Long Over Due

Emily has not been able to send posts for many weeks. So...she has been saving them and finally was able to get them to me. There are 17 different posts. Scroll down to #1 and start reading up. Enjoy! Ann

#17 She Said What!

Tonight at dinner- I'm not sure how this came about really- the women were talking about female circumcision. Tow of them were circumcised when they were 7 days old...it is part of the Orthodox religion. I asked them why and their reply confirmed what I had thought. They said.."If you aren't circumcised then you are wild and you won't be a good wife or mother". I had learned that in one of my classes that in Egypt the Orthodox religion does it as well as a way to control women. I tried to explain through Hiwot that the part they cut off is only for sex...so that women enjoy sex as much as men. This then got inot a 10 min. explanation of what I was talking about. Do you know how hard it it to explain that? Very hard.

#16 Family Ties

A couple of days ago at lunch I asked Buze if she still talks to Lily's father....I then got the whole story. When she was 13 she went with her friend to a clinic because her friend has hurt her arm. She met this doctor and they have been together for the last six years. Since doctors don't get paid more than any businessman here her parents gave her to a merchant. What? Hold on....wait a minute. You are married??? She was only married for a couple of months before she got pregnant with Lily. Her boyfrined told her to run away and that he would come and get her but she was three months pregnant by the time she actually left her husband- who doesn't know about Lily. In this culture you never accept the children of another man as your own. This said he didn't want Lily. Buze was fine with this at first she didn't want Lily who wasn't the child of the man she loves. I think being here away from both men has allowed her to look at Lily as her child and not either of the men and she loves her- oh how she loves her. It is going to break her heart when she leaves. Anyways, back to the story. I asked her if in the Orthodix religion if she can divorce her husnband...then it took 5 mins. to explain what divorce was to Tesfanesh so she could translate properly. I received a very surprising answer...yes. it's not a big deal in their religion. I was secretly happy for her. I do not think that divorce is right but she didn't have a choice in whom she married and she is in love with someone else. I wouldn't want to be in that situation at all. So, when she leaves the house she is going to go back to her boyfriend and marry him. She chose a man (who could possible leave her) over her child but I know this is what is best for Lily.

#15 Delta Airlines

We had a crazy man come around near the house. It was right around lunch time when he made it over to our side of the little field in front of our house. He looked up inot the window and saw six women (some holding babies) watching him. He motioned ro me that he was hungry. I told Meseret that we should give him lunch...she ran downstairs to make him a plate. He then sat on the fence right outside the house and pulled down his pants. I quickly turned away and so did the others and we all burst out laughing. We had two men working on the laundry line so we weren't completly without protection if we needed it. I sent Buze (Lily's mom) to go and get sodas for everyone. When she came back I realized that the two men working and the crazy man probably wanted one too. So she went back out to get three more. He really liked his injera but not the soda so much. We gave it to hime in a little plastic kiddie cup so he wouldn't hurt himself or anyone else with the glass. He drank some but threw the rest towards Tefanesh...luckily he missed. He was our lunch entertainment I hate to say. There were three girls working on the other side of the field doing construction and he kept bothering them until the grouter came back from lunch and told him to go away. He then climbed the fence and waundered in the small field some time. Buze went out and asked him for the plate back and he threw small peices of injera at her...I'm not sure if it hit her or not. When it was getting cold (around 4 pm) we noticed he was putting on more cloths. I had this brilliant idea all I had to do was to find them. I found them after a little searching...two delta airline blankets! Perfect. Ayana's parents gave them to us in their two huge bags of donations. I told Buze to follow me and to go give then to him while I stood by the gate and watched...because the men had gone home by then. He said..."thank you and God bless you". to us. He was so sad because he couldn't have been much older than 25 and he was not right in his mind. I saw him pick up his possessions in a small plasitc bag and then all of the sudden he was gone. Hopefully, he has left for good because the kids really wanted to go to the meadow today but I said that they couldn't because this man was outside. This is the small field outside the front gate.

#14 Homemade Pizza

Today at lunch I told Tesfanesh that we should have homemade pizza for dinner tonight. she asked what we needed and I told her all the ingredients that we had and all the things that we needed to buy. After coming back from the meadow at 5:30 Mastewal and I started in on the dough while Meseret, Alemu and Dinkenesh went to the store for meat, cheese and pineapples. The oven is too small to do a large pizza so we made around 20 individual sized pizzas with seasoned gound beef (I used taco seasoning) pineapple and cheese. They turned out really good and the nannies and I got to eat at 7:30 rather than 9:00 like most nights.

#13 Pad thai

I took one family to the US Embassy on tuesday for their appointment to get a visa for their little girl that they had just picked up. They invited me to have dinner with them at the Sheraton Hotel that night ( that is a super super nice hotel). I had Pad Thai (it had been two and a half months since I had had Asian cuisine and it was so good). I miss variety.

#12 There Was A Fire Fight

OK so it wasn't a "fire" fight per say but it was a water fight. The weekend before my birthday Phillipa had the boys and I over to spend the afternoon and night at her house. After lunch Aaron changed into his swimming suit and climbed into a bucket of water that had been sitting out in the sun for a couple of days. This took Phillipa and I by surprise and soon Daniel and Hannah changed their cloths to. The bucket was only big enough to fit one person at a time and only Daniel really fit. We then convinced Alemu to change his cloths but we couldn't talk Israel into it. Alemu climbed into the bucket but he didn't fit at all and only got up to his waist wet. Hannah then brought out plastic cups for everyone to have a water fight with it. It took Alemu a second to get the hang of it but he was dominating everyone within minutes. He wouldn't let Hannah get any water out of the bucket without getting her soaked so she grabbed a smaller buvket and filled it with freezing cold tap water and totally drenched him! When all the water in the big bucket was finished Alemu and Aaron grabbed smaller buckets and attacked Hannah- she was the typical 12 yr. old girl and screamed super loud in a really high pitched voice. I enjoyed seeing him have so much fun.

#11 Cold Bed

My bed is really cold now that Dari is gone. I was so warm sleeping next to her...now I have to layer again. This is just one of the things I miss now that she is gone. I miss her laugh when she is tickled. I miss her snuggling with me. I miss her running in races against Tamirat and Mattewos. I just miss her.

#10 Random Thoughts

Seven days until my sister and brother-in-law come to pick up my nephew!
The thing on my face is slowly disappearing. The pharmacist even noticed it yesterday.
There is a bacterial infection going around...most of the nannies and some of the babies have it...I am going to get tested just as soon as I have to poop.
Phillipa's husband came today to install a water pump...he's not finished.
I have a bacterial infection as well...but don't worry I am on antibiotics.
My siter arrives in 24 hours!!!!
They call a bedroom a class or house...I think it is hilarious and sweet at the same time.

#9 Rainy Season

It's not the rainy season yet it has been raining for the last 5 days. Luckily, it is usually only at night, this saves everyone from having to entertain 13 kids inside. Right now it is thundering and lightening right above is and raining so hard. I love the sound of rain on the tin roof and it pelting the windows so soothing.

#8 My Protector

Today I had all the nannies get stool samples taken. When we got the results back after lunch I knew I had to go to the phamrmacy...luckily there is one very close. I told Tefanesh that I was going to take Kanesa with me (he rarely gets to have alone time or time away from the house) they didn't object to the idea but they pleaded with me to take Alemu too. "Only Kanesa? Take Alemu please....please. Is is not good...Kanesa is small". Like Alemu would save me? But I took him to please the ladies. I asked him if he would save me if someone tried to take my purse? He laughed and said "yes". I think it's funny that they object to me taking a 4 yr. old but they are ok with sending a 10 yr. old.

#7 Birthday Bread

I turned 23 the other day. I don't feel any older but it sounds old to me. When Ilie was here in December she gave me money to take Tefanesh to get a massage. Since all the babies and children have been sick and then Tefanesh was out of town this was the first time we could get away. I asked her if she wanted to go on my birthday and she said yes. I called that morning and made the appointments for two one hour massages. Tefanesh has never had one so I was trying to explain what was goin to happen.When we got to the day spa I was amazed at how beautiful it was. I asked the lady up front if we could have women and she said of course...phew that could have been awkward. They took us down stairs to this dark peaceful lounge with rows of doors on each side. Inside my room there was rose petals all over the floor and candles with soothing music playing softly. The lady washed my feet and then left for me to change out of my cloths. Oh it was so nice and relaxing. Than you Ilie. We both really enjoyed it very very very much! On my way home Alizar and I stopped at the harware store and I bought faucets ffor the jerry cans. I asked the man for some caulking and he said that I didn't need it. Foolishly I trusted him...I should have made him sell me some right then and there. As soon as i got started on the project. Afer the children had their dinner and were in their pj's we sent them back downstairs for my birthday celebration. When I got to the living room there was popcorn, deep fried dough pieces (they are like a hard candy but taste like bread) and the biggest loaf of bread that I have ever seen. They make the bread round and cook it on the injera maker. Meseret put the number 23 in dough on the bread. We had that instead of cake. The boys ( Alemu and Israel) got me a small purse, which has come in handy so far. They all sang the worst rendition of "Happy Birthday" that I have ever heard. They kept singing for a long time. Finally, I had to tell them to all stop because they had sung it around 10 times. I will try to recreate it for you all. "Happy birsday Emily, Happy Birsday Emily, Happy birsday Emily". Over, and over and over again. Oh and they have a really hard time pronouncing the "th" sound. All of the chikdren had a really good time and they loved staying up later than 7:30. Thank you family for the birthday presents. Aunt Tammy-everyone here loves the movies. Thank you Mom and Dad for the cloths...I needed one more skirt for church. Thank you Autumn and Brian for the shirt and picture frame. thank you G-Rams for the card.

#6 180 Degrees

The last couple of days Helina has changed so much. She is laughing and smiling all the time now, whereas before she was sullen and quiet. I don't know what has sparked the change but everyone is really enjoying the new Helina. She came up to me the other day and wanted me to hold her. this is very unusual for her...if she wants to be held she will go to Tesfanesh not me. Tonight she ran up to me and gave me a kiss. She found my hat and put it on all by herself in this photo. I lie I think you will be shocked when you come and pick her up.

#5 In Ethiopia It's Not A Big Deal

I hear that a lot from the Ethiopian nurse that comes to the house once a week. I went to Brook Hospital where she works today to pick up the medication for the children. I told her that I think I might have caught something from the kids. At first when I got it I thought it was a mosquito bite but after two weeks it stillisn't gone and the shape has become more defined. It is on the bridge of my nose where my sunglasses lie so it totally looks like a huge circle of zits but it's not...it itches super bad and is in an oval shape. The same shape that Ayana's face think was. Oh great. I asked her if I could take an anti-fungal medication we have at the house ahd her response was "in Ethiopia it's not a big deal". Heloo- it's on my face and obviously contagious. I told her that much in a nicer way...she said that if I really wanted to than to go ahead. I told her that I did and she just alughted at me and told me to paint my face (I think she meant with make-up). Seriously lady...I think you would to if you had some weird contagious fungal infection on your face...man that sounds horrible. It's not that bad really but it does itch.

#4 Burger King

You know how Burger King commercials have that famous jingle? Have it your way. Well, if I had it my way I would fire the cook. I've never wanted to have someone fired before but I kind of feel like Dwight from The Office who always wants to fire Jim...except I have a good reason. She is late every week...and this is a big deal at this house. She gets 24 hours off from Sat. at 3 pm. until Sunday at 3 pm. All the nannies made a deal that if the cook prepared food in advance for Sunday's lunch (which is injera and wot) than she could have 24 hours off. Most of the nannies don't get even 5 hours off a week so to have 24 hours is amazing. Most sundays she is late only 3 hours....I know that doesn't sound like grounds for firing but it puts tons of stress on the nannies that have to prepare dinner for the children as well as do the job they are being paid for. I have ended up cooking for them for the last three Sundays. Well two weeks ago she calls from her parents house saying she is sick...none of us believed her. Yesterday she called late at night and said that she couldn't find a ride because of the holiday...yeah right. Buze (Lily's mom) answered the phone and was told not to tell Tefanesh or I that she had called...please...everyone was so mad at her that they told Tefanesh she had mentioned Saturday, before she left, that she might not be able to find a ride home...I think they were suppose to keep it a secret. The kids didn't have dinner until 8 pm. lst night...they usually have it at 6:30 and are in bed by 7:30. She didn't come until 8 am Monday morning. One Saturday she refused to make injera before she left and Zoudie had to Sunday morning...but Zoudie was cunning and only made enought for that meal (if you make all the injera in one batch it wil last us three days). If I had it my way I would find a new cook. She is a sweet lady but come on enough is enough.

#3 The Results Are In

Sunday late afternoon (when I got home from church and lunch) I looked at the lab results from the stool samples. Tesfanesh still couldn't get Temesgen to poop so we have to go back again...luckily this hospital is very close to the house. There is only one child who doesn't have anything which surprises me because he was the one with really bad diarrhea for a couple of days. Four children have yeast in their stools whicg indicates a fungal infection, five have giardia and two have both. When I read the results I decided right then and there that things were going to be done differently around here concerning water. I told Tefanesh that we needed to go to Alembank to get some supplies. I bought one large (60L) plastic water tank and three medium (40L) water tanks. As soon as the store opens up tomorrow I am going to buy four facets for wach of the tanks. The large one is going to be for the children and boiled clean water in it...this way they will be able to have water whenever they want. Hopefully having this available for them will reduce the number of times they drink unclean water. The medium sized tanks are for wach of the nannies in their rooms. I think it will be easier to fill bottles using a faucet tan using a huge water bottle. We'll see if this works..I'll keep you posted.

#2 I Wish He Hadn't Been Sick

Temesgen had a fever for three nights stright-it would only start at 6 pm. and would quickly go down with children'd tylenol. Last night he had a fever of 101.5-not too bad but I gave him a sponge bath and tylenol anyways. I called Simegne and she said not to worry and that she would come by the next day. I checked it again 30 mins. later and it had risen to 104.2! Holy smokes that's high...dangerously high. I called Habtamu to come and take us to Brook Hospital right away. I gave him some children's ibuprofen...it wasn't working at all. He was just moaning the whole time especially when I would change the washcloths and it would be cold. We finally made it to Brook and there were an unusual amount of men in the waiting room. Then one man passed through the waiting room with a small read and gold casket. Habtamu asked the nurse when it was our turn about it and this is what he told me. A two year old little boy was playing in the living room on the third floor of his house when the ball went down the stairs...the little boy followed it down all three flights. He had a skull fracture and was bleeding with spinal fluid out of his ears. An hour later about ten grown men came out of the room carrying the casket. The father was crying so hard and so was another man. I covered Temesgen's eyes as they were passing us. I know he probably wouldn't have understood but no four year old needs to see that. All of the paretns that were in the waiting room with the children got this empathetic/horrified look on their faces. I couldn't look at the men as they left- all I could look at was the little casket. Outside of the waiting room I could hear the mother wailing as the little box was brought to her. Simegne told me today that the boy died right away but the parent's didn't know that and brought him anyways. I wish Temesgen hadn't benn sick because I can't get the picture of the little casket or the sound of his mother out of my head. Temesgen is on antibiotics and didn't have a fever tonight!!!

#1 Those Who Poop Together Stay Together

That's my version of "A Family that Prays Together Stays Together", in case anyone didn't get it. Yesterday I was walking upstairs on the balcony to the kid's room and I noticed that Melkamu and Tamirat were sitting next to each other poopoing. (The kid's have little potties that are outside the downstairs bathroom). Tamirat was reading a book and Melkamu was reading a piece of paper. Then Tamirat showed Melkamu something in his book. Iwent to my room and grabbed my camera but when I got back Tamirat was through with the book. Too funny. Today I took all the older kids to Bethel Hospital to get stool samples. Since they have been sick I decided that it was worth paying $1 USD per child to know if they have a parasite or bacterial infection. After explaining to the lab technician what I needed he gave me 12 little cups with each's child name on it and 12 little sticks. When it was Tamirat's turn he couldn't go so I moved him to the side of the toliet and Helina joined him on it. She was terrified of falling in so it was hard for her to relax and go. I moved her to the other side and Temesgen sat in the middle part of the seat. I was impressed that three little butts could fit on one toliet. After what seemed like forever none of them could go so they all got down. Tesfanesh had Helina squat on the ground to try and go and she did. We tried that with Tamirat but he still couldn't go. I even got out my ipod to distract him but that didn't work either. I had to bribe some of them to push hard and try to go and they would get candy! It worked. We got 9 out of 12 children to poop. We are going back tomorrow for the other three.