Well, yesterday turns out to have been quite a gift – and an
anomaly: it was mostly dry, which kept the tracked-in mud to a minimum and
allowed the students to play outside a bit after lunch; we had power all day,
which was great for the computer lessons we had planned (PowerPoint sharing and
an Excel intro); and, for the first time in two weeks, the internet (which came
on in the afternoon) lasted into the evening and was available in our living
quarters. Wow! Of course, after catching up on some email, photo
processing, and school prep work, I saved blog posting until this morning… and
now the power is off again –and it’s raining. Oh well. In our group here, we’ve
adopted and modified a popular phrase from the African aid community: T.I.A.,
“This is Africa,” has become T.I.E., “This is Ethiopia.” We use it uncritically
(like “c’est la vie” or “ni modo”) as a reminder to just accept and roll with
what we get on any given day. We still have all the important stuff – food,
shelter, community – and, like so many Ethiopians have said to me so often,
each day of life with these basic needs met is gift. I feel the truth of that
more viscerally here than I ever have before.
Posted during the lunch break. More posts and pictures coming... assuming the stars are still aligned after the teaching day.
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