My bags are packed...

I’m ready to go… I guess? I’m in a weird place where nothing feels different.  I don’t think it’s hit me that in less than 15 hours, I’ll be on an 18 hour flight back to the US.  I’m REALLY excited to see people, go for a run, and get a pedicure (I know that doesn’t sound like the first thing someone should do when they get back from spending 2 months with people well below the “poverty line”, but my feet are not socially acceptable in any kind of society).  But I also don’t really know how I feel about leaving.  I found a letter I wrote to God in March after our first team meeting at the Gleason’s house:

“DEAR GOD,

I’m writing this as I start preparing for this summer in Ethiopia.  It’s weird that this is becoming a reality, but my heart also isn’t responding the way I thought it would.  It’s like when this wasn’t an attainable thing I was so excited about it, but now that I’m actually going my attitude feels different, but I think that’s because it’s become a reality.  I’m still pretty confident that this is where you want me this summer: you were extremely faithful in answering my prayer to meet Rudy’s wife and to send another girl from Tech.  Granted, the result was WAY different than I expected, but you tend to do that.  You have provided the Fleet scholarship that covers the expenses of my trip – that’s AMAZING.  So I don’t know why I still have this anxious/icky feeling about going.  Maybe because it’s unknown, or I feel like so much is expected of me when I tell people I’m going to Africa.  Maybe I feel like I’m conforming by going to Africa.  Maybe I know it’s gonna be hard and I’m going to have to be so dependent on you and I’m afraid you won’t meet me there.  Maybe it’s because I’m afraid we’re gonna go and do more harm than good, because I’ve heard so many stories about mission trips gone wrong.  In reality, I think it’s a combination of all these things.

Lord I’m thankful that I can be honest with you about my fears, but I pray that you would prove me wrong.  That you would sweep in and reveal to me your true character and your loving Spirit and your warrior heart.  And I pray that I would see your wonders and that this journey would lead us into a deeper, more real, and more intimate relationship where I get to know your heart.  I have no idea what this summer is going to look like but I pray for a teachable spirit and a submissive heart and I pray for the Spirit of wisdom and discernment when I’m down there and that you would work through me and the team in powerful ways that we couldn’t conjour on our own.  I pray against a power hungry summer where we seek to spread the ministry “BOK” but I pray for a lifestyle of proclaiming Jesus’s name and watching the amazing process of people getting to know the living God through your Spirit.  I pray that I would walk away from this summer amazed by you and changed in a way that I could only credit to you.

Thank you for choosing me even when I feel like I’m stacking bricks to build a wall between us.  Thank you for continuing to knock the wall down in love, even when you know I’ll start rebuilding it.  Thank you for this opportunity and this team, and I am so excited to EMBARK on this adventure with you.”

(I tried to pick out excerpts, but I’m really bad at condensing thing.  And I realize there were lots of grammar mistakes/run-on sentences, but I felt like a fraud making edits since it was in quotes!)

After I read the letter, I realized that I’m kind of just in awe of this summer.  I’m in awe of the fact that I got to spend a summer in Ethiopia.  I’m in awe of the way that Brittany and I were able to come together and become friends even though we are SO different.  I’m in awe at the way I was able to find peace in submitting and in serving as the “co-pilot” because that’s SO unlike me.  I’m in awe at the fact that I was able to spend 2 months across the world and still feel like my relationships with people are the exact same.  I’m humbled by the way I was welcomed into this community and at the people who lay down their lives and their agendas this summer to serve me and alongside me.  I’m overwhelmed by the thankfulness that people express as we start to leave because I just want to stop them and say “THERE IS NO REASON YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME OR PRAISING GOD FOR ME. I am so indebted to you because of the way that you served me and loved me and welcomed me and taught me this summer!”  I’m amazed at the perfect way that things fell together this summer amidst the constant chaos that it consistently was.  I still can’t believe that our team was able to work together amongst the sometimes conflicting personalities (mainly because we’re all so similar).  I’m in awe at how quickly deep relationships form because of the connection we have in what we believe, even though we’re from different cultures and genders and languages.

Hopefully you get the picture… so in sitting here thinking about why I feel so weird about leaving, I think it’s because I feel SO blessed to have even had this opportunity in the first place.  I think it’s gonna be weird how quickly things go back to normal when I get home (I already scheduled the first 2 things on my google calendar) and as much as I don’t want to go back to “real life”, I’m learning that this is “real life” (I know, “duh Marnie”… some things just take me a while).  In the same way that my life in Georgia consists of hanging out with my friends, going on a retreat, and starting to work at KC again, guardians here are still fighting daily to start successful businesses and provide for their families, the staff here is still asking daily for strength to lead these men and women to succeed, and the youth are still going to be putting together small groups and figuring out how to better minister to the rest of the college-aged kids in Burayu.  I’ve been amazed at the similarities I’ve seen this summer in people, the struggles that we go through, and the way we form relationships.  But it’s also weird to think about how “real life” can be so drastically different.

I don’t know how I feel, but there’s me attempting to articulate it.  Since pictures are way more fun and less confusing, here’s the last set before I get back to America!!!!

Makasan group finishing their necklaces! 

Gudina with their finished necklaces!! They made 24 NECKLACES and most of them are GREAT... I was AMAZED by their group's dedication

My Ambo Hooligans (Sima, Amansisa, Teressa, and Kumsa)

Neguse!!! He was the owner of the restaurant in Ambo that we ate at EVERY Weds. and Friday, and 12 times when the American team was here.  He was also the only one who knew what I meant when I ordered salsa with my omelet. We got a good picture together, but I thought this one was way funnier.

RAE - this one is for you!!!!! You'd be proud of me - I didn't make him take the shirt off, try to rip it, or even insult it.  Instead I told him that you would be so excited for him (I also told him that in English, but he heard your name and smiled) 

RAW KITFO!!! Because you have to try it while you're in Africa, right?

I got peer pressured into drinking my first machiatto, and I quasi enjoyed it. 

The Ambo Team! Surprisingly, these guys were the hardest to say bye to.  Such amazing people with HUGE hearts for those they are serving.  It's reassuring to know that the ministry is being left in such solid hands, but it's still hard to leave them.

The Youth Leader retreat!! (Check out Brittany and I's SWEET Ethiopian garb that Misganaw and the SVO staff gave us to thank us for this summer! Brittany said I wasn't allowed to wear it on the plane though :[)  I left SO humbled by these guys - by their dedication to their ministry, to each other, and the way that we could feel like friends even though we've known each other for such a short period of time.



p.s. Remember how I calculated crying into every part of my schedule? It's only happened ONCE so far and it was when we were saying bye to the Ambo staff.  Little victories.

See you soon, America! 

Tabata

Story #1: Every time we ride home from Ambo, about 30 minutes into the car ride, Kes Cimdii will turn around and say “Marnie, tabata!” (“Marnie, play!”).  In other words, “Marnie, talk to me!”  The first time he said it, he explained that in Ethiopian culture, when people are together they are very conversational.  He traced it all the way back to the history of the country – most of the people were nomads, so they were forced to come together to find out where the best places to bring their animals were.  Kes says that’s why Ethiopians are so welcoming and conversational now.  I don’t know how true the story is, but I do know that the characteristics are true of Ethiopians today.  And lately, it’s been pretty convicting.  I LOVE the drive to Ambo, mainly because it gives me 2 ½ hours of uninterrupted solitude.  I get to stare out the window at the beautiful landscape, get lost in my thoughts, and eventually lay down the seats and take a bumpy nap (then again, when it’s only 6:30 in the morning, I guess you could just say I fall back asleep).  When Kes first told me to “Tabata”, I thought “Whoa, that’s against my whole philosophy of this Ambo drive”, but I’m SO thankful that he did.  I’ve gotten to have some amazing conversations with him about how he leads his family, learn some new words in Amheric and Afan Oromo, and hear about powerful ways that he’s seen God come through in his life.  I’ve learned a whole new meaning of what it looks like to be reliant on God through Kes Cimdii, and most of that I can attribute to our conversations to and from Ambo (mainly from, because I still like to take my “morning naps” on the way there). 

Story #2: Today (Thursday), Simbo gave up her entire day just to spend time with Brittany and I at the church.  She literally gave up her entire day - I texted her in the morning and said that we’d be at the church from 2:30 – 5:00.  She thought I meant Ethiopian time, which means 8:30 – 11:00 a.m. (I’d heard of different time zones before, but Ethiopia has a different time SYSTEM. It’s serves same purpose as using inches instead of centimeters… it just keeps life complicated)  I got a frustrated text at 11:20 after having missed 2 of her calls. WHOOPS. (I was excited because it was further proof that people assume I’m Ethiopian, but I still felt bad.)  I was also really honored because she left for lunch after having waited for us in the morning and then came back to hang out (AND we didn’t get there until 3:15).  We started talking about random things, and about 5 minutes into our conversation I started looking for things for us to do.  I pulled yarn out of my backpack to finger knit, I almost brought my computer out to go through pictures, and finally, I got a deck of cards (my backpack has become a Mary Poppins bag).  I asked if she knew any card games and she said “Yeah, but let’s just talk! You guys leave so soon!”  Once again, I was convicted of how little I value conversation.  I’m constantly looking for the next thing to DO and have a really hard time simply sitting and BEING with people.  She had traveled 45 minutes just to talk to us for a couple hours, and for some reason I couldn’t fathom why anyone would want to come just to talk.  At home, I love going on walks with people or going on “coffee” dates or to the river because I get to have awesome conversations, but all of those still involve doing something.  She had literally come just to sit on a bench in church and get to know us better so that she could take advantage of the limited time we had together.

Together, the two experiences left me thinking a lot about what it means to value people.  I get so easily consumed with myself and my thoughts and my “Marnie time” (which I know is important, but that’s not the point right now) that I neglect to take advantage of the opportunities I have in front of me to fellowship with people.  So often I’ll think that I’ve covered all the possible conversation topics with people, but I don’t think that’s possible with ANYONE.  We have so much to learn from everybody because everyone has a story and experiences that are different from our own.  I want take as much advantage of this as I can instead of getting so caught up in “Marnie world” that I forget to appreciate the people I’m surrounded with every day.  It’s cool because this isn’t something that is limited to Ethiopia and it’s *hopefully* a “lesson” I can take home (and it’s something I can bring back that doesn’t take up room in my suitcase.  I’m praying for the “Mary Poppins backpack” to come through while I’m packing – turns out trying to come home with just carry-ons is way harder than I expected).

And so this post isn't all my feelings about life... here are some pictures! 

Rudy's Birthdayd! Kes found out it was the
"big day" in the morning, told Misganaw, and
then by the afternoon they had thrown together
a party! 

Misganaw and Tatilu's BEAUTIFUL family

The "conjo" (beautiful) chef

Tatilu and Misganaw

Ayantu's famly!!  Ayantu is 8 and she and her brother Badilu live with their grandmother (Alemitu, far right). When we visited her home, we found out that Alemitu has 10 children - 3 have died and 2 are in prison (one of them was a driver and got in a car accident and was sent to jail - that's the punishment for car accident's here).  She sells local drink to support her grandchildren, because as far as we could tell, she doesn't receive any support from her other kids, who have all left Ambo.   She also makes these BEAUTIFUL baskets that I got to buy from her so I get to have a "piece" of their family in my room! 

Teressa and his family!  Teressa's in the green, and then Mamitu, Tadese (his father), and Hawi (showing off her belly). Teressa's one of the Ambo hooligan's that I've been hanging out with lately.  He is probably THE nicest and most helpful kid I've met yet.  He is constantly carrying my backpack, taking hair out of my mouth when it gets stuck and I don't have a free hand, and helping me with necklaces.  Mamitu (his mother) has been at the church every Weds. and Friday making necklaces (she was there when we first stopped at her home so we had to call her).  I wish I had more time to get to know their family better, but I'm SO thankful for the short time that I had with them.

Bortuqua!!! I wasn't able to go visit her
home because I was doing necklaces,
so she gave me this doll instead! 

Marta!!! One of the Ambo SVO staff - she
also has the biggest servant's heart I've ever seen.

Health screening in Buaryu - all the kids came
to have their yearly check-ups.

Tea and bread after the health screening  - Hannah (left) and :Girum (right)

Hisiyac!!! We met one of the first days we were here, because he was hitting all the girls I was with (not hitting on, literally punching them in the back). I pulled him over and told him I loved him and that he shouldn't hit girls, and I don't know how much got translated, but he hasn't hit anyone since (at least that I've seen) and every time I see him he shyly comes up to me and then gives me a huge hug.  He's 11 and doesn't know how to write - his mother is partially deaf,
so he isn't always able to attend school because he has to work to help support his family.  He's one of the ones
that's just looking to be loved, and if I was able to serve that purpose in ANY way this summer, the summer was a success.  He also tried to teach me how to play a game with the stick and circle that h'e's holding in his hand - you push the circle with the stick and see how long you can keep it going.  A lot of the younger boys play and are PRO'S... I made it about 1 foot.

Euphalum Orphanage - we got to visit on Tuesday:
it was the first time I'd ever been to an orphanage, and it was amazing.  Nothing like I expected, but still really cool.  Each orphanage in Ethiopia is required to work with a non-profit, so these are some HIV-positive women involved in a self-help training group that the orphanage facilitates.  The women live in the orphanage for 6 months where they learn some kind of trade or hand-craft so that they can better support themselves.  It was really cool hearing their stories and hearing about the community they'd developed through the program.

The Final Countdown

For the last 2 months I’ve been counting down days. “1 month left, 6 more times in Ambo, 2 more Monday’s left”… we finally reached the point where we have 1 Monday and 1 Tuesday and 1 Weds and (you get the point), and then we get to Sunday.  And then we leave. WHOA.

I’m at an awkward point of being really excited to be home, but also not feeling like I’m ready to leave.  I’m trying not to be anxious about how we’re spending our time – I want to make sure I take advantage of every minute we spend here, and it makes me want to have UBER control over our time (which, as I’ve learned, isn’t really possible here).  It’s also a funny reminder of the beginning of the summer when I got an entirely different perspective on patience.  So I’m expecting this week to be crazy, but I’m also making a to-do list with zero hope that everything will actually be complete.

Life update from the past couple days:

Practicing for graduation! 

KG graduation was on Saturday.  It was GREAT.  It was way more interesting than what I’ve heard about Tech graduations, and I couldn’t even understand 80% of it.  There’s just something about a bunch of 4, 5, and 6 year olds dressed up in caps and gowns that made the ceremony a lot MORE FUN (today Rudy said “funner” and I cringed) than seeing a bunch of college graduates (no offense to you guys).  Some of the teachers were dressed up in traditional Aromic dress, the grade school kids put on a skit, and the “graduates” performed some GREAT songs that I would upload videos from but…. Internet problems.  After the graduation, I got to go to my FIRST OFFICIAL COFFEE CEREMONY!!! (THAT was on the Ethiopia “to-do” list).  It was complete with the celebratory bread (about 12” in diameter and 3” thick… the same bread we had at Kes Cimdii’s house for his daughter’s birthday), popcorn, kolo (roasted seeds), grass all over the floor, and coffee (go figure).  It was GREAT to just get to hang out with the teachers for a while (I love them, and the only time we get to talk is when we’re surrounded by 200 excited elementary school kids), so it was really fun getting to sit and talk with them.  Brittany also figured out why everyone is so skinny here – it’s a sign of affection to feed one another, so they all just ended up feeding us the bread instead of eating it themselves! There was a TON of laughter, lots of photos, and lots of eating done – when I think about it the only thing I can think is “pure joy”.  It’s been a theme of the past couple days, and I love it.

Coffee Ceremony!

-        Britt and I got to eat dinner with Jessica and Keith on Saturday night – it was SO good to see them again (they’re the missionaries we stayed with at the very beginning of the summer).  They’re in Ethiopia indefinitely (until God calls them somewhere else) working with Mission Ethiopia.  It was just fun to hang out with them and hear how their adjustment has been (they’ve been here for a little over 2 months).  We got shiro and pizza for dinner – it was the perfect mix of Ethiopian and American culture.  I like the shiro better.

-          Speaking of shiro, this afternoon we went to dinner at Mezalu’s house (our maid- the same place Brittany and I went last week after the Orthodox service).  She made shiro, more eggs and veggies, and this REALLY good potato thing.  After we had sufficiently stuffed ourselves, Britt and I made the mistake of staying at the table.  Mezalu came over, noticed that our plates were empty, and proceeded to re-fill them and then start feeding us (at one point I had to lower my head because I had a mouth full of shiro and she was about to stuff another one in… I literally would have choked and died).  It was a TOTAL Kodak moment because she thought it was hilarious, so we were laughing and having our faces stuffed at the same time (on second thought, maybe it’s better there wasn’t a camera), but I think it’s a moment I’ll remember for a long time.  Even though I felt like I was about to explode, I felt SO loved by Mezalu.

RANDOM THOUGHT OF THE DAY: We’ve now taught several Ethiopians how to play the punch buggy game, “nose goes”, “y’all”, and the card game “B.S.” (We taught Meti and she said “Oh! “Bible Study!”).  We’re changing Ethiopian culture… not necessarily in the way I had planned at the beginning of this summer, but you have to start somewhere.

Prayer Requests:

-          Team dynamics

-          Patience

-          Praise for Brittany and I’s relationship… she’s a rockstar and I’ve been incredibly humbled by the way she’s loved me lately.

-          That “Do Not Murder” does not include mosquitos.  If so, I have lots of repenting to do.  The wall of my bedroom looks like a battle field. 

What I’m expecting this week to look like (the sole purpose of saying this is so we can all look back and laugh at how different it actually turned out)

Monday: health screenings in Burayu, team meeting to wrap everything up.

-          Tuesday: Burayu VBS and an orphanage visit!!

-          Weds: AMBO!!! Finish some necklaces, do a couple home visits, love on and be loved by some kids.

-          Thursday: Final lunch with SVO staff!

-          Friday: Buy some more necklaces, do a VBS/goodbye thing with the kids, say bye to the staff, cry a lot

-          Saturday: Last Saturday school in Burayu. Cry some more.  Youth Leader retreat.

-          Sunday: Youth. Cry. Fly.

At some point, we’re going to fit in shopping, hanging out with Meti and Simbo, and visiting a Leprosy home.  Still haven’t figured out how to do that yet, but “chiqerelum” (no problem).

The church - decorated for graduation

 

Ray, this one's for you! Recognize the glasses?

Hawi Shumi!!

Lensa and Yadissa.  It would be an understatement to say this is one of my favorite pictures.  And that if I come back to Ethiopia, I'm TOTALLY setting these two up. 

The play that the older kids put on

Coffee ceremony - Sisay and Alumnesh

Bachu! 

Bontu and Sifen

This was just really cute....

Leilo and her first necklace! 

Three "Typical" Days in Ethiopia

On the ride home from Ambo tonight, I was thinking about how the last couple days have felt pretty uneventful (other than the 2 MAJOR things that happened to me today… I’ll get to that later).  But then I started going through my days and realized what “uneventful” meant.

Doesn't it look trendy? 

MONDAY: Make a decision to go on a 1 km hike to a waterfall and leave 10 minutes later.  Carry Isabelle up a mountain, and then have Brooklyn fall asleep on my back on the way down.  See baboons and “lemurs” (they look like lemurs but apparently lemurs are only in Madagascar… the country, not the movie) in their natural habitat.  

Have GREAT conversations with Katie as she champions her way down the mountain (she broke her pelvis in March, and it was her idea to go hiking.  She’s a CHAMPION).  Eat a “biscuit” for lunch that is so big that it makes me never want to eat bread again. Hike for about 3 km and then turn around, deciding that the “1 km hike” to the waterfall was a lie.  Get back to the car and talk to people who tell us the waterfall is actually 5 km away (But really, it was AMAZING to be in the woods and walk around for a while. The kids might have a 2^nd opinion).

We gave up and decided this was the waterfall.
See the water trickling? (you might have to squint) 

TUESDAY: Teach English at Burayu and then hang out until 2:30 with the kids. Learn Ethiopian card games (and have kids steal cards out of my lap when I’m not looking… looks like Americans aren’t the only ones who know how to cheat), master counting to 10 in Amheric and Afonoromo (and then wake up Weds. morning and forget everything), and play hand games with the girls.  Gratefully accept the bread and tea we are offered because it’s the best tea ever, and we’re craving bread (remember how on Monday we decided we were never eating bread again? Never say never).  Get to lunch at 3:05 and have the restaurant re-open (lunch hour ends at 3:00) so that the 4 starving forengies can eat. 

Nayati, Calcitta, and Girum! 

The Burayu hooligans

WEDNESDAY: MAJOR LIFE EVENT #1 – RUN OUT OF GUMMY VITAMINS. Go to Ambo (HALLELULIAH.  It felt so good to be back).  Get my first “run and jump into my arms yelling ‘Marrrrrrnie’” hug.  Get to have a REAL conversation with Brandie over Google chat. Teach women how to use a ruler and how to cut straight.  Help varnish 8 necklaces that one of the guardians made BY HERSELF last week (I was a proud momma).  Play soccer with a bunch of hooligans that I LOVE (Kumsa, Amasisa, Teressa, Hundaol and Yadissa) – they’ve become my “Ambo Crew” ( their Sunday School teacher was the one who called them hooligans.  I just adopted the name because it fit VERY well).   Attempt to teach English and collect “All About Me” forms from the SVO kids… “Utter chaos” is an understatement.  Eat shiro at the Ambo hotel and be relieved because it’s what I’ve been craving for 2 weeks.  Get to talk to Kes Cimidii for the 2 hour ride back to Burayu.  MAJOR LIFE EVENT #2 – HAVE MY FIRST HOT SHOWER IN 3 WEEKS. 

Hundaol and Kumsa

Mulu and Demitu varnishing! 

Every time one team scored a goal, the other team had to do
push-ups

Cow crossing

 After I really thought about it, I realized “uneventful” might not be the best description of the last 3 days.  They’ve been 3 days filled with love, surprises, challenges, frustrations, prayer, friendships, amazing conversations, pure joy, and tears that threaten to come out at the thought of leaving.  They’ve just been 3 "typical" days in Ethiopia.

p.s. sorry if I got your hopes up about major life events.  Eating the last gummy vitamin was a really big deal though.

I Love Lucy

WE SAW LUCY!!! You know those bones they found some years ago that were really important in the study of evolution?  Turns out it was in Ethiopia, and a couple weeks ago they “brought Lucy home”, put her in the National Museum, and we got to see “her” on Friday! It was weird because Lucy’s someone I’ve heard about since Mrs. Gleason’s class in 7^th grade biology, and “she” was sitting right in front of me.  It’s was one of the biggest discoveries EVER in science, and she’s just chilling in Ethiopia.  Pretty cool.

Our day with Urjii was AWESOME.  She and her brother took us to 2 museums, and then we got to go to their house.  Her mom had spent 4 hours cooking Duro Wat (a traditional chicken dish) that is a lot of Ethiopian’s favorite food.  I’m constantly humbled by how welcoming people are here.  I had spoken with Urjii earlier in the week, and naturally, our conversation turned to food.  I told her that we hadn’t tried Duro Wat (her favorite food) and Brittany and I really liked adventuring, and the next day she had coordinated with Kes Cimdii to invite us over to her home.

In Ethiopia, feeding each other is a sign of affection.  Husband’s feed their wives the first bite of every meal, and from what I’ve gathered, sometimes friends and family members will do the same thing.  So, Brittany and I decided in order to continue in our quest to become Ethiopianized, we had to do the same thing. 

I had no idea she was going to feed
me at the same time...

FIRST CUP OF COFFEE!! 

AND I consider my Ethopianization almost complete because I HAD MY FIRST CUP OF COFFEE!!! Apparently it was really strong, but I had nothing to compare it to.  I put 3 spoonfulls of sugar in (because that’s what I see everyone else doing here) so I think I drank half a cup of sugar, but it definitely didn’t take away from the coffee taste.

The big church

This morning (Sunday) we went to visit an Orthodox church with Mezalu (the Gleason’s housemaid)’s daughter Hewitt.   It’s the oldest Orthodox Church in Ethiopia (Orthodox is the largest religion in Ethiopia) and it was beautiful.  My favorite part was that we had to take our shoes off before we entered the church (I know, super insightful).  

The smaller church, on the same campus

There was a separate door for men and women – they sit apart during the service.  It looked pretty similar to a Catholic church with stained glass and paintings on the walls/ceilings, but apparently there are a couple significant differences between the Catholic church and Orthodox church.  I don’t know enough about either of them to draw any conclusions/make any generalizations, but I really enjoyed seeing the  church.  

Hewitt and I! 

Mezalu, me, Britt, and Hewitt

Mezalu invited us to her house afterwards to eat, where I had the BEST scrambled eggs I’ve ever had, a mysterious looking/tasting cheese, grilled veggies, AND my second cup of coffee.  Our driver also came in to eat with us – his name is Teshale and he rocks.  Photo credit of the 4 of us is to him.

We also got to visit the Burayu clinic on Friday (so yes, we actually did something other than sightseeing).  It was bigger than I expected (I also expected a 1 room deal), but it was still pretty low quality.  Part of a family’s sponsorship funds their trips to this clinic, so we thought we might as well check it out to see what kind of healthcare they had access to.  Things we found out:

-          The biggest need is equipment.  They don’t even have the equipment for an IV.

-          The clinic can diagnose treat HIV and other major STD’s, diagnose and treat TB , birth babies and perform abortions, and give prescription drugs and birth control. There is no place to stay overnight, so women who have babies leave the same day.

-          It is fully funded by the government.  When the government runs out of HIV diagnostic tests, so does the clinic.  They’ve currently been out of stock for about 3 weeks, and while they still have the treatment for HIV, they have no idea when they will get a new set of HIV diagnostic kits.

The Emergency Room, Changing Room, and TB medication combo

-          The emergency room, changing area, and room for taking TB medication is the same.   Brittany asked how they sterilize the room to prevent the spread of TB (it’s super “spreadable”), and the guy pointed to the window.  TB patients stand outside and are handed their TB pills through the window so that they don’t infect any of the patients in the clinic.  The health care officers do not wear masks when delivering the medication.  Doesn’t sound super preventative to me.  There was also a cow tied up outside the window where the patients come.  Berhanu (the manager) offered us fresh milk when we were leaving, but we politely declined.

It was eye opening to see, mainly because it made me realize how advanced healthcare is in other parts of the world.  There were 2 rooms for patient care, 1 for pediatrics (ages 0 -5) and 1 for adults (ages 5 and up).  The waiting room did not have a TV to watch Toy Story in, separate “sick” and “well” rooms, or unlimited magazines as the doctor’s offices that I have grown up do.  Instead, there were benches lined up outside with people waiting to pick up prescriptions, to see a health officer/nurse, or to get treated for HIV.  There was no fresh paper to pull over the bed to sit on, swivel chairs to sit in as you waited between the nurse in the doctor, or drawers with lollipops waiting for you as you left the office (yes, I still go to my pediatrician).  Instead there was a desk, a “bed” for the patient to lie on, and a sink in the back with a bowl full of tubes for blood testing.

So next time I want to complain about healthcare being such a big issue or having to go to my yearly check-up or about how my on-campus health center doesn’t have the most quality doctors or how I have to wait 45 minutes for the dentist to come do a 3 minute check on my teeth, hopefully I’ll remember the Burayu clinic and be grateful that I can receive care that the majority of the rest of the world doesn’t have access to.

Random pictures:

The well where the clinic gets water (and Kes Cimdii pulling it up).  It’s also the first well I’ve ever seen – no wonder there are so many stories about people who get stuck in them and can’t get back up!

Brooklyn's a reindeer!

This is supposed to be a video... in the probable chance that it didn't upload, you get a quality picture of Gomichez.