November 20, 2008

**For privacy purposes I have changed the names of my future brothers to "A" (10 year old) and "I" (8 year old) until they are legally my parent's children. Until then the Ethiopian government values privacy and since I have the same last name as my parent's and a connection could be made I didn't want to jeopardize anything.**

A Day of Firsts
This was a day of many firsts. When I got up I used baby wipes to shave my legs. It actually worked better than I thought. Not having running water is a bit challenging but I am getting used to it. I take showers when we have running water other wise I use baby wipes for everything. Do you know how hard it is to wash your hair using a bucket of cold water and being by yourself? It's challenging.

I then went with Hiwot (a nanny...I learned that this is how to spell her name) out to buy supplies. We were told the night before that four children were coming to the house the next day but we weren't sure who and we would not find out until later that day. So I asked all the nannies what they needed and I asked the cook (Meseret) what she needed and we left. We took the public transportation for a while and then decided that it would be faster to just take a contract taxi. Our first stop was to buy a SIM card…we went to three different places before we were able to get one. Technically I am not allowed to get one because I am not a citizen but Hiwot was able to get one for me. Then we went to buy a cell phone that would actually work in this country. I got a good deal on one - which is surprising because I am white. They usually up the price because they know that white people can usually afford it. We then drove all over Addis finding the stuff that was on our list. I do not like having to go to many places to buy different things…sometimes I wish that they would have a large store like Target where you can buy practically anything. Here you have to go to one shop for plastic buckets, one shop for soap, one shop for baby soap, one shop for cloth diaper covers, one shop for blankets, and so on. It takes all day to go shopping here.

I haven't been to the Mercado (outdoor market) yet but hopefully soon. When we got home the ladies were so thankful that it made the long day worth every penny and minute we were out. I made a fun-fetti cake because it was a special day. I then learned that instead of four children we were getting six children and seven adults (plus two infants who won't stay). Whoa whoa whoa… hold the phone…that is way more that four children. I asked Tesfanesh where everyone was going to stay…she said she didn't know but that she would figure it out. And that the two extra boys were "I" and "A"…my brothers! Woo Hoo! I thought they were going to be here at the beginning of December not now…I wanted to call my mom but I calculated that it was 4am. So I didn't.

Tesfanesh went out to get more food and while she was gone a van full of people showed up. Out came seven adults and eight children (two of them are not being adopted thus not staying). About three minutes after everyone was inside the power went out. All the nannies ran around looking for candles and placing them in the kitchen, kid's dining room and the living room. I immediately recognized "A" and "I" and I tried hard to explain who I was. I ran upstairs and brought pictures of my mom with the boys down. I think "A" understood - I know "I" didn't. I was told that "I"'s mom was here and she had just had a baby girl the week before. Holy Cow! We all thought "I"'s mom was dead…turns out she's not. Dinner was hectic and the nannies and I didn't end up eating until 9pm or so. I called my mom and she was so excited that the boys are here with me. We are all hoping that they pass court the first time and can travel right after Christmas. (This was written prior to the court date, Dec 9th. Everything was not in order and a new court date has been set for Jan. 22nd).

Rescue Me
This house is over flowing with children. Most of the time I really enjoy all of the children but then there are split seconds when I just want my personal space. Today was a day of personal hygiene for the children. I brought out the toothbrushes and the q-tips. It is so hard getting everyone's teeth brushed in an orderly fashion. They were so excited brush their teeth - which is completely opposite from the kids in the U.S. – that they swarmed me jumping up and down asking for their tooth brush. Once I was able to hand every one their brush with toothpaste on it the spitting began. I know they didn't mean to spit on me and that they are only two and three but it was nasty and I got upset.

Tamirat wanted my sole attention but when there are 15 other kids that need help it is just impossible and so he clung to my leg when I was helping the other kids. He loves his shoes and when they fell off he just started crying and placed in my lap muddy wet sneakers getting my clothes all dirty – all while I was brushing Eyob's teeth. After I got all the toothbrushes from them and re-wrote their names with sharpie instead of washable marker I brought out the q-tips. Every single one had nasty ears. I had them sit on my lap while I tried my best to get out as much wax as possible without putting it in their ear too far. I even had "A" sit on my lap and he is almost as tall as me.

I have noticed that the kids from Emmanuel are more mal-nourished and have poorer hygiene than the kids from Kamashi. I'm not saying that the actual orphan center is worse just that they come to the orphan center in such bad shape because it is a very poor area. For example Kanesa (formerly spelled Kenisha) has really bad teeth. His gums bleed so much when I brush them but I am extra gentle with him because of it. I'm not sure if they are cavities but he has permanent black stuff on his teeth and plaque that will not go away. From a distance you can't see this stuff but as I was brushing I noticed. His ears were also the worst of all the other kids. He had dried wax in the fold of the tops of his ears and dried wax all over the ear canal. I think I used six q-tips for him alone.

Maternal Instict
Even though I am not a mom I think I have more of a maternal instinct than some of the mother's that were/are staying here. Lily's mom (Bezunesh) has been here for three weeks now and has been breastfeeding her to reduce the risk of infection that is likely to occur in premies that are formula fed. I know she is only 19 years old but I could do a better job than she is. Since she is feeding Lily she has been helping out with Muna and Yabsira (formerly spelled Yeahbsura) a lot - which has been a big help to Tesfanesh (I learned how to spell her name) who is now able to help me with the 15 older kids. We had to teach her how to do everything. A couple days ago I noticed that as soon as she was done feeding her she set her down and then about ten minutes later Lily vomited. I told her through Tesfanesh that she needed to burp her every time after she eats. She thinks that if they are crying then they are hungry - the thought of a dirty diaper or the want of being held never enters her mind. I find myself checking often to see if the girls need to be changed or burped or held.

Silver-Where?
Most days I only use silverware to stir my coffee or to scoop more shirowot onto my injera (shirowot is made of lentils and has the consistency of gravy). Meseret has Sundays off so I decided that I should cook dinner one of these days it just so happened that it worked out perfectly today – so I made for all 22 people homemade chicken noodle soup. Luckily you can buy de-feathered chickens at some little markets so I didn't have to kill any today. Hiwot and I took the minibus to Gebriel where we knew the market there had 'prepared chicken' as they call it. I was learning how the minibus system works so that I can get around town without having to pay an arm and a leg with contract taxis. (I wasn't able to go church this morning because there wasn't any contract taxis by the house).

Anyways back to the chicken noodle soup. I boiled the whole chickens and started on the noodles. I taught Hiwot how to make them – she likes to help in the kitchen but most of the time her three babies need her and Meseret doesn't really need help making wot and injera. They don't have a rolling pin so we used a vinegar bottle and it worked surprisingly well. I quadrupled the batch thinking that it would be plenty…I should have made five or six batches of dough. We had JUST enough and some probably could have eaten more but there wasn't any left. Luckily we had made a stop for fresh bread so the kids had that with their soup. I think God helped me ration the two pots of soup for all 22 people. After all the noodles were in I really didn't think we would have enough but we did. We left the two chicken carcasses in the fridge for Meseret…Tesfanesh said that we should tell her that there are leftovers in the fridge for her.

I decided that I would cook on Sunday nights for everyone. This will take a lot of pressure off of the ladies who have to cook and take care of their kids on Sundays. Tesfanesh said that she couldn't wait till next week. While she was talking I looked over at Bezunesh (Lily's mom) and she was eating her soup with her bread like it was injera and wot. I told her that she has to use silverware and that this isn't injera. I never thought it to be such a foreign thing but then I never use my hands to eat crepes and gravy (injera and wot) either.

I took "A" to church with me one Sunday and we went out to eat with Philipa's family after. He ordered a fish sandwich and ate it like injera and wot. I think this was his first time eating a sandwich. If you have never eaten Ethiopian cuisine then you probably don't know how to eat injera and wot. First you lay some injera (like a crepe) flat on a plate then you scoop the different kinds of wot onto your injera. Then you tear a piece of injera and use it to pinch the wot (with your thumb and three fingers of your right hand) and place it in your mouth. I think everyone should find an Ethiopian restaurant and try some.

Are we Really in the 21st Century?
Yesterday I rode home from downtown Alembank to the house in a horse drawn buggy. It was the most rickety thing and super uncomfortable but it was so much fun. It was mostly made of rebar and tarp with some wood for the harness thing. What was the tarp used for? Well for the seat cushion and covering where canvas is usually used. It wasn't much of a cushion though as we bumped along on the rocky road. I was carrying eggs praying to God that I wouldn't fall out and break them. I think I will try it again soon.

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas
I went Christmas shopping the other day with Philipa (the Australian nurse), her daughter Hannah, her sister Rachel, and her niece Naomi. I wanted to get the nannies something for Christmas because they work so hard all day everyday. They are lucky if they get to eat lunch without holding a child or putting their food down and running upstairs to see to one of their babies. I wanted something special for each of them. For Tesfanesh I found a really nice necklace and earring set made of silver and a black stone. For Meseret I found a very nice long shirt – she likes to dress to the nines on her day off. For Zoudie, who is very very small, I found a brown with mint green orbs dress and matching sweater. For Bezunesh I found a very nice purple dress. For Hiwot I am going to get her a pair of jeans – she really really wants a new pair but they are too expensive for her. I think for the older children I will get them each a new movie. As for the younger children – I'm not sure yet but I will think of something.

I asked "A" what he wanted for Christmas. His reply was so sweet and heartbreaking, "What is Christmas?" I said, "Really? You have never had a Christmas?" He shook his head no. So I explained to him what Christmas was and why we celebrated it. I don't think he can comprehend it fully until he experiences it. He definitely didn't get the exchanging of gifts part. I started naming different things like movies and games and toys and a bike...his expression was priceless when he heard bike. Mom and dad now you know what to get him for Christmas.

**If you read this write Em a comment. She can't see them but I e-mail them off to her and she said she loves to read the comments.**