Internet/Power and Water

BWe had power, Internet, and water outages intermittently. Yet we all managed to function well. When we had power sometimes we would have Internet. We were unable to connect on our devices as often as we do at home. Instead we spent more time together. We noticed this same trend at the Deborah school. We only saw one phone out during our 15 min in the teacher lounge. At Fregnet there was regular Internet service but the staff did not appear to be connected. The staff at Fregnet were advised by the police to turn off their internet after 9 pm since young kids had been congregating near the school. This was seen as a safety hazard for women walking home at night who had no clue what these groups were up to in the dark.

There were times when several people got 60 seconds worth of water for their shower and had to finish by using bottled water. I learned to take very quick showers and not to wash my hair every day. Instead I used Kayla's recommendation to use more conditioner.

Bowling

We went bowling begre heading to the airport. The power went out for several minutes as we started playing, which was a great reminder of where we were even though the bowling alley looked liked and reminded us of the ones at home. Another difference is that we had to score ourselves manually versus letting a computerized system do it.

Not Born Free

We were unable to visit the Born Free wildlife refuge due to political unrest in an area we would need to drive through. Our host and Born Fre staff both said it was not a good idea to travel there and hence we did not go. Instead we visited a zoo in Addis, which mainly had lions. The lions were gorgeous but their accommodations were sad. There were in a cell with cement flooding. The lions mostly laid down. We could see that they didn't have water and we were told they had been waiting for food. It was uncertain how long it had been since eating. 

Amazing students and faculty

Our students and faculty are truly amazing. In our group we have a:

*Skype Anbassador 

*Captain of the cheerleader team and sorority girl 

*world jump rope championships in Austrailia in 2004

*Breakdancer 

*someone who visited 16 countries

* a young principal

*a former gymnast who teaches gymnastics 

*soccer and basketball player

*someome who got kicked out of h.s. Their first year and went on to have an incredible career as a teacher and teacher educator.

Dancing with shoulders

We went to the Deborah School again. We learned more about the school and the children. We visited several bookstores. Heidi purchased books in Armahic with English translation. After the bookstore we went to the guest house to rest. That evening at 7 pm we went to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant. We watched traditional dance from the region and heard live music. Ethiopians dance with their shoulders and neck. It's beautiful. We tried a bunch of different foods and several Ethiopian drinks. 

Zita welcomed us

We discussed the water shortage and being strategic about when each of us showered. We left for the school at 7:35 after having breakfast. The van ride to the school was adventurous. It took about an hour to reach the school due to traffic. At the school we met the Zita (one of the founder's daughters). She showed us around and we went into classrooms to sing a song and introduce ourselves. Each of the students was assigned a classroom that they would work in. We met as a group for a coffee break that was prepared for us. Shortly after lunch was brought to the school for us. We stayed at the school until the end of the day and then we went to the Ethiopian Museum. We learned about Lucy and other artifacts from a docent. We learned about Ethiopian history. On the way back to the guest house we stopped at the grocery store. We had to go through security screening to enter the store. Then we had dinner as a group at the house. 

The Real World

Our guest house reminds me of the "real world" TV show. It has three floors and multiple bedrooms on each floor. There is a wonderful balcony.

Once we arrived at the guest house we were assigned rooms. Once we got settled we connected with loved ones via the Internet. We had lunch upstairs on the balcony that overlooks the neighborhood. At 3 pm we were given a tour of the city for about an hour in the 10 passenger van. When we returned to the guest house dinner was prepared. We ate and tried to stay awake to help with the time change.