Lost in Translation
I went to Debre Zeit today (Oct. 14th) to spend time with the kids in the orphanage. The last couple of times I have been there have been for the sponsorship kids and I’ve been missing the ELOLAM kids. Anyways, on bus ride out there Mesfin told me that Meheret is actually a boy not a girl. Well, that changes everything. So, I threw some names fit for a little boy. At first I started with the meaning of a name and had it translated into Amharic. For example I asked what “God’s blessing” is in Amharic – it translates to Bereket. So for a while that was his new name. But the only Bereket I know is a girl and I couldn’t make it work for a little boy in my head. So I changed his name for the third time to Silas (pronounced See-las here). He is a tiny little thing with straight black hair and big eyes…he’s going to be good lookin’ when he’s older.
Ye Tilik Iat Tarik (The Story of the Big Rat)
Last night (Oct. 13th) I saw Tesfanesh put some of her dirty clothes in the gap between the backdoor door and the floor. I asked her why she would do this and she told me a story…it’s a true story, one that happened the previous night. (Aynalem has been sleeping in Tesfanesh’s room because her bed is broken.) After I had said good night and gone into my room to read Aynalem saw something big run into their room. She didn’t tell Tesfanesh but after a couple minutes Tesfanesh saw the same thing run out of her room. She scoured the whole house (except my room) for the fury creature. She didn’t tell me that she saw the big rat until the next night.
I said, ‘Why didn’t you tell me? It could be in my room right now.”
Her reply was, “No I think it went outside.”
“Tesfanesh! I sleep on a mattress on the floor! What if it went in my room?”
“Trust me, it went outside,” she said.
“Did you see it go outside?”
“No, but we looked every where for it and did not find it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
“I knew you wouldn’t sleep if I told you.”
“Good point. How big is big?”
“This big.” And she puts her hands about six inches apart and makes a fat body shape.
“Ewww. Gross. Are you sure you looked everywhere?”
“Yes.”
So now we put clothes in the gaps between the doors and floor – even I put a duffle bag under my door ‘just in case’. I looked for the rat but I didn’t find anything in my room. Oh the joys of renting a house.
Beauty Salon Part Two
I’ve been going to the beauty salon about once a week for the last month or so. Tuesday the three of us (Tesfanesh, Aynalem and I) went to get our hair done. It costs less than three dollars per person to have our hair washed with freezing cold water, put in curlers and dried, and either straightened or curled more. This time I decided on impulse to have them color my hair. I really should have thought about it twice. Anyways, the only box colors they had were blond and dark brown. So I chose the blond. It didn’t turn out too bad…I’m hoping it will fade a little. It’s a little ‘gold’ right now. Hahahahaha. I’ve had worse.
One of my Favorite Families
One of my favorite families lives next door to Tesfanesh’s brother. They have five children and live in a one-bedroom apartment. Their names are Tekle (the dad), Simeign (the mom), Nardos, Rhediet, Aboosh (this is just a nickname – I’m not sure what his real name is), Mesgana, and Eyobid. About a month ago I asked Tesfanesh if Aboosh had a school uniform because I hadn’t ever seen him in one. She said, “Of course. He wouldn’t be allowed to go to school if he didn’t.” Well, about a week ago she told me that she found out that he didn’t have a uniform and that Mesgana doesn’t either. Rhediet doesn’t have enough money for transportation to her school and that Eyobid isn’t going to school because they don’t have enough money for it. She also told me that this family often goes without food because they don’t have enough money. I asked what Tekle does for a job…he works in the church. No wonder they don’t have enough money – most churches here can’t afford to pay their staff on a regular basis. Simeign sews little scraps of material together to make children’s shirts and sells them in the merkato to make a little money. So I told them to make a list of how much they think it will cost for the kids to get uniforms, school supplies, school fees for the year and transportation. Anyone care to take a guess? Eighty-seven dollars – for the entire year, and that was estimating high. He had tears in his eyes when I gave him the money. He didn’t expect me to give it to him that night, but I was prepared. Transportation for Rhediet on a monthly basis is $5 USD and they are struggling to come up with that. I told them I would gladly cover that cost and give her extra so she can have lunch while she is at school. I also explained that people gave me money so I could do this. He wanted me to tell everyone, “Thank you so much. God bless you. You must have heard my prayers because you have answered them. I cannot tell you what is in my heart – I can only say thank you.” So on behalf of one of my favorite families – thank you for everyone who supports me, I get such joy from giving your money away.
October 15, 2009 at 11:02 pm |
What a nice looking family!