the Authors ability to get the reader to connect with the characters, I’m looking forward to continuing the book. I guess I should take the time to explain why it is that I have so much books goin’ on at once. When I first got here I hadn’t expected to see a TV, let alone one that gets a couple American channels, and it can be very tempting, especially when you’re tired and have nothing particularly important to do, to veg out, which I have recently decided is rather counterproductive for my presence here, because even if I have nothing important going on, it is still a chance to learn something new. When I was younger, my nose was almost always buried in a book of some kind, but as I became older the time I put aside for reading became less and less as the habit became replaced with TV shows, movies, video games, etc, which, as I reflect about it, was quite the waste. Don’t get me wrong, on certain days and evenings I watch TV programs, (like yesterdays program about Japan) because it gives me something to look forward to during the week when I know such and such programs air at such and such times during such and such days. But I want to try and make sure that I’m using my time here wisely, after all, I came here to change my life, not to continue the way it was. So I’ve decided to do that by trying to read at least one book a week, and to have at least one educational book amongst my reading itinerary at all times. (Right now that’s the “Fundamental Introduction to Chemistry” book that I mentioned yesterday) Hopefully I will develop this as a good habit and be able to easily continue when I get back stateside.



Day 119, Dec 8, Wed, Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

So, last week, I had my students turn in their quarterly assignments and I have had a chance to look it over and all but two of them tried to cheat by copying out of the text book I was teaching out of. (Lol, when multiple students started writing sentences about Harry, Juliet, Freddy, Lillian, and various other western names I knew something was up.) I had told them that they could use the book to refresh their memory, so maybe they misunderstood? (Although at least two didn’t and did the assignment properly)
Regardless if it was purposeful or not, I had to think of a different way to give them a quarterly assignment and in a moment that I suspect was filled with the Holy Spirit I remembered an exercise book that I had in my office, so after copying out enough pages for each student we spent the morning going through it. The exercise was a simple one, whose subject concerned simple noun usage, which also contained all the information on how to properly fill out the exercise on the page, so in theory they should have easily been able to fill it out themselves. That, however, was not the case and it has become immediately clear to me that they will have to be told step by step how to proceed until they become confident enough to do them on their own. The biggest challenge is the amount of vocabulary that they understand, some of them only grasp enough to have only the most rudimentary of conversations, so giving this exercise to some of them is like giving a Chinese kid a small Lego set and telling him to make a 1/8 scale model of the Space Needle, sure he might eventually figure it out, but it’s going to take him a long time.

So I think exercises like this one might be a good idea to have constantly, it will help improve their vocabulary as well as how to use them properly. I am probably going to have to guide most of them by the hand through it, but I think they might learn more efficiently than my previous method of teaching. Sure we might not get to the more advanced things like reports and essays, but I think that without a good foundation in the basics they would be hard pressed in their ability to understand it. Plus, with this form I am more able to teach them individually, so those of them who are doing well I can give more advanced or a larger quantities of exercises while those who find it more difficult will be able to go at their own pace…Hopefully. Today’s exercise was greeted with much confusion at first (it took them several minutes just to realize that we would be doing this exercise instead of the normal lesion, lol) but after I got everyone situated I started going around and answering any questions that they had about this particular task, and as the morning went on they started to make some progress (although I did notice some of them copying from each other, so I made sure to squash it when I saw it.) and by the end I think some of them even began to enjoy it. I made sure to make them understand that they were only to do these exercises in the classroom, that way I could be there to answer any question and to correct them as they went.

After lunch I learned that today is Abba Larcher’s 70th birthday, as well as the 10th year anniversary of his presence in Gambella, and Br. Endalkachew asked me to print out some words to caption some pictures of Abba that we were going to hang up on the wall in the dining room. Abba’s not one who like direct praise, being the humble man that he is, so I decided I would look up several psalms and proverbs from the bible that would match what he was doing in the pictures, the end result turned out quite well I think. For dinner, two of the sister from the convent joined us, carrying with them an interesting looking cake. We all sang happy birthday and an atmosphere of mirth permeated the entirety of the meal. The cake that the sisters brought was truly interesting. The actual dough seemed to be a mix of cornmeal and cake flour, while in the middle was a streak of molasses/chocolate stuff? (not quite sure what the middle stuff was, it was sweet, but not overly sweet) The “frosting” on top was the most interesting thing to me, it seemed to be some kind of gelatin based frosting, it would jiggle like Jell-O, but wasn’t as sweet, and right on top was some fruit preserves. Combined together in one bite it made for a very delicious confection that I imagine pioneers of America might have eaten at one time, lol.



Day 120, Dec 9, Thu,

I’ve noticed that I have become somewhat skinny. Not malnourishedly skinny, but little sugar and no junk food in my diet skinny, lol. Really the only sugar I have had recently is the 1 ½ tsp. that put in my coffee or tea in the morning and however much sugar is in a tbs. of fruit preserve that I have with my bread for breakfast, with the occasional soft drink during dinner. Fats are much the same, there’s the meat that they serve for lunch and dinner, (which I still don’t take much of as the majority of the time its beef, which is very grisly. Occasionally they put some fairly lean stuff out which is OK.) And there’s the bit of cheese which usually frequents the dinner table. (Those are just the usual days, about twice a month there’s usually some sort of “special” meal with which will contain deviations from the norm.) I think I have become rather used to the food here, although I put a lot of vinegar, salt & olive oil on almost everything, lol. In fact, I think that by the time it comes for me to leave in July, I figure I will have become so used to the food that it will take me some time to adjust to the food served in the U.S. of A. (Today is the 1/3rd mark of my stay here, pretty crazy to think I’ve already been here for this long.)

Today I gained yet two more projects, one is another play for the sisters, (this one is for the ordination of a priest, which I have never attended before, so that will be exciting to see.) and the other is to plan a Christmas part for the students and staff of the technical institute! Since when have I become a playwright and a party planner? Lol (I’m definitely going to have to come up with a schedule to help get everything done on time.)

The good news is that time heals all wounds; the bad news is that while time heals all wounds, it will eventually be the thing that kills you.

Day 92, Nov 11, Thu,

Today was a long day. I spoke to the primary school students in the morning about how unimportant money is compared to friendships, how money in reality is only paper that will one day turn to dirt, and yet it was each other that they despised, fighting and bickering with each other over trivial things.

As I was talking I tore up a one birr note for emphasis of what I was saying. I then continued to remind them that they were creations of God; we were all brothers and sisters, created by the same loving God who took us in his hands and sculpted us like clay, it was He who breathed life into us, and through him all things are possible. As I was saying these things I took the money scrapes and put them into my semi-closed right hand and worked it, as if I was modeling clay. When I got to the part about God breathing into us, I blew into my hand and withdrew the scraps of the Birr note and slowly unfolded it, to reveal an un-torn, perfect note, I wish you could have heard to cumulative gasp and hush that came from the kids, it was priceless.

I finished by saying that they are all special and that they shouldn’t fight, because they were worth much more than that. (I think the Holy Spirit must have been with me, because I have never done something of that scale and succeeded, and somehow it was flawless. Lol, I even had kids coming up to me throughout the day with Birr notes, asking me to do the trick again, to which I replied that I would only do the tricks at the morning talks {Thus cutting my failure rate and creating an air of mystique, [Should also give me enough time to practice sufficiently]})

After the trick, I headed off to teach my spoken English class that I have been teaching, today I taught them how to create outlines to use in preparing for a speech. It went rather well I thought. (Although I had to keep repeating everything a lot) At lunch I was able to talk to the delegates who were staying with us, the two women, Maria-Sarah & Gloria, were from Italy, and the man, Brook (pronounced Brock) was Ethiopian. The reason they were here was to check on the technical school to see how everything was going firsthand. I also found out that Maria-Sarah had been to the world youth day in Cologne, Germany, same as me, so we were able to talk about some of the experiences we each had. In the afternoon I focused on practicing different magic tricks, (Although I wish I hadn’t shown the money trick to some of the office employees, due to the close proximity it required a much more practiced magician, and unfortunately they saw how I was doing it, darn) I think I shall try to do a morning talk at least once a month, hopefully more. (Depends how many tricks I can teach myself) Adoration today was deeply spiritual and before I knew it, it was time to leave for dinner, time flies when you’re talkin’ to God.

Dinner was unusually delicious tonight, BECAUSE THERE WAS CHICKEN!! Anyhoo, after dinner I showed Ferris to Br. Endalkachew, (who had never really LOOKED at a praying mantis before) who became just as fascinated with him as I was. However, something was wrong with Ferris; he was acting very lethargic, usually he is very energetic, scampering up and down all over the place. I have had enough pets to recognize a dying one when I see it. From what it was dying from I have no idea, yesterday he had been acting fine, eating bugs with wild abandon. Maybe it was just old? Regardless, the question that remained was what I should do, and after a bit of thinking I decided to take him outside and leave him where I had found him, but when I tried to put him on the ground he didn’t want to get of my hand, and I kid you not he kept looking at me, as if asking why. I finally managed to get him off my hand, but as I was about to walk away, I noticed he was still looking at me, following me with his gaze, so I decided to pick him up and put him in his terrarium, where he could quietly pass away. It probably seems a bit crazy to become so attached to a bug, Lol, maybe I’ve been in Africa for too long?, but I have really come to enjoy Ferris’s presence, and it almost seem like Ferris understood that.

So after putting him back into his compound, I went about doing my usual evening routine, and sure enough a couple later I discovered that Ferris had died. I buried the little bugger in the dirt in the middle of the compound, with a soda bottle cap for a marker. Interesting enough, today I had read a paragraph in the book: Imitation of Christ, about graces being taken away, which included friends and pets, and how we should be thankful for the time we had them. So even though I was a bit bummed out at the moment, at the same time I was very thankful to God, not just for Ferris, but also for taking him away, I consider it training of sorts for when I will have to leave all my human friends that he has provided me, which I think is going to be much harder.



Day 93, Nov 12, Fri,

So, this morning I found out that I would be taking both of Abba Larcher’s classes this morning periods, because Br. Endalkachew was busy and would not be able to teach his. It wouldn’t have been too bad, if it weren’t for the fact that the students were a different batch from yesterdays. So I had to come up with something I could teach them that would last 2 hrs. Thankfully I recognized several of my English composition students, who I knew were very bright, so I decided to go along with my speech outline that I had been teaching the previous day. (I myself learned the outlining method in college and I have used it several times, so it was something I could teach from memory with relative ease) The class went well, they were eager to learn it and I enjoyed teaching it. In the evening we had the farewell party for a lay missioner from Kenya, who had been working in Lare for almost eight years! Amazing! In her going away speech, she informed us that the most important thing she had learned was patience, something to remember. (Also, the feast was pretty spiffy; I think I can say that I have been able to eat a little better lately.)



Day 94, Nov 13, Sat,

I’ve started reading an interesting book, called “A canticle for Leibowitz”. It’s about the self destructive aspect of humanity, but what makes it interesting, is that it is set in the future, and told from the viewpoint of a group of Catholic monks. At first, I expected it to turn in to a sort of catholic bash, which is what seems to happen when authors include Catholicism in works of fiction, but so far it seems to be dealing quite honestly with the subject matter. At the Oratory (youth center) I learned how to play dominoes, and I even managed to hold my own against the competition, but when I tried playing checkers, yep…I lost…again…every time.



Day 95, Nov 14, Sun,

Finished “A Canticle for Leibowitz”, Loved it, incredibly wonderful, thoroughly enjoyed it, and although the book was written in the fifties, I think the message is still incredibly relevant in our times, maybe even more so. And to think that if I had never come to Gambella, I never would have read it. I’ve started a new book entitled “The H.M.S. Saracen” it’s about a Monitor class gunships and the action it sees in the first and second world wars. I am also starting through “The Complete works of Edger Allen Poe”. In the oratory today, I played a Pictionary-like game with the kids, where we would take turns drawing pictures in the sand and then take turns guessing as to what had been drawn, which was then translated into English, Amharic, or Nuer so we could learn each other’s language, twas great fun. I think I’m finally starting to connect with the kids.



Day 96, Nov 15, Mon,

I took both of the morning periods this morning; it was with the spoken English group, so I continued with where I had left off, with speech outlines. This time I had them come up and practice on the chalkboard. They were a bit nervous and hesitant at first, but they eventually relaxed and we really got into it. They weren’t quite as competent as my other classes, and at times we got bogged down in intercultural language barriers (apparently, in Ethiopia, when one goes barking? It means they are going to market to buy some oxen? Go figure.) But we made some decent progress.

In the evening we had dinner at the prefecture (Bishops residence) again, this time to celebrate with our neighbors the Anglicans, who had just finished constructing and had just opened a new Library, a project they had been working on for a while. It was attended by several ambassadors from Ireland & England, as well as the Anglican Bishop. There was even an Anglican priest from America, Arizona to be exact, (Fr. Michael was his name) who was visiting to discern whether it was his calling to work in Ethiopia. I got a chance to talk at length with him, it was very nice to talk to another person who speaks English as a first language, I hadn’t realized how much I had simplified the way I spoke till now, lol.



Day 97, Nov 16, Tue,

Today was a holiday of sorts, not quite sure what was being celebrated, (I think it might have been the birth of Muhammad?) There was no school, so I spent the majority of the day cleaning my room, (dusting, de-webbing, sweeping, scrubbing, mopping, bug-spraying, rearranging) and reading. In the evening a massive storm front moved in, and thunder & lightning was seen and heard in abundance. The generator stopped working, so dinner was eaten by candle light. Power finally returned around 8:30-ish, but I didn’t really stay up for much longer.



P.S. I almost forgot, this Sunday I had forgotten to say that I had gone to the village of Bonga, to celebrate mass with the locals with Abba Thomas and a group of parishioners. It was a good experience, the church is situated a kilometer from the main road, and is nestled in between several government compounds that have become abandoned and are no longer used. The “church” is a small building, barely able to contain the 60 or so people nestled inside. The sound of drums echoed throughout the tiny enclosure as the parishioners sang praises to God. It was a wonderful service, and before long it was time to head back, but not before everyone crowded around for pictures, lol.



Day 98, Nov 17, Wed,

The morning class went well; we managed to cover everything that I intended to. As the day wore on I started to feel...erm, not so good. Lately I have become exhausted, and even if I get a good night’s sleep, I wake up just as tired the next day. On top of that, my joints have really started to ache, abnormally so. At the evening class with the seminarians I was going to teach them some tips on how to troubleshoot simple and common computer problems, but when I tried to use the seminarian’s computer, I found it very slow and unresponsive, so I spent the evening class cleaning up wasteful files and defragging it. As the evening progressed I gradually felt worse and worse, and when I finally made it back to the residential compound I decided to go to sleep early, so after taking some Ibuprofen and hit the sack.



Day 99, Nov 18, Thu,

I ended up sleeping in fits and starts. I finally awoke at around 10:30am, and I wasn’t exactly of feeling peachy. I was still exhausted, all my joints ached, (It basically felt as if I had been run over by a semi) I was getting the chills and was shivering while at the same time I was burning with fever and a headache. I was also experiencing much abdominal discomfort, which, in turn, led to much toilette. My stomach was also a bit upset, and for a good deal of time I felt like I was going to vomit (Although I never did) which did away with any desire to eat. I took some more advil, and after a few decades of a rosary I drifted off to sleep. I slept until 3:00pm, by then the advil had taken effect and I was feeling a little bit better, good enough to walk around and such, so I decided to get a ride to the local clinic to check if I had contracted malaria (which I was experiencing all the symptoms) After waiting for what seemed like forever for me. I was finally shown to the doctor, and after taking my vitals and jotting down my described symptoms, he sent me to the lab to do some blood test as well as a stool test (Yay) and after giving the necessary “materials”, I waited while the lab technician ran the tests. When he was finished (which also been a long wait) We went back to the waiting room…and waited some more. When the doctor called me in again, was informed that I had contracted Typhoid Fever, and he prescribed a medicine, which we picked up at the connected pharmacy.

The whole ordeal cost 233 birr, not quite sure what that works out to in U.S. dollars as I don’t know the current exchange rate. After picking up the meds, I head back home. I had to wait until after dinner to take the medicine and by this time I had started to feel like shiza as the advil wore off, so I took a nap until dinner. I awoke still feeling like kaka, but I trudged to dinner anyway. At dinner I informed everyone of my condition and the days events, they then counseled me to go get checked out at the Abobo clinic before I start taking my assigned meds, apparently the local clinic has a habit of diagnosing Malaria as Typhoid, hurray, blarg. Somewhat dejected from this news, I forced myself to eat something, as I had not eaten all day. I managed to get down some soup, a banana, and some bread, should tied me over for a bit at least. I then retired to my room, took some more advil, and then tried to go to sleep. I was unable to though, and as the advil kicked in I became aware of my growing appetite. I decided to feed my face while I was still hungry, and prepared my last package of Mash Po-tay-toez. When I had sufficiently stuffed my gut with food stuffs I went back to my room, and after a couple of video clips on my laptop, I was able to drift off to sleep. (I think I have spent the last 18 ½ hours of the 24 hours asleep! MADNESS)



Day 100, Nov 19, Fri,

Woke up around 8:30, feeling quite a bit better, at least compared to yesterday. I was still feeling weak and tired, with achy joint pain and headaches, but the fever had gone down (thanks to the Ibuprofen) as well as the chills. I went searching for a driver to take me to Abobo, but I was unable to find one until 10:45, we set off at the same time, hoping to get there in time to check in before the lunch break. On the way to Abobo, we passed (or ran over) a snake, the first live one I’ve seen. It was smooth scaled, with a grayish rust color to it. There was something about the snake that gave the impression that it was poisonous, and have learned that there are red cobra’s in the area, so it’s possible it could have been one of those, but there was no way to know without seeing it’s hood. We made to Abobo at around 11:50, too late to check in, so I went to the Abobo Salesian compound, to wait and hopefully catch the doctors on their break. Thankfully Maria-Theresa did stop by, along with Barbera and her little son, (Her husband, Mr. Frank, was away in Addis on business) during lunch (which was tuna mixed with mayo, with potatoes and some salad.) I described some of the symptoms I had been experiencing, as well as how I had been diagnosed with Typhoid, and that I was here to get double checked, so to speak.

After lunch they showed me to a room where I could rest while I wait for the clinic to open at 3:00, but I’m afraid I didn’t do much resting, as my abdominal discomfort had returned…with a vengeance. At 3:00 I headed back to the clinic, and after a bit of waiting I was ushered in for a check up, as well as to take down my symptoms officially, after which I was shown to the blood lab where they took several sample of blood, which they extracted from my finger tip by pricking it…several times…with a tack like implement. After giving my blood, I waited in the waiting area (duh, right, lol) for almost 2 hours. Thankfully time didn’t take too long to pass, I said three mysteries of the rosary, and then became engaged in conversation with some of the locals, (including some rambunctious kids who were running around like mad peoples, like little kids are known to do, lol. Some things don’t change, regardless of country) so after a while of face making at little kids, and conversations of various topics of the local, I was finally called in to discuss the results. They told me that was indeed not malaria, but they had also discovered that it wasn’t Typhoid, and they had become somewhat perplexed as to what was causing my illness.

By this time my fever had come back, and I had become very tired, and so when they had asked me if I had taken the typhoid vaccine, I replied that I was unsure, and couldn’t positively say that I had, but that I think I had, and that when I went back to the compound I could check my yellowcard (A card containing all the information of my various vac’s) to see if I had. They then explained that if I had taken it, that it might explain my symptoms, because it was still possible to get the beginning stages of Typhoid, it just keeps it from developing into something worse. They recommended that I start the med’s I had received from the local clinic. They then prescribed a painkiller that would ease the fever and joint paint, while being gentler on the stomach then advil. After picking up the painkiller, I headed back. We arrived back at 6:20-ish, just in time to take a short nap before dinner. After dinner, I checked my Yellowcard and called Maria-Theresa to let them know that I had received the Vac for Typhoid; I then took the first doses of the Med’s, and went to sleep.

Happy day 100 hundered, eh!



Day 101, Nov 20, Sat,

Woke up feeling significantly better today, the achy-ness was still there, and so was the tired-ness, but all the other symptoms had receded. Didn’t really do much of anything, took my pills, slept and read mostly, and I had decided to skip the oratory today, too much chaos for me. In the evening I retired early. (Shortest entry ever!)



Day 102, Nov 21, Sun,

Slept in late again today, and although most of the other symptoms are gone, the tiredness still prevails. I hope it docent last to much longer. Today I wrote up a letter for Abba Larcher, which was a welcoming speech for a dignitary who was coming later in the afternoon. The dignitary turned out to be Fr. Kanage Maria Arokiam, Who is the Councilor of the Southwestern Salesians. In the afternoon we had an official welcoming for him by the primary school children, who put on a dance of sorts for him. The dance itself was an interesting one, it looked part shuffle, part irish, and part tap, fascinating. As the children left, I hung out with some of the older kids and conversed for a bit about various topics, and I received many questions about life in America. (One particular question I found somewhat hilarious, apparently one of the students teachers was teaching that the American flag had 54 stars, the student had gone so far as to find a connection to the internet to find out the validity of this claim and printed out a picture of the flag. When he showed it to the teacher the teacher claimed that it was not he that was wrong, but that the students sources were wrong, lol. I wonder what he was thinking were the four extra states? This evening there was an interesting movie showing on T.V. called “The Freedom Writers Diary “ about the real story of a class of inner city school children who had come from many different past’s, most of which were violent, and their teacher who was trying her best to give them an education, it ended up being a very touching movie, I definitely recommend it.



Day 103, Nov 22, Mon,

Mostly sleeping, and dilly-dally-shilly-shally (that’s for all you FF7 fans out there, lol) I am very thankful that I can recover at ease, at my own pace so to speak, but at the same time it has left me feeling somewhat unneeded. The schools continue as always, and everything continues on as though I had never existed, which has left me feeling somewhat lonesome and miserable about my weakness. But as the day progressed, I came to realize just how much just my presence here means. Throughout the day I have had several students seek me out because they had heard I had fallen ill and wanted to see if I was doing okay. They had noticed my absence, even though I don’t really have that many classes, this filled me with a sense of peace about my work here, it appears that I am not as unimportant as I thought I was. Moreover, it has created in me a bit of frustration about how tired I feel, I really just want to get back into daily life. This evening I set up a chair and my telescope and sat for a long time admiring the moon and it’s pock marked surface. Pretty incredible thing the moon, without it life would not have been able to survive for very long on earth, yet it docent get the recognition it deserves for it. Next time you look at the moon, think about how many cosmic missiles it has intercepted and stopped from slamming into the earth, and thank God for the marvelous work He has wrought.



Day 104, Nov 23, Tue,

Another slow day, but in the evening we went to the prefecture for dinner with the Councilor of SW Asia, Fr. Maria. (As he likes to go by) They served a rather interesting dish for the meal, (well actually a few, but one in particular caught my interest) apparently a local had gone out in the forest/jungle and had caught a wild pig, a boar of you will, which had then somehow made its way to the dinner table of the Bishop. An interesting taste, I had imagined that it would have a “piggy” taste to it, but it turned out tasting more like a roast beef, albeit a bit chewy. There was also my particular favorite, a local fish, whose name I escapes me at the moment, which tastes like a cross between Cod, Halibut, and Catfish, a chewy but delicious fare. And there was the usual spread of various compulsory dishes, such as wot and cabbage salad.



Day 105, Nov 24, Wed,

Somehow I managed to drag my corpse-like shell of a body out of bed in time to teach the English composition class. Today we learned the differences between Adjectives and Adverbs, which I had some trouble explaining to them. The concept of a word changing from one type to another depending on what type of word they are modifying was somewhat difficult for them to grasp. In the evening computer class I focused on the things I had done last week to get the seminarians computer working (which it is now, thank you very much, lol) and then we had some fun learning a typing exercise by using the sentence: The quick red fox jumped over the lazy brown dog. The goal of the exercise, is to keep your hands in the approximate same position, and then to write out the sentence again and again until eventual through memorization you will begin to access the keys with your eyes closed, thus freeing up your gaze to look at documents or your screen.



Day 106, Nov 25, Thu, Happy Thanksgiving!

Today I thought I would go over some of the things that I am thankful for here in Gambella. I am thankful for a working fan in my bedroom, which helps a great deal during the hotter nights. I am thankful for a toilette, as well as toilette paper, I don’t think I shall ever take those two for granted ever again. I am thankful for a safe and plentiful drinking water source. I am thankful for a working shower to wash away the dust that accumulates so quickly here. I am thankful for working electricity, which allows us to light up the darkness of the night. I am thankful for the internet, even the limited connection that we have here, for it allows me to stay connected to those whom I love. I am thankful for the friendship of the salesians here, which helps make my stay here more bearable. I am thankful for the rec-room, which helps keep me entertained on the slow or sick days, as well as the evenings. I am thankful for the chapel and the church, which provided so much spiritual support that frighten to think what my stay here would have been like without them. I am thankful for the warm and friendly locals, who although they can seem so different, are actually quite similar. I thankful for all the new and exciting things I have shared, especially the different cultures and places, and also the myriad of life which exists here in the form of plants, insects, animals, and peoples. And most of all I am thankful to God for giving me the opportunity to experience these thing, both the good and the bad. I am confident I will come away from this trip a changed, and hopefully better, person.