School Children
On the walk to work I pass loads of school kids walking to school. There seems to be a uniform uniform, only in different colours. The girls wear a long skirt of a particular colour, aquamarine and burgundy are the most common, but often with trousers underneath. The boys wear trousers of the same colour. They all wear a white shirt (no tie!) and a waistcoat of the same colour as the skirt. It is simple but nice and looks comfortable. What is great about seeing the school kids is that they are the same wherever you go. Boys wearing football tops under their shirts, girls with spangly cardigans over their waistcoats for which they are definitely going to get a talking to, boys carrying books but not using a bag, boys getting girls to carry their books for them, girls with fancy things in their hair etc. It is obvious that many of these uniforms have been sewn together by mothers with little money, many are dirty and ripped. It can often be difficult to keep anything clean here when the water supply goes out, and you can see from the state of the houses many will not have running water in the house but use a standpipe in their area. Nevertheless all the kids wear the uniform and are pleased to be going to school. We all walk at the side of the road as there are no pavements. Buses and cars beep to let us know they are coming up behind us, but the pedestrians are about 6-8 deep at the side of the road. The embassy road is about 6 lanes wide both sides. One of the things that cheers me up the most going to work is the number of smiles and hellos I get along the way. A foreigner or ferengi as we are known is still something of a novelty. In particular children of four years and under love to say hello and shake your hand. It is almost like you are a lucky talisman and if you shake a ferengi's hand you will have good luck. But their smiles are gorgeous. The Ethiopian people in general smile a lot and they are so beautiful when they smile. However, some children are quite afraid of ferengis and get scared if I hold out my hand to them, they hide behind their mother's skirt. But generally it cheers me up to say hello to these smiling children. As I take the same road to work I have been adopted by two girls on their way to school. Their names are Reesa and Fadeela. They just came up to me one morning and told me my hair was lovely (the following Thursday they said 'every day you are beautiful' – who can resist that?) and we got chatting in English. They are in grades 5 and 6 so about 11 or 12 years old. Now whenever I see them we walk to school together (its on my way to work). The other morning we had a heated discussion about whether Chris Brown or Rhianna was a better singer. Fadeela and I both agreed that Chris Brown was bad for having hit Rhianna but Reessa still thought Rhianna was better. This morning I was listening to my MP3 player when I met them and for the rest of the journey they listened to Abba's Mama Mia and we sang along together. So hopefully I can help them with English. They tell me words in Amharic, but I always forget them, so when I left them at school last week they said don't forget our names – but how could I? (Fran tell Hannah: This morning I met another girl called Hannah and she met her friend called Danny, who I suppose is called Daniel. I wonder if she has a goat at home!) I see so many wonderful things on the way to work. A new bridge is currently under construction too – built with Chinese money. But the hard labour is done by the locals, chipping at huge rocks with pick axes – in the hot sun – for about 10 birr a day – that's 5pence!!!! But the progress they make is amazing!! I enjoy walking as it is always sunny in the morning and it is the only exercise I get at the moment – 45 mins walk in the sun! Not bad. There is a major junction on my way and it often gets clogged by blue line taxis (mini buses we travel in) with guys shouting out the window their destinations. You can just flag one done if I can understand where they are going. It took me a week and a half and a long walk home one evening before I learned the word for stop please so I could get off. There are always goats who accompany me on the way to work too, and I pass lots of people with their wares of tomatoes, potatoes and green beans (I am already sick of green beans) laid out in the street! I buy my bananas for the week from a stall close to the ministry and my water from a young boy at a stall – who should be at school! But he recognises me now and has my water ready. Its not the same as cycling through
Love to you all, Joanne x
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