Nanny life has been better lately, as the girls and I have gotten to get out of the house a bit more lately. It still hasn't been all fun and games, and I was
informed today that I was mean--but I can live with that if threatening
to put LEGOs away leads to a quiet, happy hour of 4 girls playing nicely
together. :) Stacy also gave me a break and sent me on a massage the other
day, which was thoroughly appreciated! AND today we got internet!!!
Travel-wise, we're not doing "cultural" things per se, because I travel with 2 six year olds, but while they play with their stuffed Alvin and the Chipmunks in the car, singing "Me, I want a huuuulaaa hooop" in true chipmunk fashion, I observe the world.
And, luckily for me, any time we go anywhere, we get stopped in traffic on the way there so I have plenty of observation time!
We have been to a regular park, and a national park where we could feed the baboons by hand (the animals roamed free through the rest of the park though, so we decided we'd play it safe American-style and get back in the car). We've been to "Lion Park Zoo" which is just that: Lions and maybe 15 other animals (notice I said animals, not types of animals) in small cages. But the lions were actually running around and we got to watch them feed them and touch a baby gazelle so that is all pretty cool compared to American zoos. And it will remain cool in that weird African-city sense, until PETA finds out about it. And we went to an international church which was refreshing. Sidenote: We sat by Indians. :D (I love Indians, and I love that you can find them literally everywhere).
I am still loving the people, but I have a really hard time opening up and being friendly to the men. I'm trained for India, where "you save your smiles for your friends" and don't make eye contact with men you don't know. Here, the culture is "touchy" and while I'm okay with that for women and children, I still forget I can make eye contact and conversation with the guys. But our driver and I have become friends this week so that's at least progress. :)
I know most everyone here is in love with Ethiopia, but, frankly, I'm just not. I love the people, yes. And I wish I could take Eyerus and the poor woman who sat in front of us at church last week and everyone else into my home forever. But, I'm just not feeling that pull for Ethiopia itself, which is sort of disappointing, but then I remember I have my India.
All that said, simply watching a man cross a busy street with friends' assistance, while his bare feet and toes scrape the blacktop and concrete due to something no more complicated than foot drop (where you can't bend your ankle up towards the sky) is heartwrenching. And that is only a 30 second snippet of being stopped in traffic in the middle of Addis: that isn't anything compared to what the Stacy and the rest of the team see.
I have "deeper" stuff to write, but it's 1:30 a.m. and I still just don't know exactly how I'm going to say what I want to say. So, await another post. Good evening, America!
Travel-wise, we're not doing "cultural" things per se, because I travel with 2 six year olds, but while they play with their stuffed Alvin and the Chipmunks in the car, singing "Me, I want a huuuulaaa hooop" in true chipmunk fashion, I observe the world.
And, luckily for me, any time we go anywhere, we get stopped in traffic on the way there so I have plenty of observation time!
We have been to a regular park, and a national park where we could feed the baboons by hand (the animals roamed free through the rest of the park though, so we decided we'd play it safe American-style and get back in the car). We've been to "Lion Park Zoo" which is just that: Lions and maybe 15 other animals (notice I said animals, not types of animals) in small cages. But the lions were actually running around and we got to watch them feed them and touch a baby gazelle so that is all pretty cool compared to American zoos. And it will remain cool in that weird African-city sense, until PETA finds out about it. And we went to an international church which was refreshing. Sidenote: We sat by Indians. :D (I love Indians, and I love that you can find them literally everywhere).
I am still loving the people, but I have a really hard time opening up and being friendly to the men. I'm trained for India, where "you save your smiles for your friends" and don't make eye contact with men you don't know. Here, the culture is "touchy" and while I'm okay with that for women and children, I still forget I can make eye contact and conversation with the guys. But our driver and I have become friends this week so that's at least progress. :)
I know most everyone here is in love with Ethiopia, but, frankly, I'm just not. I love the people, yes. And I wish I could take Eyerus and the poor woman who sat in front of us at church last week and everyone else into my home forever. But, I'm just not feeling that pull for Ethiopia itself, which is sort of disappointing, but then I remember I have my India.
All that said, simply watching a man cross a busy street with friends' assistance, while his bare feet and toes scrape the blacktop and concrete due to something no more complicated than foot drop (where you can't bend your ankle up towards the sky) is heartwrenching. And that is only a 30 second snippet of being stopped in traffic in the middle of Addis: that isn't anything compared to what the Stacy and the rest of the team see.
I have "deeper" stuff to write, but it's 1:30 a.m. and I still just don't know exactly how I'm going to say what I want to say. So, await another post. Good evening, America!
No comments:
Post a Comment