November 1st 2007
Weather in Mekele is quite nice, with lows in the high forties or low fifties, and warming to mid seventies during the day.
Eating has been an adventure, to say the very least. I do have a phrasebook of Tigrayan and Amharic and am learning the various words and so I can generally avoid very spicy foods, but I am not a huge fan of Injera bread, the sour spongy utensil-bread.
Communication is difficult but not impossible. I have learned the very basics (hello, good morning, thank you (I pronounced this incorrectly numerous times and it always gets me laughed at; I’m wondering if I’m saying a word that means something more like grapefruit than thank you).
In Mekele, the sun rises at 0 in the morning, which is 6AM on our clocks, to what sounds like calls to prayer. There is a mosque here, but is fairly far away and I don’t believe in the same direction, and so I am wondering if it is actually the Orthodox Church prayer chanting. Out of the balcony I have observed numerous white robed people walking directly to the Tekla orthodox church near our hotel, and this makes me think it might be the prayer chanting.
I really want to go to the church tomorrow morning and find out. Today is the third day in Mekele- the first morning I was incredibly fatigued with jet lag, and the second morning I was unsure of what type of dress or manners I should bring with me to the church (especially since the women’s heads were covered, and so I didn’t think it would be wise to just roll in dressed with my American clothing among the worshippers without first having spoken with more people about what exactly was expected of me.
Gebre, the orphanage director, put me in contact with a Taxi driver yesterday named Kibron, who speaks very excellent English. On the way to the orphanage this morning Kibron answered many questions I had about the Orthodox Church. He told me that I could definitely visit the churches, and told me a little bit about the protocol, which includes taking your shoes off, and told me that I needed to get a scarf for my head before I went.
He told me that he would go with me, but that he had done some ‘not so good things’ lately and needed to confess before he went back to church. He went on to say you should not go to a club one night and the church the next morning. But, he said the next time he saw me he would take me somewhere to buy the appropriate scarf.
He also told me that on Saturday there was a special celebration at one of the churches (not the Tekla church, a bigger one on top of a hill) because it is St. George’s day this Saturday. He said to give him a call on Saturday and he would pick me up and take me to the church (I have made friends with the receptionist Tigist and she lets me use the hotel phone whenever I want for free, but she won’t let me dial the buttons myself).
After that, we went to the orphanage where Gebre had one of the orphans escort us on the approx. 20 min. walk through fields full of workers harvesting tef and wheat and flaxseed with small scythe-like instruments, collecting water, and taking care of cattle. Then we arrived at the school. We asked Gebre what the best way we could help would be, and he asked us if we could help teach English for a couple hours a day to the 8th graders, because they have a national exam coming us and they always do poorly because they do not have a good teacher, and without doing well on this particular test, their options for high school are then limited (as I understand the situation). So of course, we said yes.
Gebre also asked me if I would contribute to the website with my pictures, and I said that yes, I would, and I am have also written a profile piece about him that I am going to send to the Daily Toreador and see if they will publish it. If not, I will at least let him use it for his website and also post it on my blog.
He has been so helpful to me, showing me around Mekele, and explaining so much about Ethiopian history and culture, that I am more than ecstatic to help in anyway I can, and still it seems insufficient.
When we walk to the school, young, barefoot children follow us the entire way. Many students use newspapers for their notebook paper, and over 70 children are packed into a single room with one teacher and three to five students sit to a desk. There is not light, the room is dark, and I think it would be very difficult to try and read the chalkboard from the back of the room.
The children were all incredibly (INCREDIBLY) well behaved and respectful, and stood up when we entered the room and all had plastered big smiles on their faces. Many of them are very hungry to learn-in fact the young man who escorted us pulled out his textbook (a small paperback the size of a coloring book) and began pointing to words he did not know and we would try to use charades to explain. He did the same for us with Tigrayan.
When we left small children followed us and happily practiced “Hello, how are you!” “What is your name?!” “How old are you!”
The way back was unescorted and I got a little lost in the open fields in the mild between the orphanage and the school, which includes a couple of small river/creek crossings, and many large bulls. But, I eventually found my way.
Gebre is truly a visionary. After returning to the orphanage Gebre gave us a tour of the orphanage and the many ambitious projects he has planned for the land, then we returned to the hotel.
That afternoon, I went to the Tekla Orthodox Church where people would walk by and kiss the gates and form a cross over their heads. Many people continues walking, and didn’t actually enter the gates, and this made me hesitant to do so, unsure if perhaps one was supposed to enter the church only at certain times.
There were actually two churches, a newer one, and then directly behind that one an older church. I was hesitant to go inside the gated compound of the church, because of the people walking by not going in the gates; I didn’t want to offend anyone. People stare at me quite a lot, which is understandable since I stick out like a sore thumb.
The Deacon, Timrat, saw me looking hesitantly at the church and came out to tell me he was the deacon and if I’d like to see the church, he’d show it to me. He speaks English fairly well, but has a little trouble understanding my accent.
He took me in the outside area and introduced us to the Father, the priest, who was tall and wrapped in white. He held a gold ornamental cross and another white wrapping around his head, similar to a turban but not as large and more compact. He nodded to us while Timrat, who speaks more English, told me a little about the history. He told me the church was not ready to enter at that moment, but that when it had been prepared, it would be a better time to enter.
The church was closed at that time so he told me that, at this point, I could either give the priests a piece of advice or some birr, and I gave him some birr. Timrat wants me to return to the church on Sunday at 7 AM (one o’clock on the Ethiopian clock), where we will listen to the service . Afterwards, Timrat promised to explain more about the church, and he invited us to a coffee ceremony, which is a sign of respect and friendship, and a great honor to be invited to.
I ran into Timrat later that same day walking to my hotel after a quick trip to the internet café. He had a copy of Aristotle’s St. Achnid of __? In his hand in Amharic (he also speaks Tigrayan). He spoke to me about the many greek philosophers and their ideas about God, and reminded me again to come by the Church on Sunday to hear more about the philosophers and about God. He told me that he was trying hard to find a bible in English so he could translate it into Tigrayan, the local language. Our group happened to have an extra bible (pocket sized) between us, and he is coming by our hotel at 5 o’clock today and we are going to give him an English bible.
I tried to explain to Timrat what exactly my project is, but he did not seem to quite understand, but kept saying that of course I was welcome anytime at the church, just to make sure I got a head covering from a ‘spiritual shop’ before I came. Today when I see him I am going to show him a drawing of musical instruments and a big eye looking at them and I hope that will help him understand more what I am interested in.
Timrat has been to university, and so I think he will understand if I try to explain that I am working on research and learning more about his church and culture partly for my university education.
He is very open, though, and I am very excited about going to a coffee ceremony with him.
Later yesterday I ran into Kibron in the afternoon, who apparently hangs out close to our hotel (this makes sense since our hotel overlooks a small park, Lucy Park, which is a major congregation area for people to some and sit and socialize. There are also several buildings in Lucy Park that play recorded music all day long, until well after 9 PM, in fact.
He took me to a store to buy a head covering. When we got to the area with many shops, he took me in and bargained for me (foreigners are charged a little more, apparently). I said thank you and asked him if sometime he would sit down and talk to me a little more about the church. He said anytime, and then told me again that he would take me to the church celebration this Saturday. I’ll give him a call this afternoon and set up a time for him to pick me up.

Other thoughts:
In general, things here are well. There is one person in the group having a very difficult time adjusting, especially with the diseases seen in the hospital, and maybe one or two others just feeling overwhelmed. It is a big difference and I feel I am constantly making accidental mistakes.
For example, while drinking tea yesterday, our group was sitting in the corner, when the manager came by and asked us if we would like to move to a better table, and we said, oh no, that’s alright. Then we realized that he had pushed tables together and put a special table cloth on the table just for us (we saw him take the table cloth off and push away the tables).
At the bank there was an incredibly long line and a worker came and took me to the back (thus skipping the line) and sat me down and took care of me, and asked me if I would please sit and have some coffee. They were very excited about my name, which is apparently a popular Ethiopian name. I just felt bad about getting special treatment , but especially after the earlier incident, I didn’t want to refuse and end up being even more rude.
I am just overwhelmed with how nice everyone has been to me and the rest of our group. The Kibron asked me yesterday if I would come back, and I have only been here two days, but I am already informing an emphatic ‘YES’ in my mind. I feel that to really do a thorough project, I need to be here for something more like 6 months to a year. It just takes time to meet people, develop relationships, and get over the language issues and earn enough trust to be able to have candid conversations with priests and so on. But of couse, I am just going to do as much as I can in the time that I’m here (which seems woefully too short at the moment).
I am SO excited about the coffee ceremony, and about the celebration at the church on Saturday.