The long awaited photos!

So here is a link to photobucket which is Sarah's website where she keeps our pictures updated. http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u111/abeayant/
I am still behind in the times and use film. Sad I know! But we will be adding some more pictures with in the next day or so. Just something to look forward to!

Probably the biggest wonder since I have arrived here has been the fact that men are the easiest thing to get in Ethiopia. Sarah and I have frequently wondered why it is so hard in the United States. We both have our fan clubs and stalkers. One guy visits because he wants to borrow my library of five books I brought from America. Honestly, I don't know if he wants to tackle the unabridged version of Les Mis. But my favorite siting happened last night. When we got home there were some boys watching TV in the living room and I introduced myself. Keep in mind I had been in the sun all day, and had left the house with wet hair, a huge t-shirt, not make-up and a bandanna. One of the boys took particular interest and I found out he is Buzeyahu's nephew. Then the next morning when I just got back from my run he was waiting in the living room again and we talked for a few minutes but I told him I had to get ready for work and so he asked me for my email address. Just being nice I figured why not and rushed to the shower. After running back to my room and trying to hurry to get dressed since I was running late there was a knock at my door. I figured it was just Bezuyahu's helper and so I grabbed the first thing I could find which just happened to be a spaghetti strap shirt. No, it was Fikadu! He was giving me a journal that Wandu had just dropped off even though we were planning on seeing him after work. Totally embarrassed by my attire and wet hair and again still running late from our talk 10 min ago he proceeded to tell me how he was in 12th grade, and trying to go to University in America and how he would like to see me there. He also laughed at everything I said, even when I told him I studied Exercise Science at University. And the story goes on. I got an email from him only three hours later once he got back to school. It really has been this bad, worse actually. I am now just considered their American Sugar Mama and the fastest ticket to America. Sometimes I think this is worse then the kids who follow you everywhere begging for money!

Today we went to Kumudu and checked out a water pump project and then took more pictures of stoves and latrines. As you can see another exciting day. It was nice to see Kumudu. The beauty of this country is so different from anything I've ever seen, but it can be empowering. There really is beauty in simplicity. I never would have thought before that rolling hills covered in plowed fields dotted with trees and small huts could take my breath away.

We did have a visit from the head honcho in Addis, Nigatu. He solved our problem with living with Buzeyehu. We should be out of the house and in our own within a week. Things still move so slowly here and we are still struggling to fill our time, but progress we have progress! We finished our proposals for teaching women's health to a mother's group and also general health to the community workers. Hopefully these will begin next week. But this will only take care of about 10 hours of our week, so we are still working on the other 30. But we've learned to celebrate every little success and this was a big one in our minds. So yeah!

We almost died when Nigatu suggested that the three new boy interns in Debre Ziet wanted to come spend a week with us because they think we are so busy here. I sometimes really wonder what on earth Salt Lake is thinking, this isn't an internship, this is more like following around two workers and then figuring out what to do with our time while the write up reports and such. We read an old newsletter Salt Lake published and I wanted to puke. One of the expedition projects they considered a success was...ok I can't summarize it but I'll quote it: "Participants set up an assembly line of hygiene stations to help nearly 75 children. Participants blew their noses, washed their little faces, gave them haircuts, a clean t-shirt and sent them out the door with a treat. Much fun was had by all, while witnessing the sometimes dramatic changes that would take place after a little "fix-up!"" Perhaps now you'll get a feeling of what we're working with. We try to get things done here, but we don't have the resources or they just move slow, but if we try to work with Salt Lake they would think handing out tissues is a success. The entire purpose and motto of Ascend is to help others help themselves and their children ascend out of poverty. How is washing their face and giving them a lollipop going to help them learn to improve their life and "ascend" out of poverty? I have to take things day by day and Sarah and I learned that we just have to take things into our own hands because if our main office thinks that giving out chapstick and lotion to people who have chronic problems with dry skin is a success I don't know what is. Sarah and I figured out in 5 minutes a way to teach them how to make lotion for themselves or lip balm using resources here readily available to all the villages - aloe. It is everywhere! This is what I was given the impression I would be doing. Trust me when I say we are trying.

Sarah and I have been experimenting with the food and made Mango Salsa today we just ate as a salad and some avocados. We have been very pleased with our thrown together recipes lately. We made this great tomato salad and our favorite has been a chicken salad. We're thinking of starting our own recipe book!