Sorry to have been out of touch for so long, but the reality of teaching 15 classes each has been taking its toll. Jane is teaching from 2nd grade through 5th grade and Ted is teaching grades 6 through 10. The class we took over was called Spoken English, but we soon realized that there was much more going on than that, so the class is now called Informal English. We are working with staff to key our work to the Formal English classes, particularly vocabulary and syntax as it is being taught that week. The idea is to give the kids some practice in using new words they learn and perhaps add some perspective about how that word is weighted re: American culture.
We are learning quickly that the kids learn to read and write English fairly early, although there is a real problem of “drawing letters” rather than learning what they represent. It’s understandable since the Tigrinya and Amharic alphabet consists of more than 140 phonetic letters. In their language a word is spelled phonetically, so if you know the sound of the letter you can pronounce the word and vice versa. This contributes to the epidemic of signs in English that are misspelled. Spare Parts may be Spar Parts or Spar Sparts or any other possibility. The most unusual one we saw today was this: The term “Modern Tailor” is used often on tailor shops, but this one said “Modern Toiler.”
The problems come regarding comprehension. Since the students sit very close together, copying is a problem. When one student writes something and the kid next to her doesn’t know it, he writes what she wrote, right or wrong. And even though they can give the right answer from a text, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they know what it means. It’s a challenge.
On other fronts, we have decided to bite the bullet and buy our living room suite and dining room table and chairs. The living room suite consists of two arm chairs, one loveseat, one sofa and a coffee table. The dining room table consists of a long rectangular table and six chairs. All of it is made here in Ethiopia and the price is about $1,100.00 for the dining set and $1,250.00 for the living room suite. We will finally be able to sit in a comfortable chair when we come home and read or watch videos on the computer. What a luxury after two months of limited seating.
I spoke to the “bamboo” man this evening and he will be putting a bamboo fence all along inside our wall. We haven’t been able to let Roscoe run because the iron fencing in the wall is too wide apart and he can get out. Also people from the street can see in, which should be no problem. The neighborhood kids just talk to us and that’s fine. However, if we sit outside, we draw a crowd in about ten minutes and suddenly beggars are asking for money and kids are saying “money, money.” With the bamboo work, we can be outside without being on exhibit. The bamboo and posts will cost Birr 500 ($30.00 US) and the labor of one man for six days will be Birr 600 ($36.00 US). Of course it was established that I will give him a tip after the job is done, if it’s satisfactory. It’s shocking to me, and I think to most Americans, when you realize that a man who knows his craft will work for an amount equal to $6.00 a day. On the other side, however, it makes it easy for even average Americans like me to be generous when a job is well done.
As I’ve mentioned, we have decided not to get a television. To get programming such as we have at home, we would have to buy the cable from South Africa which is very expensive. We could get television from Ethiopia and Eritrea only, but that would give a limited amount of English language programming. Finally, we could get the programming from the Arab world which, strangely enough, carries a lot of American movies. Strange, isn’t it, that a group which is somewhat sour on America, perhaps with some cause, and its culture, would use so much entertainment from the states? But then, Bruce Willis is Bruce Willis no matter where you live.
We are having lunch today with Teshome, the principal of the school, and his wife. He is a wonderful man and we want to get to know him better. The longer we stay, the more we realize that positive relationships with staff will be of great benefit to us and to the school. And since most Ethiopians are so friendly and gracious, it’s not hard to make friends with them.
Mowcha is off today so we will have lunch downtown, as I mentioned, and then sit on the balcony of the Atse Yohannes Hotel and drink tea or Royal Tonic, perhaps have a snack, probably French fries, read our books, and when it starts getting dark, take a cab home. FYI the French fries in this country are the best I’ve ever had anywhere. First, of course, they don’t even peel the potatoes until you order them, then they cut them by hand and fry them in oil. I think the altitude plays a part because water boils at a much lower temperature here. Whatever it is, they are great! When I come down to town on Thursday afternoons alone to walk and shop, my lunch is always the same: French fries and Royal Tonic.
If anyone wants to visit the real Ethiopia, we have rooms, bathrooms, and great food prepared by Mowcha. Come and stay a while.
Enjoyed reading about your new life. Your teaching job sounds exhausting, though no doubt the challenge you want...and maybe even at times fun. Yum for those french fries! That's the way we've always made them, although since the kids left we now rarely have them. Once even burned up a kitchen cabinet in the process, but it was worth it.
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