Welcom.

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a
life that is less than the one you are capable of living

~ Nelson Mandela





Monday, January 31, 2011

One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it. ~Sidney Howard

Day 155, Jan 13th, Thu, 91.2°F @ 3:02pm,

Keeping myself from lazing about has been particularly hard during this bout with the African flu/cold, it’s mighty tempting to just vegetate in front of the TV or sleep the day away. Lately I’ve been rather un-diligent in my attendance to mass this week, it seems as though every now and then a “sickness” of lethargy will descend (usually accompanying some actual sickness) and I’ll end up feeling despondently sluggish. I have to make sure when I experience these episodes of melancholy, that above all I keep up my prayers and attendance, otherwise I fear sloth might slowly creep in. At dinner there was a rather special item on the menu, mini plums. I never expected that I would come across these delectable fruits in the middle of Ethiopia (let alone Gambella), so can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was.



Day 156, Jan 14, Fri, 93.2°F @ 2:30pm,

I tried to access the internet today so I could post my blog and answer emails, but there was no connection whatsoever! So I basically spent most of the day waiting around to see if the internet would become accessible at some point. I did a couple tasks while I was waiting, assessing the chronicle (I had somewhat neglected it during these past two months), and I also continued the Gambella report, I wasn’t able to finish it in time for the new year, but the Salesian lay missioners will possibly be having a meeting in February, so hopefully I will be able to at least get a proper outline done. I was able to access the internet for about 20 minutes at around 2:30pm, just enough time to check and send a couple emails before the connection went comatose. While I was waiting for the second time for the internet, I chatted with Surafle and Bayu about my hometown o’ Buckley, as well as a little bit of church history. I got so immersed into our conversation that before I knew it 6:20 had rolled around. I was able to barrow the internet CDMA as well as the office computer (for some reason the CDMA docent work with my comp, go figure), and later on this evening was able to connect and upload most of what I wanted (Facebook wasn’t working, and my address book was goin’ on the fritz and I wasn’t able to specifically send emails, only reply to them, lol). There was absolutely no power again tonight (Not even generator power, dinner was by flashlight) so I was a bit strapped for things to do, so once my computer ran out of juice, I read a chapter of my book (“The man who knew too much”) and tried to go to sleep at 10:00pm, with an emphasis on the “tried” because I ended up tossing and turning until around 1:00am, much blarg.



It has just occurred to me that I have not included any Marian prayers, so I shall rectify this travesty immediately with one of my favorites:



A morning and evening dedication to Mary.
(At the + sign, make the sign of the cross over the specific bodily component)



Mary, my Queen and my Mother!
I give myself entirely to you, and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my +Mind, my +Eyes, my +Mouth, my +Heart, my +Hands, and my +Whole Body, without reservation. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am yours, keep me and guard me as your property and possession, keep free from all harm, especially that of sin, so that one day I might join the heavenly saints in singing your Sons praises! Amen.



Day 157, Jan 15, Sat, 94.1 @ 3:21pm,

The electricity was spotty at best today, but when there was power I performed a writing task for Abba Larcher, I typed up a welcome speech he had written for the Provincials visit tomorrow, which of course required much traveling back and forth between Abba and the computer as he is very particular about the details. Abba Fillipo returned from Italy today and we invited him to dine with us this evening. He arrived bearing gifts from his vacation, salami and pancetta, still fresh from whichever village he had purchased it at. As I was munching away at a piece of salami sandwiched between two halves of bread and accompanied by a slice of cheese, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat bad about my lack of appreciation towards my meals here. Sure it’s basically the same food Items 90% of the time, and yes it seems as though I somehow seem to get some sort of food related infirmity from it at least once or twice a month. Still, I have been very privileged, as there is always that 10% percent of the time when there are “goodies” and my diet is for the most part far healthier than your average worker of Gambella, so I should really count my blessings. This evening I tried to access the internet again, but with no luck, it seems as though the provider itself is down, drats.



Day 158, Jan 16, Sun, 93°F @ 3:00pm,

After mass I chilled until 3:00pm, which is when the Provincial of the Salesians in Ethiopia, Abba Gennaro, arrived. When I first heard his name I assumed that he was from Italy, but to my surprise he turned out to be from the Philippines. Even more surprising then that though, was the fact that I had actually met with him before, He was in Addis when visited so many months ago. I hadn’t remembered his name, but I recognized his face instantly, which might have to do with the fact that the face belongs to an aging Asian man who works in Africa, which is rather unforgettable. We had an official welcoming party for Abba Gennaro a little later this day after he had settled in, which was attended by the entire student body of the primary school (which is always chaotically exciting when you get that many children in an enclosed place). The ceremony featured several dances and songs, as well as the welcoming speech that I had copied for Abba Larcher, which was read by a student. The Provincial then took some time to speak to the students about responsibility and respecting their teachers and parents, after which the ceremony ended, as always, with the dispensing of biscuits. Again no power today, so after dinner (Which the Provincial joined us for) I stayed up until the batteries in my computer gave out (still no internet, or even a phone line for that matter) and retired, this time I was able to get a good night’s sleep though.



Day 159, Jan 17, Mon, 91.8°F @ 3:12,

Today was one of the best Mondays that I have had here, not because something really spectacular happened, but because nothing entirely out of the ordinary happened. My routine is finally starting to iron out and become efficient (despite power problems). I managed to join the Salesians for morning prayers, something that I’m almost never able to wake up in time for on Mondays. English class went exceptionally well; the students had not been able to finish their book reports (big surprise there) so instead I decided to have them each flip randomly through a dictionary and pick a word, which I would then spend time explaining until the understood the word. We all enjoyed the exercise very much, and I think we will be repeating that particular project. Once the English class was over I started work on the Salesian chronicles, which mostly consisted of sorting the possible photographic candidates for each page, as well as typing up appropriate sub-comments to describe the events that are transpiring in said photos. I was only able to write out a few pages before the power failed, so I went about tiding my room until the power was reconnected, at which point I continued the chronicle until lunchtime. After our noontime repast, I spent some time reading and playin’ a game on my computer until break was over and then continued the chronicle, which had turned into a computer wide restructuring of all my 1000+ pictures and movies, a monumental task to be sure. At 4:30pm the power shut off again, so I packed up for the day and spent the remaining time until evening playing my whistle and harmonica, as well as saying a rosary. At dinner I discovered that tomorrow I would be traveling with Abba Gennaro and Abba Fillip to Nyingnyingnyong (Not sure if that is how it is supposed to be spelt, but phonetically its correct) to visit the Salesian presence there, as well as a few of the towns in the general vicinity. I really feel like today I made good use of time, I went to sleep feeling satisfied, and I am hugely anticipating tomorrow.



Day 160, Jan 18, Tue, 92.7°F @ 12:20pm, Ethiopian Epiphany,

Woke up at 6:10am sharp and attended mass at the chapel, ate a quick breakfast, stocked up on provisions for lunch, and started off on our excursion. After driving towards the outskirts of Gambella, we turned northwards and continued driving. Our journey took us through the dense forest area immediately surrounding Gambella and into the fewer tree inhabited savanna land. As we motored along the bumpy unpaved red dirt road, one could not help but notice the huge plots of scorched ground and the skeletal twisted remains of trees where the grass, small trees and other vegetation had been consumed by fire. When I inquired as to why there was so much charred land, Abba Filipo informed me that the locals set fire to the land every dry season to fertilize the land, as well as to help thin the undergrowth. The deep green and tan of the countryside intermingled with gouges of scorched black and white ash made for an interesting panorama of scenery as it flashed by outside the window of our Landcruiser.

We past several interesting land marks and towns, including a grove of trees that was proliferated with large termite mounds, a rice paddy that is overseen by a group from India, and many small Nuer (As in the Nuer tribe people) villages. We made it to Nyingnyingnyong at around 9:45am and were given a tour of the village.

(Before I go more in detail about the village, I am going to take a little bit of time and explain a little bit about the Neur people. They were a roaming nomadic cattle herding group of people, originally from Sudan, who frequently cross the border in search of grazing grounds as well as foraging opportunities. When the borders of Ethiopia and Sudan were officially drawn, many of these Nuer made their permanent homes near the Sudan border.)

About 5000 people live in the town, and is considered to be the largest of the Nuer villages in the Gambella region, and most of them live in intricately crafted grass huts, usually grouped in twos and threes. As we strode through the main part of town and into the market district, I noticed that all of the shop owners were highlanders (The people most commonly associated with Ethiopia), and I recalled some information that I had learned from Br. Endalkachew concerning it, apparently the greater part of the Nuer people seem to be unable to run businesses, as theirs is a bartering and trading culture (Theirs is also a heavily family oriented culture, and when one member of the family starts a business, the other members basically end up begging said person out of work). We also toured the Salesian compound, which is made up of a single small “cabin” which serves as both the classroom and for the moment a chapel, as well as the half completed church.

The next town on today’s expedition was Mahtar, and so after saying or goodbyes to the locals in Nyingnyingnyong, we forged onwards. The countryside on the way to mahtar was similar to what we had already experienced, what was different though, was the amount of animal life we saw. Baboons, mongoose’s, Herons, cranes (we passed quite a few small rivers, which explains the presence of water fowl) Eagles and vultures. We made it to Mahtar at around 12:00pm, and after a short welcoming ceremony by the teachers and kids (which took place in a small shack of a house that served as a meeting place as well as the chapel) we ate lunch, which was made up of canned tuna, bread, biscuits/granola bars, and wafers.

After lunch we started back towards Gambella, with one more stop on the way, the village of ileah. One the way back we encountered several herds of what I think were Kudu (A kind of Ethiopian antelope), they were all over the place. After about an hour and a half of driving we stopped at a town near to Ileah and picked up a group of choir members who would be joining us, and then continued on our way. We eventually reached a point where we turned off the main road and started on a “path” that was no more than two worn ruts in the ground leading deeper into the bush. After about 15 minutes of extremely rough travel, we finally arrived at the small rural community. Think about some of the national geographic articles that feature tribes of people living in the African jungle and that’s exactly how it looked to me. When we arrived we were welcomed warmly and were givin’ a tour of the village. The kids were literally caked head to toe in dirt and dust, as if they had not taken a bath in months and generally looked uncared for; a few of them had swollen bellies. Most of the inhabitants were dressed in cloths that were little more than rags (those that chose to wear clothes that is), and everybody lived in grass and mud huts that were grouped closely together. Once we had completed our sightseeing about the town, everybody gathered together outside the Salesian meeting shack and sang some songs, we listened to them recite some prayers, and then we gave some speeches. I was really touched by just how faithful these people are, even in the face of the challenges they faced.

Once we had finished our final speeches, we left the Choir to continue their singing with the villagers while we continued on our return trip home. We ended up reaching Gambella at around 4:30pm, and the first thing I did was take a quick shower, as I had become covered in dust from the trip (we were constantly stuck behind large delivery trucks, and the amount of dust they fling into the air is incredible, by the end of the journey my once white t-shirt had turned various shades of reddish brown) and then took a short nap, it was really strange how exhausted I felt, although I guess it does make sense when I consider how bumpy the ride was, lol, by the end of the expedition I felt as if I had gone 7 rounds with Muhammad Ali.

I really had a great time, I was able to see a side of Ethiopia that few people do, and I am hoping that I will be able to join Abba Fillipo at least once a month on his weekly trips.



Day 161, Jan 19, Wed, 91°F @ 3:00, Ethiopian celebration of the Baptism of Jesus,

We had mass like Sunday today, half way through the mass there was baptism of about 26 children, I really wish I had remembered to bring my camera, but luckily there is another baptism after Easter, so I remember to take some pictures then. After mass I bumped into Carlos, the Lay missioner from Spain, He had just returned from his vacation and had come to Gambella for the mass, it was nice to see him again. I also bumped into Barbara, the Salesian docter from Abobo, she was flying to Italy for the funeral of her husband’s father, but at the moment she was stuck in Gambella trying to get a plane ticket. During our conversation the topic computers was brought up, and she requested of me take some time and come to Abobo and look at their Patient list that was being maintained by the clinic there, apparently they are having some trouble keeping the thing updated each year, so I going to see what I can do to fix it probably next week sometime.

Since today was a holiday, there was no school, and as such, contained much free time, which I ended filling with my usual free time pastimes, reading, taking a nap, playing my computer (The power has finally came back today, Hallelujah!). The compound was unusually quiet today, I had expected to run into Br. Legesse a few times but that never happened, I found out later that there was an Oratory event that happened this afternoon, I really wish someone would have told me about it, grrr, although I guess the thought that there would be one should have crossed my mind since most holidays here in Gambella seem to feature one.

In the evening we went with the provincial and said evening prayers at St. Joseph’s church with the rest of the diocesan priests and seminarians, and after we had finished our evening spiritual entreaty we all dined together at the Bishops residence. Ah how much I relish these rare opportunities to feast with the priests, not just because the food is exquisite, but also because the conversations are so fascinating. There is always much joking and jesting, as well as a good deal of practical information that can be incredibly useful in my mission here, in fact, much of the information about Ethiopia that I have garnered has been from festive meetings such as the one that transpired this evening. The informational quality was somewhat interpersonal this evening, with much sharing of experiences, particularly from the Provincial who was the guest of honor, and also a quite outspoken individual, lol.


Day 162, Jan 20, Thu, Lower 90’s F @ 3:00pm,

I wish I was able to stay more on top of my journaling; it seems as though every time I get busy, the amount of days that I have to get caught up on increases. I managed to do some yesterday, and managed to get most of the rest today, so I should be caught up by tomorrow. Recently I have become rather partial to writing haiku’s, for me they are easier to write then full blown poems because I really have to take time to think about the poems, whereas whenever I feel a somewhat strong emotion or feeling for something, I’ll jot it down via Haiku in minutes. I figured that every Thursday I could include one, as it seems like Thursdays are usually my smallest post.

So here’s the first one, I hope you enjoy it.



~Bananas!~
Hear the monkeys howl
Fighting over who gets what
They disturb my sleep.




Day 163, Jan 21, Fri, 92.8°F @ 3:00pm,

Went to the office bright n’ early to see if it was going to be possible to access the internet today, it turned out that the internet was down…still, gargh! So I ended up staying around the office, writing in the chronicle as well as my journal, while I periodically checked to see if the internet would work. Then, to make matters worse, the electricity stopped as well, so now I was waiting with no power for the internet! Lunchtime eventually arrived (still no power I might add) so I trudged somewhat dejectedly back towards our residence. I made it to the compound just in time to bid the Provincial farewell as he was being driven to the airport, so that was a plus. After lunch, I said my midday prayers, which really helped to relieve my anxiety about the whole internet situation here, so when I went back to the office later and tried the internet and it still didn’t work, I was somewhat resigned to this development, and chalked it up as the will of God.

I had just settled down to pass the time until evening prayers when none other than the last person in the world I expected walked into my office, Jayne Feeney! It was in half shock and excitement that I greeted her, and after we stored her bags away I took her on a tour of the compound which ended with the Oratory, where I introduced her to Abba Larcher. We talked for a while about how her trip went (apparently no one showed up at the airport to pick her up, so she had to catch a ride with random strangers!), how long she would be staying (until Sunday), what she thought of Gambella so far (hot, lol), how I was doing here (lol, first thing out of her mouth was that I looked thinner), Etc. At 5:45pm I invited her to come and play some card games with Surafle, Bayu, and Br. Legesse, Bayu and Legesse ended up backing out, but we still had plenty of fun playing poker (With bottle caps for chips) and liars dice with Surafle.

Afterwards we attended evening prayer, where Abba Larcher bid Jayne to give the “goodnight” (I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned the goodnights, after we say the prayers, one of the salesian will give a short talk, which can be about how the day went, how a special event transpired, how they interpreted a gospel reading, etc.) and she talked about how her mission is going in Dilla, as well as what the general mission of the Salesian lay missioners is, I thought she covered some good points. After prayers we ate dinner, which included some special items, there was the kind of beef that I can actually eat (that won’t give me extreme intestinal crampage), Papaya (which is just “okay” in my book, I think they taste to much like squash) and mangoes (Ah, who could refuse the queen of fruits?). After the meal Jayne decided to retire early to rest up for tomorrow, while I tried to access the internet, which I had borrowed from Surafle again, but I unfortunately had no luck, so it was early to bed for me too.



Day 164, Jan 22, Sat, 93.1°F @ 4:18pm,

Woke up at 6:20am and walked to church with Jayne, it was really nice to have somebody to talk to, sometimes the walk can be a bit lonely. After mass (which seemed particularly delightful this morn) Jayne and I had a very deep and interesting 3hr conversation about our collective experiences at our respective sites and how we cope through the difficult times, and from the sounds of it, I am convinced that Gambella is one of the easier sites. Sure it’s very hot and sometimes I’m at a quandary as to what I should be doing, but the other sites have a lot of interpersonal challenges, several of the Salesians at some of the other sites are less than accepting, many of my fellow Lay missioners have been a great deal sicker then I have, and many of them have to deal with responsibilities and harassment that I don’t have to deal with, so I have really come to realize just how blessed I have been. Another topic that I was grateful to talk about was our futures. I am just shy of halfway through my mission here, and at times I can’t help but be fretful as to what the future holds, thankfully a few of my fears were put to rest with our discourse.

After our lengthy tête-à-tête, I decided that should visit Abobo so that Jayne could get a good look at the Gambella countryside, so after obtaining Abba Larchers blessing and gathering a few necessities, we set of with our driver, Teshome. It ended up being a really great excursion, (I am amazed at how quickly Jayne gets on friendly terms with the people here, 20 min into our journey and she is already cracking jokes with Teshome. It probably helps that she understands and speaks Amharic fairly decently) She really enjoyed seeing the rural areas, and were even able to meet with Carlos & Maria-Theresa while we were in Abobo. I wish we could have visited longer with them, but we had to hurry back to Gambella in time to pick up Abba Larcher at 3:00pm from his prison ministry, and there was allot of road construction in between us and there, so after a quick snack for lunch, we started off. We made it back just in time, and were even granted a special privilege, a tour of the prison (which is basically unheard of for foreigners)! It was a very efficient prison, and I wish more of the U.S.A. prisons were more like it; they keep the inmates busy here. They make various handicrafts and decorations, as well as attend school sessions and religious classes, overall top notch! And while we were there, Jayne was able to pick up some beaded bracelets and vases, which Gambella is known all across Ethiopia for making.

We returned to our compound just in time for Oratory activities, which Jayne took to like a fish in water, She was able to connect with the students in minutes what took me months, I stand in awe of her ability. Her very presence seemed to affect the kids, in such a way that even I was accepted more than I usually am. I hope that one day I might be in possession of such compassionate a persona as hers.

After oratory I showed Jayne all the pictures that I have accumulated up to now, explaining as I did the subject in the photo’s, be they place ore object, and by the time we got to the last one we had become so immersed in them that we had nearly forgotten evening prayers. After prayers and dinner we exchanged music, movies and pictures (which took awhile as I exchanged several GB’s of music and pictures, and she exchanged a vice-versa amount of movies, which included the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Booya!) after which we retired for the night, it had been a long and busy day, and I had no problem falling asleep.


Day 165, Jan 23, Sun, low 90’s F @ 3:00pm, but exceptionally muggy,

Jayne accompanied us to mass this morning, and she really enjoyed the service (from what she told me, I guess the mass in Dilla is very different, it’s only in Amharic, and there is a lot less cultural additions). After communion the driver came and told us that if Jayne wanted to make it to the airport for her 1:40pm flight, she would have to leave now to make it in time for check in, so after picking up her belongings at our compound we headed to the tourisms office in Gambella to wait for the Airport “caravan”. The group finally started, and we made it to the airport in no time at all, unfortunately, once we arrived there was a predicament, I had forgotten my passport at our compound, so the guards wouldn’t let me pass the gate, so I had to wait outside while Jayne and the driver proceeded, an incredibly stupid mistake on my part, and as a result I didn’t really get to say goodbye the way I had wanted too. After the driver dropped of fJayne at the airfield, he came back and picked me up and we were on our way back to the compound.

For the rest of the day I was in a bit of a funk, not being able to really bid Jayne farewell really sucked and it wasn’t until after she left that I really found out how much of a gift her presence to me had been. I felt very alone the rest of the evening, I hadn’t really been aware of it before now, but now it seemed as if loneliness had punched me in the face. I really appreciate all she did for me while she was here, and I’m going to try and make sure that I get and adequate email through to here the next time the internet is working.


The prayer of the day is a prayer reminding us where our true home is.


Safely Home
I am home in heaven, dear ones;
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.

All the pain and grief are over,
Every restless tossing past;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in heaven at last.

Did you ever wonder I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! But Jesus’ love illuminated
Every dark and fearful glade.

And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus’ arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?

Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still:
Try to look beyond earths shadows,
Pray to trust your Fathers Will.

There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now while life remaineth-
You shall rest in Jesus’ land.

When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
Oh the joy to see you come!



Day 166, Jan 24, Mon, 97.1°F @ 3:38pm,

I woke up feeling much better today; the loneliness and melancholy of yesterday had passed with the rising of the sun, the forlorn illusion had been chased away with the first rays of the morning light which revealed all the companions that are a part of my life here.

I woke up just in time for the English class, where I held an introduction to book reports, unfortunately not a single person had finished their book assignment, so it was next to impossible to lecture them on how to perform the report, *Sigh containing much exasperation*, so I decided just to do another random dictionary word exercise. It really seems to me as if these students don’t have any initiative of their own. This Wednesday is going to be the last class before “winter” break, so, during the break, I think I am going to try and change my course structure to better suit the dispositions of these students. I need to get a more ordered schedule that is a bit stricter, which would hopefully help teach the students a greater sense of responsibility.
Speaking of responsibility, I think I could use some myself, lol. I’ve been feeling’ really tired of late, and it’s been somewhat hard sometimes to get up enough momentum to do the things I’m supposed to. It might have something to do with the heat, which is starting to get quite hot, but it also probably has to do with my recent acquisition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, lol.



Day 167, Jan 25, Tue, 97°F @ 4:28pm,

Another hot day, it started relatively cool in the morning though. I woke up late this morning and had to rush to make it to Kindergarten class on time. The classes went exceptionally well today, I was able to get the 2nd and 3rd groups to come up and write words out on the chalkboard. Some of them needed help, which was fine, because all of them responded admirably and during the second break I was even able to teach a group of them the Hokey Pokey, which they all enjoyed immensely and I ended up repeating the dance five times, lol.

I returned from the sisters at around 11:45am, and accidently fell asleep until 1:00pm, when I was woken by Br. Legesse, who had noticed that my plate was still at the table. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some catch-up work on the chronicle, its rather slow going, the hardest and most time consuming part of it is trying to find an appropriate quote to go with the theme of the particular page I am working on, preferably by Don Bosco or some other relgous figure, which means I have to spend a lot of time pouring through religious books to find one.


Day 168, Jan 26, Wed, 98.7°F @ 3:01pm,

English class really sucked today, literally one person showed up, Dak, my patience is at its wits end! Since there was only Dak today, I decided that it made no sense to do anything terribly elaborate, so I just gave him a noun exercise, checked his work once he was done (Dak is one of the more advanced students, so he passed with flying colors), and then sent him on his way so he could practice for the exams he was going to take Friday.

I had quite a bit of free time this afternoon and evening, so after working on the chronicle some, I finished up the Lord of the Rings movies. I had forgotten how good they are, moreover, I discovered that several of the themes that were covered in the movie, can be directly correlated to my mission trip, and I especially felt that the parting of the fellowship will feel similar to when I must part from my fellow Salesians, lol. I ended up finishing the last of the beef jerky today, and I’m all out of peanuts and other such crunchables, so any future cinematic observations will have to be conducted in a snack free way, lol.


Day 169, Jan 27, Thu, 100.1°F @ 3:23pm,

Holy smokes! It was 100 degrees, in the freaking shade! Hot, hot, hot, and I guess this is supposedly just a taste for what’s to come this coming April/May! Spent the day doin’ my usual, typing my blog into my computer, nothing out of the ordinary today.

It’s been kind of hard to get to sleep lately, with it being this warm, and judging by how long it took me to get used to the temperature when I initially arrived here, it’s gonna take at least a couple weeks of not sleeping well to become adjust, just dandy, lol. Actually, tonight I was somewhat lucky, it started raining at around 8:30pm, bringing with it a nice cool breeze, which really helped with the sleeping part (unfortunately, as a side effect, a large quantity of bugs fled in to my room, which was rather annoying and somewhat hindered my sleep, lol, if it’s not one thing it’s another).



~25th~
Summers sun beats down;
Cracked mud covers the walkway,
Leftovers from spring.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Bloglog, stardate 1/14/11 Ive..Encountered...some kind of...alien..life

I blog, therefore, I am! ~ Joshristotle & Joshcrates.



Day 143, Jan 1st, 2011, Sat, New Years day, 93.1°F @ 4:00pm,

So, first of all, yesterday evening transpired as follows: at around 5:00pm I attended a teachers meeting, where the presiding orator discussed appropriate ways to structure classes, as well as how to efficiently plan and use written segment plans and assignment tasks…The majority of it was in Amharic, but from what little English I did hear as well as the included charts, I gather that it was a very informative meeting. After evening prayers us salesians drove around and visited the residences of the diocesan abbba’s, the missionaries of charity, and the sisters of St. Ann, and wished them all a happy New Year, we even engaged in some caroling with them as well. (To tell you the truth, it felt kinda odd to still keep a mental expectation for Christmas now that the 25th has come and gone.) After our little exposition of yuletide charity to our fellow man, we returned to our own compound and scarfed down the by now semi cold dinner. (Nothing a little microwavin’ couldn’t fix.) After the evening repast, I departed with Abba Thomas and br. Legesse to the St. Joseph churches meeting hall, where we decorated the main backboard with paper “Christmas flowers”. (I forget whether they are call chrysanthemums or poinsettia.) Once we were done, we headed back to our compound, where I intended to wait up for the New Year; unfortunately the power went out, which left me in the dark, so to speak. I tried reading via lamplight to keep me awake, but alas, I soon drew drowsy (A result of an illness I think I’m coming down with) and eventually slipped into slumber around 10:30, oh well.



One thing I realized when I woke up this morning, I was right about coming down with something, and it definitely wasn’t allergies. I had a mild fever, a dry cough, and overall a general feeling of lethargy. I’m pretty sure that I’ve caught some kind of cold/flu, lol, probably from those germy kids I’ve been hangin’ around with lately. As a result of this, I basically ended up spending the day either sleeping, reading a book, or drinking water, (more than 4 liters to be exact, which also meant that I spent some time near the ol’ urinal) Not exactly the ideal way to be spending the first day of the new year, but what can ya do? (I hope to God that this isn’t a foreshadowing of what is to come, lol) On a lighter note, I was blessed, in that several people came to wish me a happy New Year though.



Day 144, Jan 2nd, Sun, 94.3°F @ 3:52pm,

I would have liked to take it easy again today, but with all the planning I still have to do for both the Technical schools Christmas party and the Sisters Christmas play, that was just a no can do. For me it was up for mass bright n’ early, eat brekkers, plan for tomorrows English exercise, print out scripts, and before ya know it, it was time for lunch, a quick break, then it was off to the church for play practice, which would be our last before the actual event, which docent exactly fill me with cheer, for reasons that I shall soon explain. At least a quarter of the kids didn’t even show up for the performance, which meant we had to do a lot of switch-a-rounds to make sure all the roles were covered. We still don’t have any proper props or scenery for the stage, and now it’s going to be rush to get everything in time. Lastly, the music is totally whack, to use the technical term, lol. The Keyboardist is quite a good musician, but he was adding a reggae-like to EVERYTHING, lol. (I will actually be meeting with him Monday, I am going to bring my comp and review several different music styles, and discuss the best way to convey, musically, the scenes of the play) As a product of all this chaos, we had to stay extra late, in fact, I wasn’t able to start walking back until night had already started to fall and I had to venture most of the way in the semi darkness of dusk, which was a bit freaky. I ended up making it back to my compound with just enough time left to eat dinner. (My fellow salesians were actually already halfway through the the meal when I arrived) With things shaping up the way they are, this is going to be an incredibly hectic week.



Today’s prayer is a prayer by St. Ignatius Loyola, and goes as follows:



Susicipe

Take, O Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and whole will.

You have given me all that I am, and all that I posses.

I Surrender it all to You, that You may dispose of it it according to Your will.

Give me only Your Love and Your Grace; with these I shall be rich enough, and will have no more to desire.



Day 145, Jan 3rd, Mon, mid 80°’s,

Yesterday evening featured a deluge of torrential water that came down like the fist of an angry god! Consequently, this morning started at cool temperature in the high 60°’s/low 70°’s, which was quite the refreshing change from the constant mid 90°’s. For English composition today, I decided to keep it simple, So we did another paragraph writing exercise, but this time I picked the topic/place they were to describe. (I tried to pick places that I thought they would know about, but I was not entirely successful in that regard, as some of them had no idea what post office was, lol) The exercise progressed much better than I had imagined it would, with all of them finishing the assignment within the allotted time limit. In the afternoon I finished planning the dances for Thursdays Christmas party, I’m going to have the limbo, as well as the Macarena (well, the Macarena depends on whether or not I can find a song to replace the original, as I do not have that one) Now I just have to figure out tomorrows kindergarten classes, as well as the props scenery that will be putting together during my meeting with the keyboardist tomorrow.

On another note, the sickness I have acquired as developed further, the lethargy is no longer there, but the dry cough was replace by a wet, phlegmy one. By now I’m pretty sure it’s some kind o’ flu, blarg.



Day 146, Jan 4th, Tue, 96.6°F @ 3:30pm,

Kindergarten was a profoundly more productive pastime this morning then it was last week, I was actually able to teach a thing or two. The reason for the positive educational ambiance would be, I think, the festive atmosphere that the sisters had created, which has fostered an almost sanguine attitude with the kids. The sisters have accomplished this task by administrating a more than the usual number of biscuits, as well as putting on several enjoyable activities, (songs, dances, Etc) It was nice to see everyone in such good spirits. During the children’s break time, I was able to find time to start work on some props and decorations for the Christmas play, and I made a decent amount of progress, which is going to make this afternoons work much easier.



After lunch I meet with Chirabim (The keyboardist) and for the next 4 and a half hours I went over various styles of music, (Particularly classical music) and practiced (when the power finally came on) several ways to convey the proper emotions we needed for the play via musical strains. By the end of the meeting I was confident that we had made excellent progress, but I’ll have to wait for tomorrow to find out for certain. (It appears that Sister shares the same doubts I have about her “troupe’s” ability to perform adequately, and has decided to hold one more practice session, to be held tomorrow) This evening, Abba Larcher invited all the primary & technical school teachers out to dinner at a Hotel, in honor of the New Year and all the work they had done the past year. I also had been invited to the meal, and dined on a palatable fish somethin’rather, which was actually a pleasant change of pace.



Day 147, Jan 5th, Wed, 94.6°F @3:28PM,

I didn’t have any English class today, so I spent the entirety of the day preparing for the coming two events. I met with the volunteers who would be reading the scripts tomorrow, I finished up the final prop for the Christmas play (A shiny gold and silver sided David’s Star with a flowing comets tail) and I went to the post office to pick up a parcel that had arrived for me. To my delight I discovered that the package had been sent my folks, and was chock-a-block full o’ delightfully delectable munchies that would envy even a dejected and decadent delicatessen, let alone a deliriously doleful but delighted do-gooder such as myself. (My family had vacuum packed the food items, which had allowed them to pack an amazing amount of palatable food items, when I first picked up the package, I was surprised just how heavy it was) The box contained two Christmas cards (one from my folks and one from our families soon to be in-laws), two packages of beef jerky (I don’t think it is actually possible to ever get tired of beef jerky), a pack of peanut brittle (Oooh yeah!), a large packet of dried fruit (Well, there goes the scurvy I guess, lol, just kiddin’), a container of Spanish almonds (Bene’…So that’s Italian, sue me, hehe), 2 cans of pickled/brined herring (Mmmmmm, Herring!), 3 packages o’ mashed potatoes (Yeees, mwahaha), 2 candy canes (Could have possibly been three, they were obliterated so I couldn’t tell, lol), two books (from my family: “Fire on the mountain” which is an Ethiopian folktale, and from my Bro’s fiancé: “The missionary call” whose title is a clear explanation as to the books contents. Both book are greatly appreciated) and last, bet definitely not least, a hairbrush (Hallelujah! My hair was starting to resemble that of a troglodyte). I am very grateful for this veritable shmorkishborg (How the heck to you actually spell that word?), I gonna be hard pressed not to eat everything at once, (Although I did have to start on one of the packs of jerky tonight, as it been punctured by something {I am assuming it was one of the candy cane shards, lol} but thankfully it tasted alright and I was able to put it in a zip lock, so it should last a couple of days). While I was at the post office I was able to send of a letter to my family, I wish I could have sent them earlier but I had only just recently been able to actually acquire a Christmas card, better to be late than never. I returned from the post office just in time to catch the end of the primary schools Christmas party, which, judging from the pictures that br. Legesse had taken, was quite the lively one, and I was a bit disappointed that I hadn’t been able to attend, but I was consoled by the fact that I would get to attend, (Or rather help host) tomorrows shindig.



After the gathering ended it was time for lunch, and after lunch it was time for the final play practice, (queue dramatic music) dum dum dum! Sister was nearly 45 minutes late, so I spent that time making sure the manger was set up properly and that all the scenery n’ props were in their proper places. Sister did finally arrive, and as soon as order was restored out of the chaos that is the “Actors” we jumped right in and practiced as much as we could. There was only so much time we had to practice though, so in the end it is up to our mini thespians, I just hope they can get their act together. (Hehe)



Day 148, Jan 6th, Thu, Ethiopian Christmas Eve, lower 90°’s @ 3:00pm,

The Technical schools Christmas party turned out better then I hoped it would. The first party “event” was Abba Larcher’s Christmas speech, which was followed by a reading of the Christmas script (In Amharic) that I had helping the sisters with. The reading took a lot longer than I thought it would, but thankfully the students didn’t get to restless about it, regardless though, I decided not to tempt fate by having the Anuak and Nuer readers orate theirs, so we skipped that and went right into the dancin’, first up, operation limbo, which was accepted incredibly well, the entire student body was on their feet for that one, it was great! (Towards the end of the dance, we even had a group of students who had challenged each other to see who could venture beneath the horizontally oriented broom handle) Next, I gave the reigns over to Br. Endalkachew for a couple games, first up was a contest to see who could blow up balloons (until it popped) the fastest. Second up was a dancing game, where partners would dance, with one of them holding a newspaper under their arm, and when the music stopped, they had to unfold the newspaper and step on it, which, as the dance progressed, would become more difficult because the newspaper would be folded smaller and smaller, it was a fun game. For the last activity I was going to break out the Macarena but unfortunately we ran out of time, and after dispensing soft drinks and biscuits to the students, the event ended. In retrospect, I can’t believe that I stressed out so much about it, lol.



Next event of the day was lunch with all the staff of Don Bosco, from priests to cleaners. The lunch was held in our residential compound, and for the most part it was enjoyable. (Abba Larcher spent a good deal of time complaining how long the script reading took, lol) After lunch I was basically free until 5:30pm, so I decided to relax a bit and read the rest of Microbe hunters.



I really enjoyed the book, I thought the author did a pretty good job describing the individual personalities of the various scientist featured in the book, and what a varied bunch of characters they were; A Dutch man, Leeuwenhoek, the owner of a dry goods store who was the first human being to ever spy upon those tiny microscopic “beasties” {as he used to call them}.

A Catholic priest turned scientists, Pasteur, who discovered and proved that these wee microbes could cause disease {And who later developed the first vaccine for rabies}.

Koch, whose simple, precise, and thorough methods set the bar for future scientists!

Not to mention the countless other pioneers, some of whom traveled the globe seeking out the answers that they sought, even going so far as to risk their own lives to prove. The early history of microbe “Hunters” is indeed a truly amazing one.



Having finished that book, the next book on the menu was: “The man who knew too much”. 5:30pm finally rolled around and I was almost giddy with anticipation for “midnight” (Actual time was 7:00pm, lol) Mass. The building anticipation has brought about a rather nostalgic sense of emotion, and it really does feel like Christmas Eve to me! At 6:00pm, adoration and confessions started, which was followed an hour later by Mass (Which I made sure to record with my camcorder, it was kinda difficult finding a spot to put it where people wouldn’t mess with it lil). The Mass itself was quite nice, the music was a bit strident, but there were decorations everywhere, including a large manger, (Complete with Christ-Child) artificial and real flowers, and even some Christmas lights, and everything really added to the moment. The only thing I could really complain about was the lack of any English whatsoever; even the homily was in three other languages besides English, lol. After mass, We ate dinner at our compound, and since there was no electricity, it was off to bed early…Well, kinda, I stayed up and watched some videos on my computer, lol.



Day 149, Jan 7th, Fri, Ethiopian Christmas day, mid 90°’s @ 3:00pm,

Morning mass was at 8:30am, but I arrived half an hour early to help put the finishing touches on the set. Mass was almost exactly like last night, the only difference was the amount of people who attended, the church could barely hold them all. After the service, all of the youngsters went with the sister to their compound (where they received soap, biscuits, and “carmello” {which is what the locals called candy}) while the rest of the parishioners filtered into the hall. After some costuming havoc with the “actors” , we finally started the play and aside from a couple instances where the kids either forgot there lines or forgot what to do next, they play went well (I had given my camcorder to okoth so he could film the play, but a mere 3 minutes into it he came and told me that the batteries had gone dead, so I gave him my other camera, which lasted almost to the very end of the skit…Blarg!). Although I had fun helping the sisters to put on the play, I am thankful that it is finally over and done now.



The rest of the afternoon and evening did’t feel all that Christmassy; the only occasion that stood out was the Oratory’s Christmas event for the kids, which featured (supposedly) more than 1000 of the little urchins! The resulting mayhem from the stated masses of noisy adolescents was on a truly epic scale, and even more amazing then were the Salesians ability to channel the chaos into less destructive venues such as sackcloth races, football target practice, etc (Similar to the “Summer together” event that I experienced earlier in my tenure here). The Oratory ended with the salesians distributing biscuits, (I think in total they went through more than 1100, that’s 17 boxes!) and all that was left to do was wait for dinner. I was hoping that our evening repast would be a joint event between the various Catholic groups in Gambella, (The bishop, the priests n’ seminarians, and the sisters) but alas, it was but a small affair, with only Abba Thomas, Abba Larcher, Br. Legesse and myself attending. (Br. Endalkachew is in Addis visiting his mother again) There was still no power tonight, (Apparently the power company has cut all power to the U.N., St. Josephs church and the Salesian compound, (And possibly other building that I don’t know about) for reason I am unsure of, which has become very troublesome. Oh well, I still had some batteries left in my computer, lol.



Day 150, Jan 8th, Sat, 93°F @ 3:30pm,

I can’t believe just how quite it seems now that there are now plays or parties to plan for, I actually had an entire day to myself! (Well, the real reason I was free was that there is still no electricity, so I can’t do my usual projects, lol) I was able to use my mid-morning time to get caught up on all my writing as well as a little reading. (While I was reading in the Rec-room when I noticed that our resident lizard had lost its tail, it had probably been caught by the chicken I’ve seen wandering around our compound, if that was the case, the lizard had the last laugh, because I’m pretty sure we ate that chicken for lunch yesterday, mwhahaha!) After today’s lunch, I decided to take a short nap, which, as you should know by now, turned into a long one, lol. It was really nice to be able to get a chance to rest and recharge myself, although I am still assaulted by this tepid ailment and the lack of power still vexes me.



Day 151, Jan 9th, Sun, 92.1°F @ 4:32pm,

Today I was able to experience a very special occasion, an Ethiopian wedding. The service itself was to start at the usual Sunday time, but Mass was delayed by almost 30 minutes while we waited for the bride and groom to arrive. They eventually did show up, adorned in splendid wedding finery, particularly the bride and her maids in waiting (That might actually explain why it took so long, and I was definitely surprised by the “western-ness” of everything, I guess I had expected it to look more… Ethiopian-ish?). With the guests of honor present, the ceremony then proceeded without a hitch (No pun intended, heh).



After the service was over (which I made sure to take plenty pictures of), and after a quick lunch/snack, Abba Thomas, br. Legesse and myself accompanied the Bishop and his delegation to the newly married couples reception. First we dropped off half of the group at the hotel where the function was to take place, then a smaller group (which I was apart) drove to the couples residence, where we picked up the recently linked duo and their guests and drove them (Honking and swerving in a most terrifying manner), to the party. The Hotel itself was located right next to the Baro River, and would have held a most commanding view overlooking said river, if it weren’t for the throng of clamoring nude or semi nude children/bathers, (Awkward) lol. When I had finally managed to thread my way into the hotels compound, I noticed Sam Moody, (at first I wasn’t entirely sure it was him, as he had cut his hair and it wasn’t until he said hello that I was sure, lol) as well as a young woman accompanying him (also a westerner), the reception was officially started by the wedded couple, Sam and the woman (Whom I later learned was Rebecca, who worked with the {wsf?} (I can’t seem to recall the proper name of the organization that she worked with; although I do remember that the group is highly independent {they choose not to be connected with the UN} and deals primarily with distributing medicines) joined us at our table. The reception itself consisted of speeches (which I couldn’t understand, lol), and Food (Which I highly enjoyed) and dancing (which was entertaining, especially the cultural dances.). I left with the bishop a few hours into the party, but I quite enjoyed the event (Ethiopians really know how to enjoy weddings), and I especially enjoyed having other westerners that I could talk to (Although I wish I as a better articulator, lol).



Once we had returned to the compound, it was the usual Oratory activities with the kids until 5:00pm, followed by some reading, evening prayers, dinner and an episode of MacGyver, lol.



And now for the weekly prayer, I think this one is great for after communion, particularly during advent (or post advent leading up to epiphany) and lent.



An act of faith and adoration:

Jesus, my lord and my God, I give tribute to You, because You have come to visit me.

I bow down before You, now really present within me, now all mine, truly mine – with Your body and blood, soul and divinity.

You are the same Jesus, who was born in Bethlehem and dwelt in Nazareth; Who suffered and died for my salvation; Who ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.

I believe in You, and with all the powers of my soul I adore You, in union with the angels and saints. You are my King; may You and You alone reign over my heart and my whole being.

Let me never be separated from You by sin.

I wish to serve you faithfully on earth that I may love and adore you, praise and glorify you forever in heaven.



Day 152, Jan 10th, Mon, 94.2°F @ 3:05pm,

For English today I decided to do something a little different, partially because only four of the students showed up, but that’s besides the point, lol. I took the students to the library and picked out a book for each of them, and then informed them that they had one week to read it from cover to back, and at the end of a week I will be showing them how to do a book “Report”, but I think it will probably turn out be more like a book “Summery”, that’s okay though, because the purpose is not to teach them reports, per say, but rather, to expand their vocabulary. I have informed them that as they read, whenever they come across a word that they don’t know they are to look it up in a dictionary (even though I made sure the books were simple, trust me, they’ll still be coming across MANY, by the end of today’s class they practically had a sheet-load of new words already). I’ll have to wait until next week to see whether it turns out to be an effective exercise, but I’m hopeful. This evening I got my Christmas day wish, we went to newland (a district of gambela, a compound run by the Sisters of St. Anne is located there) and had a Christmas dinner with the Bishop, all the priests and seminarians, and both groups of sisters, it was great! (For dinner, we had Lasagna, among other things, lol, never would have thought that I’d have that here in Ethiopia.)



Day 153, Jan 11th, Tue, 96.8°F @ 3:42pm,

This morning I woke up at 3:00am with a thoroughly plugged nose and sore throat, along with the cough that seems to be sticking with me, a bugger of a combination. No matter how much I blew my nose I couldn’t clear my nasal passages, so I finally resorted to medicine, but I still had to wait for the stuff to take effect sufficiently enough for me to fall asleep, so I ended wide awake until around 5:30am, blarg (I spent the time waiting drinking a nice cup of hot tea and watching a program about tourist locations in Japan, so it wasn’t all bad I guess, lol). Needless to say, when I woke up this morning for the second time and headed off for kindergarten I was more than a little bit tired, it’s kind of odd, it’s like the worst of the symptoms were put off until all of the Christmas events were over, for which I am grateful. In the kindergarten classes I went over writing/spelling exercises, and I think that so far the k-2 class is my favorite, they are actually eager to learn, the k-1 group is always a fine walk between learning and barely contained chaos, and the k-3 class act like they wish to be anywhere but there, lol. Didn’t really do much for the rest of the afternoon/evening, I’m still waiting for Br. Legesse to finish translation of the Amharic ordination play so that I can finish it, so the rest of today was spent in leisure, for which I am also thankful.



Day 154, Jan 12th, Wed, 96.2°F @ 4:20pm,

The English students forgot their books today, so I implemented another writing exercise. When I compare all the writing exercises you can definitely see an improvement, so I think I must be doing something right. After my class, I lingered at the office and conversed with Surafle about various things, today I think we covered botany (what kind of vegetation grew in Washington state and the comparison Ethiopian fauna), The civil war (and all {or at least some of} the reasons why it was started, as well as the several human rights issues that emerged), and even a discourse about the disturbing trend of human history repeating itself (Particularly focusing on the apparent predisposition of mankind to violent upheavals and fear). It was a most cerebrally stimulating conversation, one that I haven’t had in a while, and it was really fascinating and appreciated to hear someone else’s opinion, particularly on the last subject.



Anyhow, after our delightful dialogue, retired to our compound and worked on trying to get caught up on all my blog writing, since I wasn’t able to post last week (Actually I wasn’t even able to type anything up) I have become inundated under the quantity of updates copy into the computer (Which you all are now reading the tail end of). I finally did get caught up…mostly; I’ll have to include Thursday and Friday in next week’s blog. Health wise I have been steadily recovering, I thing yesterday morning was the pinnacle of the proverbial “Sick” mountain, so it should be steady sailing from here. If you haven’t noticed by now, I’ve been including the daily temperature at its peak in the day, which has steadily been in the mid-low 90°F lately. While at times it can be somewhat oppressively hot (tends to happen whenever the humidity rises, for the most part it’s fairly low) I really don’t mind it, and perhaps even prefer it to the environment that my first few months featured, because as a side effect of the heat, most of the mosquitoes have died, bwahaha! (Although they have been replaced by this “flying ant thing of doom” which although it is less dangerous than the possible malaria carrying gnat, it is by no means less annoying, as it likes to land on our arms and necks and bite quite ferociously for such a small bugger)