tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49165174615325027872023-11-16T02:44:48.190-08:00The Beels in EthiopiaOur experience of teaching summer school in the English Alive Academy in Nasret, Ethiopia where a quality education is provided for the poorest children.Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-38993865922957952152012-09-09T11:20:00.003-07:002012-09-09T11:20:40.433-07:00Goodbye Ethiopia<br />
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So it is our last day finally. The week was eventful with a trip to the Fistula
Clinic, a healing service and the Donkey Sanctuary. Funnily enough it took a long while to pack –
we have spread ourselves out over the weeks.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It has been a great experience and we have really enjoyed
ourselves and hopefully left behind some good memories for the children,
teachers and Dawit too. It is hard work
for him I am sure, answering questions, sorting out our problems and making
sure we are happy. This is on top of his
usual pressing tasks. So a big thanks to
him also.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However much we have enjoyed our experience in Ethiopia, we
can’t help but feel excited about our next adventure in the Sudan!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Watch out for the next blog and if you have enjoyed reading
this then feel free to look at my other blogs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here is the link to my blog about teaching in government Schools in The Sudan.</div>
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<a href="http://thebeelsinthesudan.blogspot.com/">Click here to read my blog on teaching in government schools in The Sudan</a></div>
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Our year teaching in government schools in the Republic of
Georgia (former Soviet Union).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="http://midnighttraintogeorgia2011.blogspot.com/2011/08/17-th-august-2011-8am-local-time-hi-all.html">Click here to view my my about our time teaching inGeorgia</a></o:p></div>
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Walking the Camino Ingles – the English route of the Camino
de Santiago de Compostella including details of our time walking the Camino
Portuguese and Camino Frances.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://camino-ingles-2010.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html">Click here to view my Camino Ingles Blog</a></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-78161186293132288102012-09-09T10:59:00.003-07:002012-09-09T10:59:59.500-07:00The Fistula Hospital<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15l5ogju8eoG3mPVeMv5iG2qBCVMAsXa_tRHBJ6xQaWPBu_RHz_UU2DOxcXJWLddMWmABofYW3B9fpPx8F-zomnj8S1S0bMBQnAC1e7sLnH2Q1Wkbpf1PbGqirn2qkHM6a0Prhz5y3WE/s1600/2009-banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15l5ogju8eoG3mPVeMv5iG2qBCVMAsXa_tRHBJ6xQaWPBu_RHz_UU2DOxcXJWLddMWmABofYW3B9fpPx8F-zomnj8S1S0bMBQnAC1e7sLnH2Q1Wkbpf1PbGqirn2qkHM6a0Prhz5y3WE/s320/2009-banner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.hamlinfistula.org/">Click here for the website to the Fistula Hospital</a><br />
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Fran the other volunteer plans to do her undergraduate
dissertation on attitudes to Fistula and so we went and visited the Hamlin
Fistula Hospital in Addis for some background information and for her to make
some contacts. I had heard about Fistula before this. In the Catholic Women’s League we regularly
donated money to an African Hospital – can’t remember which one. When I first heard about this problem it
struck me how for very little money you can truly change someone’s life. Some of these women sit in a hut outside,
away from everyone else, in their own mess, to such an extent that they cannot
walk as their muscles and tendons atrophy.
How awful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is some amazing work done by people, like you, in this
country and I am just trying to share with you what I have seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The most devastating
of all childbirth injuries</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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An obstetric fistula develops when the blood supply to the
tissues of the vagina and bladder (and/or rectum) is cut off during prolonged,
obstructed labour. The tissues die and a hole forms through which urine and/or
faeces pass uncontrollably. Women who develop fistulae are often abandoned by
their husbands, rejected by their communities and forced to live an isolated
existence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>More than two million
women live with fistula<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Eradicated in the “developed” world at the end of the 19th
century when caesarean section became widely available, obstetric fistula
continues to plague women throughout the developing world. It is estimated that
there are 100,000 new fistula cases each year, but the capacity to treat
fistula is only around 6,500 per year. The United Nations Population fund
(UNFPA) estimates the world’s population of fistula sufferers at more than two
million.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Nerve damage and
psychological trauma<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The WHO has called fistula “the single most dramatic
aftermath of neglected childbirth”. In addition to incontinence, a fistula
victim may also have nerve damage affecting their ankles and feet. If a woman
lies on her mat for a prolonged period of time, waiting for the urine to dry,
she may also develop contractions of the joints of her legs, as her muscles and
tendons shorten from lack of use, and be unable to walk. Fistula victims also
suffer profound psychological trauma resulting from their utter loss of status
and dignity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This hospital was started in 1974 by two doctors – Reginald
and Catherine Hamlin and it has grown today into a large concern with outreach centres in 5
locations, a residential village and training for midwives, now having treated
over 30,000 with a success rate of over
90%. Even Oprah has donated money
for a rehabilitation wing.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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This link is to the autobiography of one of the founders Dr
Catherine Hamlin.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Hospital-By-River-Story/dp/1854246739/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345891050&sr=8-1">Link to the Webpage for this book on Amazon</a></div>
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Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-58237088055753991252012-09-09T10:59:00.002-07:002012-09-09T10:59:37.634-07:00The Healing Service<br />
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We had been watching a programme on the TV that was the
coverage of a big healing service that was somewhere in Africa. It was a huge event and we saw a lot of
people being healed. It was fascinating
because it was so dramatic and un-English.
The problems were perhaps the same; priest who has bad knees tot eh
extent that he cannot go to the toilet unaided; woman who doesn’t love her
husband and has no feelings towards him but it was very dramatic. Bandages were waved about, woman now relaxed
and happy next to her non-communicative husband.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I asked Dawit if he thought these were genuine and he said
he did. This prompted a big discussion
about the whole topic – is it made up? People believe anything etc. But we were all intrigued and said that we would
like to go to a healing service. So
Dawit arranged for us to go to one.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It started at 2 and for the first hour or so there was a lot
of singing and prayer. It was all in
Amharic and so we couldn’t understand what we being said but we just thought
about things in our own way. Dawit
translated as best he could and I whispered into the ear of Martin and then
whispered to Fran. After a long while,
Martin nipped out for a fag and so missed the entrance of the leader
himself. He was a charismatic and
commanding figure and he started to prophesise straight away. “There is someone who can’t sit still and has
a problem with cigarettes”. Dawit
translated for me. “Is that
Martin?!” I said “It sounds like it”
said Dawit “Did you tell him?” I asked - was my first thought as Dawit had been
on a prayer retreat the previous week.
It seemed incredible that he would choose Martin but Dawit insisted that
he had said nothing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Martin was called back and stood up in front of the
crowd. It was a rabbit in the headlines
moment. Dawit translated. “How are you feeling?” The man asked “Here?” He pointed to his heart. “Fine.“ said Martin with a self-conscious
giggle. “You have an addiction to
smoking” the man continued. “In 2 years 3 months you will have a big operation. You will have a scar from here to here.” He made an imaginary cut from the top of his
chest to his stomach. “I can pray with
you and deliver of your addiction” He said.
Martin clearly didn’t know what to do or say to this and the man told
him to “sit down and pray to be open to God” and so that’s what he did. <o:p></o:p></div>
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With Martin sat down, the man continued, and a long list of
people came up and were healed. Someone
stood up and was trying to edge out of the room, but like the unwitting target
of the man going to the toilet during a stand-up comic’s act, the man pounced
on him and told him about his business problems and a man named …… and so he
got a healing as well. After another
couple of hours Martin dared to go outside for another cigarette and meanwhile
the prophecies and healings continued. I
have been to a number of healing services and they are mostly like this but
this is Africa and there is a heavy dependence of witchcraft and there were a
lot of people with problems related to their involvement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Towards the end people were called up for healing of
sickness so I went up and asked for a healing for my arthritis and Dawit went
up for a pain in his chest. As I said I
have been to a number of healing services like this and was not fazed at all by
people crying and falling over. But what
was different was that he used a mike and did a lot of blowing out of air which
sounds really loud through a mike and he poked people’s stomachs. He did this to me and also gave a little slap
on my chest, just below my throat and blew on my face which is kind of
startling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We had been there for 6 hours and most people had been
prayed for we were waiting for him to return to Martin. Finally he said that he hadn’t prayed for him
because he went out for a smoke and was not listening to the message. He then then called out to him “God loves you
and he has saved you for many car accidents.”
Martin then says “Oh yes that’s true – we were in a near miss accident
just after arriving in Ethiopia!”
However Martin had made his choice and so we left, all feeling a little
strange and made our way back in record time from Addis to Nasret and were very
quiet in the car.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I wold like to say that I woke up with no pain in my hands
the next morning but that wasn’t the case.
However, I have reduced the steroids by half and am only taking one
other painkiller instead of three with no difference in the pain level so maybe
it is just a matter of time. I don’t
know how these things work!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Martin had his last cigarette outside our hotel room that
night and he has not smoked since, that’s 6 days.<o:p></o:p><br />
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So please keep us
both in your thoughts and prayers x<o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-51574521893725530762012-09-09T10:59:00.001-07:002012-09-09T10:59:28.584-07:00The Donkey Sanctuary<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SLTtgxYwXsZ-9HC5xPrnsvT3MLxuKEIWjre9hcHCirEtlkSnVR8-LhlNifrbBHGjY4KHz6JyZxveaF-saF1esS6SyargGCmAkfr02Aguj3EGC8xK-JHEulRK_g-f1dkeVo_1Eb97zcc/s1600/070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0SLTtgxYwXsZ-9HC5xPrnsvT3MLxuKEIWjre9hcHCirEtlkSnVR8-LhlNifrbBHGjY4KHz6JyZxveaF-saF1esS6SyargGCmAkfr02Aguj3EGC8xK-JHEulRK_g-f1dkeVo_1Eb97zcc/s400/070.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are going on a school trip to the Donkey Sanctuary</td></tr>
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Fran had visited the Donkey Sanctuary the previous week and
so we decided that this would be a fitting location for the Summer School Trip
for the Grade school student as it wasn’t too far away, was educational and me
and Martin hadn’t seen it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Donkey Sanctuary is part of the University of Addis
Ababa veterinary department and was founded by an English vet with its purpose
to treat and care for sick donkeys.
Donkeys and horses are widely used in Ethiopia as beasts of burden and
their care is neglected through lack of education by their owners. The sanctuary has a surgery and runs a day
clinic where people can bring their donkeys and horses for medical treatment.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeKVugI6zJU04dbP-R_IKdJrw_-He1TgWsjya3ZkBuyO1Zs45Nx0iiNl2zZanlcClukX5arCAwtinBkzlX6nJ6itNaGHgopd24Zfq4JpA2CWkJ29Kn_UsaCi481Z383O0ROmW8xZ6Cbc/s1600/DonkeySanctuaryMasterTabLogo-Sanctuary-20120807.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAeKVugI6zJU04dbP-R_IKdJrw_-He1TgWsjya3ZkBuyO1Zs45Nx0iiNl2zZanlcClukX5arCAwtinBkzlX6nJ6itNaGHgopd24Zfq4JpA2CWkJ29Kn_UsaCi481Z383O0ROmW8xZ6Cbc/s200/DonkeySanctuaryMasterTabLogo-Sanctuary-20120807.png" width="144" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/view/ethiopia">Website for the Donkey Sanctuary</a></div>
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The children were very excited about going on a trip and for
some, it was the first time they had been out of Nasret. The day was a great success and Dawit and
Stephanie plan to invite the Sactuary’s school visiting project to come and
work with the children at the school in the future. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJl4oed5Sq6hn-WFEoMe6AXa0ZZs2BKNIzbSH9VnWI8WweQ04sYWzh8PuwcYr3zRc4VsdLUGU0lFKheQJBZSBcbeeVECVubvBG4ZF2jsMMBzrqTQxGh8CpPKxmBFj-e7o7bHFbqYt75M/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJl4oed5Sq6hn-WFEoMe6AXa0ZZs2BKNIzbSH9VnWI8WweQ04sYWzh8PuwcYr3zRc4VsdLUGU0lFKheQJBZSBcbeeVECVubvBG4ZF2jsMMBzrqTQxGh8CpPKxmBFj-e7o7bHFbqYt75M/s400/018.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the donkeys being treated; the one in the front got bitten by a hyena.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QerdASFM5ZIAIFYWCALQO6ecb5oBv0DZigWza18YeuYmgWXymoI4iXccbAkKxW_0GErWR07jfsVe5qNVwfUUqEVAQKm4WXO1_m_ofiIze_cAS-SvVxxtg6PcE7et2hdgKXHCkzi4IeQ/s1600/060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3QerdASFM5ZIAIFYWCALQO6ecb5oBv0DZigWza18YeuYmgWXymoI4iXccbAkKxW_0GErWR07jfsVe5qNVwfUUqEVAQKm4WXO1_m_ofiIze_cAS-SvVxxtg6PcE7et2hdgKXHCkzi4IeQ/s400/060.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A brilliant picture and yes the donkey is doing what you think it is!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiY4t-x-rXIqcXzQaYGU55Nuyc5OjP6BEY1NR2sC9mlJT8PJop_zH_ZLiyVur2onyiBsuIaSelHlBHmUJEjch8pC6Q_u_X3m70t3RXXGUxz_HUwUHenn3udolLUe1yBNO9YKhZ42Bcqco/s1600/059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiY4t-x-rXIqcXzQaYGU55Nuyc5OjP6BEY1NR2sC9mlJT8PJop_zH_ZLiyVur2onyiBsuIaSelHlBHmUJEjch8pC6Q_u_X3m70t3RXXGUxz_HUwUHenn3udolLUe1yBNO9YKhZ42Bcqco/s400/059.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donkey Ambulance</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqC86m8psdfWc2qvSCpguSLBlE3tNynClmadI3JI7nHkgZdbcyWvrJrjN2pnSEndjtVewmMjn1yibVXr6o_bz1RiqLLkNFtOuzp7b4ZrbI0xnl6XYHaP0NjzeiosY_uv91SvxQrH_mwLU/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqC86m8psdfWc2qvSCpguSLBlE3tNynClmadI3JI7nHkgZdbcyWvrJrjN2pnSEndjtVewmMjn1yibVXr6o_bz1RiqLLkNFtOuzp7b4ZrbI0xnl6XYHaP0NjzeiosY_uv91SvxQrH_mwLU/s400/022.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wall poster - education room</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7sTyuG2iam7VrhEuC8nFU0_wOnj38RaH0br0xDT1dC0RLmM5WwCDeZ9Id1AXukaF-t5rOcS8O5izA9oKNFWB3CIkeHgH2cAW5HJSPBjr0Us3Bddz3mrSYZVjw8J7pWpoKQIeu7oCBHY/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic7sTyuG2iam7VrhEuC8nFU0_wOnj38RaH0br0xDT1dC0RLmM5WwCDeZ9Id1AXukaF-t5rOcS8O5izA9oKNFWB3CIkeHgH2cAW5HJSPBjr0Us3Bddz3mrSYZVjw8J7pWpoKQIeu7oCBHY/s400/021.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wall poster - education room</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9_m2pUizjW3kSjFVAknz6PcHDx206MI3eXBZOjDrkrU-MkOw03FDIbchSkVAnKJf2mjyX8nvmgs8uz6Tgum1-6z9YQCSBSieI_J5iWutmcPe_b6rKdY9PLtmGeg60HL3uU-R3MyYXRY/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA9_m2pUizjW3kSjFVAknz6PcHDx206MI3eXBZOjDrkrU-MkOw03FDIbchSkVAnKJf2mjyX8nvmgs8uz6Tgum1-6z9YQCSBSieI_J5iWutmcPe_b6rKdY9PLtmGeg60HL3uU-R3MyYXRY/s400/029.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Operating Theatre</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWYfqgq4o-I-BfGX39CMwA-kj4tawWbkWW41hKmvJD_wQtvCUJRULWF0O2yUbK5qL1J01zd3Cw2mTRJbrhrCvLayR_1DQlORUFMtYjtk4PqJmyFBIVisl6ZtsaIHvREq7dsorz8m2xVw/s1600/041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWYfqgq4o-I-BfGX39CMwA-kj4tawWbkWW41hKmvJD_wQtvCUJRULWF0O2yUbK5qL1J01zd3Cw2mTRJbrhrCvLayR_1DQlORUFMtYjtk4PqJmyFBIVisl6ZtsaIHvREq7dsorz8m2xVw/s400/041.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retrieved form the insides of animals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLmU1KzMLQv7IljJeLWwz_iU6qCpIzYpm8pxoDaogfzDWhWsQaNMoXTDiLHu_sURDDvG8PkHi5TmduYZQe9vpnU_bMtIyMYG7psCKHdSxJzNPBaHO9dEwIKNZ1nOAEwID0BYhQ_3h0rI/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLmU1KzMLQv7IljJeLWwz_iU6qCpIzYpm8pxoDaogfzDWhWsQaNMoXTDiLHu_sURDDvG8PkHi5TmduYZQe9vpnU_bMtIyMYG7psCKHdSxJzNPBaHO9dEwIKNZ1nOAEwID0BYhQ_3h0rI/s400/037.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wormy things that donkeys may have</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHANv8Hz4s-IzTG-Kp-EgkKTR4iSWZegsmEIPEtns2TrzaVQvmFZKG4UCxZ08JmWicTHqwKP6SHqZVheQYflrTQearGOtokpae9_LtleK9l9fR8khWQRl-qdQYwkmEa3GPVJD-HKh9wM/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibHANv8Hz4s-IzTG-Kp-EgkKTR4iSWZegsmEIPEtns2TrzaVQvmFZKG4UCxZ08JmWicTHqwKP6SHqZVheQYflrTQearGOtokpae9_LtleK9l9fR8khWQRl-qdQYwkmEa3GPVJD-HKh9wM/s400/032.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fascinated Children</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g1hsmOOulrPLTyE4Pm_Vbjda6HZ0LyjVXWFv0-wQHQUcWMlVpAbI6gN-XrnDgrT5vSfLCycT6JF_c_rBGbE0isskzR7utru76VHeIfgyFuk39CSIpxlhGdwIZISMlnXreA_ASRnPpKc/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3g1hsmOOulrPLTyE4Pm_Vbjda6HZ0LyjVXWFv0-wQHQUcWMlVpAbI6gN-XrnDgrT5vSfLCycT6JF_c_rBGbE0isskzR7utru76VHeIfgyFuk39CSIpxlhGdwIZISMlnXreA_ASRnPpKc/s400/065.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here we all are!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrl4C8s2LqtWG1Qt27BVuSO8h1fE0bAfpWvUTOdTraCq8j_up20ZVVSZIlTENhE_eSQEwMc6mVAZ6b2Vi9_GT1gFgUYXolYO8jDKn-wf4_cdmJ2oQFTM3fYprfRgLsvkjk9EZaF6Nz23Q/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrl4C8s2LqtWG1Qt27BVuSO8h1fE0bAfpWvUTOdTraCq8j_up20ZVVSZIlTENhE_eSQEwMc6mVAZ6b2Vi9_GT1gFgUYXolYO8jDKn-wf4_cdmJ2oQFTM3fYprfRgLsvkjk9EZaF6Nz23Q/s400/003.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44umQQFz_yDbB4zP_UhjJ5-CzLrk5e5RQNMtlJnxrHmQp53Fxgel68SU1uY3e71RT6tFzjlK6TdSRcDaut7AvHkpieZT31kVL14IBECSmv4CIVmtfL5Fzv7vQHQ3Xmwl4WlBv4dv1jGs/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44umQQFz_yDbB4zP_UhjJ5-CzLrk5e5RQNMtlJnxrHmQp53Fxgel68SU1uY3e71RT6tFzjlK6TdSRcDaut7AvHkpieZT31kVL14IBECSmv4CIVmtfL5Fzv7vQHQ3Xmwl4WlBv4dv1jGs/s400/002.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A van full of happy kids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span id="goog_734507327"></span><span id="goog_734507328"></span><br /></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-75518801236982154232012-09-09T08:37:00.003-07:002012-09-09T08:37:59.048-07:00The Goodbyes Begin!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiad-NYBNVtySFgMgJf1RoifGAqW1FOWj6quoa7VIqVQGm_Qu1w8dQKvtNkhtlgyTKXNpd_RQqOe91wnDqDU-J-UpsDdM49RFY5JSe644L0uqM9zNynXSK7WMJOOUIZCIO_cnyeCTLKf2E/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiad-NYBNVtySFgMgJf1RoifGAqW1FOWj6quoa7VIqVQGm_Qu1w8dQKvtNkhtlgyTKXNpd_RQqOe91wnDqDU-J-UpsDdM49RFY5JSe644L0uqM9zNynXSK7WMJOOUIZCIO_cnyeCTLKf2E/s320/065.JPG" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grinding the Coffee for the ceremony</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXtLo2GRC0a8IEKwuyPoxwsC0cWlu1QA0NJ1gasApYHWVdXaXUmFDOnuH3yhAMYfaFFoiTvrtr_cSFMyWLMyiawI4TxJAlIZjl1-jHz6gwHl768axZRoaxNWrnoGsBS6Bghd0w_Xjv4c/s1600/069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXtLo2GRC0a8IEKwuyPoxwsC0cWlu1QA0NJ1gasApYHWVdXaXUmFDOnuH3yhAMYfaFFoiTvrtr_cSFMyWLMyiawI4TxJAlIZjl1-jHz6gwHl768axZRoaxNWrnoGsBS6Bghd0w_Xjv4c/s400/069.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the coffee ceremony</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EA7-0E2jD_qcBIuZtVLPILxx_a0DNLQg2OQ2fUigwDdQNFkJQEnJ8CYiTlKu-tcyw-esn6DH4y7BIGq-b5iOc3woU_BdFobsVfTskToP3FnGa4BDCf6t71GPw_3F2vvq8myK7k_S4_E/s1600/070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9EA7-0E2jD_qcBIuZtVLPILxx_a0DNLQg2OQ2fUigwDdQNFkJQEnJ8CYiTlKu-tcyw-esn6DH4y7BIGq-b5iOc3woU_BdFobsVfTskToP3FnGa4BDCf6t71GPw_3F2vvq8myK7k_S4_E/s400/070.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In we go with Seble throwing home made confetti over us!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff0nyleHIdrQaPoh18lhSLqFOtp9SGTbdR19KROtC03Q-H2x96mUxjVqtU1vm6_02ogRT1cRWX2ESW04Xa-YGIOy7p6yaVz7enCsv-8EhP2oBqq5Uf4w4xh4qFJ6mJXx6XBKPT5hh9rQ/s1600/071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgff0nyleHIdrQaPoh18lhSLqFOtp9SGTbdR19KROtC03Q-H2x96mUxjVqtU1vm6_02ogRT1cRWX2ESW04Xa-YGIOy7p6yaVz7enCsv-8EhP2oBqq5Uf4w4xh4qFJ6mJXx6XBKPT5hh9rQ/s400/071.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for some nice coffee!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The teachers were preparing for the coffee ceremony in the
nursery as the last of the children left and so it was a nice surprise for us
to find everything ready.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was lovely to all sit together to say goodbye. We got to know some of the teachers better
than others as teachers worked in particular classes and also not all the
teachers came to English / computer classes.
But it was a lovely ending on that Friday afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next week we will only teach the language-only class but are
continuing with the now combined Computer-English lessons with the
teachers. In fact we are taking them to
the Dire Hotel on Sunday (pronounced
deer-ray haha) to show them how to use email and search on the internet.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvg6p6o9NB-giuwA0Lmhc0SuicFY527dXueV98nFs9iILqG_X-zMUx3eK_vtQuzVE2uZc6Vk5sSVbwfVmoe-XCWD-6KJYdWh7AbXEgO5rjq3BGUri2icTnxbaYXJdcEEJaQZVIcJJhXI/s1600/067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZvg6p6o9NB-giuwA0Lmhc0SuicFY527dXueV98nFs9iILqG_X-zMUx3eK_vtQuzVE2uZc6Vk5sSVbwfVmoe-XCWD-6KJYdWh7AbXEgO5rjq3BGUri2icTnxbaYXJdcEEJaQZVIcJJhXI/s400/067.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More confetti!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3zBmyRpEgB3mLw7lTp6cIKiBzpEVlHHqSvo_pe0c-7CACgvhibkGhJPyL1f-7t_vY3r7AgNYl2TdQBw-evrJD6XGgnoYnIvQvNQGlPuS27g3x3eVH6LfwmdpuIFI6pYQduhfM-ZEuTk/s1600/092.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX3zBmyRpEgB3mLw7lTp6cIKiBzpEVlHHqSvo_pe0c-7CACgvhibkGhJPyL1f-7t_vY3r7AgNYl2TdQBw-evrJD6XGgnoYnIvQvNQGlPuS27g3x3eVH6LfwmdpuIFI6pYQduhfM-ZEuTk/s400/092.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the coffee</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-UIwJaIPR8gm24eabJ_rB1dYOq6B7NYH7Mt9OSfP_IVmEy0YIwiV2hhoRkVnpelz7FLWg5y53g1geWQBPlOnBQ3hjLAMmLzCCD551WMcUulFBcmTbj7u1uAZPJ1RbrJsFlBsumNNyCs/s1600/068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii-UIwJaIPR8gm24eabJ_rB1dYOq6B7NYH7Mt9OSfP_IVmEy0YIwiV2hhoRkVnpelz7FLWg5y53g1geWQBPlOnBQ3hjLAMmLzCCD551WMcUulFBcmTbj7u1uAZPJ1RbrJsFlBsumNNyCs/s400/068.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJptiA8wd9wdg1XCFGjFNz-rh8S2cyFIx1Wi4C45pSR8NsBZ6EMeCkC9UkSRH7v8jdvmXw3sKtIblgElQRzUxlKLrtEi6WZEFzGDGqTIKHFBIhCVNgI0ye9mzqShgepqlQB2QPOTm34w/s1600/098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMJptiA8wd9wdg1XCFGjFNz-rh8S2cyFIx1Wi4C45pSR8NsBZ6EMeCkC9UkSRH7v8jdvmXw3sKtIblgElQRzUxlKLrtEi6WZEFzGDGqTIKHFBIhCVNgI0ye9mzqShgepqlQB2QPOTm34w/s400/098.JPG" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coffee, Popcorn and bread!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-86695075372612927202012-09-09T08:37:00.000-07:002012-09-09T08:37:28.974-07:00Gold Silver Bronze and Goodbye!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We hoped that we would be able to finish the Long Jump, High
Jump and shot put the next day and then do the medal giving and play some party
games but we were far too optimistic!
Firstly, it was pouring with rain again and so we went to the Grade
School first and then to the KG school by which time the rain had still not
stopped. So we went straight for the
ceremony!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My big classroom was set up with chairs at one end and a low
stool, medium chair and higher chair were arranged Olympic style for the medal
giving. An Ethiopian flag was produced
and three of the older girls were chosen to be medal carriers. We were waiting for one of the teachers to
return with the biscuits so there was a bit of a delay in starting and the
children were really good, just sitting there patiently, even the 2 year
olds! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was a good opportunity to let everyone see the pictures
from the day before and so I walked round with my laptop and the pictures on
slideshow with some rousing music playing that we had dug up – The Final
Countdown (doo-doo-loo-doo-doo), ‘We are Young’. It was the best we could do under such short
notice haha! It was a nice touch and it
went down well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiN6yB5ZmWcjbRnYWfDsoj_0XtXW5Y3eaA1P-BXtMtOyx9T_0lUtrmw4xuQJULhrdUvxEBroONFSIti-V25-04zjFpVF3A1QKN0o2dD_5Bveib-_-MkkklqHf7DV9_HCPJWDms3-Wot8/s1600/003+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiN6yB5ZmWcjbRnYWfDsoj_0XtXW5Y3eaA1P-BXtMtOyx9T_0lUtrmw4xuQJULhrdUvxEBroONFSIti-V25-04zjFpVF3A1QKN0o2dD_5Bveib-_-MkkklqHf7DV9_HCPJWDms3-Wot8/s400/003+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing the children pictures of the races from the day before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAazsqV8aV-Cu9LDvLfVPZ_mmynY-dMn53RFubonCXUtLy3QV1fKRaH_Ep1Jqh8iyzMTXc9t888lKGMLCADxCNN9RQP8NyyLoc4PmygYh7S5bw-zjd6UAX211ZSlYrfi4p7wuEWqvCZQ/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwAazsqV8aV-Cu9LDvLfVPZ_mmynY-dMn53RFubonCXUtLy3QV1fKRaH_Ep1Jqh8iyzMTXc9t888lKGMLCADxCNN9RQP8NyyLoc4PmygYh7S5bw-zjd6UAX211ZSlYrfi4p7wuEWqvCZQ/s400/004.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They thought it was great!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The ceremony opened with the children singing the Ethiopian
National anthem and the stage was set.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0Yht79IU3skKfL7IbqpTbp9D_YyoQK1wx0NigJUzedbIrKCJOoIL7D2ep00vdKl-t-bfcUdmSHB2zYBYQp_vSiGf5knh6G1ZbQV9XbWue1S7pMSInFD67bciD-U9-0X__OPxI97He_Q/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0Yht79IU3skKfL7IbqpTbp9D_YyoQK1wx0NigJUzedbIrKCJOoIL7D2ep00vdKl-t-bfcUdmSHB2zYBYQp_vSiGf5knh6G1ZbQV9XbWue1S7pMSInFD67bciD-U9-0X__OPxI97He_Q/s400/011.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singing the National Anthem</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Names were called, children stood on chairs, Martin shook hands and
placed medals over heads and Fran kissed and wrapped the flag. I took photos. Children returned to seats and so on. Many children received more than one
medal. Mainly due to the fact that
medals were given for individual heats as well as the finals! Oh dear never mind – there were none for the
abandoned events so plenty to go round.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigE_Qs40Z14LXwDEzDO5WJgobFnQE-IYGIEtLX9dxfPYMLbF7-90aW9PReh7tRicshC5m0RMy_Jf_nZDOfthVr9KSy5yY-b6eRofkTKkeWsk51LMnO0qCPpVcPa68UTAyDEgC6Ca2B0kM/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigE_Qs40Z14LXwDEzDO5WJgobFnQE-IYGIEtLX9dxfPYMLbF7-90aW9PReh7tRicshC5m0RMy_Jf_nZDOfthVr9KSy5yY-b6eRofkTKkeWsk51LMnO0qCPpVcPa68UTAyDEgC6Ca2B0kM/s400/017.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very excited about the medal giving</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFc3ujhVjREVisdLaOD_fkHm7w3EyhVx8LH1M7nctaafzWrhWnPTdPiBtVVAJzOM-flLjuObZapobWMIpv9MqwvLGvaKJybo_E53j6bQhkmdQyi1rMZK7tOu5fIkwmxusQFxUpCBRFjw/s400/029.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These littl'uns were so good sitting for ages </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiMSTzj9APEHl2-iajBNxAmMj0Q5YdydcTETnZEdmXcB1gOqQiB1DWhAYM4iAKPynoXllg9EC7s83HfvcKHXLxYoFNJdbOIrTXR46uUXYqtRxVTGG_aEG3gsQiE9FnrJbUD_GYFoahIg/s1600/126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuiMSTzj9APEHl2-iajBNxAmMj0Q5YdydcTETnZEdmXcB1gOqQiB1DWhAYM4iAKPynoXllg9EC7s83HfvcKHXLxYoFNJdbOIrTXR46uUXYqtRxVTGG_aEG3gsQiE9FnrJbUD_GYFoahIg/s400/126.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kisses from Fran</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDFc3ujhVjREVisdLaOD_fkHm7w3EyhVx8LH1M7nctaafzWrhWnPTdPiBtVVAJzOM-flLjuObZapobWMIpv9MqwvLGvaKJybo_E53j6bQhkmdQyi1rMZK7tOu5fIkwmxusQFxUpCBRFjw/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span id="goog_1108752974"></span><span id="goog_1108752975"></span></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3qUuM8lOhf2eYzRMI599WwVMOR_volfuXpny0eyEoIEL9z4rkjH20UsQ_5Wl5RgS_Z9ao1RoNoXQP4neYPq_dT8ZzKK1eg4LhDDSsz7sAHEjlvNAaxPe9KsRZ96n-rW1E7rbtNyeJI8/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3qUuM8lOhf2eYzRMI599WwVMOR_volfuXpny0eyEoIEL9z4rkjH20UsQ_5Wl5RgS_Z9ao1RoNoXQP4neYPq_dT8ZzKK1eg4LhDDSsz7sAHEjlvNAaxPe9KsRZ96n-rW1E7rbtNyeJI8/s400/034.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winners</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXT0PFTMo8IRFLJOxDj2X29toF5zqIozTytFxT_ApgCuBcbG3l3PkzUv2IHZGzia4X1OSgbnmWwOth4BmZMykZ1k4xrNbW0bCajyzlH6rTM108YLqmV5LEo14HMY00GryfSWoKi61G5k/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXT0PFTMo8IRFLJOxDj2X29toF5zqIozTytFxT_ApgCuBcbG3l3PkzUv2IHZGzia4X1OSgbnmWwOth4BmZMykZ1k4xrNbW0bCajyzlH6rTM108YLqmV5LEo14HMY00GryfSWoKi61G5k/s400/039.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winners!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98ylxztIuDsy_6Xn0lVdhpGLx34DvsnjGTDS0Apum5tGlI6FONjvv67SfQN6vWdZVF4f31uld1TG6VQOdfn5TfSdoCMie0-9qwFzVVDZMXIJrEE6q9HnApNXxRmgpvday7PvS0BKg-6A/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh98ylxztIuDsy_6Xn0lVdhpGLx34DvsnjGTDS0Apum5tGlI6FONjvv67SfQN6vWdZVF4f31uld1TG6VQOdfn5TfSdoCMie0-9qwFzVVDZMXIJrEE6q9HnApNXxRmgpvday7PvS0BKg-6A/s400/042.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin vigorously pumping the poor boy's arms until they came out of their sockets.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrNmSPY9HkOe198L2yGKmMedCYoyfdHU4B4g5EbapgNNq-Ki4HDBQbYkx4rvEXkwvwErmLSSL00L811YRNYP3EvXWfqvtKMVlvkckgjMblDjWb0Mi1d8bDAUnnOSy01hE4j-aipjjn5s/s1600/044+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGrNmSPY9HkOe198L2yGKmMedCYoyfdHU4B4g5EbapgNNq-Ki4HDBQbYkx4rvEXkwvwErmLSSL00L811YRNYP3EvXWfqvtKMVlvkckgjMblDjWb0Mi1d8bDAUnnOSy01hE4j-aipjjn5s/s400/044+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More winners!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx3-hfb08dc2bUTuFdguQhs_BMzGNQlVC3T5lPZwHoe8etD7IdEFTi9gN5Vxdw0WIXV0z-X2JHVP6HOfcwlnk1kWLOJHucd59NdWqXe-rZtckzf0IZVo-J551k8dg2nf2wMkfoLttejY/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPx3-hfb08dc2bUTuFdguQhs_BMzGNQlVC3T5lPZwHoe8etD7IdEFTi9gN5Vxdw0WIXV0z-X2JHVP6HOfcwlnk1kWLOJHucd59NdWqXe-rZtckzf0IZVo-J551k8dg2nf2wMkfoLttejY/s400/051.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Three-legged race winners!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6W6RqkhMB1Kj8xDrQySzjGVeLyTWcift-sE1GAkz-62GQ9GWOmrBa-ueQLigLLX3BH2CM5RVL05_d3W1CQ4V5IDtsZJXNXWM3S58Bgqhj6dY2ZXx4imAZ73Focgj32lYRwarHyrA-Xi8/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6W6RqkhMB1Kj8xDrQySzjGVeLyTWcift-sE1GAkz-62GQ9GWOmrBa-ueQLigLLX3BH2CM5RVL05_d3W1CQ4V5IDtsZJXNXWM3S58Bgqhj6dY2ZXx4imAZ73Focgj32lYRwarHyrA-Xi8/s400/052.JPG" width="336" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very pelased with themselves!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmho4sW-ofjfTefHD6TLTxGpF55r4kATE6xDG20TnaL9wwEqkEiOdGohqxTjk1WGKpL6KOVxZ6yTD9wiAF_im4Af6_Z1_dgLNG3by-zjcAQq8CV971ZA6P-DpRg6d9GyErFb9yYRxfsZU/s1600/186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmho4sW-ofjfTefHD6TLTxGpF55r4kATE6xDG20TnaL9wwEqkEiOdGohqxTjk1WGKpL6KOVxZ6yTD9wiAF_im4Af6_Z1_dgLNG3by-zjcAQq8CV971ZA6P-DpRg6d9GyErFb9yYRxfsZU/s400/186.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finalists of the teacher's race receiving their medals</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4gVdzc7Y8IzFN_3aP9DHxeTPS3OAYuozVT-Wp7cWq1PVLlQpuVEy9XFVceKWcwMxfIbGSkmTEbqbqjsit2e0YngtkAjjDRld4w-IEnib7gr7UK8oNan7o6C208iWaKRBA48chtux9PQ/s1600/188+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-4gVdzc7Y8IzFN_3aP9DHxeTPS3OAYuozVT-Wp7cWq1PVLlQpuVEy9XFVceKWcwMxfIbGSkmTEbqbqjsit2e0YngtkAjjDRld4w-IEnib7gr7UK8oNan7o6C208iWaKRBA48chtux9PQ/s400/188+(2).jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Champions!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__Tt6DG3s-WvED-n4KdBHUCnCZSybWnCE4GfFsENBGranU8yBM59_Tm4mcuO3fKZIwETxDlovsWxtW_M4_pY18ZlfpEZywvkNA_ud_SY5i48FOXJPgEGQapYdkrcUoKhXGD2rxOikR1s/s1600/194.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__Tt6DG3s-WvED-n4KdBHUCnCZSybWnCE4GfFsENBGranU8yBM59_Tm4mcuO3fKZIwETxDlovsWxtW_M4_pY18ZlfpEZywvkNA_ud_SY5i48FOXJPgEGQapYdkrcUoKhXGD2rxOikR1s/s400/194.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye Bye!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jPV8rib5LZMbGPMUnE1E-4jxTmSM5fp1nyPXgjkgB8i_uV4tFmOltXQ0eczKjv77PBrPP2avl31K2sxWwaR_6GhlMB1Es4KpimA8BtrrTE0h2NcrcZfNKunEh_DFrxDlZlSYdwiAYU4/s1600/196.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jPV8rib5LZMbGPMUnE1E-4jxTmSM5fp1nyPXgjkgB8i_uV4tFmOltXQ0eczKjv77PBrPP2avl31K2sxWwaR_6GhlMB1Es4KpimA8BtrrTE0h2NcrcZfNKunEh_DFrxDlZlSYdwiAYU4/s400/196.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have a good Summer!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqqfRzrnNYUfMnw_ZPihjYGGH09gRX0Fbz6kzaJURurGQ97mLEcz3JnMkdlBfiNJY4GB5KVWOs9St-4Ucz-4s-Q3q2uRYYVGXIotDXjTty_jDfwdW47thNw934F5RSjvx_SsPeaO5vOA/s1600/197.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqqfRzrnNYUfMnw_ZPihjYGGH09gRX0Fbz6kzaJURurGQ97mLEcz3JnMkdlBfiNJY4GB5KVWOs9St-4Ucz-4s-Q3q2uRYYVGXIotDXjTty_jDfwdW47thNw934F5RSjvx_SsPeaO5vOA/s400/197.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nom Nom biscuits and toffees left over</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1woLW3sMWVBVyfOrtj9qDXDPEQfOwu47BJWT7ybzfFrhZPtkLKor0I1LCBGXUouOv3cRLqDYlSdVMyP46YTy-VfOV9P5XVXSxob7poXh8doRF4faM0eTofjq4H-xVGQejGAG9TqJpJ0/s1600/199.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1woLW3sMWVBVyfOrtj9qDXDPEQfOwu47BJWT7ybzfFrhZPtkLKor0I1LCBGXUouOv3cRLqDYlSdVMyP46YTy-VfOV9P5XVXSxob7poXh8doRF4faM0eTofjq4H-xVGQejGAG9TqJpJ0/s400/199.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So good!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div>
Children went home and we stayed to have a goodbye coffee
ceremony with the teachers.<span id="goog_1331995848"></span><span id="goog_1331995849"></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-77624394577584861572012-08-28T13:55:00.000-07:002012-08-28T13:55:35.595-07:00The EA Olympics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mL3mETjX1164FIwAGaa7maAtMOq7Kged2AWqQCwe0NyOewNaaEfjQZXrClxnKw9P5OYFm2rYbZMklGYNCdn5QxfxzBoX6yjzh_F4To2Z5JYI9t7AWHSYbzYgIsQtEOMnpGCn_a29rbE/s1600/3leg1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mL3mETjX1164FIwAGaa7maAtMOq7Kged2AWqQCwe0NyOewNaaEfjQZXrClxnKw9P5OYFm2rYbZMklGYNCdn5QxfxzBoX6yjzh_F4To2Z5JYI9t7AWHSYbzYgIsQtEOMnpGCn_a29rbE/s400/3leg1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The London Olympics 2012 was over so quickly. Without satellite TV or a strong internet
connection to watch it on BBC I-player we were quite cut off from it. We caught some of it when we were in the
hotel and on FB but on the whole we didn’t see very much of it. I am hoping that I will be able to re-visit
both the opening and closing ceremonies when we get to the Sudan and are
ensconced in our own apartment with high-speed internet! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So to make up for our loss we held an Olympic event at the
school instead! We planned to hold a
variety of racing events for the first half of our morning session and then
switch to high jump, long jump and ‘shotput’ for the second half. Most of the children finish at the end of
this week and so the idea was to do a test on the Wednesday, the Olympics on
the Thursday and then on Friday have a party with sweets and biscuits, party
games, test-results- giving and of course the awarding of the Olympic medals!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktrkBmjqXXkN_VknjUZXKS6_98aSAaG3_cb9oGdMxzqckfohH1FxO13gsiqYKOJ0yhzg85IELa4J689d0dr7s9p-jiMOmrh0vlm7fjfCXBOSkTpmqQSXxzmMO7q3YSKObaIuTgYKWEr4/s1600/3leg12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktrkBmjqXXkN_VknjUZXKS6_98aSAaG3_cb9oGdMxzqckfohH1FxO13gsiqYKOJ0yhzg85IELa4J689d0dr7s9p-jiMOmrh0vlm7fjfCXBOSkTpmqQSXxzmMO7q3YSKObaIuTgYKWEr4/s400/3leg12.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Fran and Martin with some help from Azeb made 120 medals in
a variety of fluorescent colours and I masterminded the planning. Naturally I started with a spreadsheet but
this was a job that called for pieces of paper, a ruler, pencil and lots of
rubbing out. Actually, the act of
drawing hundreds of lines with a ruler and pencil is quite therapeutic. With the advent of computers, printers and
photocopiers we have been denied this simple pleasure!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We gathered our equipment; hard boiled eggs, spoons, pieces
of torn up material, 2 whistles, 2 measuring tapes (extendable), long rope, bag
of plastic balls and 4 bins. All we
needed was the rain to stay in the clouds.
What you need is the rain to start at 2 in the morning and carry on till
7. We have found that this will produce
a sunny morning for school. What you
don’t want is the rain to start at 5 in the morning and carry on till 11. What was the day going to be like?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRcAHVmpXtmm4HbxQS09tqJK7_fDAzxmAI6cHUNAYmdxbDoaBeM1ffLCE0MQ9fqXAz5vVTsnmz5AtPPmLV66NT2AqNAA6sHnwSjxobV-2UA6vu8IyNYXULw3tyj_Cvpb5u1hnCXQ4lU8/s1600/3leg13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRcAHVmpXtmm4HbxQS09tqJK7_fDAzxmAI6cHUNAYmdxbDoaBeM1ffLCE0MQ9fqXAz5vVTsnmz5AtPPmLV66NT2AqNAA6sHnwSjxobV-2UA6vu8IyNYXULw3tyj_Cvpb5u1hnCXQ4lU8/s400/3leg13.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Alas it was the latter <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span>
At breakfast we were looking at the rain and were thinking about what to do.
Should we postpone to the next day? Why don’t we go to the Grade school first?
Suggested Martin which was a brilliant idea!
Hopefully by 10:30 the rain would finish and then we will have 2 hours
for the event. Phone calls were made;
sorted. The rain stopped at 9:30 and we
were in business!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It was a truly fantastic day! I would like to use the dreaded ‘A’ word that
our friends over the pond use to excess but I can’t bring myself to even though
it was pretty ‘A’. The kids loved it, we
loved it and the teachers had a pretty good time as well!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHF3NO5XamsLb1JRlNgkI_0sODGweJaOVQpHQFwmhdcaqTFf9RoJWXqPdaLAJeQ-FxxsK_aYRcYkn2Bzuuq-i769ZNKE-9i2s_g39Z49h4Colgv_Opx2IJzCspHLz6G8Q3pIHu9uatdus/s1600/3leg2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHF3NO5XamsLb1JRlNgkI_0sODGweJaOVQpHQFwmhdcaqTFf9RoJWXqPdaLAJeQ-FxxsK_aYRcYkn2Bzuuq-i769ZNKE-9i2s_g39Z49h4Colgv_Opx2IJzCspHLz6G8Q3pIHu9uatdus/s400/3leg2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We started with the running and the children were sorted by
size and gender. Boys, girls, big, medium and small. On your marks, get set,’peeeeeeeeeeeep’ on
the whistle. Mekdes was very strict, a
line was drawn in the sandy earth and she called them back if there were false
starts. The older children had to run 3
lengths but the nursery kids just 1.
Everyone was enthusiastic especially Martin with his bright green
whistle that came out of a cracker.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The eggs were not quite hard-boiled but we had no time left
so we had to take them as they were. But
what this meant was that when they were inevitably dropped, they did crack and
some were a little bit mushy and not reusable!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As always the three-legged race was hilarious. Enough said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCg4x_jDq88QXWcWRveuHnBK_CuhL6mUi605oc4ySlgaQ8MG8Wo68NzIsam_V2tFL5aq-i49el9X3HNqH4HUnA5M2Ht90MK9wySo2-MXR70bKhqG5b21H-xQosswlvCURVczyqmS6RRU/s1600/3leg7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCg4x_jDq88QXWcWRveuHnBK_CuhL6mUi605oc4ySlgaQ8MG8Wo68NzIsam_V2tFL5aq-i49el9X3HNqH4HUnA5M2Ht90MK9wySo2-MXR70bKhqG5b21H-xQosswlvCURVczyqmS6RRU/s400/3leg7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The teachers were reluctant to join in the teacher’s race
but I dragged them up. Mekdes was as
strict for them as with the children and called a false start on the first
attempt. Seble however was in her zone
and run to the finishing line before she realised it was a no-start and so was
already puffed out when we started the race again. Martin was convinced that Fran ran in front
of him at the end but in the final count, it was Fran 1<sup>st</sup>, Martin 2<sup>nd</sup>
and Seble 3<sup>rd</sup> but it was very close and I have to say confusing!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We hadn’t planned on the nursery kids running at all and we
thought the school carried on till 12:30, but they did and it didn’t, with
parents arriving at 12. So we had only
just got started on the Long Jump, High Jump and ‘Shot put’ and it was time to
go. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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None-the-less-it was a very special day and such a lot of
fun for everyone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-88776958388330100832012-08-28T13:54:00.000-07:002012-08-28T13:54:35.517-07:00In the Classroom<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVq_OZRm5FpVlPsDejo0wQwKBm0ObzGNZEAWasIoeuwKNRjev3m_A2TN1BzdzzQjg4qgqIfoPEoyq9Dn9eBMYPfgvzcCEhLCqSlDSI2HNG4DEwNOf4-4fsAv2U9GYPsBaB6CZR78QMA-8/s1600/31.+a+Making+a+house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVq_OZRm5FpVlPsDejo0wQwKBm0ObzGNZEAWasIoeuwKNRjev3m_A2TN1BzdzzQjg4qgqIfoPEoyq9Dn9eBMYPfgvzcCEhLCqSlDSI2HNG4DEwNOf4-4fsAv2U9GYPsBaB6CZR78QMA-8/s400/31.+a+Making+a+house.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The funny thing about teaching is it is the same wherever
you are. I don’t just mean that
classrooms, students, resources (regardless of what form they take) are common
denominators. More fundamentally it is
the actual process of teaching that is the same. In the classroom, I am looking for that
essential communication between myself and individual students (however many
there are in the class) that they have got whatever it is that I am trying to
teach. I guess this may be obvious to
you, the reader, but it is new to me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So how is it different, teaching in Ethiopia? Well not a lot different to England or
Georgia if we are talking about the essence of teaching, but a lot different if
we are talking about the overall experience.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUVRWA6i9IZwQGBvgwB15fEeiEiy92Rjurc-zMOVMN2AWRQJaQjYSZaDrNhoW0MbSpFzjtPwThaRyCgSeg10ACV5lx2V2zD0iYKVn_z3zN5Aa_zggaBfaNDSVihMPc6f9jVrM5DzkZB4/s1600/31.+b+Making+a+house.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOUVRWA6i9IZwQGBvgwB15fEeiEiy92Rjurc-zMOVMN2AWRQJaQjYSZaDrNhoW0MbSpFzjtPwThaRyCgSeg10ACV5lx2V2zD0iYKVn_z3zN5Aa_zggaBfaNDSVihMPc6f9jVrM5DzkZB4/s400/31.+b+Making+a+house.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The English Alive Academy has been open since 2004 and is
run by an English woman and her Ethiopian husband. When Stephanie and Dawit first met, she was
teaching at an International school in Addis Ababa and he was well-established
in one of the Embassies. They opened their
first school in 2002 and their students were from the wealthier families in the
city, but they felt strongly that this opportunity was not available to those
without money and so took the step of closing the school and opening up again
in Nazret which at the time was a small town, a 2 or 3 hour drive from Addis
Ababa. The English Alive Academy is open
to all children and the fees are subsidised so that local children can afford
to attend. For those who are suffering
hardship they can come to the school for free but they have to apply to the
local authorities who confirm their situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The ethos of the school is to provide a quality education
that is only available to children from wealthy families for the poorest
children. It’s an attempt to redress the
balance and equip children from the poorest people to become a voice for their
community, to give them the same opportunities as wealthier children and all
the benefits that a good education provides.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When you first look at the school it doesn’t seem like it is
enormously different to what you’d expect.
But that is because I am looking at it with my experience of English
schools. The walls are covered with the
children’s art work and there is a store room full of resources for the
children, such as games, books and art materials. There is a nursery for pre-schoolers and two
kindergarten classes. (Ages from around 3 to 7)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similarly in the Grade school, a separate compound, there
are grades 1 to 4, (aged around 7 to 11).
However, age is a loose term as birthdays and age is not important and
many people do not know how old they are or when their birthday is. Also some children start school later than
others and are therefore put into younger classes if they are late-starters.
There is also a small library and a computer room. Four old-ish computers had been donated and
two of these were recently moved to the KG school. Dawit is also in the process of applying for
a grant of 20 new computers from the government which will be amazing for the
students and the teachers!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFKEnK6uVl_bliWiOtyMIGtn7qWJF4bDMo_tJF22VeO63lWYqAUn0vsJdeUHwKRcpa7HSrw4K_asqWXoyelhQ7sh50DZfEKIoRUSyjH6srjJEVVe0PvSdQ-p6cgfmh-6j0ah6qMKyXFQ/s1600/31.+d+Simon+Says.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbFKEnK6uVl_bliWiOtyMIGtn7qWJF4bDMo_tJF22VeO63lWYqAUn0vsJdeUHwKRcpa7HSrw4K_asqWXoyelhQ7sh50DZfEKIoRUSyjH6srjJEVVe0PvSdQ-p6cgfmh-6j0ah6qMKyXFQ/s400/31.+d+Simon+Says.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the class the children are well behaved and
attentive. They are in the habit of
copying off the board and working from that and not interacting. This is the traditional way of teaching in
Ethiopia (like many countries) and Stephanie has given the teachers a lot of
training to introduce them to modern teaching methods; so the children at the
school are more used to interactive lessons and it is easy to see the
difference between the students who attend the school and those who don’t. The ones who don’t are VERY QUIET.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlRxNBZ7gsmMeiV8kty8icobnENjw5vmHdMn4SfcWmxbbujBwGJkT5cWAlddPEy60aUjyrYPPr0gO-FMZiRtjrrQVAUmCiGeWrVtVjH0trlDhHpIN81HoMPO-D-p9n_FR7qNV4EwRslE/s1600/31.+f+Circus+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQlRxNBZ7gsmMeiV8kty8icobnENjw5vmHdMn4SfcWmxbbujBwGJkT5cWAlddPEy60aUjyrYPPr0gO-FMZiRtjrrQVAUmCiGeWrVtVjH0trlDhHpIN81HoMPO-D-p9n_FR7qNV4EwRslE/s400/31.+f+Circus+1.JPG" width="301" /></a></div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The children are also very innocent and playful. Even for
the 13 year olds, they are happy to do as we ask them. In particular they enjoy the many craft activities
that we have arranged as they don’t do art in Government schools and so the
older children love the opportunities we have given them to do this and play
games. They will happily join in in
playground games such as ‘Oranges and Lemons’, ‘The Hokey Cokey’ and ‘The Big
Ship sails on the Alley Alley O’ as well as Chinese jump rope.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM51ycFfTqc-791Qu3m1_qKNi5JRglNOCVISwNYsWgdx6TLtGtsqnJusC7GwzRm0Ro2Bau0LJvDcHUn_7zLXGDE48HlmC1Gh5B4mQQpYVEmJeBz55KgOyP2P5r5Y6rKQ44EZvZTXqsEH0/s1600/31.e+Making+sentences.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM51ycFfTqc-791Qu3m1_qKNi5JRglNOCVISwNYsWgdx6TLtGtsqnJusC7GwzRm0Ro2Bau0LJvDcHUn_7zLXGDE48HlmC1Gh5B4mQQpYVEmJeBz55KgOyP2P5r5Y6rKQ44EZvZTXqsEH0/s400/31.e+Making+sentences.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoXrUkAfdEC6PJP1dsCRufSy44457qSSo_VjL8c7o5uqSiHXcJAg98j00TAJi7P-DPRlvwfTD1bO1cx78AVboXE6wOcKur9ENgRJiwhj9PojpHxw-KqWmX_WX8CRqpnO5o_IrIIKhH9g/s1600/31.g+circus+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoXrUkAfdEC6PJP1dsCRufSy44457qSSo_VjL8c7o5uqSiHXcJAg98j00TAJi7P-DPRlvwfTD1bO1cx78AVboXE6wOcKur9ENgRJiwhj9PojpHxw-KqWmX_WX8CRqpnO5o_IrIIKhH9g/s400/31.g+circus+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-75951723675225507412012-08-28T13:53:00.001-07:002012-08-28T13:53:38.538-07:00It's not Georgia!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the first couple of weeks in Ethiopia we tend to precede
most sentences with “In Georgia….” I
guess this is only natural as we try to understand the culture we are now in
and compare it with what we know about other cultures. But sometimes there is no comparison to be
made!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we first heard about the Ethiopian education system we
nodded our heads sagely and said “Yeah, we know, it’s like Georgia” We heard
that the teaching method was for students to sit there quietly and just copy
off the board, for speaking and listening skills to be weak as the focus was on
reading and writing and not interacting and for English levels in the actual
teachers to be low. This is what we
found in Georgia so it was logical to assume it was the same situation. However it isn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In Georgia, most teachers are untrained (although the
majority have many years of experience) and in Ethiopia there is no required
training for teachers either. However, one guide told us that if students leave
school having completed grade 10 then they will be farmers or teachers. This is
not the case in Georgia, where for example English Language teachers may well
have a degree but it won’t necessarily be in English. So I think it true to say that Georgian
teachers are likely to be more educated than Ethiopian teachers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What also makes it difficult to compare the two systems though
is that we are teaching in a school where the curriculum tries to base itself
on a UK system as much as possible and is therefore open to and already
incorporates modern teaching methods, unlike Georgia which was just starting to
think about it. We have not had the
opportunity to visit an Ethiopian government school to make a proper
comparison.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In a funny sort of way, Ethiopia is like Georgia. There is a huge rural population in both
countries who live off the land and although education is free and compulsory
in Georgia, many Georgian children are very poor attenders as they help with
the farm work and this is not such a different situation to Ethiopia.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here are some other differences.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a drinking culture in Ethiopia but it isn’t obvious
to me in the same way it was obvious in Georgia. I have rarely seen cigarette smoking in the
street or cafés or bars we have visited.
Even in the large hotels, the vast majority of Ethiopians will be
drinking coke or coffee. Fran tells me
that there is, but it is hidden behind tarpaulin curtains of the main
streets. This is also where the ‘Chat’
chewing goes on. (Legal high from chewing certain leaves) However, in Georgia (after 6 weeks in the
country we have now stopped preceding every sentence with this phrase!) people
are not shy about drinking alcohol and we (well Martin) were regularly offered
alcohol by strangers in shops and the street.
Of course smoking was a given.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is a national shortage of serviettes in Ethiopia, I
have decided. Unlike Georgia, where you
have serviettes coming out of your ears, here, you just don’t get them or if so
very rarely. As you probably know, I am
a girl from the East End of London and not brought up with the niceties of
polite eating but I am unsure as to what I am meant to do, if you are eating
with your hands and get covered in gunk.
To be honest, this happens to me if I am using a knife and fork, too! Doubly problematic, is that it is considered
terribly rude to lick your fingers in this country. What is the option? My father-in-law Mac used to solve this
delicate problem by wiping his sticky fingers on his socks, which I consider ingenious;
but this is not an option when you are wearing birks. (Ah another difference
between the nations – it was too cold to be bare-footed in birks in Georgia) Bring your own is the answer. Either that, or take a trip to the ladies for
a wash-down. However, like Georgia, I
find it is best to avoid the facilities unless you are in a nice hotel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Actually this is a similarity; uninhibited letching of
single women. Out of respect for Martin
it doesn’t happen to me (not of course because I am not worth leering at). On our journey to school, most men just
openly gawk at Fran and call out to her.
At first this is amusing but it soon wears thin. It is not that they just gawk either. A woman on her own is just an open target here. We were told that a woman drinking in a bar
on her own is considered to be a prostitute; and if she is smoking then there
is no doubt about it. Fran went to
Harare last weekend and after she had gone to her room for the night, her tour
guide pushed his way into her room and told her that he had nowhere to sleep
and he had to sleep on her floor. He
refused to leave, so Fran had to. It was
OK in the end but it so easily might have had a different ending.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One big difference between Georgia and here is the begging
situation. In Georgia there are gypsy
beggars who moved into the country after the demise of the soviet system. As everywhere they are really irritating and
attack you in groups and pester the life out of you. They climb onto the marshutkas while you are
waiting to go and hover close by mumbling and feigning tears. You will always find people in the metro
subways with the same people there every day.
One particular underpass has several blind people – it appears to be a
little community as well. You also find
some people begging outside the stations with missing limbs and they generally
are very passive, just laying there and don’t accost you in any way. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The begging situation is very different in Ethiopia. We have been told that it is because the
tourists before us have given money, sweets etc and that it just encourages the
expectation that all tourists will thus provide, especially if you repeated
request it as close as you possibly can.
It is actually really horrible to be subjected to this. The thing is these people (adults and
children) are not universally begging.
They are not asking Ethiopians, just the ‘farenji’ (foreigners). They may be in a conversation with some other
people as when they realise we are foreign put their hand out and rub their
stomachs or make eating gestures with their other hand. I want to punch them – hard. I know that no-one really has a lot of money
and we are perceived as having a lot of money (and literally we do) but as we
know we are not rich in terms of spending power in the UK. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One teacher was shocked that a cup of coffee in a UK café
can easily cost £5 which is 140 birr. A
teacher earns about 1000 birr a month so that is a HUGE amount to them. Of
course we live at a far higher standard of living than they do but they also
don’t understand this. As I said the
problem is that people have given in the past what are enormous amounts to
Ethiopians and at the same time comparatively little for the Brits. For example
it is very easy (especially when new in the country) to give a 100 birr tip(it
is £3.60) but if you compare that with a teacher’s pay in the UK that is the
equivalent of giving £180 tip. No wonder
that children don’t go to school and that people stand at the bus stations with
their hand out when tourists have been so generous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are people who are homeless or in trouble in some way
and beg on the streets and Ethiopians give them money. That is a different situation. But when well fed and clean children call out
‘You’ ‘Faranji’ or just ‘money, money’ it horrifies me and angers me to boiling
point. They don’t just content
themselves with this either. They
persist. We now walk straight ahead with
sunglasses on and make no eye contact.
They maintain their dialogue of ‘give me money’ for a while and then
when there is no response …. They touch me ….. “Get the fuck off me!”
immediately comes to mind and on occasion uttered loudly and I push them
off. For crying out loud! In Georgia we used to say hello to everyone
and smile but here they see it as an opportunity to ask you for money. It is a
shame but it makes a difference how you feel about the country. We don’t even want to go out up the road
because of the interference and it isn’t just the people in the street. You always feel that in shops and restaurants
you are given a different price to the locals (often true). The sad thing is that it is the people who
approach you who don’t need the money and
the case of tour guides etc the more unscrupulous of the lot. The more honest or needy are not up front
trying to fleece you. We prefer to go to
the expensive hotels where we know the price of a drink and can sit on the
terrace without being pestered. In
Georgia we felt ripped off if a taxi tried to charge us 30p more than we
thought was ok. In Ethiopia, we pay 5 times
the price at least in any tourist encounter.<o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-15197637031390483922012-08-28T13:53:00.000-07:002012-08-28T13:53:06.127-07:00Famine and Foreigners<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
As with Georgia (and Sudan) we didn’t really know much about
the country before we came. So I was
pleased to borrow a book from the other volunteer Fran about Ethiopia called
“Famine and Foreigners – Ethiopia Since Live Aid” by Peter Gill and English Journalist. I found it really interesting and thought I
would summarise it here. Do you remember
Live Aid? When it actually happened I
mean?! It was 1984 and I was 23 with a
one year old son, just pregnant or about to get pregnant with my daughter and like
many, many people was horrified by the pictures of the starving people in
Ethiopia and totally caught up in the Live Aid phenomenon. What was so exciting was young musicians full
of disgust at the lack of action by world politicians took matters into their
own hands to respond to the suffering. I
didn’t like the fact that the Americans got in on the act (although of course
that was entirely separate to the fact that money was being raised)! I still can’t hear the song by The Cars
“Who’s gonna drive you home tonight?” without seeing the face of that little
child, from the video, covered with flies and close to death. I watched the concert and pledged but didn’t
actually pay-up (I was one of those) because we were very short of money and
once the moment went I thought more about my own immediate needs and consoled
myself with the fact that millions had been raised and my £10 wasn’t going to
be missed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So I was quite interested in the book’s strap line –
Ethiopia since Live Aid. This is what the book was about. I have used Peter Gills own word and
paraphrased where I can, so no credit please for me!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b>For Richer or Poorer<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ethiopia is one of the richest countries on earth – in its
civilisation, history and culture. For
as long as Europe has known of a wider world, Ethiopia has held our
imagination. The story of King Solomon’s
seduction of the Queen of Sheba and the birth of a boy was the foundation of an
imperial line which was only extinguished by the murder of Emperor Haile
Selassi in 1975. The Greeks gave modern
Ethiopians their name “burnt faces’ and applied it to anyone living south of
Egypt. Ethiopia became of the powers of
the world, a century before Christ and converted to Christianity before Rome
and has strongly resisted attempts to convert from Ethiopian Orthodox to Roman
Catholicism. This independence has been
sustained. In 1935 Mussolini bombed and
gassed Ethiopians and Emperor Haile Selassie was forced into exile. The old League of Nations did nothing to halt
the march of fascism and Ethiopia’s independence was restored in the aftermath
of the Second World War.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the past 29 years, instead of its glorious past and rich
culture we now associate Ethiopia with famine.
It has become the iconic poor country.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 1984, the World Food Council of the United Nations said
“Hunger today is largely a man-made phenomenon: human error or neglect creates
it, human complacency perpetuates it and human resolve can eradicate it.” Since then we have had (from 1985) “Make
Poverty History in 2005” and Christian Aid in 2009 ran a campaign “Poverty
Over”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However the hunger persists, people still die of starvation
and no country in the world confronts the threat of famine more frequently than
Ethiopia. Ethiopians ask themselves why
it has become so difficult for the country to feed themselves, like it is
rocket science.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So twenty five years on was hunger becoming history in
Ethiopia? When Peter Gill was
researching this book in 2008, it was a time of optimism shared by Ethiopian
government and the foreign aid givers. But in 2009 when he returned he found
that the situation had changed. There
were still achievements to be recognised but things were slowing down and the
effectiveness of foreign aid was being seriously questioned and the role of the
aid-givers in doubt. While it is agreed
that world poverty is to be shared another principle is that poor countries can
only emerge out of poverty when they take full charge of their destiny. Ethiopia has always believed this an d Peter
Gill asks whether there is sufficient Ethiopian institutions and policies in
place to actual deliver what is known as ‘development’.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the 1990s the Ethiopian Government (it overthrew a
powerful communist dictatorship) set out to build a new Ethiopia and has
diligently pursued it strategy for development.
The government has also insisted on retaining a vision of its own in the
face of changing western perspectives on how to tackle poverty. Aid-receivers and Aid-givers have often
clashed with each other. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One lesson of Ethiopian history is that foreigners with
ambitions for the country do not have Ethiopia’s interest at heart.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">1. There was a famine in 1973 but the Haile
Selassie Government did not want the embarrassment of this to be released to
the rest of the world, preferring to see the situation as normal.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Although it was reported by UNICEF there was
a lack of response from the donors (foreign officials) who were unwilling to
jeopardise their jobs or comfortable relationship with Haile Selassie’s
government. </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The UN took the position
that until the government said it was a problem then it wasn’t.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">A student movement set out to publicise and
protest at the famine but this was eventually hijacked by the army.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Celebrations for the Emperor’s 80</span><sup style="text-indent: -18pt;">th</sup><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">
birthday were still taking place and it was media coverage of this shown with
footage of the unfolding famine that was the downfall of the Emperor. </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The army arranged for special showings of this
around the town and in the end the army dethroned the Emperor, drove him off
and he was never seen again.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">2. Once in power, the Derg began a sweeping and
murderous crackdown on the political parties that grew out of the student
movement. For months on end, the ‘Red
Terror’ arrested people and dumped the bodies in the street the next
morning. Many fled the country or to the
mountains to avoid capture. Regional
freedom movements, notably in Tigray, came into existence. Unlike the 1973 famine, the situation in 1984
had been researched and reported n the media for months; but still there was
national negligence and international indifference. After TV media coverage in the UK, Britain
came under pressure to respond to the famine.
However, Thatcher’s view of Ethiopia was that it was a wasteful and
bureaucratic socialist state in military alliance with the Soviet Union and did
not want to give aid. Why hadn't Oxfam
responded sooner? In the 1980s, Oxfam
had been determined to move from relief to development. This was the era of ‘Give a man to fish and
he can eat. Teach a man to fish and he
can make a living’ an inappropriate observation in famine conditions where
rivers have dried up. Oxfam chose to
focus on development and not relief even when the prospects of famine were
already apparent.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">3. Hunger as a weapon.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Within weeks of the television reports of a
catastrophic famine and as foreign aid began to trickle in, Ethiopia’s military
government launched its own anti-hunger program.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">If people were starving in the highlands then
it would pack them off to the lowlands where land was plentiful and they could
start again.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">This resettlement program
was applied so ruthlessly that the Colonel Mengistu was likened to a pocket
African Stalin.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The starving peasants
were considered to be 5</span><sup style="text-indent: -18pt;">th</sup><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> columnists , undermining the government
and supporting those political groups who wanted to overthrow the
government.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Now they could be sent to
re-settlements where they could be controlled.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The people suffered terrible hardships in the settlement camps and
promises of land etc were not met.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The
aid agencies did not want to publicise this as they would be liable for
expulsion.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">In the post Band-aid era,
income for all agencies had increased dramatically and </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">they did not want to put themselves at
risk.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Medecins sans frontiers did raise
the issue and was expelled.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">They estimated
that 100,000 had died through insanitary conditions, lowland diseases and lack
of food.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Even worse was the claim that
6,000 children died in one camp where they were denied help on the grounds that
not enough adults had agreed to be resettled. </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">This little project of mine; summarising this really interesting book, fell at the first hurdle! It is taking me as long to summarise as it did read it in the first place and I am running out of time! besides Fran needs her book back for her own research and I guess i will have to get my own copy! if you read it let me know what you think!</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-60920000636919772662012-08-28T08:57:00.000-07:002012-08-28T08:57:35.442-07:00Teaching the Teachers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRQWCtck-20d0xuk-oH0eagH2ZefTVMbEVmrFNyeeDvkWtfQ7kHcEPirPLn40zk5yIQ-9yU1EMptFh-8ip-bx2jPIDn9zN1e56Gs_kIXuFnd6wCceoIB_ppl_FYEwl8ok7ohXnOSXc9Q/s1600/048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqRQWCtck-20d0xuk-oH0eagH2ZefTVMbEVmrFNyeeDvkWtfQ7kHcEPirPLn40zk5yIQ-9yU1EMptFh-8ip-bx2jPIDn9zN1e56Gs_kIXuFnd6wCceoIB_ppl_FYEwl8ok7ohXnOSXc9Q/s400/048.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The teachers were very keen to have English lessons and
computer lessons and so we decided on four days a week at 2 o’clock. We started in the second week and had 8 or 9
teachers coming but as expected this died down to a hard core of 3 or 4 and
then finally 3. The trouble is, learning
English is hard work. Many of the
teachers have young families and homes to run and people just have lives. However, for them it is a brilliant
opportunity to have three native English teachers on tap to practise their
English and also being shown how to use a computer. It was only for 5 weeks. But still people are people and in the end
the ones who were really motivated came and those who weren’t, didn’t.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The plan was (there is always a plan that doesn’t work out
haha) that I would introduce some aspect of computing and then take 1/3 into
the computer room to do practical stuff while 1/3 did some English and then the
other third looked at an interactive power point that I had from my ICT
teaching days. The thing is, in the
early stages you actually have no idea what people know and what they don’t
know. With the English, it is hard to
tell whether they understand or not and their difficulty is with actually
speaking or listening so there is quite a bit of adjustment that has to go
on. So combined with the irregular
attendance we settled into an introduction on the practical side of word or
power point and then half went to the computers with me and the other half
stayed and did ‘English with Fran and Martin’.
Originally it was the other way round but neither of them could cope
with the strain of lack of mouse control from the teachers! “left-click, no, left-click, try again, move
your mouse so you can see the little white arrow change, hover, left-click,
that’s it no, again, you are right-clicking, left-click” They were pulling their hair out and my
expertise in trying to get a class of 30 though an ICT BTEC qualification came
into its own.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
In this way, they have learned how to make folders, create
word documents, change the font, the colour, size, align text, use bold,
underline, italics, insert wordart, shapes, pictures and clip art and apply
special effects and crop. Mouse control
is a huge challenge as is cropping but they are a whole lot better after four
weeks of lessons four times a week.
Highlighting is difficult and they left-click when they need to
right-click (but Martin does that still!) They made a school newsletter! (OK with a lot of help from me giving
instructions!) They have also been
learning Power Point and made a presentation about themselves. It was clear here that their English is very
bad and so now we combine English and Computer lessons by looking at what they
are going to type and making sure they are not just copying off the board
(where have I heard that before?!) They have progressed! They made an interactive quiz where you could
choose from a menu which question you wanted to have which takes you to that
question page and then depending on which multi-choice answer you select, you will be taken to either a ‘Well
Done’ or an ‘Oops try again’ page, then back to the original question
menu. At the moment they are working on
a presentation of the School Olympics!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have also shown them ‘how’ to type, how to position their
fingers on the keyboard and which fingers to use to type quickly. They now use their thumb to hit the space bar
but the rest will come in time!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This weekend we are taking the die-hard three to the hotel
so we can show them how to use email and search engines. One of the problems
for them is that internet cafes are very expensive and therefore not possible
for them. But without knowing how to use
computers (and they did not know what a keyboard was) they will never realise
why they need to know.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The internet is a doorway to information and 97% of this
information is in English. Unless people
are computer literate and can speak English to a high standard then they will
not have access to this material. We talk
about the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor but there is also a widening
gap between those who know and can use technology and those that can’t and when
this is applied at a national level this has huge implications for third world
countries who are going to be increasingly unable to bridge that gap. Understanding how to use a computer and the
internet is a brilliant start for people who want to be able to improve their
economic situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-40972430419977493252012-08-24T23:24:00.002-07:002012-09-08T09:47:46.619-07:00Our Hotel<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have, or I should say I have, had an altercation with the
management and as a result we are leaving on Saturday to go somewhere else, as
of yet unknown.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is not a bad hotel.
It has 12 rooms set around a courtyard with lot of lush and well-established
plants and a very, very large satellite dish. Washing lines are strung across the courtyard
and there are a few plastic chairs brought out when there is space. It also serves as a car park and we have
often found at least four UN 4 x 4s carefully arranged when we come home from
school making it difficult to navigate to our room. Running around the courtyard is a porch about
3 feet deep with a roof. This provides
protection against the sun and the heavy rains and a useful place for the guard
to sleep. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The guard at our hotel is a little old man and sleeps
outside the end room next door to us, except when it is really raining hard and
then he moves along to ours to get out of the rain that still manages to find
its way over the barbed wire wall surrounding the compound. His job is to open the gates to let vehicles
in and out and to be on night duty, presumably to alert younger members of
staff against intruders and let in any weary travellers who turn up past
closing time. I am not sure when closing
time is as the bar goes on fairly loudly till at least three o’clock and the UN
vehicle move out at five thirty with no consideration for anyone else, with
loud bangs whistles beeps and conversations.
This seems to be the place to stay for the UN drivers whilst the driven
stay at the plusher hotels on the main road.
We know our place! And luckily we are deep sleepers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv53JF89BjVXhvK6pSWQtng-wXobymG1Rb7vY1LmoZONiPvd-UngBO8jtwMjzp2Ndyv5iuxGgyECVYAHuPFYZTkh0ruw23ZWn5Y_1Io-9PUujMSVJjLd00zM21RKM8b-qxxmC3_iz2pgg/s1600/32.+d+Where+the+guuard+sleeps.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv53JF89BjVXhvK6pSWQtng-wXobymG1Rb7vY1LmoZONiPvd-UngBO8jtwMjzp2Ndyv5iuxGgyECVYAHuPFYZTkh0ruw23ZWn5Y_1Io-9PUujMSVJjLd00zM21RKM8b-qxxmC3_iz2pgg/s400/32.+d+Where+the+guuard+sleeps.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where the guard sleeps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The room itself in a little run down but adequate. The king-size bed is comfortable and fills
the larger part of the L-shaped room along with a bedside cabinet , a small TV,
a low bamboo table and a bamboo chair.
There is no wardrobe. The
bathroom fills the gap in the ‘L’ and is ok.
A western toilet; a shower tray and a sink. We have an immersion heater for hot water but
the socket is ill-fitted and there is a gap between it and the wall revealing
taped up wires. Unfortunately, the
shower is positioned directly above it and the water runs over it. I can’t remember when I stopped being
terrified that I was going to be electrocuted.
The problem with the design is that the shower tray is in front of the
toilet and so when you are sitting on the loo your feet are in the shower
tray. Staggering into the loo in the
middle of the night can be a little disconcerting when you unexpectedly step
down into the tray just when you think you are in reach of your goal and are
making the turn to sit! It gets me every time!
There is plenty of hot and high-pressured water though, which is lovely.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The main problem is that we have nowhere to put our
stuff. It is a ‘Martin Challenge’ i.e. a
packing stroke arranging stuff challenge of which Martin has three masters and
a Phd. You have to remember that we have
a lot of baggage. We came with five
suitcases and two small cases as hand-luggage plus 2 laptops and a handbag! We
are after all going to the Sudan and therefore not all is being used in
Ethiopia. So there was yet another sort out, moving stuff that definitely
wasn’t coming out to the suitcases at the bottom of the pile, the stuff that
was coming out in the near future to the middle and our everyday stuff to the
top. Then on top of this we pile the
clothes we have taken off, what has come back from the wash and anything else
we just put on there. Overall it is a
bit of a mess but it kind of works. Except for when Martin hides things.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The room is cleaned every day and we are given a new piece
of soap and some toilet paper. Not a
whole roll mind but a piece. It is
reeled off the roll and rewound into a neat pile for our use. However it is not enough and is used on the
first go. Sometimes we are given soap
and no paper. We have a lovely pile of
soap building up which will see us through the year in Sudan but it doesn’t
compensate for the lack of paper. At
first we supplemented our meagre ration with our own roll of paper we had
brought from England. Then we (or rather
I) had to ask the maid when we came back from school as there was urgent
business to attend to and no paper in sight!
First of all she didn’t understand what toilet paper was and then
directed me to the manager who also didn’t understand and I had to take him
into the toilet and repeatedly say “paper, paper”. Eventually he understood “soft paper?” A
breakthrough! I didn’t know if it was
right but I was taking it anyway as my situation became increasingly
desperate, We weren’t there yet though,
as the maid now had to be dug out of another room and sent to the place where
the lone toilet roll could be removed from the locked cupboard where it could
be preserved. I watched as she started
to unroll he sheets of paper and like Oliver, I shouted “More! More!” when she
stopped. “Martin has an upset stomach! I
say with accompanying gestures. (How low was I going to sink here?) However, I
was rewarded for my petulance and given another healthy supply. Honestly I felt like I had brought home a
prize stag from the hunt! We weren’t
given any extras after that and was back to the normal ration of five feet a
day, two and a half feet each. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A new hotel had opened on the corner, a few compounds along
from our hotel and the owner was often outside as we passed. “Come and have a look at my rooms, tell me
what you think” By any account that is an attempt to lure us to his hotel. Well in England that would be thz case. We went and had a look and for just 200 ETB
(£7.20) per room we were currently paying 130 ETB – the hotel had just put the
price up from 120 ETB and we suspected a fleecing was occurring) we would have
had a newly furbished large room, with a TV that could get loads of channels
and also a very large wardrobe. The big
one was that he said he was getting internet next month, I told him then and
there that we could pay up front for a month’s room if he would get the
internet now! That threw him into a
tizz and he said he would find out how soon he could get it installed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the meantime, the Aussie visitors were being installed in
this hotel (it wasn’t finished when we arrived or we would have been there) and
so we were trying to find out what was happening with the internet. We had decided we would move there anyway
because of the price hike in our hotel which broke our contract essentially,
but we were turned down. Apparently, the
owner was really just asking for our opinion on the rooms and wasn’t trying to
lure us to his establishment and was horrified that we wanted to take a
room. It didn’t matter that we wanted to
go, the issue was that he would still be there after we left and he did not
want to fall out with the owner, he didn’t want us! Bummer!
But the Aussies gave us a toilet roll from the hotel when they left, so
there was some compensation!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Anyhow, I digress. At
first, the manager asked us for payment every day and so we ended up paying a
week in advance on the Saturday. However
he got used to us after a bit and then we ended up paying on the Monday or
Tuesday, partly in arrears and partly in advance. This week however Martin went to pay on the
Wednesday and was informed that yet again the price had risen and was now 140
ETB. What’s more the price was backdated
to the Saturday. Martin thought it was a
bit rich but still paid it and I was pretty cross when he came back and told
me. We went to bed and I was laying
there getting more and more angry about it. We had had an agreement. We were staying for 6 weeks. When it went up to 130 ETB we paid that
amount from the day we were told about it.
This was really taking the biscuit, paying extra for the previous nights
without being told about it! And then
refusing to void the receipt so we had to stay for an extra two nights!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So we moved to the hotel on the corner, the one who was
scared of the owner. He was still really
frightened and he insisted that Dawit cleared it with the owner first. But here we are and It is much nicer. The TV
shows all channels and it is nice enough to stay in the room and watch TV, PC,
or work on stuff for school etc. Very
nice! <o:p></o:p></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-62258814383294674542012-08-12T08:42:00.000-07:002012-08-17T08:20:41.973-07:00Walking home from school<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">There
is never a dull moment walking to and from school. It is always busy and there is always
something interesting to see. It begins
when we step outside the heavy metal gates of the house when we look around to
see how many young men are waiting to catch a glimpse of our fair maiden
volunteer Fran. She has gathered quite a
following (literally) of young men who when they have a spare moment wait
casually on the corner for her to appear.
They don’t do anything other than stare and feel satisfied that it
wasn’t a wasted journey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back at the house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
set off to the KG (Kindergarten) school and this only takes a 5 minutes or so
depending on how much it has rained in the early hours of the morning and when
we arrive at school all the children rush towards us to welcome us. Of course there are several ways they do
this; 1) Formal handshake 2) Back of the hand is offered 3) shoulder is offered 4) a leap followed by
cuddle and a kiss. I have now introduced
a new variant – when offered the hand, I shake it and then twist them around as
if we are jiving. They love this and the
boys have now started to dramatically fall on the floor when I do this as if I
have hurled them across the room. (Ahh
boys!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASt4oSNtulcAh5CBTdPhYL8MCbZpgn44ThgH-M-A3u4yNoM_afbftk0HD6d2HzA_iJLJ5QKQhnVFmzuFxxdbSaR2w2R89O4P5obPxcBsx4WyWpaBTY8kr8HHBPz_74RhDbdpBS3Xu8D0/s1600/26.+f+Waiting+for+hugs+at+he+KG+school.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASt4oSNtulcAh5CBTdPhYL8MCbZpgn44ThgH-M-A3u4yNoM_afbftk0HD6d2HzA_iJLJ5QKQhnVFmzuFxxdbSaR2w2R89O4P5obPxcBsx4WyWpaBTY8kr8HHBPz_74RhDbdpBS3Xu8D0/s400/26.+f+Waiting+for+hugs+at+he+KG+school.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for hugs at the KG school</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
class we usually stay for 20 minutes of break time and then set off for the
Grade school which is about a 20 minute walk.
We are usually relieved to have finished class and do a post-mortem on
our lessons, what worked well and how we could improve them. Martin lights up and we dodge the puddles,
mud, and rocks, tuk-tuks, donkeys and boys asking for money and make our way to
the main road, passing a couple of coffee ceremonies and bike repair places positioned
on the side of the road. The main routes
are nicely cobbled but the side roads are unmade and difficult to navigate when
it has been raining. The bike repair
people have stopped calling out (presumably obscenities) to Fran now and less
boys ask for money. In the beginning we
just had people following us putting their hands out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZS2ZqvtxgTJ2eCm7i6DnIZo-6ydXyOybXhyphenhyphenHJ49yYm3NL2_Erd55HcwB98at-1afSBlTkOEHjUgfL4toy0yWPjMW2bBMYMIy6Bq71n2tSoQSr4BjC3lrrnxY1NR2D7hsWB1ACqthYLA/s1600/26.+n+Walking+towards+he+bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ZS2ZqvtxgTJ2eCm7i6DnIZo-6ydXyOybXhyphenhyphenHJ49yYm3NL2_Erd55HcwB98at-1afSBlTkOEHjUgfL4toy0yWPjMW2bBMYMIy6Bq71n2tSoQSr4BjC3lrrnxY1NR2D7hsWB1ACqthYLA/s400/26.+n+Walking+towards+he+bridge.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking towards the bridge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">What
is interesting is the number of different modes of transport there are. We see them all at the same time and is a
curious blending of old and new. Donkeys
laden with hay or goods; tuk-tuks racing through the mud, splattering god-knows-what-is-in-the
brown-liquid as they go; horse drawn carts with passengers, the occasional
car. At the main road we meet up with
large trucks, lorries and buses that compete with the tuk-tuks for right of
way. This morning we saw a huge articulated
lorry do a U-turn that only just made it.
Everyone and all vehicles just get out of the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8Q_90BLb68833Udgdzvq_jfO7bawQ8kBxSnWb2ApcdL2IIt8Yz-9Yw8SEY4CGHKhL4HUkk_BnAT2ZV61Jew40vuVjZR6axzTFBBEYOJo5SRv7u5nK6ccmG0u_itOw-6LD0QU2ui_qKE/s1600/26.+m++Laden+Donkey1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_8Q_90BLb68833Udgdzvq_jfO7bawQ8kBxSnWb2ApcdL2IIt8Yz-9Yw8SEY4CGHKhL4HUkk_BnAT2ZV61Jew40vuVjZR6axzTFBBEYOJo5SRv7u5nK6ccmG0u_itOw-6LD0QU2ui_qKE/s400/26.+m++Laden+Donkey1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laden donkey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
cross the main road and this marks the next stage of our walk, up the cobbled
road to the bridge. This road is lined
with small shops and a few vegetable and fruit sellers and of course another
coffee ceremony site. There are
hairdressers and CD shops. Most of the
women and girls have their hair plaited and so they are kept in business. The music shops play their music loudly all
day and so entertain us all. The music
has a definite Bangla feel and is quite pitched and cheerful. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
walk over the bridge which transverses a dry river. Even in the rainy season it is dry quite
often and on these occasions, you can see many young men digging up the sandy
river bed, filling plastic sacks and carrying them up the steep sides to be
tipped into a pile then spaded into a lorry, presumably to eb used for
building.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFsbwxQUTiDGWUmeSnhhp7ZaMJu0BCmcl88KIgm8hP7hRHwfpQIVO5d6qWCeQUMmRbQIcar4T8el0zHj7NdeiZSlWnzSItN7embc5wz9EW_EfFrcnuYnkhcHhpfPMhweFwM_fHtbX9bs/s1600/26.+p+Dry+River1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkFsbwxQUTiDGWUmeSnhhp7ZaMJu0BCmcl88KIgm8hP7hRHwfpQIVO5d6qWCeQUMmRbQIcar4T8el0zHj7NdeiZSlWnzSItN7embc5wz9EW_EfFrcnuYnkhcHhpfPMhweFwM_fHtbX9bs/s400/26.+p+Dry+River1.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dry river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4vd8MldQtrul8l3N0CUCQ8JmTLY6rkwpD7tDlxRuV0IbJjY0wIuIXI1nAL7YO1wiO36a7rUJpRFUjcjWQTvI2bm_Dk0a7ZlxlNPY6eEoxjNXg9-2AXZman0KpxN5olQq4etp-3GlzA8/s1600/26.+q+Wet+and+Dry+river.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4vd8MldQtrul8l3N0CUCQ8JmTLY6rkwpD7tDlxRuV0IbJjY0wIuIXI1nAL7YO1wiO36a7rUJpRFUjcjWQTvI2bm_Dk0a7ZlxlNPY6eEoxjNXg9-2AXZman0KpxN5olQq4etp-3GlzA8/s400/26.+q+Wet+and+Dry+river.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wet and dry river</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">A
house on the edge of the river was washed away just as we arrived and it is
being rebuilt. Every day it gets higher
and higher. Hopefully the next heavy
rain won’t wash it away again. We have
to watch ourselves at this junction as invariably a horse and cart or tuk-tuk
tries to run us over as they turn the corner.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
the bridge the road is no longer cobbled and very squelchy. There are a number
of large lorries parked on the side and so we are forced back into the main
road to walk and at risk of being beeped at and splashed by the traffic. It is very muddy and slippery here and I have
nearly fallen over several times!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The
door to the Grade school is usually locked and we wait until the guard comes
and unlicks the metal gates and let us in.
There are a lot less children for this second session and the welcome is
tamer but still enthusiastic. The
playground is often flooded or recovering from flooding and this means that the
children often are playing on the covered areas by the classrooms or inside the
classrooms on the 2 computers or playing board games. We have introduced
Chinese jump rope, bubbles, and various playground games such as ‘What’s the
time Mr. Wolf?’, ‘The Big Ship Sails on the Ally-Ally-O’ and ‘Oranges and
Lemons’ for when the ground is playable on.
‘In and out the dusty bluebells’ is next. Plus we brought with us some indoor games,
‘Guess Who?’, ‘4 in a row’, ‘Flounders’ and ‘Frustration’. Not forgetting the famous Pom-Pom fest!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
class we have another enthusiastic goodbye session where we repeat the
hand-shaking and then we head back to the house, with about 8 children in
tow! They insist on carrying our bags
and boxes of colouring pens and then release them to another child when they come
to their turn-off. They like to chat and
Martin and Fran are very good at this.
The girls love Fran and want to talk music and clothes and the boys hang
around Martin and they have a good chat too.
Me, I am whacked and don’t really feel like giving any more, but I have
a couple of lads who walk with me and I try my best to talk. Silence is underrated I tell myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhleaQMuxyvOCiX2MuXT2pDXaLnRoEQjX4rF_EQGv0JgS8TZBUUzRI1oJsMI_KqYzEMFZbdL_K_NiauIpCpbP0h6xb0Pe-NwSEhYGl5juAbDx9tfAXTLvnRxQ2UOAzMCr_lXkV5eL2CeU/s1600/26.+r+Martin+and+the+boys.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhleaQMuxyvOCiX2MuXT2pDXaLnRoEQjX4rF_EQGv0JgS8TZBUUzRI1oJsMI_KqYzEMFZbdL_K_NiauIpCpbP0h6xb0Pe-NwSEhYGl5juAbDx9tfAXTLvnRxQ2UOAzMCr_lXkV5eL2CeU/s400/26.+r+Martin+and+the+boys.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin and the boys</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0-IVycb2ZpaYdcxkozM1PX6IYCktm99pcOY5nVKzHKUhgHDVaaQUBAym7iOIxn15HGhNh-4r90l9UTfXo3nKkkqVnNx2mH2EDI5DtpY1Pj5sSua4JnTpQZ9IpyAoNiCRK8kyUMnaljc/s1600/26.+t+Fran+and+the+girls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0-IVycb2ZpaYdcxkozM1PX6IYCktm99pcOY5nVKzHKUhgHDVaaQUBAym7iOIxn15HGhNh-4r90l9UTfXo3nKkkqVnNx2mH2EDI5DtpY1Pj5sSua4JnTpQZ9IpyAoNiCRK8kyUMnaljc/s400/26.+t+Fran+and+the+girls.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fran and the girls </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElVOMX3z70MOq0hM1TqklV3OMtkfhAZCWuOKI_ZfF_qrY6otfpob9UTLaRG5Dm88Qm1OcAIOZckAV5t6aihzi8Vz2U6xExUbWhRjXkEHBvf4tmUN8UVO61jx7kbhrb8OrgkEn-d2kn88/s1600/26.+s+me+and+my+shadows.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgElVOMX3z70MOq0hM1TqklV3OMtkfhAZCWuOKI_ZfF_qrY6otfpob9UTLaRG5Dm88Qm1OcAIOZckAV5t6aihzi8Vz2U6xExUbWhRjXkEHBvf4tmUN8UVO61jx7kbhrb8OrgkEn-d2kn88/s400/26.+s+me+and+my+shadows.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my shadows</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqtUpomUkmB4imht-CBedyYBwpZY7n7FYX8Z7WrPCQwwG5XPa0WTKLI_DPwAeOMa3dDR6QPoq6JFSKkvImR4H-AO-7s-CnjMiaYLuesuXsH75LteflVM1vHqk7drif5VfMuVgyeHUrOc/s1600/26.+u+The+bridge+on+the+way+home.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqtUpomUkmB4imht-CBedyYBwpZY7n7FYX8Z7WrPCQwwG5XPa0WTKLI_DPwAeOMa3dDR6QPoq6JFSKkvImR4H-AO-7s-CnjMiaYLuesuXsH75LteflVM1vHqk7drif5VfMuVgyeHUrOc/s400/26.+u+The+bridge+on+the+way+home.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge on the way home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjc1mbzJSImLPHBGHuAR2zmgo6UjtsPHcnwiq7UBsyIqPj8CW5qgLWL_MPDkLafWpAGFeo0XsNleKUst0H-8S2W3qE2hu6AT6lgpBDislDfoy8gpmUUljoL85NVsO8hkDi3WBGhwe7Ag/s1600/26.+v+The+bridge+on+the+way+home.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjc1mbzJSImLPHBGHuAR2zmgo6UjtsPHcnwiq7UBsyIqPj8CW5qgLWL_MPDkLafWpAGFeo0XsNleKUst0H-8S2W3qE2hu6AT6lgpBDislDfoy8gpmUUljoL85NVsO8hkDi3WBGhwe7Ag/s400/26.+v+The+bridge+on+the+way+home.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge on the way home</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
arrive at the house and then every day the girl carrying Fran’s bag ‘forgets’
to give it back! That is their little
joke!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Lunch
is ready more or less as soon as we arrive.
I so appreciate this! I just turn
up and get fed. I bring over a bag of
dirty clothes and then I get them washed and folded and put bag in the bag!
It’s like being a man it’s wonderful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny5CG9csReJDVAMQuviPbJJJWOSXR9J9BlMk0qkh6yt8c0tqX7AnBv5k3aFozZl4mSIEt4D6sI65LDMm7XBRTB3Da6zT8tgtsUy1KP_oZdahNPhUT-WwWm-FH5IhJPjYlvV51ovdGLwA/s1600/26.+z+Azeb+is+our+fab+cook.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgny5CG9csReJDVAMQuviPbJJJWOSXR9J9BlMk0qkh6yt8c0tqX7AnBv5k3aFozZl4mSIEt4D6sI65LDMm7XBRTB3Da6zT8tgtsUy1KP_oZdahNPhUT-WwWm-FH5IhJPjYlvV51ovdGLwA/s400/26.+z+Azeb+is+our+fab+cook.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Azeb our fab cook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">After
lunch we return to the KG school to teach the teachers and then finally at
around four o’clock we are free! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-51822268650052063152012-08-11T08:42:00.000-07:002012-08-17T07:46:46.445-07:00More little monkeys jumping on the bed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Dawit
took me, Martin and the two Aussie
visitors to Soderee at the weekend which is a hot spa resort. It is set in pleasant grounds with outdoor
swimming pools that are filled with hot spring water and just half hour drive
from Nazret.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I
guess that Ethiopia being a landlocked country and very few public swimming
pools (if any) the majority of Ethiopians cannot swim and so luckily for us
they were crammed into the small pool where they could touch the bottom and we
had the big pool virtually to ourselves.
It was lovely and hot!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJU1UkjEvi47Sdvb7km51u7qqVg9lVu8dbjrVcE7vFI2UImRB2EGNwcW1ybAR4WVNzBxVYAihgzqVTIIVs_Bv1Df4-Fw_UHr3UAnBY7fVzp6MWhm3YuCe5J0KqP106r10DQ-SXpHb1ac/s1600/25.soderee+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJU1UkjEvi47Sdvb7km51u7qqVg9lVu8dbjrVcE7vFI2UImRB2EGNwcW1ybAR4WVNzBxVYAihgzqVTIIVs_Bv1Df4-Fw_UHr3UAnBY7fVzp6MWhm3YuCe5J0KqP106r10DQ-SXpHb1ac/s400/25.soderee+4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soderee had a good vibe</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakrDb2EA13Ns4Xo_Wt8NlpEijXJYLR5uo92FoZd83qFHcHNZr-f5D3Kqh-6VuKaVydwlJofiie8L_V5dvuwKJ5Sil9IQQSAVmdkAqwq_dMPiFRWoGLNSuQ4b_Ojgo1P9fRp7j7B4lS3w/s1600/25.+soderee+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiakrDb2EA13Ns4Xo_Wt8NlpEijXJYLR5uo92FoZd83qFHcHNZr-f5D3Kqh-6VuKaVydwlJofiie8L_V5dvuwKJ5Sil9IQQSAVmdkAqwq_dMPiFRWoGLNSuQ4b_Ojgo1P9fRp7j7B4lS3w/s400/25.+soderee+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hot spring pools</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We
had a nice walk through the grounds where the main spectacle are the monkeys
who are very cheeky and will rifle through your bag looking for food while you
are sitting there. We saw one monkey go
over to someone’s bottle of coke that was standing on the ground, tip it over
and then drink the coke off the floor!</span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DDl3Vgydc0bmGR3CCH8vU2cLIbHXGkDr-Yu3OIzECDZ4AigfekH3MDCjIFZWcKslz1fiK3zL4G_zEBFMW8KP0MeewFQB8JJB1PELoYeJSk4_XEGKlklcbEpH7F2KiZumHjlp56Vd4Wo/s1600/25.+soderee+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5DDl3Vgydc0bmGR3CCH8vU2cLIbHXGkDr-Yu3OIzECDZ4AigfekH3MDCjIFZWcKslz1fiK3zL4G_zEBFMW8KP0MeewFQB8JJB1PELoYeJSk4_XEGKlklcbEpH7F2KiZumHjlp56Vd4Wo/s400/25.+soderee+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A giant termite hill</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VEyTSSCTXnaOBPINyn4zySitfhNHSiPgCRMXAq6QsUlUf79ByGxwa-h6gHc3eSrSYo5c0sbMY65xA7xzhMj3UBhJ16_bnsz30uVE7zbOkj66GVgiyfTjIVR71L4o9OpqUC88QZo9klQ/s1600/25.+soderee+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5VEyTSSCTXnaOBPINyn4zySitfhNHSiPgCRMXAq6QsUlUf79ByGxwa-h6gHc3eSrSYo5c0sbMY65xA7xzhMj3UBhJ16_bnsz30uVE7zbOkj66GVgiyfTjIVR71L4o9OpqUC88QZo9klQ/s400/25.+soderee+3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking through the grounds</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJcFqKA9Qd3mjQYn7d2BoLfMMSP2DqGlXYa9Yey35Lca6LUI8EdWubeifrzQ50kwqpVAd5gNhFvwdjGyFzuJob3xzSyafOmXjgikiIfC3bKNn69LgvkuXzERX9eTGOfYmWxOd5ySLH-c/s1600/25.+monkey+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJcFqKA9Qd3mjQYn7d2BoLfMMSP2DqGlXYa9Yey35Lca6LUI8EdWubeifrzQ50kwqpVAd5gNhFvwdjGyFzuJob3xzSyafOmXjgikiIfC3bKNn69LgvkuXzERX9eTGOfYmWxOd5ySLH-c/s400/25.+monkey+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Where's the inside gone? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaWVr6o43z86hfmHZBn5Edoiq6vCnM85wOUrf0jKvZL-OBwBkTIWLG2-YHEcJXzevqDSDfyCaX4BpKJGPXYxTf89xwCmomC_BXsXbrHGaHPW4Z0g_k3Z7KBsbXx5XnMdA2SnRSCJCLhU/s1600/25.+monkey+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWaWVr6o43z86hfmHZBn5Edoiq6vCnM85wOUrf0jKvZL-OBwBkTIWLG2-YHEcJXzevqDSDfyCaX4BpKJGPXYxTf89xwCmomC_BXsXbrHGaHPW4Z0g_k3Z7KBsbXx5XnMdA2SnRSCJCLhU/s400/25.+monkey+5.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fab picture taken by Rhonda</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Of
course they are a nuisance but we had fun looking at them as there were a lot
of baby monkeys that are incredibly cute.
It was a bit creepy though when three or four of them, a couple with
babies wrapped round them, came really close and sat there watching us eating
ice-creams; honestly you thought they were going to rip your eyes out for a
lick!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JPv8fy4emdHH2AJMATVHmYO3VfIQgcEUaeeXvS8sTRpvX-2CSDAbK-ohONU0I4gJ5DWLE5fFzHHTBG5SxiZkWMiGwzpCgJzyrifkGy_MrnPyHAZx-AZ89rKAWiCjQXjJAvdnb_5yi6Y/s1600/25.+Monkey+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JPv8fy4emdHH2AJMATVHmYO3VfIQgcEUaeeXvS8sTRpvX-2CSDAbK-ohONU0I4gJ5DWLE5fFzHHTBG5SxiZkWMiGwzpCgJzyrifkGy_MrnPyHAZx-AZ89rKAWiCjQXjJAvdnb_5yi6Y/s400/25.+Monkey+3.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hey you, faranji, me want ice cream</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iWRkHQQn2xboCW3BazR-cxZIgBE4sIdY0XcOcmYUdcrmzjNhV76PAyQr9pavm4g4HKFEjX9M2Apcvy9OidOwSalOc5a8kt5kTo9uezKUw2miLfPtOblX_q6uRM061WGJbkbRAj1hTO4/s1600/25.+monkey+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-iWRkHQQn2xboCW3BazR-cxZIgBE4sIdY0XcOcmYUdcrmzjNhV76PAyQr9pavm4g4HKFEjX9M2Apcvy9OidOwSalOc5a8kt5kTo9uezKUw2miLfPtOblX_q6uRM061WGJbkbRAj1hTO4/s400/25.+monkey+6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next time I'll have your windscreen wiper</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-17296764654157693952012-08-11T08:41:00.000-07:002012-08-17T07:45:39.918-07:00School Days<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yesterday, just before we were leaving the hotel to go for
breakfast it started to rain. Not
unusual for the rainy season, but this was heavy. Even that was not unusual for this time of
the year and we have often been woken by the sound of the rain on the roof in
the middle of the night. This rain however
was torrential. Is that a big enough
word for it I wonder? It was really,
really, really heavy. We waited for a
bit and when it didn’t subside we made a run for it. The house is only about 300 yards away around
the corner; but when we reached the end of the road there was a river running
through it. No I am not exaggerating at
all. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We walked up the other way for a bit to find a narrower to
cross over but then it left us with another huge leap to cross the river on the
other side. The usual route of staying
close to the building to avoid the mud (there is more stone close to the
building) didn’t work. In fact when I jumped
I landed ankle deep in muddy rainwater; my Birks are the only footwear I
brought with me, and although I tend to gather a lot of mud between my toes
none-the-less they wash and dry out quickly.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When we arrived at the house the back of my dress (I
gathered up the front under my pac-a-mac) was like a water balloon. Martin was completely soaked through. This was just 300 yards. I put up with the discomfort as I was only
wearing a cotton dress but Martin had to go and change before we went to school
(we got a lift in the end).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgG3IjJ4EjwVzRDLTeya10cHyWGI2jy9zdZiv6PGI5sbTqi3oYjJd2xqSx_9zHnQZnUDCmnINf6ie9BHq67X2DXfNTJKPXQu1_sbl1gsS9HkmErmvTInur5tFiQdoTXoCVcbUEc7V7y4/s1600/24.+flood0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAgG3IjJ4EjwVzRDLTeya10cHyWGI2jy9zdZiv6PGI5sbTqi3oYjJd2xqSx_9zHnQZnUDCmnINf6ie9BHq67X2DXfNTJKPXQu1_sbl1gsS9HkmErmvTInur5tFiQdoTXoCVcbUEc7V7y4/s400/24.+flood0.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's my rucksack, not my hump!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No-one likes the rain in Ethiopia and they will stay away
from school if they can. Consequently
there were a lot less students in the KG school and so we put them all in the
same large classroom and sang lots of songs until 9:30. Then we decided to start break early and the
Pom-Pom fest continued. It was CRAZY
like nothing you have seen. The children
who had started their pom-poms the day before wanted wool immediately and were
calling out “Red” “Black” “Purple” “Can I have pink please?” plus seven kids at
a time tugging on anything that was hanging and gesturing and making scissor
movements to show that they wanted attention in some way.<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02APpAtShtns2DqAvIOVPeDBDSF6JGle2Zq1H0q0AHKPFC8J6lZXQAF9KO3W8-oVtE9KKgx6XK3mS_yVICJ2gebLO2KP5Hh_bBk2AiPgy1RZzk8S_PRmXzdcFCP3INYTcRBR9uye7eKc/s1600/24.+pompom4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02APpAtShtns2DqAvIOVPeDBDSF6JGle2Zq1H0q0AHKPFC8J6lZXQAF9KO3W8-oVtE9KKgx6XK3mS_yVICJ2gebLO2KP5Hh_bBk2AiPgy1RZzk8S_PRmXzdcFCP3INYTcRBR9uye7eKc/s400/24.+pompom4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The teachers loved it too!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbESUwo7aKRFjQiQ9DZ2eak1tc40gdYmhgqgjREfow_comBl0DBcdDcahNoR2x0bWAcrCpaZZD2i23WAPCRuiZJfyYtuMBxTQxBJcKxmFAya4BGw2S5e6gmLdTDUYpbqBPxA7Eegc9BNQ/s1600/24.+pompom5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbESUwo7aKRFjQiQ9DZ2eak1tc40gdYmhgqgjREfow_comBl0DBcdDcahNoR2x0bWAcrCpaZZD2i23WAPCRuiZJfyYtuMBxTQxBJcKxmFAya4BGw2S5e6gmLdTDUYpbqBPxA7Eegc9BNQ/s320/24.+pompom5.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">How cute can you get? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
All the children who had not started a pom-pom the day
before poured out of the woodwork to make one today. It was like Petticoat Lane! The teachers were
quite keen to make their own pom-poms actually and they seemed to like it as
much as the children! Once the wool was
out and the scissors distributed I moved to where the other volunteers were
having fun; playing with the smallest children and a bag of those coloured
balls you have in a ball pond. One of
the Aussie visitors held out a bin and the children threw them into it. When it was full it was tipped back into the bag
and so on. You know what little kids are like; they NEVER tire of games like
that! However some of the shots went
wide and she got bashed in the face a few times!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbRHTLVRbGLkMoXJgAqpCLslYFGix_AY81YZM7CJz-pDLr_CVY_jhYQzN6xOPh75qNBoqcKlK8zmvdrkAKr7o5kftmZ9E8BLeJPK583kdqwn8NfN5n4k6d9sYmZOjDDwHsok_1e1jePs/s1600/24+ballpark+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDbRHTLVRbGLkMoXJgAqpCLslYFGix_AY81YZM7CJz-pDLr_CVY_jhYQzN6xOPh75qNBoqcKlK8zmvdrkAKr7o5kftmZ9E8BLeJPK583kdqwn8NfN5n4k6d9sYmZOjDDwHsok_1e1jePs/s400/24+ballpark+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children never get tired of throwing things into a bin!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DPHtdb7LMuuA9uHvmCvin4eMYm4B6uCBRmYr7gNW56JRF24ngAY4xS3XDCPFcbUr-S-MbjplRtsXiuk3ar68iG_UqcR1exZqKE4nag5gHgBzPqC3qT9QysMwwpkK-rOD8XBF5yqvgus/s1600/24+ballpark+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DPHtdb7LMuuA9uHvmCvin4eMYm4B6uCBRmYr7gNW56JRF24ngAY4xS3XDCPFcbUr-S-MbjplRtsXiuk3ar68iG_UqcR1exZqKE4nag5gHgBzPqC3qT9QysMwwpkK-rOD8XBF5yqvgus/s400/24+ballpark+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trish gets one in the face</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
When we went to the grade school the playground was flooded
and there were only a handful of children there. So we had a very nice time! I taught a couple of the older kids how to do
animations and transitions on Power-point and the others played cards!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArZs63mbq47bbAK3KXgTb63qK4IUY9Vt4iJJUmwFxzoCAGLfJn2jJXhGGNQ-QX6evhg1_OQuzG_rVQqCYzJHTNPBNPR88CCBACKMZw4M0J9bKl4jcLYSYJ2wuBx6heU0QrlErwHsO1ms/s1600/24.+flood1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArZs63mbq47bbAK3KXgTb63qK4IUY9Vt4iJJUmwFxzoCAGLfJn2jJXhGGNQ-QX6evhg1_OQuzG_rVQqCYzJHTNPBNPR88CCBACKMZw4M0J9bKl4jcLYSYJ2wuBx6heU0QrlErwHsO1ms/s320/24.+flood1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It must be over 6 inches deep</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-63059719562106787352012-08-11T08:40:00.000-07:002012-08-17T07:43:57.177-07:00A bit of Nature<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
In our brief travels we have seen some lovely birds,
monkeys, flowers and trees.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here you are!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Birds</span></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO8VYSLZ44w7nrdNqJFiyTelYMgj3ZQeO6LZc0x9CyTQ_yEanPc-OOOx3NcHs6ZrWxg8Z46NQDmdUo8AF22Q4PJOUoAfpk-GKYo5SmvVB6EMaVoae3WnZmfBfmVDc7k2aRd8FrjXXCPY/s1600/23a+nature1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO8VYSLZ44w7nrdNqJFiyTelYMgj3ZQeO6LZc0x9CyTQ_yEanPc-OOOx3NcHs6ZrWxg8Z46NQDmdUo8AF22Q4PJOUoAfpk-GKYo5SmvVB6EMaVoae3WnZmfBfmVDc7k2aRd8FrjXXCPY/s400/23a+nature1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrHErIdbyrVFLHfdhJrC6uIsXldSoBN2eql9x-CvhkmlbekY0y8gkUvyauQTUzo2tdAxdclXcqXNK5XsOWncUsy-j26m_gY57QtxNhaEAZpbmedlyttFW6FTnfz_lH208LqvBNVapZmM/s1600/23b+Nature2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrHErIdbyrVFLHfdhJrC6uIsXldSoBN2eql9x-CvhkmlbekY0y8gkUvyauQTUzo2tdAxdclXcqXNK5XsOWncUsy-j26m_gY57QtxNhaEAZpbmedlyttFW6FTnfz_lH208LqvBNVapZmM/s400/23b+Nature2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 16pt;"><o:p></o:p></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPqu6LtlkEgn4QAWSCXImuFDlVE4lyTHctwd8wysiJt-EI2nEgesB9XkzlU9u9EZ4XMrfjLSYGRhyphenhyphenDuoyBtgMW8XghD-tA8Y6a36jjfnFi4EllnAvARU-EPj49frgzOItREW5CVGm9TA/s1600/23f+Nature17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpPqu6LtlkEgn4QAWSCXImuFDlVE4lyTHctwd8wysiJt-EI2nEgesB9XkzlU9u9EZ4XMrfjLSYGRhyphenhyphenDuoyBtgMW8XghD-tA8Y6a36jjfnFi4EllnAvARU-EPj49frgzOItREW5CVGm9TA/s400/23f+Nature17.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jUuZ9rSakfTI11rl80YJ1TZH-9R9oi28iniCWxXPfRqqe2JbCPSimupoJBjt-1iQno30fcVRqEed8WOUK-C-5wAXGoR_kbxT64YGg31_dWLZFR5bU5N3iR96N0e4UVrh14Rv46Z-aTA/s1600/23f+Nature18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jUuZ9rSakfTI11rl80YJ1TZH-9R9oi28iniCWxXPfRqqe2JbCPSimupoJBjt-1iQno30fcVRqEed8WOUK-C-5wAXGoR_kbxT64YGg31_dWLZFR5bU5N3iR96N0e4UVrh14Rv46Z-aTA/s400/23f+Nature18.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4Es5mgmjyUCWmTykDHq9_2P_rLee1aDxqSB6bPUnNFxCUzeSlZKRpbLj6-h1o1zQA_sUDwGr2gInahWhbfm6Xd83zgDDVH-fGhPadatnTrzf_aVpMf16ifFcEwPnFH8hB6lLvkmuSDg/s1600/23h+Nature12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG4Es5mgmjyUCWmTykDHq9_2P_rLee1aDxqSB6bPUnNFxCUzeSlZKRpbLj6-h1o1zQA_sUDwGr2gInahWhbfm6Xd83zgDDVH-fGhPadatnTrzf_aVpMf16ifFcEwPnFH8hB6lLvkmuSDg/s400/23h+Nature12.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Monkeys</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKnKd_uj23ZuZQ45L616drAUiXlwc42agVNShJiIKx977AbaVlzPO-04eWw1HRMgenp1H1f_7TBqrakPfiVCd9s3J0tQmXoGowMfUV2M-aXN0pl6mCrwmkZLmkPnyOiiiybcSO3C0FU0/s1600/23i+Nature9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiKnKd_uj23ZuZQ45L616drAUiXlwc42agVNShJiIKx977AbaVlzPO-04eWw1HRMgenp1H1f_7TBqrakPfiVCd9s3J0tQmXoGowMfUV2M-aXN0pl6mCrwmkZLmkPnyOiiiybcSO3C0FU0/s400/23i+Nature9.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monkeys living in the trees</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuW7caXIYs0orwONxaI9MJ06VH4yh6jWLgXDylKkqmSjV8H79dL5Bkpmx0D6SwxymXDZj1bfECrT0-mdeDgaaHnOOl6qOHYIl9e8fO-8eyI15u5FX7Z9Qs1roDiFRs0KmoUbqNdFUfjA/s1600/23j+Nature10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheuW7caXIYs0orwONxaI9MJ06VH4yh6jWLgXDylKkqmSjV8H79dL5Bkpmx0D6SwxymXDZj1bfECrT0-mdeDgaaHnOOl6qOHYIl9e8fO-8eyI15u5FX7Z9Qs1roDiFRs0KmoUbqNdFUfjA/s400/23j+Nature10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This monkey was throwing the stones off the church wall and drawing a lot of attention to itself</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Trees</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkWbeHyMQTHLTbWoJXQdA_z9uh6xvb9ctLG597j8d8TvP1PPF-CWwTi63ssWL2At9LGop5cucV7MOV4-7j1MR9pPeyGiVSpe2DBcqtjj6pT3wZI5rjRc2noykAv-rr7fAxiZUMcVHiA0/s1600/23k+nature4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkWbeHyMQTHLTbWoJXQdA_z9uh6xvb9ctLG597j8d8TvP1PPF-CWwTi63ssWL2At9LGop5cucV7MOV4-7j1MR9pPeyGiVSpe2DBcqtjj6pT3wZI5rjRc2noykAv-rr7fAxiZUMcVHiA0/s400/23k+nature4.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This tree climbed the wall and continued growing both sides</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hN-sYLYqbHGTtXkzJGVvtVs6M4CHylLHq5bGq_CA7gXueGl5RnDaLszRfmEMYq1HEpj6TGItdXN_MT8AQci0irvIo_qSjtpctNCrDpd44VLZueYrW5GQXSsFCUf-dvGYju2MVa21myU/s1600/23l+Nature5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2hN-sYLYqbHGTtXkzJGVvtVs6M4CHylLHq5bGq_CA7gXueGl5RnDaLszRfmEMYq1HEpj6TGItdXN_MT8AQci0irvIo_qSjtpctNCrDpd44VLZueYrW5GQXSsFCUf-dvGYju2MVa21myU/s400/23l+Nature5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See! It's doing it again!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5l25XhD5RrvAxGLl0FJy1XljgdxpeGfRnbn27bWlMeGoJzyeD1oOSTjCe1jDUy1YP137zdILWEBjj_Bx1jUphJdHIWUNER9M8wbM8FwPsTujIwn0I2_vcliKKKxkXI_xWor0Ziu72Mc/s1600/23m+nature15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM5l25XhD5RrvAxGLl0FJy1XljgdxpeGfRnbn27bWlMeGoJzyeD1oOSTjCe1jDUy1YP137zdILWEBjj_Bx1jUphJdHIWUNER9M8wbM8FwPsTujIwn0I2_vcliKKKxkXI_xWor0Ziu72Mc/s400/23m+nature15.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cactus tree</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Flowers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRv7uA9-GlF2pAPTgPn95iwwm09XE8mXup12U26Yj4hjyCYHgy_nG3bDYMOCLUaAbtyE7oecEEE0FUnl2dOQFk4sikJrR__ogoiELeAJwiSIjJigJEJb0gsr4CZRNlHBa72F64SPCic-o/s1600/23n+Nature19.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRv7uA9-GlF2pAPTgPn95iwwm09XE8mXup12U26Yj4hjyCYHgy_nG3bDYMOCLUaAbtyE7oecEEE0FUnl2dOQFk4sikJrR__ogoiELeAJwiSIjJigJEJb0gsr4CZRNlHBa72F64SPCic-o/s400/23n+Nature19.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers from the hotel garden</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div style="margin: 0cm;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FfNdkJwm0XrqA0Pgj4hFKVA1AUwl9gUZGMIqIr8dV4NjaJY5p-y2p1_LKf98iPPfucT9tTMr5WoOC1BAYsqcYFa00Sn0LvV5q10kc9nFMBBqlRJE-D3DPMUGoJgiMKy399rIP6-TBiQ/s1600/23p+Nature21.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FfNdkJwm0XrqA0Pgj4hFKVA1AUwl9gUZGMIqIr8dV4NjaJY5p-y2p1_LKf98iPPfucT9tTMr5WoOC1BAYsqcYFa00Sn0LvV5q10kc9nFMBBqlRJE-D3DPMUGoJgiMKy399rIP6-TBiQ/s400/23p+Nature21.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And another one!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin: 0cm;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5XVxePRgBU7gK5Zfb0os4OFPBnzRNzGJMQsZxXIOvZEGl1Xwn7QfgONwzKN9RX-8-LwwjPe3Bs19dUKOfht8oqqIZgWsFPdBjGOU8o-UYfcdZI53t8w59Hxzcp0x-vXNLIlPydyBRZw/s1600/23o+Nature20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht5XVxePRgBU7gK5Zfb0os4OFPBnzRNzGJMQsZxXIOvZEGl1Xwn7QfgONwzKN9RX-8-LwwjPe3Bs19dUKOfht8oqqIZgWsFPdBjGOU8o-UYfcdZI53t8w59Hxzcp0x-vXNLIlPydyBRZw/s400/23o+Nature20.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another one</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
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Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-32460221411931914942012-08-11T08:39:00.000-07:002012-08-17T07:41:22.604-07:00Playground Fun 2 - Bubbles<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
We found a couple of large bottles of bubbles at home in
England in the cupboard. They were left
over from a party that my son had had.
Not unusual you may think but he is 29 next month so there you go. Ideal for the playground, this activity was enjoyed
by the teachers and loved by the children!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BBZ1dG2pDtYw8edERmCtW2W8nAoN90uyycCvVdtpOxAMYdKWKZldgGsM66eLjFrke0aPFOlo3-r11AiRcjpI25OpDtVO7Ru2v-mtYRFeRlDRXLcX_xNrJX4ojGKRHFIFaaX4w8XSBCk/s1600/22a+Bubbles2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BBZ1dG2pDtYw8edERmCtW2W8nAoN90uyycCvVdtpOxAMYdKWKZldgGsM66eLjFrke0aPFOlo3-r11AiRcjpI25OpDtVO7Ru2v-mtYRFeRlDRXLcX_xNrJX4ojGKRHFIFaaX4w8XSBCk/s400/22a+Bubbles2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMeOLDixA5qiCLF6X4G8hL3iZ3OrFQPzwnXrKC3D2H3aXTUpdX4NLIhDtqzIV3pfmlrfEi9IWNITcG1wRbh8THboIKF7QVG7S4mYGEzUaej-d1FmAhV4o3aFbrWLm8yNzLj8FmOOrGS0/s1600/22b+Bubbles3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXMeOLDixA5qiCLF6X4G8hL3iZ3OrFQPzwnXrKC3D2H3aXTUpdX4NLIhDtqzIV3pfmlrfEi9IWNITcG1wRbh8THboIKF7QVG7S4mYGEzUaej-d1FmAhV4o3aFbrWLm8yNzLj8FmOOrGS0/s400/22b+Bubbles3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uv9tjxVE24ab-SLYIm7sPTcb9ujAFnl51uoONq2sIzIVm_x4yKDZMriU7_9a1CjskXuICf3_OgYQ1zZ9QTV5KVsn4gF4lLL_iPBO56L7pNt_6pJskva41IpTMLZc-rHPLD7NpdPey_I/s1600/22c+Bubbles4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6uv9tjxVE24ab-SLYIm7sPTcb9ujAFnl51uoONq2sIzIVm_x4yKDZMriU7_9a1CjskXuICf3_OgYQ1zZ9QTV5KVsn4gF4lLL_iPBO56L7pNt_6pJskva41IpTMLZc-rHPLD7NpdPey_I/s400/22c+Bubbles4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88wJTX7bc3GlXpSE977xIxs2fRsG8e92kOwxVPDcXLcIum4B_24eQ-A0KjPaS6WbKoDCvc4n5JFw0T5of_Hwkeo0Rru4ScGPpbo6L3cCfWU6KfS2h8Hu5Nn5DJIrEpzFSbuZGY5JsFqw/s1600/22d+Bubbles5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj88wJTX7bc3GlXpSE977xIxs2fRsG8e92kOwxVPDcXLcIum4B_24eQ-A0KjPaS6WbKoDCvc4n5JFw0T5of_Hwkeo0Rru4ScGPpbo6L3cCfWU6KfS2h8Hu5Nn5DJIrEpzFSbuZGY5JsFqw/s400/22d+Bubbles5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizruOpVJ0Et3sEQOQmr6fFl20GzaO-dpiAheWYIM7E6mh2ce0f-9GA-g4F7Rm9G0BPwZqz_Tn5pHscWtFg1OBXKstR5oaq1w5xMkWZtT5TTSQXm-_TG1MmQ5tRM-Yh7imd2rMVNZYO9Eo/s1600/22e+Bubbles6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizruOpVJ0Et3sEQOQmr6fFl20GzaO-dpiAheWYIM7E6mh2ce0f-9GA-g4F7Rm9G0BPwZqz_Tn5pHscWtFg1OBXKstR5oaq1w5xMkWZtT5TTSQXm-_TG1MmQ5tRM-Yh7imd2rMVNZYO9Eo/s400/22e+Bubbles6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IBgvAe9eg891rzXL_-EOL-EcXOjs3IMgpSaTuWnz7H-3EBMJDrp2ot-DOasecqDEt7OaeWfZyIAn3ug9_h9eO2KUV-KJx9zGZ6fvuIQyaXkojdU8jRJIEtWdYhOlaPBgVB1VaDfDbug/s1600/22f+Bubbles7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5IBgvAe9eg891rzXL_-EOL-EcXOjs3IMgpSaTuWnz7H-3EBMJDrp2ot-DOasecqDEt7OaeWfZyIAn3ug9_h9eO2KUV-KJx9zGZ6fvuIQyaXkojdU8jRJIEtWdYhOlaPBgVB1VaDfDbug/s400/22f+Bubbles7.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-37417859670092454532012-08-11T08:38:00.000-07:002012-08-17T07:41:02.207-07:00Playground Fun 1 - Chinese Jump rope<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Stephanie had asked us if we could bring some stuff for the
break times and to encourage the teachers to be more active during the break
and work with the children rather than sitting and watching them play. I put my child hat on and thought about the things
I did as a child in the playground.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
French skipping was a game we girls played all the
time. It involved the purchasing of a
packet of elastic bands which we used to loop together to make a long
chain. Then two would stand either end
with the elastic band stretched around our ankles and a third girl would do
some complicated routine of jumping on, ever and either side of the
elastic. My research on the internet
informed that this is actually known as Chinese Jump rope and has now been
elevated to a keep-fit routine as part of the P.E program in schools. You can now buy purpose-built versions but I
think the colourful little stretch was half the fun – making sure that two of
the same coloured elastic band wasn’t knotted together (for the more anal of us
that is).<o:p></o:p></div>
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I put together an instruction sheet and then handed this
over to the teacher to shout out commands and to the other young volunteer Fran
to demonstrate the jumping; not before I put the teachers through a work-out of
course!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8XOZS40guoAap16kf3TT3MfMZTtENd2fvmuqy-2yWSl2ROlqmedcn2rheN6ZpLZdkq_7ZTWUK9eBAEBP98O9soCYUASnJd14QK_4Sa6p4Tqr-Y2JtSLPdC638Y5ixHGO452HQtPsINs/s1600/21a+Chinesejump+rope+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8XOZS40guoAap16kf3TT3MfMZTtENd2fvmuqy-2yWSl2ROlqmedcn2rheN6ZpLZdkq_7ZTWUK9eBAEBP98O9soCYUASnJd14QK_4Sa6p4Tqr-Y2JtSLPdC638Y5ixHGO452HQtPsINs/s400/21a+Chinesejump+rope+1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at that girl jump!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYqMt8vQ69f5LSX8-R6Om-eJ_x83mjZautg9qnghD3mRpX9yLChwoZrAIBL2z7eqP1jdYb8xIQRR33oGoLCKPDs-a02f51xyh_FGI1MCMKznM1pDUQP3EboZEGM4Jewhg9vqumY1ldLs/s1600/21b+Chinesejumprope2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEYqMt8vQ69f5LSX8-R6Om-eJ_x83mjZautg9qnghD3mRpX9yLChwoZrAIBL2z7eqP1jdYb8xIQRR33oGoLCKPDs-a02f51xyh_FGI1MCMKznM1pDUQP3EboZEGM4Jewhg9vqumY1ldLs/s400/21b+Chinesejumprope2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two ropes - twice the fun!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRwlM8szhMwrRCv-hxuaz5EiuhMfDWrVoWxZIQiEFgJ9IeLvcfWuEQSpsuWGDYfUDM72evRJGcmUNoLbbTBAYh5hkqfMk4UVMZoeRRpp3J0VFamycAHNl9kEmbnJJzGhK61LFXuxBoaA/s1600/21c+Chinesejumprope3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRwlM8szhMwrRCv-hxuaz5EiuhMfDWrVoWxZIQiEFgJ9IeLvcfWuEQSpsuWGDYfUDM72evRJGcmUNoLbbTBAYh5hkqfMk4UVMZoeRRpp3J0VFamycAHNl9kEmbnJJzGhK61LFXuxBoaA/s400/21c+Chinesejumprope3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Get ready ... </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkj_yyoi1Mgtf5lRMuzFVnVTLHrI45zNPc3wAXT_Aup1MSpv1jm9Z_tV3_xNZw45UshFeZ8ZbhfAhV6zP_Y4Uj4nHm5bQRBuRk7fYhxNwugJwCx98vvDMf0MuUwsW46fxicqXDluyAGj8/s1600/21d+chinesejumprope4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkj_yyoi1Mgtf5lRMuzFVnVTLHrI45zNPc3wAXT_Aup1MSpv1jm9Z_tV3_xNZw45UshFeZ8ZbhfAhV6zP_Y4Uj4nHm5bQRBuRk7fYhxNwugJwCx98vvDMf0MuUwsW46fxicqXDluyAGj8/s400/21d+chinesejumprope4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Straddle out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsk2LKCkxfd84rgwGygM59f_BKQv3RTkCSEkrXVg4ne4trgi3O2SId2kymZ7xzPlSi1FTNTIRCCjd2avvZL0g8HMFGdIJSPRTwVjqNjGS7cRY0E0qT_9aBX6Xm2IjMVdywNyxQArhTpaY/s1600/21e+Chinesejumprope5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsk2LKCkxfd84rgwGygM59f_BKQv3RTkCSEkrXVg4ne4trgi3O2SId2kymZ7xzPlSi1FTNTIRCCjd2avvZL0g8HMFGdIJSPRTwVjqNjGS7cRY0E0qT_9aBX6Xm2IjMVdywNyxQArhTpaY/s400/21e+Chinesejumprope5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rpghodqtZTn1tI8Z0rlou9YlzarhIh8qvukQjkO1Bd2rl1Y9x7IgZPWIxT-jqpOTnoqP45Eg_knjVwLSTKYH9e8ta2rrC9UrY6CexnSQuwVZty1Oseu9yrEH6ptY8-RrM4t1RCQ-NVE/s1600/21f+Chinesjumprope6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2rpghodqtZTn1tI8Z0rlou9YlzarhIh8qvukQjkO1Bd2rl1Y9x7IgZPWIxT-jqpOTnoqP45Eg_knjVwLSTKYH9e8ta2rrC9UrY6CexnSQuwVZty1Oseu9yrEH6ptY8-RrM4t1RCQ-NVE/s400/21f+Chinesjumprope6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-15319492039731946192012-08-10T08:52:00.000-07:002012-08-13T08:37:26.503-07:00First Days at School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s
not as nerve-racking as when we started in Georgia but it is still a bit
scary. First days are like that. It had been raining heavily the
night before and I mean heavily. Admittedly the roof of our hotel sounds
like it is made of corrugated iron but I was awake at 2 when it started until 4
when it finished. What happens in Ethiopia is that when it rains people
just don’t go out so we had about 15 in the morning school (lessons from 8:30
till 10:00) but unfortunately the later session (10:30 till 12:00) was
cancelled as the playground was flooded! For some reason we were crammed
into a small classroom. That is 10 children, 3 volunteers, my sister and
4 teachers plus a parent or two at one point! We just played and got to
know them a bit so that they would feel comfortable around us. They are a
lovely friendly bunch and very open and cheerful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">We
enjoyed the break time and played “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” much to the
delight of the children and then they started to play some of their own singing
games in their own language. We had been asked to prompt some activities
in break time as the teachers tend to leave the children to their own devices
so it was nice to see that the children were having a good time. Martin
and Fran joined the circle and played along which was pretty funny. I
just took pictures!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SqaTxvrPZY-C12S0yXuc5GEE8UXBMjF-Bb1WtDNZv3feoSkBUxKoGaTbM1U1XvVOV47wJzjC6m3AW3x62dIUsonYfh0CZhiQADiX02jOY6_lTfLamUAQxijVlEA1K9rp_tMO60oIqVk/s1600/20a+Playgroundgames1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SqaTxvrPZY-C12S0yXuc5GEE8UXBMjF-Bb1WtDNZv3feoSkBUxKoGaTbM1U1XvVOV47wJzjC6m3AW3x62dIUsonYfh0CZhiQADiX02jOY6_lTfLamUAQxijVlEA1K9rp_tMO60oIqVk/s400/20a+Playgroundgames1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teaching us old dogs new tricks</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KzcMC1gHLOofYTPDhdFiXiqPVIqtFHyNNiFm0TZBMGCGYNHIvL2lJYItRX_0yHzOWAD4bw5R76Tz3WWY5ecaqofs_OerAnAMYy81MNvFmCUgbucuDc5llSSF0Q3kHH5NQqDRDDesHPc/s1600/20b+Playgroundgames5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7KzcMC1gHLOofYTPDhdFiXiqPVIqtFHyNNiFm0TZBMGCGYNHIvL2lJYItRX_0yHzOWAD4bw5R76Tz3WWY5ecaqofs_OerAnAMYy81MNvFmCUgbucuDc5llSSF0Q3kHH5NQqDRDDesHPc/s400/20b+Playgroundgames5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They really enjoyed this!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZLpmIzfPvVNCQKTseAeO71KTzKudyv_FZv43yO3zAtfnlNWgN5wupLQnJOZnUKXDfoU84qhWKE2DRTDpHrjtvl1RekONuZWEhycsyyE2hN6z9R_irOpdr4PbWs8R8o2l2c1TAMbM13M/s1600/20c+Playgroundgames2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfZLpmIzfPvVNCQKTseAeO71KTzKudyv_FZv43yO3zAtfnlNWgN5wupLQnJOZnUKXDfoU84qhWKE2DRTDpHrjtvl1RekONuZWEhycsyyE2hN6z9R_irOpdr4PbWs8R8o2l2c1TAMbM13M/s400/20c+Playgroundgames2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin looking cute</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCaXCCRs-bAwxHCOLL48A0cNvcxuminlxaZelyF7LCTSOxq4xG3OXttRQbgc6odBKwKZb_DMq1k6vL9Z_AgB4jduLvV8dtB9thsu6IjIzlS9Cyx7fzuCbwq1nsGitDNwWITVvCm7L1wM0/s1600/20d+Playgroundgames3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCaXCCRs-bAwxHCOLL48A0cNvcxuminlxaZelyF7LCTSOxq4xG3OXttRQbgc6odBKwKZb_DMq1k6vL9Z_AgB4jduLvV8dtB9thsu6IjIzlS9Cyx7fzuCbwq1nsGitDNwWITVvCm7L1wM0/s400/20d+Playgroundgames3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin looking ready to have a heart attack</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvqN1PergjjlqNYMR0hCC1yQ-_Grzl-t27T8qpSby-FNDWlnpHDgKf4W8jma18gJ1A3DrzsqRiXqcIZrjVV3rF6HnBzcQSnCssUYKiPM1rJQqmEJLR4FeSWFyTzmIgvL_OiAaIPtZEes/s1600/20e+Playgroundgames4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipvqN1PergjjlqNYMR0hCC1yQ-_Grzl-t27T8qpSby-FNDWlnpHDgKf4W8jma18gJ1A3DrzsqRiXqcIZrjVV3rF6HnBzcQSnCssUYKiPM1rJQqmEJLR4FeSWFyTzmIgvL_OiAaIPtZEes/s400/20e+Playgroundgames4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Martin relaxed and happy having survived</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">There
were more children the next day with around 20 for the first session but there
were only about 10 for the later session at the other school (10:30 till
12:00). Twenty minutes before the end of the first session, another 8
children turned up. One of these didn’t like the look of us and cried and
cried! I think it was also because he wanted to go home as well! It was
just a bit chaotic! This was in the nursery class so you can imagine the
noise! Me and Martin did that class together and what we assumed was the
advanced class, was taught by the other volunteer Fran. However, in our
debrief over lunch we found out the advanced class were a bit of a mixed bunch
and they didn’t all know the alphabet phonetically. We were pretty worn
out as well as we did a lot of singing and jumping (the 2 are often
intrinsically entwined) and some alphabet and number work; but the exhaustion
was more about being around so many small children at once haha!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Today
we had 15 in the nursery, one class of grade 1 with 8 students, one class of
grade 2 with 10 students and a “language-only” class of 8 students. The
other students have a session of English with us then after the break have a
session of maths, science and Amharic after. Apparently we need to
provide extra work for this group for when we are not there.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4916517461532502787" name="_GoBack"></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">We are trying to be as relaxed as possible about this
as it has been said that it will be like this for the first week and then it
will be clearer how many and at what level the students are so we are thinking
about how to find out and bring up any students who are unsure of the phonetic
alphabet, colours and numbers and then look to push any advanced
students. Not all the students at the summer school actually attend the
school during the year and so may be at different levels. So we will
see. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">But
we are really enjoying it!</span><br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-66879676647352170842012-08-09T08:35:00.000-07:002012-08-15T08:40:50.383-07:00Getting ready for School<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We had a tour round both school
compounds on the Saturday before summer school started and it did seem like a
long walk as we were not used to it and were taking it all in. Dawit asked if we wanted to try the horse and
cart method of transport so that we could get there a bit quicker and we agreed
with reservation!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeW4_s_QPWIRUr49I_sGyO-e2beT_PIGdGJJL7Ha3Zq1QNhP0Qh02leytp9TQDkmj-EpfjlisY5I3I1IRo5ee4WoWT_WzrEzYOmnlVlEIsacu3u5QMK0hNEpxyJpMvze531SstPF4JN6Y/s1600/19a+Gettingreadyforschool6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeW4_s_QPWIRUr49I_sGyO-e2beT_PIGdGJJL7Ha3Zq1QNhP0Qh02leytp9TQDkmj-EpfjlisY5I3I1IRo5ee4WoWT_WzrEzYOmnlVlEIsacu3u5QMK0hNEpxyJpMvze531SstPF4JN6Y/s400/19a+Gettingreadyforschool6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see the terror?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4D-5qnmzOGESwFFJCyyMsTChH5j6sB6FYndVn31saoxbGmkl6f4Tnd6EYVETfxHz-NE92WcCZyNL5hojxTV9kKd_Ubz0Mx8_jcPbh3HGdV5ncEuUatXhvSPFXeRB1PIk4sAnTTKiJTZk/s1600/19b+Gettingreadyforschool5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4D-5qnmzOGESwFFJCyyMsTChH5j6sB6FYndVn31saoxbGmkl6f4Tnd6EYVETfxHz-NE92WcCZyNL5hojxTV9kKd_Ubz0Mx8_jcPbh3HGdV5ncEuUatXhvSPFXeRB1PIk4sAnTTKiJTZk/s400/19b+Gettingreadyforschool5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arriving at the grade school </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxHeAxJ1xMvBOoH69Jrnmue3AjtIuGC36ca47SMuIL4McL8kF-2daR3JYwaq9sg_mgSEEATnZI2v5Wv-FzJOJLg3-UxzavONMhDnuA-iDbwr348aLTnztOabj6v1uz_f8AhO7Q_C3uxU/s1600/19c+Gettingreadyforschool4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxHeAxJ1xMvBOoH69Jrnmue3AjtIuGC36ca47SMuIL4McL8kF-2daR3JYwaq9sg_mgSEEATnZI2v5Wv-FzJOJLg3-UxzavONMhDnuA-iDbwr348aLTnztOabj6v1uz_f8AhO7Q_C3uxU/s400/19c+Gettingreadyforschool4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gillian had by now stopped screaming</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Never again is all I can say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-45266941325748824942012-08-08T08:51:00.000-07:002012-08-13T08:32:54.891-07:00Food Glorious Food<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">We
found the food in hotels and restaurants to be quite nice. After the
horrible injera in Addis and the raw Kitfor in Gondar we were more cautious and tended to
eat more European style which had an African twist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCldu7bHGis3aXdwtZS2UhEBMfrMx42MsUB4jK6LXWCwoUpVHyi_vatEVKgSDKQLGdP4lImOONWyX-WL5ymzAEt7LcMLzCUgLi0iZnoNtyCfrz5zSywzAdnSaBilgcQFal9S7vNVwadLg/s1600/18a+Food1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCldu7bHGis3aXdwtZS2UhEBMfrMx42MsUB4jK6LXWCwoUpVHyi_vatEVKgSDKQLGdP4lImOONWyX-WL5ymzAEt7LcMLzCUgLi0iZnoNtyCfrz5zSywzAdnSaBilgcQFal9S7vNVwadLg/s400/18a+Food1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: orange;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Spaghetti Bolognaise with a club sandwich
in the background</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4Hd-MQnLhO8wkn-iBhEkPwzo5y3H5xRLJ1munmn7TJA2PYS-UZi_BIRMMKpBq3wtsRicq4bPCxRHhPidSh2IiB89PUpCWjaEa88i53JmC3ptElnuaYEgbH58VVadM4QGgB0lMLRf1oE/s1600/18b+Food6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf4Hd-MQnLhO8wkn-iBhEkPwzo5y3H5xRLJ1munmn7TJA2PYS-UZi_BIRMMKpBq3wtsRicq4bPCxRHhPidSh2IiB89PUpCWjaEa88i53JmC3ptElnuaYEgbH58VVadM4QGgB0lMLRf1oE/s400/18b+Food6.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="color: orange;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Gillian wasn’t happy with her beef
casserole with neckbones and rice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
loved it and ate it all up!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span id="goog_427839025"></span><span id="goog_427839026"></span><br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">We
were told that If you see a stick with a white tin on the top outside an
establishment then this meant they were serving young beer which was good for
the blood. A red tin meant that older beer was available and this
was good to make you go to the toilet. Note to self: stick with the white
tins.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Now
we are in Nasret and working at the school we are eating all our meals at the
house and food is prepared by Azeb, Dawit’s mother. This food is really
lovely! Fresh, organic food, lots of vegetables, pulses. </span><br />
<br /></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjT_hGUqCNVDNmy5G6Hb_uhq5jxYocU2D-_Q4H5fOoMmlCNRbJBowU100GEgPE3a-zQouzjdUTYBElngtK1RtrlS0OZRDZElzRSTLRYmtqBxHQ092aWCt3yBb2wnoICC62MyEP02d3GI/s1600/18c+Food2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjT_hGUqCNVDNmy5G6Hb_uhq5jxYocU2D-_Q4H5fOoMmlCNRbJBowU100GEgPE3a-zQouzjdUTYBElngtK1RtrlS0OZRDZElzRSTLRYmtqBxHQ092aWCt3yBb2wnoICC62MyEP02d3GI/s320/18c+Food2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
injera is much better than my first try in Addis but I still don’t like it. I
am making myself have some every day but I am forcing myself. I think it is
just a taste I don’t like. Similar to raw celery. I can tolerate
that better than I used to but it would never be my food of choice.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-81610989407230845352012-08-07T08:51:00.000-07:002012-08-13T08:31:36.007-07:00Some interesting people we have met<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">It’s
always interesting to meet other people who are also passing through.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">An
obstetrics intern from Portland, Oregan, USA was doing a 6 week internship in Gondar. He said
that the Doctors really knew their stuff and could quote text books at
him. Also they were excellent on the practical management of
people. He said that the volume of people here meant that he saw in one
week what would take 5 years in the US
and so he was gaining valuable experience in what would be rare cases in the US. The
fact that the doctors was skilful was later disputed by Dawit who suggested
that he was looking through enthusiastic newbie eyes and after a while he would
see the true picture which was the complete opposite.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
two peace corps teachers, Joel and Christine who were going to teach in Axum for 2 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sheila
Shalhevet who is a board member of a charity called ‘Save a child’s heart’
which takes children with a heart condition to Israel where they are operated on
and cared for. They also support the child in education so that they can
make a difference. They are not just put back where they come from.
I like this, It’s like these children would be dead without the help of
the charity and so it’s like theywould be dead but now not only are they alive,
they are making a significant contribution to their community as doctors and
vets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a beautiful symmetry when
you think about it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCn8hMIKowGwdz21E-LoAW6TD7GaETDzssUi1lluIA0eqtV-tqLA_RTIiwxROwHjdyxS_j8ttpWA7l6N5pP89kxjLgEBEZwfX5EksCN9r-_bwlQiPlPoc6UaAa7FHCDi-JDmkU8b_zqs/s1600/17a+sach.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisCn8hMIKowGwdz21E-LoAW6TD7GaETDzssUi1lluIA0eqtV-tqLA_RTIiwxROwHjdyxS_j8ttpWA7l6N5pP89kxjLgEBEZwfX5EksCN9r-_bwlQiPlPoc6UaAa7FHCDi-JDmkU8b_zqs/s320/17a+sach.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.saveachildsheart.org/">Save a Child's Heart</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sheila
told us about a Street Child project in Lalibela that was run by Sandi
Petersen.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAciL8mbkaC5h9GnGcVtQ0p3o9KQoWFBE648gl5pkgh5gUTRnsKvZ784nfnQHIHe42S0OIr_pRO_PWZ7RHonscam70uZKFw69SW4oBBtFNtYM5GIpQI_OIO1sj6bw9d0ES4y8i8NYPOsk/s1600/17b+streetchild.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAciL8mbkaC5h9GnGcVtQ0p3o9KQoWFBE648gl5pkgh5gUTRnsKvZ784nfnQHIHe42S0OIr_pRO_PWZ7RHonscam70uZKFw69SW4oBBtFNtYM5GIpQI_OIO1sj6bw9d0ES4y8i8NYPOsk/s320/17b+streetchild.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.worldfamilies.org.au/ethiopia.html">World Family Australia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-1351031405161341052012-08-06T08:50:00.000-07:002012-08-13T08:30:22.318-07:00Rainy season brings tragedy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There was a funeral this morning in Lalibela. Our guide rang in to
say that he would be late as the road was blocked with mourners who were coming
in from the surrounding villages and already waiting for the funeral to
begin. Yesterday on the road from the airport we saw a donkey laying down
on the side of the road which apparently later died. Later that day and night
there were very heavy rains which washed the donkey onto the main part of the
road where it lay there for a while. Late evening, a car driven by a
young man, newly graduated and returning from his graduation ceremony, swerved
to avoid the donkey and because of the muddy slushy water on the road, slid
over the edge of the road and rolled down the mountain. Sadly he died
along with his brother and 4 other passengers. What a terrible tragedy,
not only for the mother, who lost two sons in one day, but for the whole
village and surrounding areas, where the other victims came from. In this
close-knit community, everyone knows each other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As we continued on our sight-seeing, we saw many people walking 20 miles
or more to come to the funerals, with old women riding donkeys while the
younger people walked. White is the colour of funerals and when we looked
out of our hotel balcony we could see a swathe of white as people sat waiting
on the hillside for the funeral to start. </span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgwO1Db9EXN1Hq4AJE03IK7YRaHdwV5pDzUYAwkPqjM7T2_hkI-aujTCJeOqrf29fa5BMNPHtU1AR4ejhvXYYuk8kthZrXtvR5-cV0m7oE0Ni4Mqvt2QRHXijVlNj_OtdkFlOOBuRhTw/s1600/16a+tragedy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVgwO1Db9EXN1Hq4AJE03IK7YRaHdwV5pDzUYAwkPqjM7T2_hkI-aujTCJeOqrf29fa5BMNPHtU1AR4ejhvXYYuk8kthZrXtvR5-cV0m7oE0Ni4Mqvt2QRHXijVlNj_OtdkFlOOBuRhTw/s400/16a+tragedy.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mourners gather for funeral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is always sad when young people die but it seemed especially poignant
as he was returning from his graduation. We had seen so many proud
families with their offspring walking around in Bahir Dar, Gondar
and Axum over the past few days; how sad to
think that this joy would be followed so closely by such sadness.</span></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-67844496703370092562012-08-05T00:01:00.000-07:002012-08-13T08:29:37.490-07:00Amazing Lalibela<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Lalibela is an amazing place.
The landscape is incredible. Hugely mountainous with rich red brown earth
and bright green foliage. The rainy season is the best time to see
Ethiopia I think as it is so verdant and green. Our bus-ride from the
airport was surprising. The traditional homes of native Laibelians are
different to what we had already seen. They are round in shape with a
thatched grass roof and there are several in a compound. This was a very
natural and rural setting. There were some shops and cafes but these were
not tourist areas at all and simply served the local population.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We had pre-arranged a guide who
met us at the airport and he took us to one hotel and then to another for us to
decide which one we preferred. We arranged an itinerary with him and we
went out the same afternoon after hunch, to look at some of the churches that
have been hewn from the rock. What is amazing about these churches is
that they have been literally dug out of the earth. They are not carved into
a rock face but are actually dug out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">I used to make sandcastles with
my children like this: draw a circle in the sand and dig out a moat and pile
the sand into the middle to build up the castle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13.63636302947998px;">King Lalibela (a priest King) stood on the top of a rock face and went downwards. The church is one whole piece of rock as once the main body of the church was dug out, they then went inwards and carved out the inside of the church. There are 11 churches in total and took 23 years to complete. There was one church that was carved out sideways on to a rock face by his queen after his death.</span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZGUhRnqx8ot9vZTLa2-WwyQ-D7CYs3ysN0bt_pNIMsCiHHEo3QHQIPEVaMKN2lgAOyefE8mn6YqTkipPWUSsUI6cu1CZ0PHMuTpIxQoFyTTj9858hj6-byYoSDXceim5tsK8cn73ODY/s1600/15a+Lalibela1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhZGUhRnqx8ot9vZTLa2-WwyQ-D7CYs3ysN0bt_pNIMsCiHHEo3QHQIPEVaMKN2lgAOyefE8mn6YqTkipPWUSsUI6cu1CZ0PHMuTpIxQoFyTTj9858hj6-byYoSDXceim5tsK8cn73ODY/s400/15a+Lalibela1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Amazing rock-hewn church </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6l5TgH2bMn_uo8d68QZWHgUX5_6OKzAaCPgA38qAFaqnbBc0Q46nCqt-Yzv7cahfJxOlDsugIEjka8UqgxuneXK8DiNoy5-CieY33T_FjLiezTM5GGUWepzyAr4ejnKRjgMLP_iEwMw/s1600/15b+Lalibela2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6l5TgH2bMn_uo8d68QZWHgUX5_6OKzAaCPgA38qAFaqnbBc0Q46nCqt-Yzv7cahfJxOlDsugIEjka8UqgxuneXK8DiNoy5-CieY33T_FjLiezTM5GGUWepzyAr4ejnKRjgMLP_iEwMw/s400/15b+Lalibela2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Chanting Drums</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMbyc3sjvTqk_OSmiRouOci8oS5ul_flOWNxXFpXNWO1s0CwltWuUVzfdylkwbwDggKcHxNFDc1R-wcmWo6NFHgXRebdlwFYNd9ed7A4_xRNsm3sTEd_3SXx204s_mdK0e6UynuTbXyU/s1600/15c+Lalibela3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMbyc3sjvTqk_OSmiRouOci8oS5ul_flOWNxXFpXNWO1s0CwltWuUVzfdylkwbwDggKcHxNFDc1R-wcmWo6NFHgXRebdlwFYNd9ed7A4_xRNsm3sTEd_3SXx204s_mdK0e6UynuTbXyU/s400/15c+Lalibela3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Martin on watch-duty</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaC5S-0AZjH47_SckSvq-AR03GG2Qh9Ktj26lPwUBFwz0mXres9znpJHZZUxBNMFvwg6ZcpCscMnCM9EZTfO6HrsktKS8iSUhj_yBHBVQDbeOOMMmdYC_YVouU19PY4hLXEOscMtLtW0/s1600/15d+Lalibela10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGaC5S-0AZjH47_SckSvq-AR03GG2Qh9Ktj26lPwUBFwz0mXres9znpJHZZUxBNMFvwg6ZcpCscMnCM9EZTfO6HrsktKS8iSUhj_yBHBVQDbeOOMMmdYC_YVouU19PY4hLXEOscMtLtW0/s400/15d+Lalibela10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Traditional Lalibela style mud house</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOMOBqXRUTzbeAAIb3xBv66P4-4z3lfSLzqfGBCbnxIVGXLCQ1DV7r158ZqvWxneVMoBZiQ47xZPJeIgMjsbpkwSn1hLe0lAnORyD0rg3DW1CTBiIcpDbqVV9hGeDp1JzYJn9w8lYNYA/s1600/15f+Lalibela12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXOMOBqXRUTzbeAAIb3xBv66P4-4z3lfSLzqfGBCbnxIVGXLCQ1DV7r158ZqvWxneVMoBZiQ47xZPJeIgMjsbpkwSn1hLe0lAnORyD0rg3DW1CTBiIcpDbqVV9hGeDp1JzYJn9w8lYNYA/s400/15f+Lalibela12.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newly built cobbled road 1</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27sPhxRyoDqv-Avr-NQYv6RrD4TnLb4u2x2izEoKEtnc4lBhF9rBHYuV9yaN1SOsggWMKwYMdAvHCeE7doenqHUgRWEjNn5YJ84UOLJzxV78Q_l_M0QhZBgmF-rBGrThy-NsgRc_xUfI/s1600/15e+Lalibela11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj27sPhxRyoDqv-Avr-NQYv6RrD4TnLb4u2x2izEoKEtnc4lBhF9rBHYuV9yaN1SOsggWMKwYMdAvHCeE7doenqHUgRWEjNn5YJ84UOLJzxV78Q_l_M0QhZBgmF-rBGrThy-NsgRc_xUfI/s400/15e+Lalibela11.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Newly built cobbled road 2</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40XU2-gVCd6mAX0tAXLddhIoWUMPBUa9xVr-q1DCWytzU-lNuu3_XtS0_nsVsw1E3LLVV5SQlJN_hodxCf2H3wyBGdplw-4oOEDqDpCypEJgY3luyS9lu5u30DC8nrBibmmhXjHTONiE/s1600/15g+Lalibela6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi40XU2-gVCd6mAX0tAXLddhIoWUMPBUa9xVr-q1DCWytzU-lNuu3_XtS0_nsVsw1E3LLVV5SQlJN_hodxCf2H3wyBGdplw-4oOEDqDpCypEJgY3luyS9lu5u30DC8nrBibmmhXjHTONiE/s400/15g+Lalibela6.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">View of St George’s Church from the top </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZ29z9NyhvY3fKQ0D1aVTIcL1KkA9Ea6lnWsLV-LIOg9MW7zlL3J6xrL4Otq5ogj_2E9gZfzoTs_YaOfkdk8aAQKAU4pFeqD7hwDLVfQ6dCr1jMJhVgZeDIjSZP3FHZHCJwjZjhdHL4s/s1600/15h+Lalibela7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrZ29z9NyhvY3fKQ0D1aVTIcL1KkA9Ea6lnWsLV-LIOg9MW7zlL3J6xrL4Otq5ogj_2E9gZfzoTs_YaOfkdk8aAQKAU4pFeqD7hwDLVfQ6dCr1jMJhVgZeDIjSZP3FHZHCJwjZjhdHL4s/s400/15h+Lalibela7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Closer view of St George’s church</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavSTCmVVAQ0MbASFknLsHzEO7EbQoLRb2Hz7fvg5_dp2V62sftSN4N6Rc7wkcxlWmmFOzx4wOIfhmHkjLRxnsrOuTWa30dbMoQUlKUDVpdI-sBsv5oJfRjs5x_shyphenhyphenPIP2mHJH_vdxFOw/s1600/15i+Lalibela8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjavSTCmVVAQ0MbASFknLsHzEO7EbQoLRb2Hz7fvg5_dp2V62sftSN4N6Rc7wkcxlWmmFOzx4wOIfhmHkjLRxnsrOuTWa30dbMoQUlKUDVpdI-sBsv5oJfRjs5x_shyphenhyphenPIP2mHJH_vdxFOw/s400/15i+Lalibela8.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Us and St George’s church! </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpPegAqok6SbrWnU421yNd35sOS1WI59Jn8TM4-x839r5nx88e-SS0le9mgtx6FzyQv4piIKcWjHSNeWMhXIgy9qyk_IaFrn-ISHnj4p1pYnpMBb_OX-W9Zi2zYIX-ZJFuBuFykvlq-8/s1600/15j+Lalibela9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNpPegAqok6SbrWnU421yNd35sOS1WI59Jn8TM4-x839r5nx88e-SS0le9mgtx6FzyQv4piIKcWjHSNeWMhXIgy9qyk_IaFrn-ISHnj4p1pYnpMBb_OX-W9Zi2zYIX-ZJFuBuFykvlq-8/s400/15j+Lalibela9.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Closer view of St George’s church</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhct_QUMKzD8CZ_olgPudvR5zN2Bcb9eH63Az7Jt-bFjPnmIrjQWJZxu4j-MebhygDdrWnJZXCybYrSdwdclTeKFYtfriJNguaFTdtViUN4PGFFoiVhHyjdmakGr3SoBnFqDN9_aAM3_bY/s1600/15k+Lalibela13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhct_QUMKzD8CZ_olgPudvR5zN2Bcb9eH63Az7Jt-bFjPnmIrjQWJZxu4j-MebhygDdrWnJZXCybYrSdwdclTeKFYtfriJNguaFTdtViUN4PGFFoiVhHyjdmakGr3SoBnFqDN9_aAM3_bY/s400/15k+Lalibela13.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Church built by King Lalibela’s wife in 24 hours</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
next day we visited a church and monastery called Nabuka La’ab. This church was built under a huge
overhanging rock with the most fantastic scenery.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfk7foYwf3YYrgZzKrmc3h5incfuUtZcP1FP79J0U49bRzneupkf1DQnDCp3le0dnL2Zi8WH7u2hO0sOG_7YaAyM7-luelrVYvxZb3Rc7nTHKBChNiPjyI3ltXpGeRzc9yZrobu6rAp8/s1600/15m+nakuta+laab+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEfk7foYwf3YYrgZzKrmc3h5incfuUtZcP1FP79J0U49bRzneupkf1DQnDCp3le0dnL2Zi8WH7u2hO0sOG_7YaAyM7-luelrVYvxZb3Rc7nTHKBChNiPjyI3ltXpGeRzc9yZrobu6rAp8/s320/15m+nakuta+laab+2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The priest is very honest we were told</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajw6vA6hj2LD79qt8gZLmixuUCkP4ln7_0hC1liGUqUnTN_8yxDfxCoppPkfE3T14SVnGVn6Gmu6FuNJBznThmEoD3GmnMCUlVX5obIix9YfB1orSiadqguvnnaPlHaCHhfnSiEq-SIM/s1600/15p+nakuta+laab+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgajw6vA6hj2LD79qt8gZLmixuUCkP4ln7_0hC1liGUqUnTN_8yxDfxCoppPkfE3T14SVnGVn6Gmu6FuNJBznThmEoD3GmnMCUlVX5obIix9YfB1orSiadqguvnnaPlHaCHhfnSiEq-SIM/s200/15p+nakuta+laab+4.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">View over the mountains</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniEkqBB-9SpIYox4Ck_BA-vROOuEf6M7QR1c9Wm5bj3xvW4dog5DhQLR8uVITTrDxLJiTRwEhsJq-C-Oa5H-Upv77WTmzqGmxrWDnrgXI_Bn23ZtpC5vibmi2eoTjnv-t2lNNjPLn4bk/s1600/15onakuta+laab+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjniEkqBB-9SpIYox4Ck_BA-vROOuEf6M7QR1c9Wm5bj3xvW4dog5DhQLR8uVITTrDxLJiTRwEhsJq-C-Oa5H-Upv77WTmzqGmxrWDnrgXI_Bn23ZtpC5vibmi2eoTjnv-t2lNNjPLn4bk/s400/15onakuta+laab+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 19.09090805053711px;">Church has been built under the overhanging cliff</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmyKtQYGRceXlKPrkZE3m0JjOYdana2dzQrtMWbv4nKkHmsj7kn29WH27XvCKfBmnxHuvgDE3RwcJDjqdugfxV1CiYFeOyLXtVAnQ-l2cx95cMM2Zn2BKMcDtjDO2v8HA5EEbp2qANCU/s1600/15n+nakuta+laab+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmyKtQYGRceXlKPrkZE3m0JjOYdana2dzQrtMWbv4nKkHmsj7kn29WH27XvCKfBmnxHuvgDE3RwcJDjqdugfxV1CiYFeOyLXtVAnQ-l2cx95cMM2Zn2BKMcDtjDO2v8HA5EEbp2qANCU/s400/15n+nakuta+laab+5.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Monks and nuns live below the church</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4916517461532502787.post-25756729863556227982012-08-04T08:49:00.000-07:002012-08-13T08:28:08.134-07:00Two things never to do in Ethiopia<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We
met two Peace Corps volunteers who were staying in our hotel in Axum. Christine and Joel were in the middle of
their training and had come to visit the town they would be living in for the
next two years when their training was over.
They would each be teaching in a secondary school and they were very
excited about the prospect of it. Peace
Corp volunteers are given an intensive 4 month training including language
training as part of their two year posting.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">During
their training, they were told that there were two things that they must avoid;
Kitfo and travelling at night on buses.
Unfortunately we received this good advice too late! We had already experienced a very dodgy
situation on our night bus ride and I had ordered Kitfor for Martin off the menu
in our hotel in Gondar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Kitfor
was number 1 on the menu and when I asked the waiter “What is Kitfor?” he said
“Lamb chopped”. He missed out the bit
that said it was actually raw. When we
saw it we thought it was meat in tomato sauce but after tasting it (we both did
– you know how we like to share everything!) we thought that perhaps it wasn’t
quite cooked. So we sent it back and it
didn’t look much different when it arrived back on our plate. Once more we tasted it and on careful chewing
we decided that it was definitely raw meat and that it probably wasn’t the best
kind of thing to eat as new arrivals to the African continent.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgjVR3c4TK87qTjRiJki05jt8sRgkKelR9YWImw1x1ZhV6_ilGx5ZLi9pGcxSPKfbgaKOFUL-muPd_JVDX_BC1YaND9jG_p_dOwEWca54dawrYzLpRnweZxP7LxQ6vC-CgZpTJScTQOk/s1600/14a+kitfo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgjVR3c4TK87qTjRiJki05jt8sRgkKelR9YWImw1x1ZhV6_ilGx5ZLi9pGcxSPKfbgaKOFUL-muPd_JVDX_BC1YaND9jG_p_dOwEWca54dawrYzLpRnweZxP7LxQ6vC-CgZpTJScTQOk/s400/14a+kitfo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Kitfo to be avoided at all costs</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">When
we told Dawit (our host and owner of the school) he said that we will need to
take some kind of parasite killer as we may find that in six months time we
will find a huge tapeworm resident inside our digestive system. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Jen2010http://www.blogger.com/profile/16584392452159974169noreply@blogger.com0