1st Week

Hi Everyone!

This is Margo. Bemnet has had troubles connecting to the internet, as he mentions below. When he was first able to get a good connection, he realized the blog address is blocked for security reasons in Ethiopia. He emailed the post and pictures to me so that I can share it with all of you.

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Wow, I can’t believe I’m home. It’s a little surreal. My two nephew’s are a total hoot! Dagi (6) is the affectionate one. He randomly hugs me and tells me he loves me. He reminds me so much of my brother. He is unlike any other kid! Gogo (4) is the street smart comedian. When you take a picture of him, all you have to do is tell him ‘show me cool’ and he’ll give you the funniest pose. They both have so much of my late brother, Worke’s personality and charm. The older one remembers him. Dagi was 4 when Worke passed away. When he first met me a few days ago, he thought that I was him. He wouldn’t take his eye’s off me. I think he probably thought that his beloved dad came back much skinnier and darker ☺. I think it was partly the longing that he had in his heart for his dad, but also partly because I look a lot like Worke.
My older brother Mikhael picked me up from the airport and brought me home. My mother was the first to greet me. We immediately started mourning my brother. You see, in Ethiopia, if you are coming home and were absent during a loved ones funeral or even the mourning period, you have to first pay your respect by crying and mourn your loss before you move on to conversation and greetings, even with your own mother. My brother was taping this reunion, so I’ll share it with you as soon as I am state side.
The past couple of days have been all about catch-up. My sister Hiwot from LA arrived the day before I did. My other sister Mali will be getting here on Sunday. Our house is just stirring with energy. It’s quite exciting. I haven’t been able to do much other than eat and play with the kids, so hopefully my next post will include pictures from the city and the surroundings.
This morning (Saturday), my brother Mikhael and I woke up around 6 and decided to go out for a walk to a coffee shop a mile away. On our walk back, we decided to take a different route through a small neighborhood. The narrow road, much like most small neighborhoods in Addis, didn’t have a side walk, so the cars and the people along with the occasional sightings of sheep or goats, share the road. Needless to say, it can be a bit dangerous in that some of the cars on the road would come frighteningly close and at alarming speeds too. Anyhow, we started walking right past a very old man. He had a walking stick in his hand, but wasn’t using it. He was walking quite slow and close to the middle of the road. A car was heading directly at us and seemed too close for comfort, so Mikhael pulled the old man closer ‘ababa, be careful’. As the car passed by, the old man responded to my brother ‘Ged yelem yene lij, hulu guzo new’ which means ‘it’s ok my son, it’s all a journey’ - I’m not quite sure what he meant, but I gather he probably meant that even in death there is a road to be traveled - not sure exactly what that means either actually ☺. Anyhow, my brother started a conversation with the old man. We kept walking with him. He told us that he was born in 1910 (western calendar) and that he had seen quite a bit in his life. Apparently he had to flee from his village during the attempted Italian invasion some time ago - I think around early 1930s. As we parted ways my brother gave the old man some change as it is customary to do for the poor in our country, ‘Le shahi’ (for tea) as we say here. My brother asked him which church he was going to, and the old man replied St. Mikhael’s (same saint my brother was named after). Coincidence? I think not. Well, we received our blessing from the old man and headed home. I wish I had my camera on me! Note to self, never leave home without Canon!
Well, I’m watching Kung Fu Panda now with the lil goofball nephews of mine...by the way, you can pretty much buy any dvd in the streets, and I’m talking about what’s out in theaters now...anyhow, my nephews call the movie Kefu Panda...Kefu means ‘mean’ in amharic...they think the movie is called Mean Panda. LOL. They are both so loving. They asked me to sit between the two of them and they both cuddle in with me. I tell you, these kids are really something else. I’m not looking forward to leaving them when I return to the states.
Talk to y’all soon.

ps. Internet access in the country is quite horrid. We just got our home land land line back up and running again, so I’ll be using dial-up to connect every night to check emails. So please keep ‘em coming.