Saturday, November 16, 2013

Hales in Ethiopia 2013

Currently listening to rain and hail... what?!?! It's supposed to be DRY season! 

This post is a bit delayed in coming, but I wanted to share about the week and a half my family came to visit! It was so wonderful to have them here seeing my life now. It was a time of reconnecting with Ethiopia; seeing the changes in the city, remembering the things that are exactly the same, meeting up with old friends, introducing them to my current colleagues and students- a time to show them my world.

Experiencing some Ethiopian culture at Imayu's house in our gabis and netelas!

My mom meeting up with one of her 7-11 (grocery store) buddies, Abdo

Visiting Born Free, an animal rescue place- one of the highlights for the group!

Hanging out at Deborah House with the girls that live there- another highlight :)



Loved having my family here!!

Saturday, October 5, 2013

Oh chicken, I missed you.

Currently packing: for a week-long trip to Mekelle for Bingham's Activities Week! 

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Let me tell you what my heart is fond of right at this moment: chicken.

For the last three months, there has been a shortage of chicken in the country. Not of eggs, but I guess they were pulling them all too early? I am definitely not a connoisseur of poultry, so I will leave the reasons to the experts.
But for these long months, our community has been lamenting the lack of white meat. It wasn’t in the stores, it wasn’t in the restaurants- unless you wanted to spend the big bucks … or birr, it just wasn’t a possibility. We dreamed of Chik-Fil-a and other deliciousness, but of course could not talk about it for fear of drawing the ire of those around us. Oh chicken, we missed you.

Folks, I am here to tell you all some very exciting news: chicken is back!!!!! My roomie and I found some on our weekly grocery shopping trip and it instantly brightened this grey rainy day. Our trip home may have had multiple excited exclamations about having chicken for dinner. And now it’s delightful aromas are wafting through the house and making my mouth water.


What’s for dinner, you ask?? CHICKEN!!! 

Monday, August 26, 2013

the trinity.

Credits to my roommate, Joy, and fellow teacher, Daniel, from various conversations we’ve had on this topic.

When hearing about the trinity, you may understandably think of The Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (capital T). However, on the mission field, we have another trinity (small t) that occupies much of our thoughts and time. This trinity: power, internet, and water, has the ability to keep life on the field fairly pleasant, but when one, two, or all three of these elements disappear, it all becomes a bit more difficult. Let me explain.

Power, while not a scarce commodity, is certainly an unreliable one. Whether in the classroom, the airport, or sitting at home, it is not a strange occurrence for the power to cut out. It has the possibility of coming back in the next five minutes, or the next five hours. There is never an assurance to how long you will be without it. While this problem can usually be solved with a generator or lighting some candles, it also has farther-reaching consequences than just a lack of light.

Internet is used in this country as much as any other, but again can be rather unreliable. When the power goes, then the internet also goes. This doesn’t seem like such a big deal until you’ve finally set up, or even started, that long-awaited Skype date. Hopefully, the other person remembers that you live in Africa and you aren’t ignoring or forgetting them.
But there are many (creative) causes of the loss of our internet. Sometimes, rats crawl into the box that connects you to the local telecom hook-up and chew through the cables. And even though the other company on your line is an internet café, it still takes two weeks to get it fixed. Sometimes, the line is disconnected for who knows what reason, and it takes a visit to the head of internet for the whole country to get it fixed. At least there are some decent stories out of the ordeal.

Water, our current dilemma, is a much coveted and usually reliable source. This means when it is gone, life is not fun. After so many days without bathing or a sink overflowing with dirty dishes, grumpiness may start to occur. My roommate remarked that, in a way, its almost like living like Laura in Little House on the Prairie. Then we realized that they didn’t take baths very often or use so much water, because it was so much effort. I am satisfied not emulating that particular lifestyle.

Ideally, all three resources are readily available and life goes on pretty happily. But then again, times without any one of these resources do remind you to be grateful when those happy times come back. As my friend, Daniel, says “Without one of the three, life is ok. Without two, life gets more difficult. Without all three, life is not good.”


This post applies to those of us that are blessed to have access to these resources to start with. Living in a capital city, we experience a different lifestyle than those that live down-country or other places with less. I hold those people in high esteem and applaud them from my home here in Addis. 

Thursday, June 13, 2013

End of School Year Festivites

Currently listening to: SMASH soundtrack... love me some Hit List!

These last couple of weeks have been jam-packed with events... mostly parties. Goodbye dinners, Awards Night, Farewell Gibshas, End of Volleyball Season Bowling Extravanganzas. I figured I would catch you all up with pictures from these various events...

Most of our singles group saying good-bye to the three leaving us: Malisa, Jolene, and Joe (and Amsale)


A group of my 7th grade girls at Awards Night: a time to honor students with academic and athletic awards

Some of the 9th grade girls at Awards Night
Our entire singles "family" at the Bingham Farewell Gibsha (party)
End of the season party with my U14 volleyball girls- fun time of bowling and eating out

Playing soccer with some alumni and teachers vs. the Varsity Girls soccer team

Now, we are gearing up for Graduation and its ensuing festivities happening tomorrow. Can't believe that my first year of teaching is almost over!! It's been a great experience and I'm already excited for the next year!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

My Ethiopian Grandmother

Currently: having dinner at the Golf Club because our internet at Bingham is still out. Silly rats that chew through our wires! 

One aspect of moving back to Ethiopia that excited me was renewing and rebuilding relationships with people of my past. One particular person that I was overjoyed to see was Mekedes, my Ethiopian grandmother.

Within the first month of returning, I learned that Mekedes had fallen ill and was no longer working at Bingham. Soon after that, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Living in a country that doesn't have medicine to treat it, even if it could be afforded, makes this a death sentence. Sadly, this last weekend, Mekedes passed away, after months of enduring a painful end.

However, its the legacy that Mekedes left behind that we will remember. Mekedes dedicated 42 years of service to Bingham Academy. She spent 42 years serving missionaries by taking care of their kids through her cooking, cleaning, and loving. Her smile, hugs, and the delicious aromas from the kitchen created a fond place in our memories and our hearts for hundred of students who went through the Boarding Program at Bingham.

With our family, she became like another grandmother, teaching many cultural lessons to my mom, caring for my brother and I, making fabulous food for us all the time, dealing with the mess left behind by a family of twelve. She even became a part of our extended family, as our grandparents fell in love with her during their visits. My brief visit in 2008 was not complete till I saw Mekedes in the boarding home and squeezed her tight, sharing the love from my family and receiving it back all at once. We all loved Mekedes and the wonderful influence she had on our lives.

Though I missed out on having more time with Mekedes now, I pray that I might one day sit with her, smell the delicious food she is making, talk and laugh together, and get just one more of her loving hugs.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Banquet in Wonderland


Every Spring, Bingham hosts a banquet for the high-schoolers. A tradition started a few years after they added the high school, it's Bingham's version of the prom, with a few fun twists.

The theme is kept secret till the moment the students walk (or like this year, slide...)  into the room. This year, our students traveled down the rabbit hole to Wonderland, where they spent the evening with Alice (played by yours truly) and her friends.


Lewis Carroll, A Clock, Wild Mouse, The Queen, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, Alice, The Hare, and the Mad Hatter, at your service. 

The students (literally) slid down into the rabbit hole (which was a door propped up into a dark room full of furniture), then walked into the gym, covered in decorations. 

One of the walls in the gym- the other had a shadow puppet of Alice and many faces of the Chesire Cat.

For the first hour, they played games, like Alice's Caucus, Build a House of Cards, Flamingo Croquet- complete with a queen that demanded her card soldiers to take some students out and "off with their heads!" 

The Mad Hatter then invited us to his tea party, which in all its madness, started with a fabulous table of desserts, before moving into a dinner of chicken kebabs and twice-baked potatoes. Props to Beth Long and the parents who made the fabulous food. 
The AMAZING dessert table: meringues, cake pops, a chocolate fountain. The kids loved it.

The rest of the evening was filled with dancing to fun hits that ranged from Thriller to Single Ladies to Celebration to Gangnem Style. It was quite a night. 
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Oh, the cake pops.

The fun part about the evening is the contribution of the staff to make it happen. From planning, to decorations, to serving the food, to dressing up as characters, to running the games, to teaching the students how to do the Thriller Dance, it's a night that we work together to give the students a great time. And a great time was had by all! 


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Celebrating Easter!

Currently grading: Romeo and Juliet projects for my 8th graders. woot. 

I am blessed to live in a country where we actually have two Easters to celebrate! But as our pastor shared on Sunday morning, this should remind us to celebrate every day as a Resurrection Day.
Proudly wearing our Easter dresses

Elise's sister Grace is visiting right now, so the four of us delightedly put our Easter dresses and celebrated at our Sunday morning service, then invited eight friends over for lunch. Joy excitedly used her mom's Easter Sunday recipes of cranberry chicken, cheesy potatoes, and cheesy bread to make up our feast. 
Enjoying the Jellybean contributions that Grace brought as well!

Hoping that you all enjoyed your celebrations of our Savior's glorious return to life, and the joy that brings every day since.        

Sunday, February 17, 2013

A Flat Tire... In Ethiopia

Currently listening: Broadway, Here I Come (SMASH and Jeremy Jordan? Yes, thank you.)

             It started out like any other Saturday grocery shopping trip. My roommate, Joy and I, had hit up Shoa, where we get our meat, cheese, and general foodstuffs. Then, we went to Fantu, where they have the good cereal and other exotic foods. Finally, we made it to the Veggie Man to get our cheap, fresh veggies, and the friendly customer service that I’ve really only found in Ethiopia. They teach you the Amharic words for various fruits and vegetables, carry your bags to the car for you, and usually throw in a complimentary banana, just because they’re sweet.
            On this day, however, I turned around to head to our trusty Ford Ranger and saw that the back left tire was completely flat. Not just a little deflated, no obvious nails or gouges in the tire- but totally and utterly flat. Now being the responsible, strong women that we are, we walked over to the car and investigated a bit, seeing how we could work to solve the problem.
            Having had two flat tires this summer, I learned how to change it on my little Corolla. My dad made sure that I received the lesson of a lifetime in our church parking lot- loosen the lug nuts, get the jack under there, crank up the car, get the tire off, put on the spare… I knew what I was doing. (My roommate assured me that she had seen it before, but did not trust herself to be any sort of expert in this situation.)
            However, in this situation, there were a couple deterrents. 1) The Ford Ranger was slightly bigger than my Corolla, which means if it fell off the jack, it could really hurt. Plus, the spare tires in these cars are in a very different place, adding some initial confusion in step one of the process. 2) It was parked on the side of an Ethiopian road, where cars come careening around the corner with only a friendly beep to let you know they are there. 3) Being parked on the side of an Ethiopian road means that underneath the car is Ethiopian dirt, filled with trash and other things that I really do not want to be crawling on. So being the responsible, strong women we are, we pulled out our cell phones and started calling Bingham friends to find a big, strapping man to come rescue us.
            Thankfully, I live in a place where it does not only take a village to raise a child, it also takes one to change a tire. Once our Ethiopian friends at the store across the street realized our dilemma, they came over willing to jump in and solve our problems. We pulled out the tools from inside the truck, and they got to work. They were not deterred by the spare tire (apparently, on these vehicles, you have to crank it down from under the car), or by the Ethiopian drivers (there is enough beeping in this country, you get to a point that you join in and it doesn’t even phase you), or by the Ethiopian dirt (they brought a flat cardboard box to lay on- wise men).
The Trusty Ford Ranger... with a  dusty spare tire successfully on. 

            By the time our Bingham friends came to rescue us (a shout out to Jenn for bringing Dave to our aid), the helpful men just had to get the lock lug nut off (which would have happened earlier, if I would have found the tools for it when the guy asked me), and put the spare on. We cheered them on, paid them for a job well done, and got our groceries home only 45 minutes later than we planned.
            Thank God for helpful Ethiopian men and their willingness to help responsible, strong, ferenge women. 

(Unfortunately, I did not have my camera on hand for the event, so there is only an after picture. But next time we go, I hope to take a picture with our helpful men. To be posted at a later date.)

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Field Day!

Currently reading: The Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury- I love the Baxters!! 

Hello Friends! I apologize for the hiatus that I have unintentionally taken~ something about adding two classes and trying to stay on top of all the work that comes along with it. But I did want to share briefly with you some of the happenings going on here at Bingham; one of them being one of my favorite weekends of the year: Field Day!!
Some of my students competing!

Every year, the students have a chance to compete against one another in a two-day track and field event. The races range from 100m to 1600m, javelin to shotput, hurdles to three-legged race, students relays to staff relays. It's a great weekend filled with lots of sun, fun, and fellowship as we cheer on our teams. 
The precious kindergartners racing in their sacks! 

The school has three houses (Harry Potter style) competing against one another throughout the year, and this weekend plays into a majority of those points. The houses are named after missionaries: Peter Cameron Scott, William Carey, and Hudson Taylor, which respectively represent the colors of the Ethiopian flag: green, yellow, and red. GO TAYLOR!! 
Side note: I asked to be put on Taylor, since that was the house I was in as a student- and even without that knowledge, the powers that be had already put me there! It's good to wear the red once again. 
DJ-squared bringing you "Gleeful Pop!"

My role throughout the day varied from being a timer stationed at the finish line, participating in a "Sponge the Teacher Booth" for a student-council fundraiser (I learned some of my kids have too much pent up anger in their throwing arms), DJ-ing a "Gleeful Pop" hour with my roomie, Joy, and cheering on my students as they flew past me!
Doing the macarena during a spontaneous dance party before announcing the results. 

Despite the fact that Taylor once again gave up our rightful first place to Scott, I still love Field Day!! It's ok- we'll get them next year. GO TAYLOR!! 


Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Year in Review

Currently listening: Newsies Original Broadway Cast

Wishing you all a Happy New Year! As I'm sitting here working (procrastinating) on preparations for the semester, I think back to the crazy year it has been with student teaching, graduation, new jobs, friends getting engaged, moving to Ethiopia, starting my own teaching career... the list goes on. God has truly blessed my life in 2012 and shown his faithfulness again and again.

A look back to the epic year of 2012:



May: Graduation from Messiah College

October: Moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia


December: Celebrating our Christmas Gibsha (party) at Bingham



December: Trip to Southern Ethiopia




Here's to a great 2013!!