Vay-Cay

Hey there!  I wanted to give you some stories from my recent travels.  We decided not to go to Gonder, so our route covered the towns of Kombolcha, Lalibela, Bahir Dar and Debre Markos.  I am SO glad we drove.  We saw so many little towns along the way and so much scenery that would have been missed had we flown.  So, I guess it is a good thing we are poor and couldn’t afford to fly!  Here are some things worth noting:

-Mountains.  Ethiopia is full of them.  Who knew?!  Beautiful scenery.

-Fun wildlife: camels, baboons, lizards as well as tons of the usual cows, sheep, donkeys, horses, etc.  I think it will be weird to come back to the States and not see herds of animals walking down the street. 

-Squat toilets.  Lovely…let me tell you: I am pretty sure from now on the grossest public bathroom in the States will not be able to hold a candle to some of the toilets we found in the Ethiopian countryside.  Ish. 

-Hiking at 11,500 feet on Christmas.  Definitely my first time getting sunburned on Christmas!  It was a unique way to spend the day. 

-Cool old churches.  It was pretty awesome to be standing in churches built during the 1200s.  Not something you do everyday. 

-Having an entourage EVERYWHERE we went.  Within 30 seconds of exiting the car, we always had a crowd of young people (teenage boys and younger, usually) who followed us everywhere.  It definitely got annoying at times, but sometimes it was nice to have help with directions, etc. 

-Beautiful waterfalls. The Blue Nile Falls were wonderful.  And, as I said, it was awesome to see Lake Tana, too.  Three cheers for bodies of water!!!! 

-Fleas.  The little critters left their mark on me, for sure.  The lower half of my body looks like I am recovering from chicken pox.  I have heard we would have dealt with that in any hotel we stayed in, so, it makes me not regret that we only spent about $5.50 US per night wherever we stayed. 

-Getting a fresh perspective on Addis.  There are times when I feel like Addis is in the dark ages.  Seeing some more of the country made me realize that Addis really has everything I need.  And, it has been fun to realize that I have made some nice friends here and do feel “comfortable” here.  I think I’ll have a healthier perspective on this place for the next few months that I am here.

 I’ve included a few pics in this post.  I’ll upload the rest soon!!!  

Back

We got back to Addis today in one piece.  I am thankful!  Some of the roads we drove were seriously treacherous…bumpy mountainous roads along cliffs.  We saw numerous trucks flipped over and crushed along the way…along with at least one body (we aren’t sure whether dead or alive) on a stretcher.  So, thank the Lord for safe travels.  My plan is to upload my photos in the next day or so, so when that happens, I’ll write more.  Stay tuned! 

Travels

Hey!  We are about to go to dinner and so I only have a minute, but wanted to say hello from beautiful Bahir Dar.  We just pulled in a little over an hour ago.  Our hotel room is about 50 feet from the shores of Lake Tana…it is SO nice to be by a body of water!  How I have missed lakes!  Overall, our travels have been great–baboons, camels, traditional mud/straw huts, and tons of adorable children from the country have been the norm for the past few days.  We have seen some beautiful things and will continue to see more, I am sure.  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas (thank you so much to those who wrote to me…it was great to hear from you!) and I will update you more once I get to Addis. 

Merry Christmas!

I’m not sure what kind of internet access (or speed, more importantly) I’ll have during my travels, so I thought I’d send a little early Merry Christmas.  I hope that you all have wonderful celebrations in your respective places!  I was able to celebrate a little last night.  Becky, the missionary woman I know here, had me over for dinner. (This is the lady who grew up in Duluth).  Her house was decorated for Christmas and it felt so warm and familiar!  Also, a few businesses have started to play Christmas music, which is fun.  The weather still doesn’t allow me to consider it Christmas time, but, I’m getting there.  Now I know what my friends in the Southern US must feel like at Christmas!

 Also, sorry I haven’t posted pictures in awhile.  I will hopefully post some of the trip when I return.  For now, here is a photo taken last Sunday of Dr. Hamlin and I at church, as well as a photo of my Advanced Conversation class.  They are a great group.

 

Travel

I am leaving early Saturday morning for a week-long trip in Northern Ethiopia.  I am psyched.  A) it will be nice to see some scenery other than Addis and B) I think it will help to distract me from the fact it is Christmas and I’m not at home   I am travelling with Carlotta and two Danish girls (one of which we’ve never met before).  It will be nice to have some people to travel with.  We are visiting some cities on the historical route: Lalibela, Gonder and Bahir Dar.  If you are bored at any point over the next few days, you should google those to find out more information…they are supposedly three beautiful places!  

What I’ve learned After 3 Months

Here are some of the things I’ve learned from Ethiopia in the three months I have been here.

1. It is totally ok for men to hang pin-ups of other men.  Taxi drivers are the main culprits.  The English Premier League is HUGE here.  Ronaldo and David Beckham are the most popular faces.  They are everywhere, believe me.  T-shirts, posters, small cut outs, you name it. Photos of men compared to photos of women are 10 to 1.

2. Drinking cold water will make you sick.  Actually, drinking anything cold will make you sick.  Didn’t you know that? That is why they serve WARM coke unless you ask for it to be served cold.  I am pretty sure warm Coke HAS to be worse for you.

3. Any establishment whose bathroom provides toilet paper, soap and a way to dry your hands is a NICE place.  Honestly.  Those things we take for granted as standard in the States are the exceptions here.

4. I will kiss the ground in the US when I get back.  Honestly, there are things that I love here, but I will be ready to leave in a few months.  The stares, phones that don’t work, crappy job and never knowing if people REALLY want to be my friend or if they are just looking for a) money, b) visa, c) tutoring or d) maybe friendship gets old.  I know that people criticize the States for being too individualistic and anti-community, but I guess I honestly appreciate knowing where I stand with someone.  Sorry if I sound too negative…I guess I’m just a girl who wishes she was home with her loved ones for Christmas.

p.s. Thank you to whoever tried calling my cell phone yesterday afternoon!  I am unable to receive international calls on my cell (in that I can accept the call but can’t hear anything) unless it is during off hours here. I’m pretty sure if you called me between 1-6am (my time) it might go through.  My home phone works best, when it isn’t disconnected for some reason like it was last night, mom and dad. Sorry about that!  They are digging up my street and must have screwed it up.  Not surprising.

pray

I heard of a horrible situation this morning.  Please keep it in your prayers!

Jaywalking is taken to a new level here in Addis.  People are stupid, frankly. I literally saw a woman get snipped by a car this morning as she was climbing over the median on what they call the Ring Road (kind of a freeway that goes around the city).  Note to self: don’t walk across the freeway when cars are coming!  Well, my friend told me that there is a young Danish woman (20 years old) volunteering in Ethiopia and this weekend, she accidentally hit a young child who ran in front of her car and killed her.  Now, she is in an Ethiopian prison awaiting what comes next.  Now, it is horrible that a little girl died.  But, her family has CLAIMED responsibility saying that she ran in front of the car.  There is no saying what will happen to this Danish girl: will she be forgiven and released? Will she be given 10 years in prison?  Who knows.  Ethiopia is a place where reason is OFTEN ignored, I’ve discovered.  So, please keep this girl in prayer.  I can’t imagine what she is going through right now and I have no idea what could come next for her.

They made it!

I remember a friend in college once saying “I need to go buy some new jeans because all of my other ones were accidentally sent to Africa.”  This statement reveals two things: 1) Americans like to organize drives to send clothing to Africa and 2) There is a certain type of clothing that is sent to Africa.  Well, I want to assure all of you who have sent clothing at some point that it did indeed arrive.  I have seen clothing here that has no earthly business being here!  You know exactly the kinds of clothing that I mean: old t-shirts, sweatshirts and jackets that have been sitting in your drawer collecting dust since that volunteer event where you received it 3 years prior!  I have been especially impressed with the midwestern representation that I have seen…many a Lutheran church, I’m assuming, has had their hands full planning these drives.  Some of my favorites that I have seen include: a Rhinelander Girls Soccer sweatshirt, a Mankato Lacrosse t-shirt and a Macinac Island pullover.  I did also see a Green Bay Packers starter jacket…don’t know what corner of the basement someone pulled that out of! 

New PO!

Hey folks.  I have found a new PO box to use.  Very exciting!  So, for those of you who would like to, you can reach me at:

Lauren Swanstrom, PO Box 10692, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Some of you have asked things I might be interested in having.  Honestly, magazines and photos of YOU are what I’d be interested in receiving.  Dark chocolate and mints are always fun, too.

Also, if would by chance be interested in trying to call, here is my number again.  It would honestly be cheaper for you to call with a calling card than to send me something (hint, hint–I’d like to hear your voices!)  011-251-116-611-460.    Sunday nights, Tuesday nights and Thursday nights after 9:30pm my time (9 hours ahead of CST are a good time to try and catch me)

Ethiopia: The place where self-pity goes to die

I haven’t had running water for the past two days.  They are digging up our street and must have ruptured the water pipes.  Great.  So, that means I have been sleeping at my friend Elisabeth’s place for the past two nights (I’m very thankful for her!)  Not that you can’t survive without running water, but life is just so much easier with it.  It isn’t that I am furious or distraught about the water, but you could say that I have felt annoyed and frustrated a few times.  And, just like when I’ve experienced other frustrating things here, which believe me, I have fairly frequently, I find myself faced with someone or something in a state a million times worse than my own.  Coming face to face with their real pain or anguish makes me feel like the worst person in the world for even considering pitying myself.  Now, it may sound like I am being too hard on myself, and in some cases, perhaps I am being a little too tough.  But, in many of these instances, I have found that compared to the circumstances these people are facing, I have no right to complain.  For example, today as I was walking along I saw a beggar lying on the street who looked as though he had been burned with hot oil on one side of his head and face.  He was bald on one side, his face was disfigured and his body was weak because of his injuries.  Looking at this guy made not having water not so bad.  Also, I frequently see people who have HUGE feet due to elephantitis (who knew that actually still existed in the world?)  It makes those times (like today) when my feet hurt from walking around seem a little more bearable.  I hope it doesn’t seem like I’m up on a soapbox, though perhaps I’m too late, but I think being here has finally taught me the truth of the expression “it could be worse.”  For many people here, it usually is.