coming around...

I’ve been absent for a long time, probably most of my blog followers have given up on me and found more maintained blogs with better pictures, stories and grammar. My apologies to those of you who know me personally and enjoy my blog because it’s one of the few avenues you can stay connected to me (maybe I’m giving myself to much credit?). So here’s a blog for those who still bother checking: including photos and personal details: stuff that entertaining blogs are made out of!

 

(I've been busy exploring Ethiopia)

The truth of the matter is that for many months I struggled with something unfamiliar to me, and could be categorized by others as depression/self-absorption/laziness or a unwelcome reality check. Put simply, I got burnt out by Ethiopia. Fortunately I had a long series of visitors over the past 6 months all of whom came to visit me at my site and experience life as I know it here. Highlights include:

When Brett played guitar and sang for students at the primary school with me. We wrote a song together and the students still sing it with me when I work at the school. Hopefully they understood the message and are more inclined to wash their hands, eat vegetables and say please and thank you. Before he came to visit Brett was mostly a friend of a friend but I’m delighted to know that I have a great friend to go paragliding and mountain bike with when I return to Missoula!

Me and Brett wandering around the fields outside of my town.

Enjoying Lake Awassa with our very knowledgeable and unsuspecting bird guru.

John and Shana came to visit me in February and what an adventure we had. I don’t for see me having such long string of exotic expeditions ever again. Memorable and humors events are a guarantee whenever John’s around, and it was only made better by his lovely lady Shana who taught me a lot about being graceful in Africa and relishing each moment. We covered a lot in a short period of time and were all totally worn out by the end of it. Thanks for helping me re-discover Ethiopia Shana and John.

Bale Mountains National Park

Next up was Hayley, 

one of my best pen-pals since I arrived and the only friend I actually believed when she said she was coming to visit during my PC service. Hayley was the only person who could calm me when I was worked up and scared about moving to Ethiopia. She assured me that I could not have had better luck than to be place in the Horn of Africa, and I think she was right. Hayley and I had 2 weeks in Ethiopia where we got lucky enough to see a wild leopard, hippos, Ethiopian wolves and the elusive honey badger. To wrap up our time together we went to Zanzibar (which again I was reluctant to do and she talked me into it; she always seems to know what is best for me). The pictures will reveal that Zanzibar is absolutely the most beautiful place ever, with wonderful people and all the nonsense fun that a bundle of low-budget travelers could hope for.  We hit all the tourist spots, sampled everything from the ocean buffet and are all determined to end up there again someday soon. Forget San Francisco, I left my heart in Zanzibar. Hayley, Katheryn and I made great travel partners and feel confident that we will stir up trouble somewhere else soon.

Stone Town

Stone Town's windy back streets always leave you happily disoriented

Picturesque beaches of Nungwi

On the way to Memba island

Getting up close and personal with the oldest extant animals in the world!

Most recently my dad and step-aunt, Beverly came to visit for a whopping 3 weeks! I made sure they got the full experience of near-death minibus rides, nasty hotel rooms, bus station chaos and plenty of rainy weather. We also had a lot of luxuries that I was grateful for including private vehicles, fancy hotels, in country flights and constant cribbage partners. It was a very busy couple of weeks but I’m really happy that we filled our schedule so they could meet so many of my Ethiopian and PC friends, experience rural life, learn that Ethiopia is very lush and mountainous and give me the encouragement to finish my last 6 months here strong.

Like father like daughter

Hiking in Bale Mountains National Park

We make great travel companions together!

The next visitors that I look forward to receiving is my ever-beloved friend from high school, Sarah, who wants to have it really rough here so that she returns extra motivated before she starts her PhD program this fall. Don’t worry Sarah, I’ll make sure that you are eager to leave and spend the next 4 years living under florescent lights and chasing deadlines. No problem! I promise I’ll leave the embarrassing “congratulations on your transgender operation Sarah Sam” sign at home this time when I pick you up at the airport. You’re going to love Ethiopia and I can’t wait to see you!

2011 was too long ago!

Last but not least, my favorite Montana gentleman is coming, a.k.a. JOE! Despite the mileage, poor internet access and turmoil Joe still thinks I’m worth sticking around for. Ladies and gentleman please give this man a pat on the back, a tip of the hat or a high five if you see him because I adore him and he’s a stand-up guy for staying by my side. Ethiopia will be a great reunion for us and hopefully the first of many travels we will share together.

To encourage me to keep writing blog posts, please put your suggestions below! 

e-mail to my academic advisor

Hello Steve,

Thank you for the e-mail informing me of what to expect when I return to school next year. I’m eager to wrap things up, mostly because of the financial aspect, but I know that I also need to be realistic and it is my priority to complete an outstanding thesis that I’m proud of and positively contributes to the people and places I’ve grown to love here in Ethiopia.

Regarding my thesis, many things have become jumbled. The shortened version is that the bamboo company I was involved with went bankrupt due to corruption and organizational issues. Fortunately I was working under an independent contractor and our assignment will be finished according to the original contract and handed off to local and international stakeholders. The work I have been involved with was helping to write and execute HH surveys, input and analyze data and finally to co-write the EIA report for both bamboo forest areas.

It has been a tremendous learning opportunity for me to see the challenges businesses face here in Ethiopia. This specific business was striving to create an ethical development project with admirable benefits for involved communities and bamboo forests. The concept appeared idyllic on paper and was very inspiring work in the beginning, but now that someone is incarcerated, 90% of the staff was let go (unpaid),  and the involved Ethiopian communities are very confused and unimpressed I have little hope that the business will survive. What a tornado of activity I’ve witnessed in the last 8 months! Fortunately I was just along for the ride and managed to obtain experience and information that will help me complete a thesis and hopefully prevent me from being a victim of incompetent employers in the future.

With that said, I have access to social, economic and ecological data from 2 different communities who rely heavily on bamboo for their livelihoods. Unfortunately for my previous project idea, it was recommended that I do not return to the communities to collect ecological data ( I wanted to conduct a bamboo forest inventory analysis) because it may further confuse the community and disrupt relationships. I agree with this suggestion and will work with the SEB and EIA information that I have. Potentially I’m thinking about writing a case study comparing these two communities and the potential of bamboo utilization and marketing in Ethiopia. I need to brainstorm some more and organize my ideas to settle on a more specific thesis plan.

For now at least, I wanted to respond to your e-mail and let you know:

• ·         I intend to graduate sometime in 2014
• ·         Ethiopia is constantly chaotic and full of life lessons
• ·         My thesis has veered off track, but I am confident that I’m on the brink of some great ideas
• ·         After all your years at University of Montana as an advisor, I’m sure none of this information surprises you
• ·         I anticipate when you return from sabbatical we can laugh about all of this over beer and you can tell me your own shocking stories of promising research projects gone sour

Best, Bridget

A bag of puppies

27 January 2013

Matt found a bag of puppies.
They were so young their eyes were not open yet.
He heard their whimpers while he walked by, lifted the rock and untied the knots to reveal them. The morning after they were nestled in rags, all 5 puppies fitting snug inside a small box. My presence awoke them as I sat with them, noticing their unique colors, their paws the size of pennies, their skin pink and pure. They pushed themselves around to get comfortable, to get oriented, to find the milk, but alas none of their siblings were lactating.

“It happens every minute all over the world my friend” my brother tried to console me.

So what do we do? “Feed them goats milk and find a momma dog they can attach to” says my brother in America. Well in Ethiopia, most of the female dogs are killed so they don’t produce and create such situations. We have plenty of goats, but no goat milk is readily available. Even if we fed them, kept them alive, made them strong… is that a good solution?

Frank typed “Human ways to euthanize puppies” into Google search. Is this a superior solution? Are we saving ourselves from the burden of responsibility or are we really just shortening the time of calamity for these babies, letting them go quicker to peace.

Are they better off to grow up into street dogs? To be beaten by people, hit by cars and feel perpetual hunger? To reproduce and make more puppies who will be bagged and taken outside. What is the best answer? What is humane?

In Ethiopia the streets are shared by homeless dogs and people. I can’t lend much sympathy to either of them anymore. I offer “exabier yilisting” (God will provide) though these words are not sincere, and do not heal wounds, give shelter from the sun or offer hope for their children. We have no homes for the homeless, no money for pity, no help for the handicap and no space for sympathy.

For their sake, I’m glad the puppies were blind and unable to see all the shame in this world.

An exercise in poetry

24 January 2013


Before Ethiopia became a place of my reality
I knew it only as a distant story
of ancient cultures, diversity and infamous misery.
People who not only appeared but
spoke, lived and learned unlike me.
Landscapes raped of naturalness,
plowed, cut and inhabited for too long.
History, culture and community
inconceivable to me.

As Ethiopia became part of my future
I knew it only as an unexplainable truth
of limitless opportunities, challenges and necessary discomfort.
People at first unfamiliar but
become my family, friends and mentors.
Landscapes to explore,
admire and preserve for posterity.
Stories will evolve as time dissolves; their contribution initially
inconceivable to me.

When Ethiopia was my place of residence
I knew it only as a constant battle
of values and virtues imbalanced, disappointment and eager isolation.
People who lived meagerly
gave time, laughter and love abundantly.
Landscapes ever changing,
contours of color, texture and exhaustion.
Questions and answers like pieces to a fragmented puzzle
inconceivable to me.

A trip to the market

13 January 2013

(All photo credits to Brett Kvo!)

Squeezing mangoes and avocados only 11 cents each!

Twice a week my small town of 15,000 people becomes flooded with thousands of horses and donkeys packing vegetables, clothes and animal hides. These pack animals are led by thousands of more villagers walking slowly towards Adaba’s central market which occurs every Wednesday and Saturday. Ethiopians do not use grocery stores as they depend on weekly markets and small corner stores called “suks”. Market days are a big event for everyone but especially the rural people (the other 155,000 people in my larger district) who are easy to pick out because their faces display shock and disbelief at the perceived “modernity” of my small town, which to many of them is the largest “city” they have ever visited.

Market products vary slightly from town to town because of local farming practices, climate and culture. Because my town is near to the large towns of Shashamene and Hawassa I am fortunate to be able to purchase a variety of fruits and vegetables. Some volunteers are restricted to cabbage, potatoes and carrots as their only available produce. There is coffee from at least 4 different areas, herbs and spices for every dish or health ailment and so many types of natural incense that your nose becomes unable to discern the subtle aromatic differences.

Dry peppers to make berberry with.

Cardamon pods.

Salt from the NE area of Ethiopia, Afar.

Coffee by the espresso cup only (2 birr = $0.11)!

Incense!

Sniffing some incense and learning about the local medicinal herbs.

Honey is abundant, but very dirty because it's only used to make mead (honey wine).
I'm trying to start a women's cooperative to clean the honey and start a edible honey market in Adaba.

Most everything is sold by the kilo including shoes, honey, onions and coffee. There are limited handicrafts such as baskets, pottery and decorated gourds to purchase while other more popular items such as sugar cane and rancid butter are always abundant. My purchases tend to be produce and coffee, and when I have the patience and energy I enjoy wandering around to see what other obscure items or vendors can be found. Typically my patience is exhausted after 30-60 minutes because my presence quickly encourages followers, mostly children, who indiscreetly go with me from one stand to the next exclaiming on my every comment and purchase.

Weekly market produce all under the price of $3.

After the market I confine myself to my small compound for the remainder of the day because going out only welcomes a mild anxiety attack. Even a short trip to the corner suk invites several rural people to gawk and yell at me or a near collision with a high speed horse taxi. Because my town is predominantly Muslim belligerent people are not common but on Wednesday and Saturday drunk people are everywhere and public urination seems to become an unspoken completion. Butchers toss out vertebras, skulls and hooves for the dogs and massive hooded vultures that squak, steal and scrounge for the best meal of the week. Speakers on the verge of short circuiting thump as kids dash through the bumpy streets, past the busy foosball and pool tables and through crowds of men shaking hands, hugging and stroking each others’ beards. A joyous party for everyone, but me, who prefers to read, cook and wash until the chill of dusk encourages people to return to their villages and anticipate the next market day.

Addis Ababa’s allure

18 December 2012

Modern buildings, historic churches and child labor.

As the capital of Ethiopia one would consider Addis Ababa to reveal a lot about the status of the country. Vividly I can recall my first night in Ethiopia as we drove from the airport to our hotel and I anxiously gazed out the window, searching for clues about this new country and culture. Much to my dismay I found broken sidewalks, corrugated tin metal construction, people sleeping in the gutters and trash carpeting the landscape. Typically a capital city has a concentration of wealth, and especially the area around the airport where all tourists and diplomats pass through; Addis immediately proved to be something different. Nothing indicated hope for prosperity only disparity, but I assuaged my fear by telling me that the daytime would shed light on a different story.

I woke up early the next morning to church speakers, diesel engines and mini-bus horns. Outside of my hotel room I saw the most expensive and impressive architecture of the city: the African Union buildings. Maybe, I thought to myself, things are indeed better than they had initially seemed in last night’s darkness.

Admittedly, it took me a few days to have the courage to leave the hotel and venture out into the streets. I walked across a bridge, the water below smelled of human waste and the soap from people washing upstream created a massive collection of bubbles. I turned the corner to walk toward the African Union, the epicenter of modernity, only to be chased off the road by an enormous herd of cattle and struggle to step between the rocks and muddle puddles on the main road. Translated Addis Ababa means “new flower” this is obviously more poetic than literal as the smell and sight of the “flower” quickly overwhelmed me and I returned to the hotel for refuge.

Addis has become more familiar to me over the past 16 months, I can get where I need to go day or night but each visit reminds me of what a bizarre place it is. The expansive city is 203 sq. miles and inhabited by approximately 6 million people; one of the largest cities in the continent of Africa. Only four functioning stop light exist in the city, while other large intersections are directed by a single policeman working daily, or abandoned to the madness of taxi drivers, pedestrians and livestock.  Only 14% of people in Addis Ababa have flushing toilets and the majority of electricity access (only 16% of the country’s population) exists here. Addis has the largest outdoor market in Africa, Mercato, where you can find nearly anything imaginable is available for purchase if you can spend your money before it is stolen. It seems that most areas in Addis are under construction, which seems to progress and expand but never be completed. The construction provides a constant obstacle course for pedestrians that must hop over putrid smelling puddles, pass by unsecure man holes, climb over boulders and avoid bulldozers and workmen.

Comment like and share our food! Menu items include the "face burger" and "face pizza".
There is no such thing as copyright infringement in Ethiopia.

The metaphorical flower indeed is something to overwhelm all of your senses, and after many weeks and months in my small town I look forward to a trip to the capital. These visits permit opportunities to eat food from nearly any country in the world, buy groceries and gadgets that can be found nowhere else such as tahini, mouse traps or cooking knives. Such extravagant shopping sprees can make it is easy for me to spend 1,000 birr ($60) in a single day, which would take me 4-6 weeks to spend in my rural town. One of my favorite parts of going to Addis is witnessing middle class citizens, independent and modern women wearing pants and driving cars, well fed children and so many foreigners that I can go about my business unnoticed. My feelings towards Addis Ababa are capricious, as it is only tolerable in moderation and with the relief to know that I don’t live there.

Behind every successful woman

5 January 2013

It has been said that “behind every successful man there is a strong woman.” In Ethiopia there is an addition to this: “behind every successful woman there is no one,” Implying that what helped make her successful was avoiding the social pressures of getting married and not pursuing her own education or career. This is not a society where women have many advantages and to be financially, professionally and academically successful an Ethiopian woman will face challenges and criticism every single day.

Many young girls are pressured by their families to immigrate to the Middle East for job opportunities. Often they work as house servants to families they cannot communicate with, and in a culture that is very modern and unfamiliar. They use washing machines, chemical cleaners and cook food that Ethiopians have never seen let alone touched or tasted. Risk of failure is high in these job settings. Even more dangerous is the sexual violence that is all too common among these Ethiopian immigrant workers. Women have come home maybe with more savings to their name, but at a high cost. Many women cannot afford to return home or if they migrated illegally cannot resolve the logistics to get back to Ethiopia. Knowing all of this I inquired to my friends why it is so popular for Ethiopians to go work there at all and I was told:

“Yes, work in the Middle East is difficult for Ethiopian women, but not as dangerous as being poor in their own country.”

Immediately I knew this to be true but was never keen enough to make the observation on my own. A young girl without education or a supportive family is a burden and must find her own route of stability. Often teenage girls are sent to work as a house keeper (“saretena”) for another family. Here she will work 365 days a year cooking, cleaning, washing and pretending to be invisible. This family may or may not send her to school even though public education is free school takes at least 5 hours which is time they could be working at home. I have heard that some saretenas wish to become pregnant by a man in the family so as to ensure stability in their life instead of someday be let go towards an unknown future. Every household has a saretena though some use their own daughters which is why on average girls have lower grades and drop out of school at a higher frequency. On my compound we have 3 saretenas: Lomii (9 years) Salomwit (15 years) and Mimi (18yrs). Only Mimi dropped out before high school, the other Salomwit will probably quit after 10th grade (next year). Lomii is an orphan who’s parents gave her up because they could not afford to feed and cloth her, she’s only in kindergarten and I worry for her future that they might pull her out of school so that she may work full time at the house.

Seeing how women survive in Ethiopian reminds me of the pre-civil war days in my own country, but instead of race people discriminate by gender and class. Being poor is dangerous anywhere, but especially in a developing country where you will not commonly receive sympathy because for nearly 85% of the country who live on around $1 each day sympathy is too much of a luxury for those who are just trying to get by.