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.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
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.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
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.
Sunday, December 13, 2015
We are here!
Once at the guest house Kayla had us try these candies. They start one way and then BAM they turn into something else. Is this what each day will be like?!
Book Highlights!
On the plane I read excerpts from Chapter 1 of the recommended book. Here are takeaways!
*Ethiopian food is good and sauces can be spicy
*If approached by a beggar you can politely say "bugger off"
*There are over 75 Ethnic groups in Ethiopia.
*Amharic is the most common language and resembles Hebrew and Arabic. You can get by speaking English in Ethiopia. Italian and French are also languages spoken.
*The dominant religion is Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
*The Ethiopian calendar year is 7 years earlier
*In Ethiopia there are 13 months. The months of the year are named different and timing varies from the western calendar.
* Ethiopian new year is September 11th
* There is a surprise around every corner
*There are historical sites everywhere and the place is biblical.
"New Flower" aka Addis Ababa
There is a whole chapter on Addis Ababa in the book. We will see how many of these places we visit. Upon arrival we will be met by Zac and there will be two vans to transport us (9 of us arrive today and 1 student is already there). We will get a brief tour of the city and be taken to the guest house we are staying at for the week.
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Take off!
Four of us are flying Ethiopian airlines. We are on our way! We will meet the others in Addis. They left ahead of us and flew different airlines to explore other places on the way and have a less expensive fare.
Hotel and Departure
Our hotel had beautiful natural inspired art.
We had a room on a special floor!
It's 7 AM and we are headed to the airport!
We are boarding the hotel shuttle!
The shuttle driver is Ethiopian. He wished us well and thanked us.
Friday, December 11, 2015
Dinner in Dulles
Dr. Higgins, the two doctoral students (Emily and Beth), and I had dinner at the hotel (the Hyatt Regency Dulles) prior to the flight to Ethiopia. The service in the restaurant was extra slow, which gave us more time to talk and learn about each other. The food, including the bread, was delish!
Recommended Book
A UNCW faculty member let me borrow this book before the trip. I started reading the book the night before leaving. I will share highlights!
Immunizations. Hmm...
We were advised to get immunizations months ago. In November when I called the Wilmington Travel Clinic referred me to the New Hanover County Health Department who referred me to my primary care physician. Hence I scheduled an appointment with my doctor. The day of the appointment the Dr.'s office called to ask what immunizations I needed. I read the list of recommended Immunizations and the staff member referred me to the Wilmington Travel Clinic. Hmm....
First Blog
I used the blog opportunity to learn how to use Wix (http://mparker289.wix.com/ethiopia), which is dynamic yet less user-friendly than e-Blogger. Today I transferred the content from the Wix page to e-Blogger and I downloaded the e-Blogger app to my iPhone to facilitate blogging on the go!
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is known as "the Horn of Africa." Addis Ababa is where we will stay for the week. It's located centrally and starred on this map.
In January 2015 I was gifted a travel calendar. At the time I had no clue I would travel to Ethiopia. I'm looking forward to comparing the places visited in Addis to what's featured in the calendar.
Ethiopian Flag
The current flag of Ethiopia was adopted on 06 February 1996 and is a green-yellow-red tricolour with the national emblem in the centre. The emblem, also used as the coat of arms, is light blue disk with a diameter approximately half length of the hoist inscribed with yellow pentagram symbol.
Faculty and Student Profiles
Here is the link to who is going on the trip. Check out our blogs, which will be updated regularly: http://uncw.edu/ed/international/ethiopia/index.html. See example!
Purpose of the Trip
The Watson College of Education, (WCE) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, is a leader and catalyst for developing internationally and globally competent K-12 teachers and other education professionals congruent with the mission of the North Carolina State Board of Education and UNCW’s Strategic Goals. As part of many international experiences desgined to fulfill the WCE International Studies goals, this fall (December 2015) Dr. Higgins and I (Dr. Parker) will take 5 undergraduates, 1 Master's, and 2 Ed.D. students on the first ever internship to Ethiopia. Students will be enrolled in EDN 455, EDN 595, EDL 644 respectively.
In preparation for the internship, there are three pre-departure meetings. Faculty and students must create a blog and begin researching a topic of interest, which they will present and add to based on their experience in Ethiopia. In Ethiopia we will visit the Deborah School and the Fregnet School. We will go on cultural excursions such as the National Museum of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Merkato, Yod Abyssinia and Born Free Ethiopia.
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