TAKE ACTION FOR AHOPE

Off to Wordpress......

2010-06-18T21:14:00.002-05:00

Okay, I have officially moved my blog over to Wordpress. It is at www.takeactionforafrica.wordpress.com and some posts will be password protected.
If you want the password, shoot me an email, tjones6575@gmail.com.

Silvia is being kind enough to blog moderate for me this trip!!! So plan on visiting and hearing about all the adventures!!!

BLOG MOVE....

2010-06-06T20:20:00.002-05:00

Hi,

I am moving this blog over to a wordpress account.. I don't know if once I do, if this stays up.. I think is might.... but in case it doesn't... please email me at tjones6575@gmail.com if you are interested in continuing to follow.. I will be able to send you the password-- as some of my posts will be password protected.

www.takeactionforafrica.wordpress.com

This will be the new name.. but nothing is up yet.

Baggage....

2010-05-29T20:32:00.002-05:00

I'm slightly hyperventilating here!!! Okay... so crafts, donations etc.. were overtaking my house, so I thought I would start packing one suitcase.. so I decided to go online and check baggage requirements.. Now, I was planning on paying the $55 or so for a third bag on Air France and hoping that I would be able to get Ethiopian Air on my second leg to waive their fee but once again, another $50 doable. Well, I go on Air France.. and they now only allow one bag for Economy!!!!!! The second is $55 and the 3rd is $200!!!!! Holy Crap!!! But then there is some language about when your ticket was purchased and of course, these restrictions literally went into effect the day my flight was purchased.. I mean the actual day, March 28th!! But when I go on Air France and put in my flight info, it says I can take two pieces under each of my itineraries.. I don't know how you get a hold of talking to someone and I don't know who to ask!!! I can not do this trip in 2 bags!! I am going to two orphanages and am bringing a lot of stuff!!! I don't know what to do.. plus I purchased my flights through a cheap air place... and so I'm on a ton of different carriers!! Bad move on my part!!

Crafts.... Yea!!

2010-05-27T19:28:00.008-05:00

Last night my friend Shannan invited me over to share all the craft she has made for me... She made me examples, got me all the supplies and even wrote up little directions!! She is awesome. In addition to all of this... she made dinner and sent me home with leftovers for lunch the next day. You can't pay for service like that!!! Oh and I loved when her daughter Talia(age 5) handed me one extra craft(a paper Hula skirt) just in case no one liked the crafts her mother picked!!!!

Still collecting crafts... especially any ideas for the big kids!!!

Collecting...

2010-05-24T20:48:00.002-05:00

So, it looks like I am collecting children's gummy vitamins, sterile gloves, craft projects... toy cars, ABC stuff..... and planning on purchasing clothes, shoes, bedding in Ethiopia!!

Oh and in a couple of funny coincidences, I met a new friend who adopted twice from Layla and an acquaintance who is #2 on the referral list for her agency for a baby from Ethiopia. Small world!!

Evaluation...

2010-05-23T20:39:00.002-05:00

As I am attempting to pick up my little house which seems to look like a tornado hit it... which if anyone has been to my house, you know that it's usually quite tidy... I came across my evaluation that my principal just did... in schools, you get evaluated every two years once you are tenured.. It is quite simply my most glowing evaluation to date... and this is the final paragraph....

"Ms. Jones demonstrates a work ethic paralleled by few. She tirelessly collaborates with staff and administrators to meet the needs of every one of her students. As an expert in her field, she is able to draw on an extensive repertoire of resources and strategies to address the problems and concerns of her students. As a reflective individual, she patiently listens to others to determine possible alternative strategies. Her wisdom and understanding of others belie her age. Additionally, she makes a substantial contribution to the school with her Earth Day, Needy Families and Ethiopia Reads projects. Everyone values her as an indispensable social and emotional standard bearer of the school."

And as I go to bed, with a yucky summer cold or sinus infection... and am stressing about all the groups and paperwork I still need to get done in the next two weeks... this is what I'm going to choose to focus on. G'Night!!

A small difference....

2010-05-14T16:52:00.002-05:00

Okay, so it almost the end of the school year. We are done June 4th. So that means that there are 13 school days and 1 hour.. holy crap I have a lot of work to accomplish!!

But as much as we are stressing about the end of school, so are many of the kids. There is one little guy who was new to our school this year. When you look at his records, it is clear that he may have ADHD.. and his mom has finally secured an evaluation for him this June.. but with about a month of school left, he was driving his teacher slightly insane and she said the worst was that he couldn't stay in his seat.

So, I made him a little envelope that said "I will stay in my seat." and taped it to the side of his desk. Every time she sees him seated, she gives him a little ticket that says Caught being good. If he has 10 tickets at the end of the day, he gets a prize from this bag of prizes I left(stretchy animals, little dinos, crayons etc.)-- well he has been struggling a bit but today on my way into school.. early, like about 30-40 minutes before the kids were due and he is already on the playground playing catch with his sister and some of her friends.. he comes running towards me yelling 10, 10, 10 tickets.. so I said, "Oh, did you get ten tickets yesterday?" "Yes!" "Well, high five! What prize did you pick?" "A dinosaur." and then he ran back to play. It was a nice way to come into school and to one small person, I think I made a small difference today.

Did you??

A fellow blogger...

2010-05-14T16:30:00.002-05:00

So this stunning photo was taken junior year turnabout. My date is standing behind me and I believe is a Ph. D and possibly an physicist or something else super brainy.. yes, I always found intelligence sexy-- just wish I was having better luck these days... a later post on Plenty of Fish-- guessing I will soon have some more dating stories to crack everyone up with.

Anyway, I digress.... the lovely lady in the equally stunning blue dress as mine(we clearly didn't talk about what we were wearing that night) is my friend Ange.. she has the blog www.willandellie.blogspot.com and is on my list at the bottom of the blog.. Anyway, I get a facebook message from her the other day that says we need to do breakfast, maybe mimosas, get you away from all your career craziness and here I'm thinking wow, she's psychic before I realized that she is only of the few people out there still reading this thing!!! So, a shout out to Ange and check out her blog.

Possibly going private...

2010-05-10T21:03:00.003-05:00

I am toying with the idea of going private.. It would mean I would have to transfer my blog over to another site.. maybe word press.. as blogger does not allow you to choose to keep some posts private and others not.. the only reason I would consider keeping it open is that I have appeared to have gained some viewers that I don't know personally and I'd hate to miss out on anyone who would like to participate.. I have reasons as to why I might be going private.. and if I do, I will certainly put up a notice and if you want to continue following, I can pass on the password. Plus the whole transferring over process sounds taxing to me.. or maybe I'm just tired.. it is Monday.. though I only have 2 more Mondays left for the 2009-2010 school year. Yea!!

Earth Day Pics....

2010-05-10T20:54:00.005-05:00

Our fifth grade transitional students were invited by the town to help plant a tree in one of the local parks.

Groups of the almost 150 students who signed up to collect trash after school on Earth Day. The adults in the photos are my parents who came to help out, hence the ice cream, Cubs hats and sparkly headbands.

It was a beautiful day.. unfortunately I did not get to enjoy it as there was another crisis at school.

Lola pictures

2010-05-09T16:25:00.004-05:00

Abebe with the first baby at Lola!
The outside of Lola House.
The gorgeous Lola guard dog!!!

I seemed so pathetic that last post, so I thought I'd post some happy pictures that were just posted to the Lola Fund page by one of the awesome adoptive mom's parents who recently visited Abebe at Lola House.

I am very excited to spend my time at Lola and helping to get whatever needs to be started, started! I had an amazing conversation with Allie who is one of the founders of the non for profit, supporting Lola and am even more psyched to make my journey up to Mekele. Though that bus trip should be interesting. :) Less than 6 weeks away.

May 9th

2010-05-09T15:52:00.004-05:00

I have a ton of posts that I haven't put up.. from Earth Day, Book Club etc... but work has been really chaotic lately. There have truly been a ton of crisis-- true crisis that have involved DCFS, police, hospitals, mental health professionals(other than me)-- parents, students, administrators etc. It really got me thinking.. I truly do love my school-- I have a great principal, some super teachers and I really like my kids.... but I've been in my district for 10 years-- and my principal retires at the end of 2010-2011 and I can't tell you what a difference it makes having your boss have your back no matter what- and also having someone who really thinks you are competent is also awesome. Plus in the past two years, my two friends at work who have been the ones to work on my extra projects with me left to have babies. And now we've learned that the teacher that I work the closest with at school, who I eat lunch with and consider one of my good friends outside of school is being moved to another school in the district and none of us have any control over it. So, I guess the question is where to go from here. I have a mortgage and tried to sell my condo about 3 years ago, but needless to say with the housing issues, there was no movement. I know that it would be difficult for me to move as a school social worker as I have 11 years experience and 2 master's degrees... I also got an administration degree in education several years ago and ideally I'd love to be a Special Education administrator, but with the education crisis in Illinois and the amount of layoffs, I don't know if that is a reasonable goal at this point. The other fear of leaving education for another type of social work is that I'd lose my summers and I LOVE my summers... I can't imagine not having the ability to plan another trip like last summer.

So I guess at this point, I should focus on making my trip this summer the best I can, heading into next school year with as much positivity as I can muster, if not for me than for the kids and my principal as it will be her last year. And the funny thing is I do want to work on the projects she and I've discussed, I just feel like we do that and then another shoe drops and I'm told I can't. And I guess try to find someone else to eat lunch with. :(

But next year, I need to really evaluate my options.. Do I try to sell again? Do I look into the possibility of working overseas?

Happy 1st Birthday Charlie!!

2010-05-08T15:18:00.004-05:00

CHARLIE AND HIS SILVER SPEEDSTER FROM THE LAND OF NOD
CHARLIE DESPERATELY TRYING TO GET AWAY!!

Tuesday was my godson Charlie's first birthday. He is Juliet's brother who has made the blog several times as she is almost four and has a "big" personality. I was pushing her on the swing on Tuesday and she asked me if I would come to her wedding. Uh sure... it's not any time soon is it?? Then she proceeded to ask if I was at her mother's wedding... yes, I was, I stood up next to her and wore that dress with the brown bow.. there are pictures. Sigh, well, I wasn't there!! Yes, you were not born yet. But yes, both your mother and I will be at your wedding. Good. Are you kidding me?? Well, at least she's better prepared than I.. perhaps, she will be married before 40.

Anyway back to Charlie.. both sets of grandparents were there(one set lives in Conn), our friend Shandell and obviously his parents and Juliet. I stopped and picked up a cake from Sweet Mandy B's in the city on my way.. yellow cake, fresh strawberries and buttercream in the layers(3 layers) and vanilla buttercream frosting. I love this cake!!

Charlie opened his gifts, I got him a riding toy from the Land of Nod-- which I had difficulty putting together(user friendly directions, my a$$)-- Jim's stepdad had to put the steering wheel on for me and Jim needed to tighten all the bolts the next day. It was an awfully cute toy though and he seemed to like it!! Maybe it will help with exercise, he is a very big boy!!

Well, a very happy 1st to you Charlie!!

Happy 40th Earth Day!!!

2010-04-22T05:59:00.002-05:00

Happy Earth Day to everyone!!! Been a very busy week with lots of activities.... I will bring the camera home this evening and post all about them... but want to make sure that everyone knows today is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day which began in 1970!!!

Crafts... HELP!!!

2010-04-07T21:30:00.002-05:00

Hi,
I'm looking for craft ideas to take with me to Ethiopia.. This is one of the crafts I did last summer.. but since I didn't know that I should bring crafts.. I ended up spending many nights by candle light cutting out spider legs etc... So, my plan this year is to come prepared. So, if you have simple craft ideas... please pass them on to me.. along with a list of what supplies I'll need..

And if you are able-- I would be thrilled if anyone was able to put together craft kits for the kids.. if there is an age group you think you can do this for, email me and I'll let you know how many kids are in that age group... One of my friends is having her daughter's Daisy troop make up some kits for a badge project...

Alternate Plans... or a trip to Mekele..

2010-04-04T17:57:00.007-05:00

Okay... so the thought is if I don't go down to southern Ethiopia/Awassa.. then where do I spend the rest of my time that I planned on being in Ethiopia(my flights are already booked)... I figure I have about 2 weeks or so open.
My next thought was go visit Abebe and Lola House. Abebe for the 3 of you reading this blog who don't know him personally was the social worker at AHOPE while I was there. Abebe himself was an orphan from the Tigray region in Northern Ethiopia and has always planned to open an orphanage for HIV+ children in that area, as there aren't any. So, after getting some good experience while working for AHOPE, Abebe left this past fall and begin his own place in Mekele, Ethiopia. It is called Lola House and is starting with 15 children with the hope of becoming much larger.
I know Abebe, I trust Abebe.... so I Facebooked him. (it still kills me that you can do that across the world. :) ) He got right back to me and said, of course we'd love to have you.. just tell me when.
So thoughts anyone??? My gut is saying this is probably the right thing to do for me and for whomever I am working with, as you have to go in it with the right spirit.. and I am not feeling that at the moment for my other option.. though it is hard for me to change directions mid stream, just not my style... Anyway, as I have been thinking about this.. I started doing some research into Mekele.. these are photos I've found online... the Starbucks one really kills me!!

Safari in Tanzania!!

2010-04-03T22:33:00.003-05:00

I've booked a safari in Tanzania for the end of my trip this summer-- I arrive in Tanzania August 4th and return home on August 12th. Now, I'm not saying I will have gorgeous photos like this, but these photos were taken in the same places I will be on safari-- so maybe I could get lucky?? Amazing, eh?

Questions about summer...

2010-04-03T21:47:00.003-05:00

Okay, so most of you know that my plans for this summer is to go back to Ethiopia. Part of the time I planned on spending in southern Ethiopia, near where I was when I went to find the Donkey Mobile Library. But recently I received a note that really upset me- without going into the details, I'm just not sure how I feel about volunteering my time and continuing to financially support this organization. I'm sure that they are doing good things, I just don't know if I feel comfortable working side by side with someone who I feel may look at things so differently than me. So at the moment I'm investigating some other opportunities while I am there. I'll keep you posted. But for now, take a look at my table set for Easter brunch tomorrow. It is a real shame that I'm not dating anyone, I am one darn good hostess!!

Enjoying the 80 + degree day in early April!!

2010-04-03T21:40:00.002-05:00

I spent yesterday(Friday) with my friend from high school, Lynn and her girls. It was unbelievably warm-- sleeveless dress warm. We walked up to the Starbucks, got lattes and headed to the park. This is Dana, Lynn's youngest. I was practicing with my new camera. I ended up purchasing a Nikon D5000 and I love it!! Her big sister was not particularly happy with us as she blamed us for getting a skinned knee on the way home from Sbucks. I love being able to spend the day outside!! Lynn made us all lunch and then I went to deliver Juliet and Charlie's Easter basket. Didn't take pictures, but it was a chicken themed basket this year.

Rosaries for Sale??? Easter, Mother's Day, First Communion gift???

2010-03-27T22:05:00.004-05:00

Sr. Donna and the children at Heartland- in the southern region of Sidama, near Awassa made these rosaries. They are beaded and have Ethiopian silver crosses. Sr. Donna is requesting a $20 donation for each rosary. I will happily drop them off or mail them to you if you live outside Chicago. The money will go to help children like the ones at the start of this post. I will get to meet them this June!!!

Happy 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day!!

2010-03-08T17:52:00.001-06:00

Well, I wish I'd know this was International Women's Day, I would have had some new to prattle on to my colleagues about at work today--- thank you Nick for filling me in....

March 8, 2010, 10:30 am

Three Proven Steps to Advance the World’s Women, on International Women’s Day

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

Today is International Women’s Day, and in fact the 100^th anniversary of International Women’s Day. It’s a date that is much better known abroad but is beginning to get more traction in the U.S. as well.

So what interventions get the most bang for the buck in raising the status of women around the world? What is most helpful in overcoming injustices such as human trafficking and acid attacks? I’d welcome your ideas below, but let me toss out a few of my suggestions for most effective interventions:

First, I think girls’ education may be the single most cost-effective kind of aid work. It’s cheap, it opens minds, it gives girls new career opportunities and ways to generate cash, it leads them to have fewer children and invest more in those children, and it tends to bring women from the shadows into the formal economy and society. It’s not a panacea, of course. Lebanon and Sri Lanka were leaders in girls’ education, and both ended up torn apart by conflict. In India, the state of Kerala has done a fine job in girls’ education, but its state economy is still a mess and dependent on remittances. But overall, educating girls probably has a greater transformative effect on a country than anything else one can do.

Second, I’d argue for deworming and micronutrients. These may not sound like they’re “women’s issues,” but in a sense they are. For example, iodine deficiency particularly affects female fetuses, for reasons that we don’t fully understand. Insufficient iodine in the first trimester of pregnancy costs that child 10 to 15 I.Q. points for the rest of his or her life, and yet iodized salt programs that prevent the problem cost less than 5 cents per person reached. There are still tens of millions of girls out there with cognitive deficits because so much salt in poor countries is still not iodized. Likewise, women and girls disproportionately suffer from anemia, partly because of menstruation. In the United States, if a woman showed up at an E.R. with a hemoglobin level of, say, 9, she might get an immediate blood transfusion, and lower levels are rarely seen. In contrast, hemoglobin levels of 5 and 6 are routinely seen among women in poor countries – just unheard of in the United States. Deworming would help them, because worms cause anemia, and costs only about 50 cents per person and lasts a year (deworming is backed by groups like Deworm the World). So would iron supplements, which likewise are very cheap and can be given in particular to high school girls and to women expecting to become pregnant. Family planning likewise falls in this category: an intervention that is relatively cheap, pays for itself, and is vastly underfunded.

Third, we need more support for women starting businesses. These can be microsavings and microlending programs, or training in entrepreneurship. BRAC and Grameen have done great work in this area, as has Injaz in the Middle East. Such programs lead women to bring in incomes, and that gives them more weight in the home and society. Moreover, they tend to invest the income in their children, so there’s a broader effect in fighting poverty.

Lots of aid groups implement these kinds of approaches, including the big ones like CARE, Save the Children, Mercy Corps, and so on. So do small ones; Camfed, for example, is focused on girls’ education in Africa. I’d welcome your thoughts below both on what interventions are most cost-effective, and on the organizations you recommend to others. So many Americans are looking for good aid groups to support, and here’s your chance to recommend some to other readers.

Silent Auction - wine extravaganza!!

2010-03-07T13:55:00.009-06:00

And the winner is.....
Waiting to hear who won the wine raffle....
The raffle prizes were these huge bottles of Ravenswood Zinfindal, donated by my friend Brian and Southern Wine and Spirits.
The auction table.... scarves, bags, puzzles, necklaces, coffees, prints etc.
Shandell and Wendy watching my movie of Ethiopia.. which considering I had one day to complete it due to technical difficulties, turned out pretty good.
Enjoying some wine and catching up.. thanks for taking pictures Pat.
Picking a winner!!!

Last night was my one and only silent auction and wine event for this summer's Ethiopian activities. Last year I brought back a bunch of items from Ethiopia that I have been saving just for this purpose. My old friend from high school, Brian Bollow offered to donate wine for the event and my dear friends Pat and Silvia offered up their beautiful house in Oak Park for the night.

It was an amazing evening with wonderful old and new friends attending, drinking lots of wine, eating yummy desserts and learning about the places I've worked with in Ethiopia and the ones I plan to work with this summer.

It was a great success-- a slightly smaller crowd than hoped for, but a wonderfully fun and generous crowd. Financially it was pretty darn successful and I look forward to being able to use this money to good use this summer!!!!

Thank you so much if you came-- it really meant a lot to me.. and I'll admit at about 7:15-- I was beginning to think Silvia and I were going to have to drink an awful lot of wine.. :)

Upcoming Silent Auction...

2010-03-01T20:58:00.009-06:00

Book marks made from Banana Art.
A hand embroidered ball.
Necklaces and change purse made from a milk package.
Puzzles from the Misrach Center
Necklaces from Misrach Center
A scarf from the Women's Former Fuelwood Carrier's Project
A bag crafted by ALERT- Leprosy Hospital

Next weekend, I am hosting a wine/dessert party with a silent auction. The items are things I've brought back from Ethiopia. I certainly hope more people come than have RSVP'd!!!

Kwelanga part 3

2010-02-24T18:56:00.002-06:00

Finally, by morning, the chief and his advisor knew what to do. No one had ever survived the climb up Mt. Zulu. At the top stood a thorn tree. When Zamo arrived at the great chief's home at sunrise, the Chief said, "Sitting high on top of Mt. Zulu is a great tree of thorns. If you survive the treacherous climb, then you must take the furthest thorn from the branch reaching out beyond the cliff and bring it back to me." At that the chief went to take his rest.

Zamo courageously looked up at Mt. Zulu and up at the thorn tree reaching out far beyond the cliff. He knew the danger ahead, but proceeded anyway with hope in his heart. Steadily he began to climb, pulling himself over large boulders and sharp rocks. When finally, after many hours of climbing, Zamo pulled himself to the top. He looked down over the cliff at the sharp and rugged earth far below. One false step and he would surely fall to his death. As he began to reach for the thorn tree, there came again a song of grace and beauty.
"Thorn tree, thorn tree
wind and weather worn tree
your topmost thorn please
pluck for Zamo and me."
At that a great wind blew down from the heavens and the thorn pulled itself from it's branch and feel into the outstretched arms of Zamo. Zamo held tightly to the thorn and when he turned to go back down the Mt., he saw Kwelanga smiling and waiting for him. He then knew it had been Kwelanga all along who had encouraged him to succeed in his tasks.

Hand in hand, they returned to her father, the great chief Abebe. When he saw the thorn in one hand and Kwelanga in the other, it was the great chief who bowed low.
" You have no land
you have no riches, but you have courage and love in your heart for my daughter. There is no better man in the land to marry my dearest daughter, Kwelanga. "

Kwelanga and Zamo were married and built a beautiful and modest home using felled trees, mud from the river and rocks from the mountain. And there they lived a happy and fruitful life together always.

THE END

Last trip to Sonoma....

2010-02-23T21:21:00.002-06:00

Three years ago.. Dell, Tess and I headed out to Sonoma- Russian River area for a wine weekend. This weekend, Dell and I make the return to Healdsburg. We are staying at a super cute B & B, called the Camelia Inn... looking forward to wine, good food and friends.

Another Jane Kurtz post...

2010-02-23T21:07:00.002-06:00

So my favorite author and pen pal, Jane just sent me another two books!! I send this woman who is a very busy author and speaker an incredibly belated thank you and a week later, I get these two books in the mail. I believe that Goodwin Book Club will need to have a Jane Kurtz book as one of the selections!!!

Super New Shoes!!

2010-02-23T21:04:00.002-06:00

So, I needed to get a new pair of run around sneakers.. and had my eye on these Ed Hardy ones that I saw on Nordstrom.com.. well they didn't have them at the store but I found these.. They are called Eco Sneaks. They are made of recycled tires, hemp and organic cotton.. I think they are pretty sweet-- I'm excited to wear them this weekend!!

A fun easy school craft...

2010-02-23T20:58:00.003-06:00

Okay, so I got this cute little flower from a little girl in 2nd grade. It is made out of three small red paper hearts, one green paper leaf and a dum dum lollypop.. Punch a whole through each of the hearts and leaf, put the lolly in and a little tape underneath. Then the little girl, had them all in a basket and they looked like a basket of flowers. A very fun little craft for any school parties you all have coming up!!

Paczki Day!!

2010-02-15T18:21:00.004-06:00

Yea!! It is Paczki Day-- yes there is a reason that I will never lose these ten pounds-- because there is always something super yummy to celebrate with. My philosophy with these is that they are only sold one day a year-- so how do you pass that up?? Now, I didn't order any, but usually if I can get to Kay's bakery by 7 ish.. I can snag some. They are just like jelly filled donuts, but oozing with filling and made fresh. Oh and they are super messy!!!

Happy Mardi Gras!!

2010-02-15T16:08:00.004-06:00

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone!! My sister sent me Carnivale Cake coffee that is made by Community Coffee, which is sort of like their Caribou coffee shop-- it is super yummy and supposed to be made to taste like a King Cake(see picture above). She also sent me these super cute Mardi Gras cookies that are yellow, purple and green with smiley faces.. I've tasted them and am taking the rest to school today to share with my Tuesday kids. Even though I just did Valentine's crafts last week, I'm thinking of making masks with the kids. With lots of glitter(though I get slightly nauseous at the thought of all the glitter all over my floor, table and chairs) and Popsicle sticks to hold them up with. If I do, I'll take pictures and post them tonight.

Happy Valentine's Day to all...

2010-02-14T22:23:00.002-06:00

There are a lot of stressors at my job.. and in education in general... but one of the things that we do right are holidays!! Every holiday is more fun when it is spent with kids. So, Valentine's Day is a super big deal in elementary school-- with as much candy as Halloween, fun crafts and lots of festivities. As a single person.. heck even when I'm dating someone I don't think much of this holiday.. I've insisted that boyfriends not make plans, I will usually invite them over, order a pizza, have a yummy dessert and call it a night. The whole day seems kind of forced with adults.. but with kids, it's just plain fun.

So this monkey I got from a student. On Monday, L said to me that she had a special surprise for me on Valentine's Day. She is a fourth grader and in general education. So I get to school on Friday and I walk into my office and this monkey is tied to my door handle.. no card or anything-- so I have my first group of kids there and it is a mixed group of 3rd and 4th graders and one little boy says, you got that from L, I saw her carrying it outside. So how cute is that.. because in 4th grade, you think this is a pretty cool gift.

The rest of day was spent making construction paper love bugs and then it was party time... and the kids spend their time walking around school giving away candy and cupcakes-- I get a lot of sticky candy and smooshed cupcakes--that have to secretly be put in my trash can. But it is very sweet of them. One little guy said that there were two extra valentines in his box and his teacher got one and I, "Mrs. Jones" got the other... the Miss is always lost on them.

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!

Step 1... for summer 2010

2010-02-12T21:57:00.002-06:00

Well, I've heard back from Sr. Donna and she has given me the green light to come down this summer. Her quote: "How wonderful it would be for you to come this summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wonderful! Wonderful!!!"

So.. I should probably start looking into if any of my shots are expired.. double check that my visa is still good and start pricing flights. This is so less planned than last year.. I'm starting to hyperventilate!

Books for Ethiopia Reads...

2010-02-12T21:44:00.002-06:00

Last year my school did a ton of fundraising for my trip. I feel bad asking them to do that again-- partially cause I just did and partially because this year, we are no longer allowed to ask our students for field trip money... so we are constantly fundraising so they can still go on field trips(that's another long bureaucratic mess I could rant about).

But without my asking, my librarian decided to hold a raffle during Book Fair at school. So we have the Scholastic books brought in and the kids can buy them during their media period and P/T conferences. She decided that the raffle would be to raise money to buy books for Ethiopia Reads!! My librarian, Debbie told the kids that for any amount of a donation, they would get a raffle ticket for a pizza lunch with her and me and more during ISAT testing week. I think she plans to give them each a book and we are going to talk about Ethiopia Reads and we even found a book called My Library is a Camel that I'm going to read to the kids. Each child could only have one raffle ticket. Well, last Friday, she told me that they had raised $185, which is way more than I ever thought.

Now, the only downside to this is that -- I need to use the money to buy books at the fair(cause then our school gets more $$). And dragging books several continents is not the easiest manner, but it was so great of her to do--so I used my $$ and bought 35 books, mostly leveled readers, which are paperback, are written simply, most about Science topics and they were one of the types of books that Ethiopia Reads suggested if you were going to buy books and not just donate money. Plus these books are the easiest to pack in my suitcases. I was excited at how many leveled readers there were in non-fiction topics but my librarian said it is cause all the kids want the pencils, posters and books about famous people, movies and Disney characters-- something wrong with that, don't you think??

I want one of these....

2010-02-08T18:37:00.002-06:00

These were the strawberry drinks at Kaldi's. They are literally just pureed fresh strawberries and absolutely delicious. At Saturday breakfast at one of my favorite little places called Meli this past weekend and I had a mixed juice, it was good but seriously could not hold a candle to the delicious chamaki I had in Ethiopia!!!

Kwelanga part 2

2010-02-02T20:44:00.002-06:00

Early the next morning, Zamo arrived back at the Chief's home and there he bowed low. "I am here to win the hand of Kwelanga" he quietly spoke.

"Prepare to return home tomorrow Zamo. Today you must fill these 1,000 jugs to the top with water from the river. They must be filled by sundown." The Chief proudly turned to go back inside thinking to himself "surely no one could fill all the jugs, it is impossible." and he waited for sundown to come to send Zamo home.

But as Zamo struggled to carry water back and forth from the river, he heard a most beautiful song being sung....
"River flowing
ever are you growing
Please flow for Zamo
fill the jugs so."

Just then the river began to flow faster and filled his bowl more quickly and as he worked and sweat and grew tired, he knew he would finish by nightfall and he felt quite pleased with himself. As the sky began to change color and the sun began to slip down behind the mountains, Zamo returned to show the Chief who could hardly believe his eyes.
"Wah!" he said, "Surely I have made still too simple a test." And he sent Zamo away telling him to return in the morning.

The Chief then called to him his greatest advisor and they talked all night of a test that surely Zamo could not pass. Impossible that a poor peasant boy could win the hand of the great Chief's daughter.

To be continued...

Take a Deep Breath...

2010-02-01T19:58:00.003-06:00

I need to take a deep breath, count to ten and try to not say anything if you can't say anything nice!!! All day yesterday and today I have been chanting to myself all the things I tell the kids at school. Despite some great things going on in my life lately and a really great weekend-- I recently had some unnecessary negative stress added. I don't feel that it is at all justified and frankly, is a great big dose of crazy town-- but still irritating!! I always tell the students, you do not have to be friends with everyone but just don't be mean-- and I really try to follow that advice as well.

So, I am going to take one more great big deep breath in and out and try to move on out of crazy town!!!

The Winning of Kwelanga- Part 1

2010-01-26T21:05:00.004-06:00

Carly, one of the most awesome people I got to meet this summer. She brought these very cool puppets with her and a story that we put on for Big AHOPE'S awards ceremony. Carly let me take home the story as I plan to share it with my students.

Once, in a village deep in the heart of Africa, there lived the great chief Abebe and his kind and beautiful daughter, Kwelanga. She had come to the age where she was ready to marry. The chief announced that any suitor who could pass his test of strength could marry the kind Kwelanga. Young men traveled from far and wide- King's sons, prince's with land and riches came on horseback but each time left with their head hung low for not having successfully passed the king's challenge. Kwelanga quietly watched the suitors come and go and said not a word.

In a far, distant village there lived a boy who had heard of Kwelanga's good heart and beauty. He told his father he wished to go and try his luck at winning the hand of Kwelanga. But his father replied "Wah!- We have no land, we have no birr to offer, do not be a fool to think you could succeed." But Zamo listened to his heart and traveled 3 days and 3 nights to the village of Chief Abebe and Kwelanga.

When Zamo arrived in the village, he bowed low to the chief who asked, "Why do you come here, have you lost your way?"
"I have come from very far to accept your challenge, and I wish to marry your daughter, Kwelanga."
"Wah!" said the Chief "but you are a mere peasant, the others were sons of kings and still could not pass my tests."
"I wish to try" Zamo bravely replied.

At that moment, Kwelanga appeared. She was carrying her gourd for water down to the river and hummed a sweet tune as she walked along. She turned and saw Zamo and felt a smile cross her face and a happiness fill her heart that she had not known before. Kwelanga went back to her room and waited to see what would happen.

"Your first challenge will be to cut down this forest of trees with this ax. All must fall by nightfall or you will have failed."

Zamo immediately went to work chopping at the trees, but the ax was so dull! He looked out at the forest of trees and began to lose hope. Surely it was impossible to cut down all the trees with this dull ax. Just then he heard a strange and beautiful song:
"Tall tree, strong tree
Stay tall not too long tree
lay low for Zamo
Bow your heads low."

At that, with each swing of his ax, tree after tree fell and Zamo stacked them neatly outside Chief Abebe's home. And when the Chief saw what he had done, he said "Wah! Surely this test was too easy! I shall think of one harder than this. For now you may rest and I will see you at sunrise."

TO BE CONTINUED....

Yes... I still believe.....

2010-01-25T18:51:00.003-06:00

So a couple of weeks ago, a very dear, old friend of mine was joking about why we were not going to end up together-- now there is of course the fact that he hunts animals, hates the city, and likes to spend days watching the Steelers. But the biggest drawback is that he refuses to leave the country.. despite attending a friend's out of country wedding a year ago(where by all accounts, he had a blast)--- he insists that he is never leaving again. So he asked me, "Are you seriously still holding out that someone will go on these trips with you?" and I said, "yes." His reply, "was how many years have you been looking for that...?"--- hmm... "you've been graduated for 12 years Tiff and still haven't found it." Okay... good point, but yes, I still want that... I want someone who will travel with me to experience all the cool and amazing things that come with international travel. Yes, I realize that they may not be able to go to all the places I can or have the same time off as me.. but hopefully can for some of it. And I'm willing to hold out for it.. and truthfully if I'm really honest, I'd love to find someone who would also be interested in global affairs and volunteer tourism--- maybe a stretch..... but yes dear friend, I still believe.

Outside Addis...

2010-01-24T15:41:00.002-06:00

Could this little guy be any cuter?? He was one of the children I wrote about this summer when I wrote about Hossana and the trip with Abebe. I have a picture of the two of us(the only photo I got of me there) framed in my office. He makes me smile. I hope Abebe was able to get them some of these photos.

Good Luck Alicia!!

2010-01-24T15:37:00.002-06:00

The girl on the right is my friend Alicia. She is a physician's assistant and is leaving today to go to the Dominican Republic to operate on quake victims from Haiti. I'm very proud of her and her skills and wish her well. Please keep her in your thoughts.

Oh and the reason she and our friend Patty are dressed like that is that it was Patty's 80's themed anniversary party and she surprised Alicia with birthday cupcakes.

Little A Classroom

2010-01-24T14:51:00.002-06:00

This was the classroom at Little A-- After we made the folded spiders for Itzy, Bitzy Spider, the teacher at LA asked me if I could hang them in the little classroom there. This was a super big deal because we often felt that the nannies felt that many of our activities were strange or too difficult for some of the kids.. and they don't really hang things up in their classrooms in Ethiopia. I was able to take pictures in one of the government schools and the only thing hanging up is the chalkboard.

Storm and Thunder

2010-01-24T14:34:00.003-06:00

At Little AHOPE, two of the first kids who I really felt I connected with were Storm and Thunder. Storm and Thunder are twins and about 4 years old. They are absolutely adorable and have very short hair that you can tell they must have had to have their heads shaved recently. They were probably the first kids who wanted to spend time with me and the other volunteers. They love to be held and spun around and put up on the wall outside or small wall next to the main the house where we would sit and watch the kids play. They really just wanted to sit next to you up high, but were too little to figure out how to get up there. But if Storm is sitting next to you then Thunder wants to sit next to you, but if you pick up Thunder and put her up there, then Storm is not happy with you. Very competitive like sisters but are almost always together... also like sisters. They made you feel useful though because they wanted you to help them color or play with playdoh or Legos. I took them on the Ferris Wheel at Vera's and they were daredevils, kept trying to get up to peer over the railing!!

One day about a month into our summer, we were spending the afternoon playing with play doh and I had been working with Storm- just flattening her play doh and then having her cut out animal shapes with cookie cutters. She had such a great attention span, we were doing this for quite a long time. Then it was just about time for us volunteers to go and for the kids to have dinner when suddenly it started raining. So we hung out in the living room, and Storm climbed up on my lap and we were playing patty cake. Then Thunder wanted on my lap, so I let her climb up behind Storm and normally she would have argued to get to be in front to play but then it really started storming and both girls jumped and both just laid down in my lap and hugged each other and me until the storm died down. It was so cute and also showed that they were willing to share when they needed to.

UPDATE: I got lucky and I got to meet Storm and Thunder's mother when she came to pick them up in late July-- and seeing the three of them together was amazing!! Wish I could share the pictures with you-- a beautiful family!!

Very cool giveaway!!!

2010-01-16T21:36:00.007-06:00

Maya’s Mercato is holding a giveaway for one Amharic Tee! (of your choice) and a logo tote bag.

Free.

Like in – it costs nothing!

Free.

Hurry - click on the link and add your comment for a chance to win one of these fantabulous tees and a tote bag!

Free!!

The giveaway ends January 20th!

Link

And let me tell you-- these are great tees!! I love mine and wear it all the time. Plus if you click on the link.. you will get to see two awfully cute models!!

Happy Ethiopian Christmas!!!

2010-01-07T16:32:00.004-06:00

(This was one of the cards the kids made me at my going away party)

Today is Ethiopian Christmas... here is a link that gives you six steps to celebrate. It explains the holiday in Ethiopia and I wish I could share pictures of all the kids in their white outfits. They are very cute. Plus I love that when I look through the AHOPE website photos, how many of the kids I recognize.. though they are much older.

A New Year...

2010-01-02T21:50:00.003-06:00

2009:
Fundraised and shared AHOPE and Ethiopia with all my friends and family.
Went on the trip of a lifetime.
Saw another beautiful country and culture.
Made so many lifelong friends.

2010:
So far in the two days, I've spent time with a dear friend from high school, who moved herself to teach Environmental Education in Costa Rica for a year or maybe two. Her pictures and stories are amazing and I'm so impressed that she is so fluent in Spanish-- clearly she paid better attention in Mr. Hayak's Spanish class or maybe it's the semester she spent studying Tapirs in CR back in college.
Then today, I met with one of the co-founders of Spark Ventures. This is the not for profit that I talked about in November.... it is so inspiring to talk with someone that passionate about partnering with friends across the globe-- that is their goal, a true partnership with the chosen organization in Zambia.

I guess it is just starting to make me think.. what is the next move.... I know I want to go back to Ethiopia-- I'm just not sure what my goal should be.

But to start off 2010-- I plan to try to be healthier-- eating, exercise and working on stress in better ways. And while I try to do that, I wish all of you PEACE in 2010!!!!

Hannah and Kyle...

2009-12-23T23:20:00.002-06:00

This is Hannah......
This is Kyle... K Y L E.. he can spell it himself.

We spent the morning yesterday having breakfast at Buzz Cafe together with their mother Kristen. Yummy food and great company and I have to say they are really good sports at amusing themselves while Kristen and I drank huge peppermint lattes!!!

PATCHES

2009-12-23T23:17:00.002-06:00

This is Patches. Patches is the dog at Big AHOPE. He was very well behaved and very loved. I like that they have him. Perhaps since Little AHOPE has moved to a bigger compound, they will get a pet. The kids liked taking pictures of Patches... I have lots.

Kolfe...

2009-12-23T23:08:00.005-06:00

In June, I posted about Kolfe. Kolfe is a government orphanage for boys who are too old for adoption. While I have no doubt the people in charge at Kolfe are doing there absolute best-- it was probably the bleakest place we visited. Gladney(the adoption agency who took us there) does do a scholarship program for some of the boys in order to help them gain skills to support themselves. This is a great way for a little money to go a long way in making a change in these young men's lives. We felt awkward taking photos, but they seemed happy to have visitors and encouraged us to take them.

Community Outreach 2009

2009-12-22T14:32:00.002-06:00

Once again, we did our Community Outreach program for the holidays. A big thank you to Near North Montessori, Claire Parker, Sarah Ryan, Alexa, Debbie, Liz, Megan, Lonna, Julie, Silvia, Mary Catherine, Sue Mitra and Stephanie Melone!!!
We passed out gifts and clothes to 102 kids this year!!

The horrible picture of me was taken by my friend Steph who came to help me on distribution day to show all the packages on the stage-- and you can see how I actually look at school!!

Tulips in December...

2009-12-22T14:29:00.002-06:00

I got these beautiful purple tulips from a friend this past week. It is so nice to have a bit of spring sunshine in this very cold, wintery weather. Have I mentioned that due to my car difficulties, I have been walking and taking the bus?? Yes, it makes our typical Chicago weather seem colder.

Jane Kurtz-- Author Extradionaire

2009-12-22T13:58:00.004-06:00

Jane Kurtz, author and former resident of Ethiopia sent me a beautiful box of books in the mail after seeing my article about the work, our school did for Ethiopia Reads. She co-founded the organization. Anyway, I really like her books and their pictures. Plus Ethiopia Reads did a special with her new book, Trouble where if you pre-ordered it, they would send it with a note to any gift recipients you wanted. Several little people got a copy of it in the mail for the holidays-- plus I purchased Trouble for my god daughter and Silly Mambo for my god son as one of their gifts they will get on Christmas Eve.

If you are looking for books, support this author, she's awesome.. she even inscribed each book for me.. and there is one from American Girl as well, I might use that for book club this spring at school.

Annual Cookie Baking...

2009-12-13T18:16:00.003-06:00

Completed another year's cookie baking extravaganza!! We made 7 kinds this year, including 6 X the recipe for the candy cane cookies... I literally spent the entire afternoon rolling pink and white ropes to make the canes! My hands are permanently stained from red food coloring. A big thank you to Jay for entertaining all the kids and Kp for keeping me supplied with coffee and grilled cheese. I seriously think I might make one or two dozen if we didn't do this insanity every year. If you live nearby, stop by for cookies and milk. :)

Bad Day in Bedrock... and a surprise in the mail!!

2009-12-10T20:14:00.006-06:00

So today was not a good day... the last two weeks before the holiday break are always difficult. I do a large community outreach project to help get gifts for many of our students... and the organization is enough to send you over the edge. Then today, I had a little girl who spent an hour running around the school from us and we eventually ended up on the floor. Then to end the day, another student started picking up chairs, banging them on the file cabinets and systematically destroying his classroom and throwing it at me and his teacher... which led to an extra hour of paperwork and then my little Neon which I just got back last night decided it was no longer going to tell me how much gas I have or what speed I'm going...

So as we say at school, it was a bad day in Bedrock. But when I got my mail, I had the nicest surprise-- a handwritten letter in snail mail from a young lady who I met this summer, who is now adopted and living in the states!!!! She told me about her pets, and siblings and that she got an American Girl doll for her birthday-- how fantastic is that??? Oh and she is reading Swiss Family Robinson. Her English writing is awesome and I can't wait to write her back-- and send her some of my favorite books. What a treat to hear from her.. it really made me smile-- I stood by her bed this summer and she showed me pictures of her new family and I told her that I would keep in touch with her in America, and I am so happy that I get to do that.

So maybe tomorrow will be a better day, keep your fingers crossed.

WORLD AIDS DAY

2009-12-01T19:48:00.002-06:00

33 million people are infected with the HIV virus. 22 million of them are in the continent of Africa. What can you do to help? Read. Share. Get tested. Sponsor. Donate. Adopt. Everyone can do something.

www.ahopeforchildren.org

BTW: Totally stole this post, picture and all from Jenny's blog... fighting with a dead car and a flooding kitchen with the Roto Rooter man this evening!!

Sr. Donna's Girls

2009-11-28T19:49:00.002-06:00

I got the nicest Thanksgiving note from Sr. Donna in Awassa. She spent the day cooking for her girls, who normally cook for them-- enjoying food coming from their gardens. Her girls are making rosaries to help support their new home-- Heartland Girls. This is a picture of one of them. Sr. Donna is sending me examples of some of the other girls' work as well as lots of information about them and her organization. I will post about it when I get it.. unfortunately Addis is the only place with a post office that can mail out packages according to Sr. Donna.

Neighbors.....

2009-11-23T18:40:00.005-06:00

Each day when we would walk to Little A(which I've just found out has moved...hopefully I will have details of the new compound soon), we would pass two moms and their babies, sitting by the side of the road. I'm thinking about these two moms because recently I have been getting stalked by the men at the side of the road who try to "clean" your windshield with questionable liquid, despite you shaking your head no and have been stopped on the L with several very questionable stories always ending in asking me for money.

These moms never once asked me for anything. They would sometimes say "Selam" and sometimes have their babies wave hello, but they never asked for anything. These were moms who had nothing but their gorgeous babies and their pride. I will tell you that I did give them money, food and each little one got a tiny baby doll, sent to Ethiopia with me by my friend Silvia. Each time, I got a big smile and a thank you. When I asked if I could take their pictures, they agreed and gushed over looking at it on my digital camera. I wish I would have printed them out for them before I left.

Yummy food in Ethiopia.....AKA I ate my way through Ethiopia!!

2009-11-21T20:28:00.003-06:00

Planting at Big AHOPE

2009-11-20T17:24:00.004-06:00

One day, when we were shopping, Carly said that she'd like to plant some things at Big A.. so we found a little outdoor nursery and she bought a bunch of plants, including some vegetables and herbs. Then we went to Big A to plant them. They were a hit. Several of the boys brought out a shovel and hoe and then the girls wanted us to let them plant some in the "garden" under their window. One of the girls, K asked me if they could have more vegetables for the girl's garden. She even wrote down the words in Amharic for me.
My last week I got my driver to find me a seed store and bought seeds for carrots, tomato, basil, radiches, gomen, and cabbage. My last night, I stopped by after going to the CDC, and went into the girls' bedroom and gave them their seeds. They were truly excited and appreciative. I really hope something grew!!!

The pictures are of flowers at Big A and Marissa planting some of our plants.

Visit with Carly....

2009-11-20T16:48:00.003-06:00

During my stay this summer, there were three other volunteers at the guesthouse with me. One of these was Carly. She is a school teacher from New York. She works at a Waldorf school and brought amazing craft projects with her. She had volunteered for 2 weeks last year and came back for two weeks this year. I really enjoyed getting to know her.

We've kept in touch and this past weekend, she and her son were in town to visit her brother. He is currently in Jersey Boys which is playing in Chicago until January(I think). So we got to meet for lunch and then went to the show. I highly recommend the show and I had a wonderful time visiting with Carly.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera, but this picture is from when we did a puppet show at the Awards Ceremony at Big AHOPE. Carly is on the right.

Funny Story....Life is sure different in the States

2009-11-19T17:52:00.004-06:00

We were heading back from Sodere, the hot springs where we took all the Big AHOPE kids swimming for a field trip. We were in a big bus and I was sitting up front with big sister, one of the kids who was being adopted to America. The staff yelled to get my attention because they knew I wanted to take pictures of any animals... and suddenly in front of our bus on the road is a huge herd of camels... probably close to 50 or more. So I grab my camera and as I'm snapping pictures, big sister says to me, "are there no camels in America?" So I said, "well, in the zoo, but no not on the road.".. she replies, "oh, no pretty camels in America." sort of sad... but I wanted to say that you will have so many wonderful adventures in your new home and I hope you will also come back to Ethiopia one day...

Just outside Addis....

2009-11-17T19:21:00.001-06:00

A story from my trip to Awassa....

2009-11-16T19:51:00.003-06:00

Once I got off the bus, I started walking and keep walking and couldn't seem to find the hotel that I was looking for from Lonely Planet, so I keep walking and eventually I stumble upon the Post Rendevous restaurant which was written up in LP. So I decide to stop for a juice and figure what to do next. While I'm there, I see an older woman, clearly a foreigner with this great big bag speaking English with the waiter. So I wait until she's done eating and ask her if she knows where the Pinna Hotel or Mountain Snack(where the donkey library is supposed to be) and she says "I know both and you are lucky because I have time to show you." So she helps me pay my bill and starts talking. Her name is Sr. Donna Frances, originally from California, here in Ethiopia starting an orphanage for HIV+ teen-age girls outside Awassa, in rural Southern Ethiopia.

She showed me how to take the little bushots(3 wheeled cabs) and we went to Pinna 2 where the owner says that "due to graduation this weekend, there are no rooms." So we go next door to Pinna 1, where we get the same answer which is starting to freak me out, but Sr. Donna just calmly asked if I needed to be in such a nice place and starts asking if he can call other hotels. Now mind you, the hotel she says at has squat toilets-- so I'm hoping for something in between. Well, lo and behold, he finds a room at his hotel, when faced with being asked to start searching down a room. I book that, which is only 98 birr, or about $9-10 USD. Sr. Donna shows me her information for Heartland for Girls, which has great long term transition plans. She hopes to be fully open by January.
Next she shows me Mountain Snack, which is a little hotel/cafe right next to the Awassa Reading Room, where we go meet Hidar(librarian) and make plans to meet to see the DML in the morning. Then Sr. Donna and I go next door to have a coffee and cake. We go in and we bump into a Peace Corp volunteer and a VSO volunteer that she knows and join them. Sr. Donna invites me come see her compound if I had time(sadly I didn't this trip) and we talked about partnering with my school. Mr. Peace Corp invited me to pizza and beer that night with the rest of the volunteers.
It was a wonderfully divine meeting... and I am so grateful that I met Sr. Donna, and she was so helpful in me having such a wonderful time in Awassa. And kept me from having to hang out at a cafe all night!!! Apparently there is a college in Awassa and everyone had their families in that weekend, there really were no rooms.

SPARK VENTURES

2009-11-16T19:31:00.003-06:00

Thursday night I went to the most amazing fundraiser. It was for an organization called Spark Ventures. They are an not for profit that supports Hope Ministries in Zambia. It was founded by three friends after they went on a trip to Zambia. One of these co-founders is college friends with my friend Sally. They formed this organization barely three years ago and have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The fundraiser was at the Chicago Cultural Center and was super swanky. There was a signature cocktail(the name of the night was Spark Blue), a silent auction of items from Zambia, the Mighty Blue Kings played and they put on a great video/slide production explaining their vision and partnership. Their goal is to provide leadership development and sustainability.

Check out their website, I'm not going to do it justice!!! www.sparkventures.org

I'm Back....

2009-11-16T19:13:00.003-06:00

Okay, I've decided to start writing again.. I have lots more stories from this summer -- sprinkled in with whatever new comes to me.. I doubt anyone is still reading but if nothing else it will help me to remember.

Oh and sorry about the music... I can't figure out how to take it off the blog. I put the song on literally like the day before I left this summer and then I didn't have access to the blog all summer, poor Claire was posting for me. But now that I'm back on it, wow, didn't realize how quickly Toto could start driving you crazy.

Coffee Ceremony

2009-08-06T15:19:00.003-05:00

Nobody can say that there is no hospitality in Ethiopia. Selam threw a beautiful coffee ceremony on Tuesday of our last week. It starts with fresh grass and flowers on the floor and Selam sitting on a little stool next to a charcoal stove. She grilled and boiled corn on the cob for us which was delicious, made popcorn and then began making coffee. We had just had our first cup(you have several) when Ninacachu(the AHOPE driver) stopped by and he had Sr. Minor(AHOPE nurse) and a bunch of our teen girls with him. They came in for coffee and let me tell you Big Sister(from my earlier post) is quite the hostess!!! Then they left and Samy, my favorite guard had tea while we had another cup of coffee. It was so beautiful and Selam gave us gorgeous scarves- I love mine, I wore it to take Jen to the airport that night.

Donkey Mobile Library

2009-08-06T14:45:00.005-05:00

During my weekend to Awassa-- great city and I got there all alone in a 5 1/2 hour bus trip. So wish I would have done this earlier, as I realized how easy it was to travel independently through Ethiopia- I made it to the Donkey Mobile Library!!!!

I walked over to the Awassa Reading Room to meet with Hidar, who works there. She brought along her brother Desta to help translate and we headed over to the first of the donkey carts. There are 6 of them and they drive them(is drive the right word for donkeys?) into different neighborhoods and then park them, open them up and set up little stools. The kids then can come read books or check them out by filling out a little card. There were already about 10 kids there at 9:30am reading. They get about 70 kids at that cart each day. I gave the little readers stickers, that was a hit. Then Hidar and Desta took me to a second donkey cart which is parked in the grounds of a government school that does not have a library. I got to peek into the school as well. Wow, our kids do not know how great they have it in the states.

Then when we headed back to the Awassa Reading Room, there were about 15 more kids there on a Saturday morning reading books-- very cool. They all got stickers and I cannot tell you how much I love this program and Ethiopia Reads.

I am home!!!

2009-08-06T14:28:00.005-05:00

Hi,
I want to thank everyone for following in my journey this summer. I am officially home, have been for almost a week and a half. Still trying to go through all of my amazing photographs. I am going to continue to post some more entries I didn't get to this summer and hopefully put up some photos. I cannot post photos of the kids at AHOPE but trust me they are amazing and I'd love to share them with you personally when I see you all.

A couple of more thank you's:
My dear friend Claire, who was the only reason you all could read my blog this summer, she would get emails from me and post them along with some pretty funny pictures she found-- I was unable to get on Blogger due to the Ethiopian government.

Pete, for loaning me his amazing camera-- the photos prove that it is fab-- cause I am not a fantastic photographer.

Kathy Shaw, my old principal for her donation this summer. I will post soon about many of the wonderful things all your money was spent on!!!

Going Away!!

2009-07-22T11:57:00.008-05:00


AHOPE does a really nice going away party. Jen and I had ours together the night before she left. Abebe and Galila spoke about our volunteer work and one of the older boys had the kids sing. Then we each had to say at least 20 words in Amharic. The kids were so nice and tried to help me but they just made me forget the ones I already had in my head. I can't believe I forgot wolfram... it's my favorite word!!! Then we each got to speak, I couldn't get out all I wanted to. We got cards from the kids and scarves from AHOPE and Charlene. We ate food and hung out, it was a good party.

A soon to be family, keep in your thoughts.

Two of the older girls, have a referral placement. Well, the younger sister had an appendicitis and went in to have her appendix removed and there were complications and she lapsed into a coma. Thankfully, her soon to be adoptive mother was contacted and she flew out about a week after surgery. She stayed at our guest house. Our little girl is
doing better but still has a long way to go and she cannot go home with her mom until at least September due to the new TB test regulations. So, her mom who is amazing and I am so glad I got to meet, had to go home last week and just has to wait. Tigist, our nurse
reports that they are supposed to start physio and hopefully she will be able to be transferred to a hospital that can do more rehab. Her big sister is really being a trooper but it is scary and I want everyone to keep her in their thoughts.

The watches come out!!!

2009-07-22T11:52:00.003-05:00


Okay, first of all, watches are a huge hit at AHOPE. They want to wear your watch, play with the buttons, reset it-- very fascinated.

Tuesday night, Big AHOPE had awards night for improvement in school this semester, after school English class and hygiene. The kids who were honored got to go up front and receive a package. In most of the packages, were watches from our watch collection!!! They were very
excited about their watches and were wearing them proudly.
Then us volunteers, Carly, Marissa, Jen and I put on a marrionnette
puppet show that Carly put together. It is an African story about a chief and his daughter-- it went really well. Carly is a teacher in NY from a Waldorf school and amazingly creative.

Alert
Alert is the Leprosy hospital and training center and you can walk
there from our house. They have a craft workshop with patients who
weave, embroider and knit. But the amazing thing is that many of these
people are missing fingers. But such beautiful work and a very serene
setting in the woods.

A Walk To Beautiful

2009-07-22T11:48:00.003-05:00

Fistula Hospital/A Walk to Beautiful

We finally got an appointment to tour the fistula hospital, that is
featured in A walk to Beautiful. We had such a good tour guide who was very knowledgeable about birth injuries. They have a craft workshop for women who are not able to be healed completely, so they can learn a trade. They have formed four outreach centers to reach women in rural Ethiopia. It is a beautiful facility with a garden that looks like it belongs in a botanical garden, which apparently is run by Dr. Hamilton, herself, who we saw on the premise. The facility is very clean and the women look well cared for. They are given literacy and numeracy classes as well as skills training, physio, and emotional counseling. Very moving day.

Gladney Part 2

2009-07-18T07:28:00.001-05:00

Travis picked us up at the guest house and we headed across town to the Gladney foster care centers. Once Gladney feels that they will be able to find a family for a child, they move them to their centers. They have one for 0-6 months, two for 6months to 3 years and one for the older kids. We got to pick up some of the Gladney adoptive families from this week. This is the day that they bring their kids back to the care centers to say goodbye to the nannies. Each child has a special " Mama" or "Papa who has really bonded with the child and
they buy them a special traditional outfit and they dress them to sort of present them to their new families. The families that we met were great and varied from adopting babies, to twin toddlers, to an older sibling group to one young lady who I am guessing is close to 17!! The ratio of caregivers to babies is amazing . When we went into the baby room, a nanny handed me a baby to hold. They were really beautiful and happy babies. Then the kids in their adorable outfits had to say goodbye to their caregivers, who were crying. One special "Papa" was very attached to the little boy twin. They brewed coffee and made popcorn and the families got to talk and then we went to lunch with them. It was a very happy day!!!

Making Suns and Singing at the CDC
At the CDC on Thursday, the kids had clearly been practicing with Girma, the nurse-- You are my sunshine and did a great job. Then we had the big kids make suns and the little kids make hearts, faces and clouds. I hope they use it for their family day. Then they sang all kinds of songs they know including Make Bananas which is this funny song all of AHOPE knows. Girma the nurse is great!!! I spent time talking with the oldest girl there, she is simply beautiful and wants to be a doctor.

Sodere- the Hot Springs
After our trip to Vera's, Jen decided that she wanted to sponsor a field trip so we took the Big AHOPE kids to Sodere, the hot springs resort on Monday. It is about 2 1/2 hours away and we rented a big bus so we all fit well. To keep the kids occupied, we brought material for
friendship bracelets, and Carly taught them finger knitting. We stopped for snack right before we got there in front of a World Vision site and ate the most delicious bread that is baked in some leaf. Sodere has an olympic sized heated swimming pool. Most of our kids
changed into suits and jumped in the shallow end. I was the only volunteer who would go in the water and it was so much fun. Sassy loved that I could swim with her skinny little body attached to my neck. I tried to help some of the older girls to float and kick their
feet. They were so very impressed that I could swim from one end to
the other. There are also all these little monkeys all over Sodere, just hanging out, stealing your things. After swimming, all us girls headed to the hot showers, oh my, I lasted like minutes. Then we ate a great big lunch and ice cream.

new posts

2009-07-18T07:20:00.004-05:00

Hossana
Abebe mentioned that he needed to go to Hossana ( a small town about 2-3 hours away from Addis) last Sunday but was sort of vague as to why, but he invited us. Jen got sick but I went. When I got to Little A, there was a van full of people going. Doctor, who is apparently the
AHOPE doctor and is the pediatric oncology specialist at an Addis Hospital, three male friends of Abebe's, a female friend of his and the driver. So we take off and the countryside is very pretty. We stopped at a very local place for lunch-- I had shiro as the rest of
the group were eating tibs(small pieces of goat). Doctor had to go eat somewhere else because he is Muslim. After tea, we got back into the car, and the two guys in the back bought chat and proceeded to chew that for the rest of the day... I will blog about chat at some point, but suffice to say, it would be like chewing a plant, doesn't look appealing. But they had to stop two more times that day for chat. So we are back in the car and it is already maybe 2pm and suddenly they yell, here it is. They had been talking about some organization
Mothers to Mothers, so I thought maybe we'd be stopping at an agency, but no we stopped by a hut on the side of the road. No idea how they knew we were at the right hut. There is a pregnant woman there who has been making pottery and a slew of kids. Abebe asked me to start taking pictures. I took a ton of pictures of the kids who loved it and then they asked me to take pictures of some of the kids with malnutrition and other ailments for the doctor.Then the moms wanted their picture taken, so cute. We are maybe there 45 minutes and no one but the doctor and Abebe speak to anyone. And we leave, random... I am still not sure why we went but it was a fun day and great to be out of the city. Of course, coming home, we had to stop for coffee and so the doctor could pray... but I am getting used to having no idea what I am doing or where I am going.

Hyenas

After a full day of driving( I will post about the trip soon), we
arrive in Harrar. We stop at our hotel and get ready to meet the hyena man. We drive into the walled part of Harrar after dark and stop and get out. And there they are, about 9 hyenas, medium sized I guess, not that I am an expert. The man has a bucket of meat and a stick. Now, I was a little dissapointed that our hyena man did not feed them with his mouth. He did put the stick in his mouth and feed them, but still. The hyenas ignored us and our huge headlights and we stood about 6
feet from them taking pictures. Then it was the audiences turn to feed them and there were about 8 of us who took turns feeding them with a stick. You hold the stick out and the hyena man sort of signals them and then they come up and jump up and eat it off the stick. Sometimes they end up with the stick in their mouths as well. I fed about 3 or 4 pieces of meat to my hyena, who really look like homely dogs. It was a great experience and I am very glad I went. Plus I thought I'd be more aprehensive but I wasn't.

Sholla part TWO

2009-07-09T07:39:00.002-05:00

Since our trip got postponed, we headed to Sholla Saturday morning. I needed to give the kids the books from our book fair I forgot last time and wanted to read some of the penpal letters from 207. The kids were watching this really bad movie about an American girl who goes to a UK boarding school. The special project manager sat down with us and
the girl who does hygeine. We came up with a list of supplies and then she took me to a small market and a stall and I purchased two big boxes of laundry detergeant, 6 jars of vaseline, 10 bottles of hair
oil and 9 combs. We came back, I shared my pictures of the Goodwin kids, read a book, and read some of the letters. The kids raised their hands and answered questions about what they wanted to be when they
grow up, what they wanted our kids to know about Ethiopia, what books they like and what fruit they eat. They were an excellent audience. As I was leaving, this beautiful, smart little girl asked for my email
and gave me hers. I am so excited to have my kids write to her. The kids followed us out and walked us to the mini bus. I may come back with more hygeine supplies if I have time. I love the Sholla Children's Library and Ethiopia Reads!!!!!

I hate Ethiopian Airlines!!!!

2009-07-09T07:33:00.004-05:00

I came home from Game Night at Big AHOPE, all ready to shower and go to bed, then get up early for our flight to Harrar. At about 9:45pm,
Jen came back into the house with bad news. Ethiopian Airlines called
to say that our flight was cancelled, not delayed, cancelled!!!! We tried calling the tour company but of course couldn't get through. So we got up and went to the Hilton at 7am-- but of course the girl working at the tour company couldn't possibly help us without her manager-- even though we said that a driver, her driver was supposed to pick us up at the Harrar airport at 8:30am. So we went to Ethiopian Airlines where they told us we were rescheduled for Sunday at 4pm.
Less than 2 hours before we were due to return to Addis. So we went to the pastry shop to drown our sorrows in chocolate crossaints and hot cocoa. When finally our tour manager(mind you, she couldn't figure out how to use the credit card machine when we made our reservations) arrived, she was like "yes, my branch manager called to say your flight was cancelled, but it is too late because I paid for your hotel and the driver rented the car and went to the airport(HELLO WE WERE IN YOUR OFFICE at 7AM!!!). So we would lose 50% of our money for cancelling. So we went back to Ethiopian Airlines to see if we could
get out Saturday AM and save part of our trip, but no despite the fact
that there were 3 flights between the two days, we were on the Sunday afternoon flight. Yet they were confused when we tell them we want a refund. So now we had to decide what to do, so we went back to see about a driving tour of Harrar at another tour company. We ended up booking with them for a three day driving trip next weekend. All in all, we had to spend 6 hours at the Hilton, Jen says "oh well, this is Africa" but I think it is ridiculous!!!!!

You are my Sunshine!!!
We were asked to work with the kids at the CDC on something for their family day. I decided we could teach them You are my Sunshine. I didn't realize Melaku, the social worker there meant we should work with all 70 of them, but he did so he and Girma, the nurse gathered all of the kids and we started teaching them the words. Have I mentioned that I am fairly certain I am tone deaf?? And we have to keep singing alone so the kids could get the tune. The kids actually giggled the first time we sang. But they learned the words pretty quickly. Next week, we will make crafts to go with the song.

Castelli Restaurant
We went to a great Italian restaurant in Piazza on Friday. It is
called Castelli, white tablecloths, red roses, very fancy, quite the
date night dinner-- Jen and I were laughing about that.I had homemade raviolini that was spinach, some filled with cheese,
some with cheese and spinach, delicious crusty bread, a creamy tomato sauce with Italian mushrooms, a glass of local red wine and hazelnut gelato. YUM!!!!

Addis Ababa Restaurant
Thursday night, since we were already in Piazza, we thought we'd try the Addis Ababa restaurant which is written up in both Lonely Planet and Bradt. We walk into a packed place and everyone went silent. Patrons just stared at us and eventually started motioning for us to sit with them. We got seated finally and ordered fasting food for me and tibs for Jen. It was clearly a local establishment, there was even a wedding party there having their dinner. And our entire bill
together was $7 USD.

Ethiopia Reads or Sholla Children's Library

2009-07-09T07:30:00.004-05:00

I probably could not tell you where the Sholla Children's Library is located, our taxi driver had to call the Library twice and then the manager had to walk to the main road and walk us back, but once I got there, I absolutely loved it!!!! There are two covered tents with tables and chairs with kids reading in them, a reading garden with 4 big tables with umbrellas, trees, flowers and kids at all the tables with books. Inside there are three rooms with books, labeled by category and call number. Lots of tables, lots of books, and plenty of young people. There is a conference room, offices for the staff, a media room and posters of all the previous Ethiopia Book Weeks and their themes. In the back is storage and a hygiene room. This is so cool. The kids can come bring their laundry and do it in their new washing machine. They have a man who cuts the boys hair and a woman who styles the girls and even a little barber chair with a mirror. This happens on Saturdays.

Many of the books are older, so they could certainly use new books, it kind of reminded me of the kids section of the DG library from when I was a kid. Sintayehu, the Library Manager showed us around and explained their program. He is great and so enthusiastic. He kept asking me if I knew Yohannes Gebregiorgis, the founder and one of last year's CNN heroes. I know "of" him, but no I don't think I'll be giving him a call when he is back in country next week. Sintayehu
reports that they really could use good quality new books from the US
as well as hygiene items for their Saturday program.

We stayed and read with some of the groups outside(I went with both of my housemates, Marissa and Jen). The kids read in Amharic and some of them tried in English. One group of grade 8 boys were excellent in their reading to me and told me that I read very fast... gee I suppose I sound like I'm talking fast as well. They added about 20 words to my Amharic notebook. Oh and they also wanted to know why I was not married at my advanced age of 34... yes, I told them my mother wonders that as well. :) Sintayehu asked if I would come back on a Saturday when they have their largest group of children, read to them and read them some of the Goodwin kid's penpal letters. I also got contact info for the Donkey Mobile Library in Awassa. Ethiopia Reads and Sholla were the recipients of the Goodwin School penny drive this year. We raised $503 and then my friend Amy's school, Irving School in Oak Park raised money during their spring literacy event and donated $900.

What can you do to help??
My friend Wendy mentioned suggesting ways our at home readers could continue to help. Today, I am suggesting you check out Ethiopia Reads,
www.ethiopiareads.org, where they will take both cash donations and
donations of new or gently used books, they give you ideas of what
kinds of books on their site. And my other suggestion today is Kiva, www.kiva.org, the group that does microfinancing. While last time I looked, there were no
opportunities in Ethiopia, but I really think micro financing is a smart and successful way to help people. And the cool thing is that once your loan is repaid, you can reloan it to help someone else!!!

Blog Fame
A couple of days ago, Abebe called Jen and I as we were leaving the
guesthouse to go to Big A and said he had some friends from Chicago he wanted us to meet at Little A. When we got there, we realized that actually it was this very nice family from Virginia who had stumbled upon my blog. Scott, Jennifer and their 6th grade daughter Evelyn brought donations for AHOPE after finding my blog while doing research on adoption and Ethiopia. They are also planning on visiting the fistula hospital with donations to deliver as well. Great family with a great desire to help. They have a blog that I will link to when I get home and put up a picture with my newest blog "fans". It was a very nice surprise.

Happy 4th of July
I want to wish everyone a very happy 4th of July in America. I will be spending my 4th in the walled city of Harrar, visiting the hyenas. I will post when I return. Thanks for all the emails and Wendy, thanks for calling the other morning(your evening).

2009-06-28T08:25:00.003-05:00

NGO Bazaar

At the International Evangelical Church, once a month there is a bazaar with all the NGO's selling products. There were representatives from the Women Fuelwood Carriers Project, Alert Hospital, Former Leprosy groups, Disabled crafters, Women for Change, Women's Development Project and lots of others, all great organizations and amazing handicrafts. We all went nuts with shopping and even with a big purchase for myself(this great quilt), I only spent about $140 US.

Ferengi's In the Rain

One day, Jen and I were at Kaldi's getting a coffee, writing and cutting out crafts, and we decided it was time to go home-- of course, it instantly started raining and we do not have rain coats or wellies. Do we stop like every Ethiopian? No, we keep going and it starts to hail... and they are hard and hurt. We are soaking wet, people are motioning to us to come under the awnings, mini buses are stopping and yelling at us, but at this point we are cold, wet and dirty and there is no point in stopping. We make it home and Selam and our guard cannot stop laughing. Later after the rain stopped, we had to go out again and Selam kept pointing to our wellies and saying chammas, like take your shoes. Well, we made quite the spectacle, with our wellies and raincoats on a mini bus in the sun. One person even asked us what are shoes were called. When we said they were chammas for the zenob(rain), we got some very funny looks.

Crowns

2009-06-28T08:19:00.002-05:00

We made paper crowns with the kids at Little A. Jen cut them out, the
kids decorated them and then we taped them together. They all put them
on. Mr. Amharic made one for me to wear. Then the caregivers started
making them for the babies, so at least they seemed to like this
activity. We took pictures of all the kids outside with their crowns.
It was a royal success!!!

Kolfe, Kebetsehay, and Kechene

2009-06-28T08:14:00.001-05:00

On Friday we got to visit the three government orphanages in Addis.
Jen met the in country rep for Gladney, which is an adoption agency
based in Ft. Worth, Texas, when she was at the airport and he took us.
He takes each group of adoptive parents when they come to pick up
their children at the Gladney Foster Care centers. Kolfe is for older boys, most of whom are past the age for adoption. No other agency takes their adoptive families to visit because it is not possible to adopt these boys. They are from about 14-21. They can stay there as long as they are in school. Gladney has set up a scholarship program and for about $600 US, it pays for school, books and transportation. It is very bleak there. There are not even tables and chairs in the cafeteria. There is a small garden, some chickens, the hope was that the boys could help support themselves. Travis told us a story about two friends who got in a fight and one boy got killed
with a metal pipe, but it was simply because they are a bunch of
teenage boys with little direction and just one director and some
kitchen staff. Next we went to Kebetsehay, which is for younger boys and girls. It appeared to be rather run down and there were so many children.
Probably double the amount of kids per room as AHOPE. The baby room
was meant to pull heartstrings. There were about 25 babies in the
room, some crying, some silent, some holding out their arms. I held
one little girl who was sturdy and smiled, but when I had to leave,
she was so sad. The older kids all yelled for their pictures to be taken. You have to wonder if they know that is the way to have someone know about them for adoption. Finally we went to Kechene which is mostly for older girls but there are also some babies. It is an old orphanage for the Deaf building and the girls keep their rooms nice. It is pretty bare in the common areas, but on a pretty piece of land with trees and woods.
Travis says most of the babies will find homes, with the exception of
the those with special needs, but beyond age 4 is pretty slim.
It was a rough day but I'm glad I went.

Update

2009-06-28T08:10:00.001-05:00

Mr. Amharic
One little boy at Little A, I will refer to as Mr. Amharic, as he
spends a lot of his time, pointing out items and telling us the word
in Amharic. He is very patient and will repeat the word. For example,
shoes are chammas. When we first got to Little A, Mr. Amharic seemed
very unhappy and if you were with another child, he would try to hit
you, which was very concerning. The only activity that he liked was to pretend box-- where he would hit your hands when you put them up, like he was boxing. But with the more time we've spent with him, and let him teach us, he has definitely warmed up. He is really such a great kid who is actually very patient and able to wait for us now that he has decided that we are friends.

Girma, Our Internet Saviour
Girma, the owner of the internet site is awesome. We stop most days we have power and ask Internet allay and he will say yes, or yellum,
which is without or not working. It is slow but super cheap, like
$1.20 US an hour. He also does copies and laminating. And he always
stays close by to help trouble shoot.

Thank you Goodwin School!!!!

2009-06-26T19:05:00.005-05:00

Today(Wednesday, June 24th), we went back to Vera's with Big AHOPE for the field trip with the kids jeans day money. I was a little concerned
that the big kids would think it was babyish but boy was I wrong. They
were very happy to be there. Abebe said he told them the night before and he didn't think they slept which I thought was super cute. They rode the rides, ran around and took tons of pictures, they loved taking pictures with their friends. At lunch, I was helping Abebe figure out what everyone wanted to eat, pizza or burgers. So he's ordering and I was questioning how he was going to order a whole pizza for every kid and was that a good idea, but he insisted it was. Well, we get to lunch and believe it or not, almost all the kids ate their whole pizza!!! They pick up a slice, roll it like a rolled sandwich(which unless you know my mother, you have no idea what that is) and put it in their mouths. I guess you could say they eat pizza sort of like they eat injera. Marissa, the repeat volunteer said that it is partially because some of the kids didn't use to have enough food so they eat everything put in front of them. But the kids were great, very polite and they all thanked me and
Goodwin. One of my favorite( I know you shouldn't have favorites...:)) at Big AHOPE is Sassy. She is 7 and has pretty good English. She even asked me how old I was and when I put up the fingers, she was able to repeat my math in Amharic. I let her wear my sunglasses and that was a big
hit, very, very cute!!!!

Mini Buses

All over Addis, are these blue and white vans that people either call
mini buses or mini taxis. They hold about 12-16 people, depending on
how many they try to squeeze in. There is a driver and a man who
stands inside, opens the door, collects your money and yells the
destination out the window, so you know which one to get in. Each ride
which is usually from one neighborhood to the next is between .75 Birr
and 2 Birr. For your conversion: 2 Birr= 20 cents US.

Monikers or AKA names for the kids

2009-06-26T19:03:00.005-05:00


I've been trying to figure out a way to differentiate the kids in my
posts and I was going to use their first initial but I'm getting
confused as many of the kids have the same names, so I think I'm going
to give them each a moniker(is that the right word??) when I talk
about them, so for example, Little S from my previous post will be
Sunshine....

Sunshine Update
A couple of days ago, Jen got an AHOPE forum message(all my forum
messages go to my excite account and we can all guess how that works
here!!) but anyhow the message said that this mom just passed court
and officially has adopted her daughter and is just waiting for the TB
test, so she doesn't know when she will get to travel, but wanted an
updated supply list to collect for AHOPE.
Well, Jen wrote her right back and asked if she would be willing to
let us know who her daughter was. And she did and guess what it is
Sunshine!!! We are so excited that she has a home-- I can't wait for
her mom to come and meet her.

Community Development Center Update
We ventured out for our first solo visit to the CDC on Thursday, June
25th. This involves a minibus to Mexico, then one to Piazza, then one
to Yohannesburg. On our third lag of the trip, Jen sat next to this
cute brother and sister, about 9 and 11. They were clearly delighted
that three Fereng were on their bus. They wanted to talk to us and
asked as everyone does if we were sisters and if they could go to
America with us. I had two bouncy balls with me in my bag and I gave
them to them. They thought that was very cool. Turns out, they were
getting out at the same spot, so they started walking with us. Then
they ask us if we know AHOPE and it turns out, they go to the CDC. So
we walk with them, as they are bouncing their super balls all over the
place. The little girl puts her arm around my waist and says "I'm HIV,
do you know?". I almost started crying right then and there. To feel
that you have to identify yourself immediately as that, not as a
smart, cute, funny kid but as a medical diagnosis.

Vera's Wonderland

2009-06-24T14:57:00.004-05:00


Okay so Disney is currently rolling over in his grave! Sunday, we took the kids to this place called Vera's Wonderland, which is essentially Addis' version of Kiddieland, with poorly drawn Disney characters. How many of you have been to Kiddieland in Melrose Park??? Well those same archaic rides exist over here, just fewer. There were this really spooky paintings of Disney characters, like Goofy has fangs but the kids were super excited. We got pictures of them on the big slide, the Dumbo ride, the swinging ship and the bumper cars. They ate tons of fries, pizza, Fanta and ice cream. I got to ride the ferris while with the twins and S. who are all about four years old. Didn't I hear that our Kiddieland is closing, must take Juliet when I get back, who's in???

Lesson Plans

Okay, we finally had this volunteer meeting that was super helpful in figuring out what we are all going to be doing. We are definitely
doing activities and arts and crafts at Little A and teaching those
two classes at Big A.

So lesson plans or rather lesson plans on the fly.... as Jen and I
spent the morning planning our ESL conversation lessons as well as our crafts and activities. She made a crown that we plan to make with the little kids and I made a spider to go along with the Itzy Bitzy Spider which they know in both English and Amharic. I think we did fine but I wish I'd known what I'd be doing before I left as I would have brought ready made activities from school. Too bad, you can't get Oriental Trading Company to deliver here!!!!

Chamaki

Chamaki or juice in English is very popular here. It is really just
pureed fruit-- delicious or etofitel in Amharic!!! My favorite so far is strawberry, though pineapple is quite good as well. I am not a convert yet of the mixed juice which includes avocado, but we shall see. This has really been as close to fruit as I've gotten, though I do keep looking at all the hanging bananas but can't find any that are yellow enough or rather with a tinge of green.

Odds and Ends
In case you haven't read, try emailing me at tjones6575@gmail.com, it appears faster.

If you are trying to call me -- best between 12-1pm your time or
10:30-11:30pm your time.

I got a comment from a Miss S, who was a former volunteer, I'd love to fill you in, just email me.

Thanks for all the comments and emails, you guys rock!!!

Making Name Signs

2009-06-24T14:48:00.004-05:00

As this is a project that I have started the year off with many times,
we decided to have the kids at Little AHOPE make namesigns for their
beds. These were just simple construction paper signs with lines in
the middle for their names and then room to decorate. We made examples
with Jen and Tiffany. The kids got really excited but we didn't
realize that even some of the older ones who attend school did not
know how to spell their names so that was a bit of a problem but the
kindergarten teacher came and helped out tremendously!! So she may
feel that we do not write our letters and numbers correctly(more on
that later) but seemed to like this activity.
While it was a bit chaotic and less structured than I usually insist
on back home, the kids had a great time. Then I helped them hang up
their signs with duck tape and took their pictures. They were very
proud of themselves, especially some of the boys, which was sort of
surprising. You will all love seeing the pictures, they are
adorable!!!

Day trip out of Addis

2009-06-24T14:46:00.004-05:00

On Saturday, Jen and did a tour with NTO tours. Our guide was
awesome!! We got driven around in a white SUV, very fancy, like the
UN. Our guide really encouraged us to take pictures which is great
since we feel awkward taking pictures of people. We first went to
Melka Quntture, a place that was partially excavated and had an open air museum. Next was Adadi Marium, or St. Mary's church, which is a rockhewn cave church, similar to the style at Lalibela. Finally we
went to this place that had grave markers that looked like stonehedge. But the best part of the trip was that he drove us out of Addis and into the countryside where we got to see huts and mud houses and goat herders. We saw tons of donkeys with yellow plastic waterjugs on their backs. Lots of kids came up to our windows, that is difficult. He took us to a market in one of the small towns and showed us raw Teff and spices. It was great to be at the market and have him shoo away the throngs of people who began following us asking for money. Now, I
absolutely understand offering a Birr to someone if you'd like their
picture, but come on for taking pictures of your spices!!! Everything is right out in the open, piles of grains, fruits, vegetables, shoes, etc. We went to lunch at the Lemmon Hotel for muton and eggs. I tried one piece of mutton, aka roasted goat and that was enough for me. But they did have crusty rolls with the injera that was very tasty and a coffee ceremony afterward.I loved seeing kids wave to us from their huts or playing soccer or this strange form of volleyball in the yards of their little walled in communities. All in all, a splendid day!!!

Little S.

2009-06-20T13:16:00.002-05:00

One little girl could be any of yours who is at Little AHOPE. Of all
the kids here, she is the one that I have to keep reminding myself is
HIV+ and an orphan. Perhaps it is because she is so chubby, has
gorgeous hair that is curly one day and braided the next or just her
fantastic smile. I would say she is about 2 and a half and is very
smart. She can count to 10 in English and knows many Amharic songs.
She's not clingy but likes to be held up high. I hope she is one of
the one's who has a placement!!!!

Selam, our Housekeeper!!!

Our housekeeper is very nice. She cooks breakfast: french toast,
crepes, eggs which look weird and have strange things in them,
breakfast pizza with onions, tomatoes, and jalepeno peppers. She does
make coffee in the morning but it is not good, which is surprising as
the rest of the coffee we've had has been great! We use a lot of jam
on our breakfasts, but it is always filling. She has two daughters,
aged 10 and 13, we saw pictures.
There is now a washing machine at the house!!! So, when the holy
trinity of water, power and daylight occurs, you can get your clothes
washed.... it's happened once.
And yes to whoever asked, our water is connected to our power as the
well is up in the sky in back and needs power to move the water.

Weekend in Addis

2009-06-14T19:42:00.002-05:00

Hi All,

Okay, so internet is on again at least temporarily and I was able to read all my emails, but still can't send from them. Wendy, I laughed out loud at yours, thanks needed that!!! Second full day of no water, power, I don't need, shower that would be nice plus I'm going to run out of clothes soon.

Jen and I had a busy week with the kids and trying to plan out our work schedule, everyone seems to have a different idea of what we should do. But this weekend, we got to get out and see some of Addis and that was interesting. We had a super tour of the National Museum and then visited the Lion's Zoo and that was super depressing!!!

We also visited the Hilton and looked into some weekend tours for upcoming weekends, perhaps to Harar and Awassa.

The guest house is nice, I have an inside room, yea Marianne for telling me to ask!! But the whole no water and not flushing the toilet sort of an issue. The food has been good, kind of not thinking I'll be any skinnier when I return. :) Nice bed, clean rooms, kitchen is a little sketchy but seeing as breakfast is made for us, I don't have to go in there.

Jen is the only other volunteer right now, but one more is coming next weekend.

I'll try to write more in a couple of days, please keep emailing, love reading them!!!

I Made it!

2009-06-12T08:47:00.004-05:00

Hi,
I'm here. Internet is horrid!!! I have not had power or water for a day and a half. The other volunteer Jen is great and the people have been very nice!!! The weather is warm, no rain for two more weeks. I am not sure how often I can post. I will try again in a couple of days. This is definitely an experience I shall never forget. But I'm doing fine, keep the emails coming, hopefully I will be able to read more of them soon!!
Love to everyone,
Tiff

I Made It... Part 2 (this was sent to me a few minutes later)

Okay, I'm going to try this again.... In case you are wondering, at the moment, I could see some of your emails and then nothing... so I am actually sending this to my friend Claire via Facebook of all programs.

I have been to both Little AHOPE and Big AHOPE and will begin officially teaching at Big AHOPE in about a week and also hopefully working at the community center next week. My flight was good and I was met at the airport by Jen(other volunteer), Abebe, social worker and the driver, it was super comforting to have a welcome wagon!!!

I am eating too much but enjoying the macchiatos!!! We even went with another foreigner to the Ethiopian Starbucks, aka Kaldi's last night.

I miss everyone and wish I could communicate easier.

Leaving on a jet plane!!!!!

2009-06-08T09:41:00.002-05:00

A great big thank you to all of you who donated, listened and read this blog!!!! I am heading to Addis Ababa this afternoon. I'm flying KLM and should be there around 9pm tomorrow night. I hope my bags don't weigh too much and that everything goes smoothly. But I wanted you all to know that that thanks to you, there will be many things I will be able to do with the kids at AHOPE, as well as buy them supplies. I also look forward to my time at the Sholla Library which is where our pennies went!!!!!

I will be posting (probably through my ghost poster, Claire) hopefully at least once a week!!!! I will also try to be checking email as often as possible. But otherwise will pretty much be off the grid. Love to you all-- thanks for giving me a great good by weekend and I'll see you all in 7 weeks!!!!!!!! I'm out of here.

Packing???

2009-06-08T09:22:00.001-05:00

Well, it is the morning I leave, I of course overslept which I'm mad about as I was planning a last bike ride and coffee visit with a friend!!!! ARGH!!! I guess the best laid plans and lists always go awry. Hope nothing else does and I hope my suitcases are under weight.

The kids ate the cuisine

2009-06-08T09:15:00.004-05:00

Mrs. Melone's third grade, are the one class who has followed me with this journey like no other. So, I had promised them an Ethiopian Feast and I followed through this past week. I went up to Edgewater to pick up Injera and then I made Yemiser Wat(spicy red lentils) and Aklit(potato/carrot/onion stew). Boy these kids were adventurous. Many of them reported that the spices tasted like their grandma's from Mexico. Many of the kids love the injera!!! And as you can see in the picture, Alan gives it a big thumbs up!!!

Ethiopian Party

2009-06-08T09:09:00.004-05:00

This classroom threw me a going away to Ethiopia Party!!! They made signs, wished me well and even learned a little Amharic. Very fun, thanks Ms. Durkin, Ms. Pusek and room 202!!! I'll bring you back lots of photos.

small fun donations

2009-06-08T09:04:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the donations I am bringing for the kids at AHOPE as well as kids on the streets. When I was in Mexico, I had a hard time saying no to kids who begged but I found if I had something fun for them, they seemed to be as happy as if I had given them money.

The big bag of watches is for the kids at BIG AHOPE, there should be enough for everyone. Thanks to Silvia, my mom, Meyer Family, Julie, Cheryl, Kristen and to Kelly and Bill for buying all the rest!!!!!

I'm in the Newspaper

2009-06-07T08:55:00.004-05:00

Guess what, I got interviewed for the local paper and they published a story about my trip and the projects the kids at school did for Ethiopia Reads!!! Here is the link, I'm still trying to find a hard copy(we thought it wasn't coming out until next Friday).

Thanks to Jen Fortney for sending out all the publicity stuff!!!!

Oh and guess what, the way I found out it had been published, because I got an email from author, Jane Kurtz, who helped found Ethiopia Reads!!!! How crazy is that??

JEANS DAY!!!

2009-06-02T22:27:00.002-05:00

I have an awesome school and to make them even more awesome, they did a jeans day fundraiser for AHOPE. Each student who brought in a dollar could wear jeans. The money will go to fund a field trip for the children at AHOPE. The kids were really cute about the whole thing, one little girl didn't even wear jeans but brought a dollar to help out anyway. That rocks!!!!!

We raised $478!!!!! Can you believe it??

More thank you's

2009-06-02T22:21:00.002-05:00

A big thank you to Julie Mensik for organizing a donation drive at her boyfriend's bar. While the turnout was small, I still certainly appreciated the support and donations from Julie, Chris, Liz, Stephanie and Silvia!!!!

Thanks for all the watches Silvia!

Thank you to my babysitting kids, Sydney and Isabelle and their parents Bill and Maureen for your kind donation and all the cool watches!!

Thank you to all my friends at school who have continued to donate $$ especially Pat Barlow, Louise Puzek, Olga Vazquez and the Specials Teachers.

Gloves!!!

2009-06-02T22:17:00.002-05:00

An old, dear friend of mine who is a nurse at RUSH donated many, many, many pairs of sterile surgical gloves which is something needed by AHOPE. It is on the donations list and Marianne said it was definitely something the nurses there wanted. I am stuffing as many as can fit into my suitcase and then shipping the rest to Vanessa at Flights for Change. This is an awesome organization of Continental flight attendants who take supplies to AHOPE several times a year.

THANKS MARGARET!!!!

Brunch with Gale Gand

2009-05-17T17:02:00.003-05:00

Gale Gand is hands down my favorite chef and Chicago personality. Thanks to a keen eye of my friend Wendy, I was notified that she was a co-hosting a brunch at The Bristol restaurant with the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Wine and Food(founded incidentally by the infamous Julia Child). It was to promote her new brunch book, which is another culinary masterpiece. Well, brunch was to die for. Crepes with bananas and homemade Nutella, strata with wild onions, noodle kugle, pear coffee cake, bacon waffles, yes bacon waffles, asparagus with eggs, hmmm... I feel like I might be forgetting something, but regardless amazing!!!!

Then as we were asking Gale if she'd take a photo with us, she asked us to send it to her because she forgot her camera and wants to post it on her blog. I am in heaven, will send you the link when I see it up there. YUM!!!!

Thank you's!!!

2009-05-16T19:41:00.002-05:00

I want to thank some recent supporters:

My book club members:
Meg Heron Blake
Eileen Blake
Jeanine Kupec

Jen Belongia

Senator John Milner

Anna White
Gina Cook

Donations Wanted.....

2009-05-16T19:32:00.002-05:00

I just got the updated needs list from AHOPE. While there are many needs, so many of them are so heavy and bulky. Unfortunately I have limited luggage space, so I've decided to collect wristwatches. They are looking for children/teen watches for ages 8-15. There are about 35 children at Big AHOPE and I hope to bring enough for everyone. The watches in the picture are ones my mom and I purchased today at Kohls and Walmart. We got them all from $7 to $11 a piece.

Please let me know if you'd like to donate a wristwatch.