We went back up to Otono, the area where Nebeyou's mom lives, so he could play soccer with his old friends again. It's beautiful, and you can't help but feel the mountain, Damota, watching over the village. I'm still looking for the ideal photo of it - I think I have to go up during better light, but here is an attempt, and the mountain next to it.
The hills are pretty steep in places, going down to the water. Nebeyou remembers carrying jerry cans of water for his mom. When we adopted him, he was all muscle because they lived high above the stream! I do see many more girls working than boys, and girls can usually build a fire and cook for the family by the age of six or seven. You also often see young girls carrying babies on their backs for their mothers.
Nebeyou also recalls bathing in the stream (see the boy to the bottom left).
There is obsidian (volcanic glass) all over the place, and we wanted to take some back to Nebeyou's classmates, so I picked up a few pieces. Soon, kids from all over were bringing it to me, amused that I wanted it. Some is solid black, some striped or with a reddish tint (from iron oxide) and one piece that was given to us was mostly clear. We basically have a bucket of the stuff to wash and pack and try to get through the airport.
Pumice stone is also prevalent, and is used on the mud roads because it's light to haul and dump.
We have to remember to drink a lot of water here because we can get altitude sickness. I've had it before and it's no fun, and lasts for days. But, the mountains are also what makes the weather feel so perfect. We are close to the equator, but it's not humid in this area because we are so high. Ethiopia is known for "13 months of Sunshine" because they are on a different calendar here (this year is 2006) and there are 12 long months and one short one (5 or 6 days), all of which have beautiful weather. The time of day is also different, dawn begins at 1:00, and then counting up into the day, so 3pm, end of school, is called 9:00. This can get confusing when you are planning to meet someone at say, 10:00, and you are ready for mid morning coffee and they show up in time for dinner.
This soccer game was fun for Nebeyou, because he brought a ball to give to one of his friends. The day before, they had used this ball, so when he pulled a new one out of his backpack, there was much excitement. The girls didn't play.
I also rarely see girls playing ping pong or foosball at the tables on the sides of the road and I've heard it is because the boys don't let them play. But, two guys let me play ping-pong once, on the road going to the market.
Nebeyou says he likes soccer here because:
1. people don't argue about the rules
2. people don't hog the ball
3. people don't mind playing aggressively
I'm amazed at how well the kids play in their plastic, flip-flop type shoes - they really do have good ball skills.
I wanted a photo with Amarech, and a huge argument ensued about the proper way to use the camera, resulting in this fun shot (very much cropped from a much larger and more canted attempt).
Then, Amarech took me to her school. She, like Zion and Nebeyou, is in the forth grade. If you are an adult who has never gone to school, you have to work through each grade with the kids, there is no GED or adult education that I'm aware of, so it's wonderful that Amarech is doing this for herself.
If you can see the writing on the blackboard, it's in our alphabet, which is because they are teaching Wolaytta, the local language, which is written with our letters. They also teach Amharic, the national language, with characters that remind me a bit of Hebrew. Wolaytta has only about 4,000 words, but it does have a tonal element to it, which my friend Sophie says makes it challenging to learn. Then, you have to figure out how to configure those few words into what you want to get across. We started with the one, tosi imo, which means "thank you" - a useful word to learn in every language.
And here is a short video of some of the trip up to his village and the soccer that followed.
The hills are pretty steep in places, going down to the water. Nebeyou remembers carrying jerry cans of water for his mom. When we adopted him, he was all muscle because they lived high above the stream! I do see many more girls working than boys, and girls can usually build a fire and cook for the family by the age of six or seven. You also often see young girls carrying babies on their backs for their mothers.
Nebeyou also recalls bathing in the stream (see the boy to the bottom left).
There is obsidian (volcanic glass) all over the place, and we wanted to take some back to Nebeyou's classmates, so I picked up a few pieces. Soon, kids from all over were bringing it to me, amused that I wanted it. Some is solid black, some striped or with a reddish tint (from iron oxide) and one piece that was given to us was mostly clear. We basically have a bucket of the stuff to wash and pack and try to get through the airport.
 |
| it's actually darker than this photo, but I lightened it so you can see the striations. |
Pumice stone is also prevalent, and is used on the mud roads because it's light to haul and dump.
 |
| strong boy holding pumice |
This soccer game was fun for Nebeyou, because he brought a ball to give to one of his friends. The day before, they had used this ball, so when he pulled a new one out of his backpack, there was much excitement. The girls didn't play.
 |
| ping pong on the roadside |
Nebeyou says he likes soccer here because:
1. people don't argue about the rules
2. people don't hog the ball
3. people don't mind playing aggressively
I'm amazed at how well the kids play in their plastic, flip-flop type shoes - they really do have good ball skills.
I wanted a photo with Amarech, and a huge argument ensued about the proper way to use the camera, resulting in this fun shot (very much cropped from a much larger and more canted attempt).
Then, Amarech took me to her school. She, like Zion and Nebeyou, is in the forth grade. If you are an adult who has never gone to school, you have to work through each grade with the kids, there is no GED or adult education that I'm aware of, so it's wonderful that Amarech is doing this for herself.
If you can see the writing on the blackboard, it's in our alphabet, which is because they are teaching Wolaytta, the local language, which is written with our letters. They also teach Amharic, the national language, with characters that remind me a bit of Hebrew. Wolaytta has only about 4,000 words, but it does have a tonal element to it, which my friend Sophie says makes it challenging to learn. Then, you have to figure out how to configure those few words into what you want to get across. We started with the one, tosi imo, which means "thank you" - a useful word to learn in every language.
 |
| 4th grade classroom |
 |
| I'm being observed |
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