Top 10 Things I Miss About Ethiopia

I saw this on The Bridges of Addis Ababa blog and thought I'd post my own.

#10- Weather. The weather was great. 70's and not humidity. Cool at night also. Then I came back to Memphis and it's 98 and 100% humidity.

#9- Food. Surprisingly I really enjoyed the food there. Nothing tasted bad to me and it all was gentle on my stomach. Additionally, I had the best spaghetti that I have ever had at the drop in center. It was incredible. Also I'll miss Fanta. For some reason, that is one of the main drinks they serve there and they taste wonderful

#8- The Driving. Organized Chaos is what I like to call it. It's amazing to me that Americans have defined driving lanes yet wreck all the time. In Addis, there aren't many lanes and the driving is basically get where you need to go by any means necessary, yet NO wrecks. Our bus driver was incredible too. The guy could park a bus in a compact car spot with room to spare.

#7- The Church. We went to a church called IEC on the Sunday we were there. It was very culturally diverse and the pastor delivered a great message. We have many churches here in Memphis that "try" and say they are diverse, but none actually attain it quite like this one did.

#6- The Streets. Walking the streets was an interesting event. At any point in time you'd see someone relieving themselves or your nose was hit with some interesting smells. However, the people were genuine that I came in contact with. We bought some food on the street (what the Spanish would call "Empanadas") that was a pastry with meat and lentils in it. The merchants were very kind and welcoming.

#5- The World Cup. Unless I am able to attend a World Cup in the future, I don't know that I'll ever enjoy one as much as this one. While I didn't get to watch a lot of the first round on a large HD TV, I did get to enjoy it with a LOT of internationals. I watched the US-England match with a room full of Brits and Yanks. The Australia-Germany match with Germans and Aussies. The South Africa -Uruguay match with? You guessed it, South Africans and Uruguayans. Additionally watched matches with Africans, Kiwis (New Zealand), met one Italian the last day there. This has been an exciting World Cup with all the upsets and especially the French bowing out early. It also allowed me to have a better understanding of how Americans are viewed by other countries. While they love the idea of America, there isn't much loved lost with their view of our arrogance and laziness. (Hard to argue with their points really...but that's for another blog)

#4- The Bridges. We've got one here in Memphis, but the other set are still in Addis. Jon, Jessica and Dawit, we'll miss you guys immensely.

#3- The Culture. Ethiopians are very affectionate. If you were to see two men walking hand in hand here in America, you'd immediately think they were gay. In Ethiopia, it is a sincere sign of friendship and trust. While I'll admit, I'm not someone that likes people in my personal space, but it didn't seem to bother me there. It is not uncommon for one to feed you there food and as I was told, if it is done twice, that person is showing you love.

#2- The Staff. I didn't get to know all of them very well, but the ones I did, Nega, Biruk, Alex, and Mandy were all awesome. It became very apparent to me that they were bothered by the fact that we were leaving. That spoke volumes to me. They also helped me appreciate hard work and long days. These guys worked in less than desirable conditions and dealt with street kids all day...all the while trying to teach them education, trust, and present the gospel. Nega especially was someone I bonded with. While we both have an affinity for Arsenal Football, Alex put it best when comparing Nega and I when he told me the kids see us as "Big Kids." Not much of a stretch there...

#1- The Kids. In less than a days time I had bonded with the kids pretty well. I had a couple of trump cards that some others didn't. A childlike spirit and football. It immediately broke several language barriers right off the bat and gave me "clout" with the children. Words like, Rooney, Ronaldo, Kaka, Arsenal, Manchester United, Yanks, and Africa were common phrases when bonding with the kids early on. Many of them called me "Rooney" because they said I looked like the balding, thick, and hairy Manchester United star. I'm down with that. ;)
They also gave me renewed strength near the end of the trip when I became sick. Friday hit me like a ton of bricks, but I remember thinking, "these kids sleep in garbage and on the street with all sorts of problems, I cannot let sickness rob me from the last day with these kids." So I pushed on. However, I'm back in the states now and they are back in Addis. Kids...I miss you


This is just part of my reflections of my journey. Hopefully, I'll be able to post some thoughts on other things as well. More to come...