School

My first few days at school have flown by. Kechene is a private school run by a non-profit for 30 kindergarteners who are living with relatives because one or both of their parents have died. I have to say, I have never seen such cute children in all of my life! They range in age from about five to eight, and they all have these really cute blue sweaters as their uniforms. Every time I walk into the school compound, they shower me will hugs and kisses.

The first day I was at school, I just sort of observed what was going on. At recess, I played soccer (which was so embarrassing because I kept kicking and completely missing the ball!) and the students taught me to count to one hundred in Amharic, by strategically pointing to the beauty marks on my arms (I actually only have 32 beauty marks, as the children have just recently discovered).  After recess, the students had English class. Their teacher, Asrat, is really funny and lively, and the kids totally feed off of his energy. His class is a little hectic because all the kids are jumping out of their seat begging Asrat to let them answer questions. It's so great to watch them excited to learn, it’s like I can see the wheels turning in their little brains! If a student gets a question correct, Asrat gives that person a “biiiggggggg right” and if they get a problem wrong, they get a “biiiiiiggggg x.” I don’t know if I could teach little kids though, because I want to cry whenever a student goes to the chalkboard and can’t figure out how to do a problem. Their eyes get so big and they are so sad! Their math teacher is much more calm, but that is a great class too. I cannot believe how much math they know already; it’s great!

Going to school is sad in a lot of ways though. There is no electricity (a lot of times it is too dark to even see the chalkboard because there are no windows!) and no running water either, although they have a little water tank for drinking and washing their hands. Three out of thirty of them have been diagnosed with HIV, and the teachers think a few more are probably living with it as well. Of course, these students are the cutest out of all of them, and I can’t look at them without wondering how their lives will be different than everyone else’s. I don’t have anything else to say about them, because I can’t put into words how I sad it makes me.

It’s also so sad to walk around Addis Ababa and see the kids that are not in school at all. My guidebook says only half of school- aged children in Ethiopia go to school. I hate seeing really small kids shining shoes or selling gum instead of being in school. How is their life going to get any better without an education?? But then how could someone tell them they HAVE to attend school, when they have to earn money to eat and survive? Some non-profits have started schools where children get incentives, like food to take home, if they attend school. I think that sounds like a good idea, but maybe there are problems with that too.

Other things in Addis have been great! The rainy season has started, and I have realized that my cheap wal-mart raincoat is definitely not going to cut it here haha. I have been doing yoga at night with my Korean roommate, and we talk about life a lot. Yesterday, I taught her what a “rebound” boyfriend is, and she thought it was soooo funny because she really likes basketball (she said in Korea you call a rebound a “second boyfriend”). We also got a dog! Her name is Rosie, and she has this really long hair like a rug. Or maybe a mop. I love her already, although it makes me sad because she has to sleep outside and sometimes she looks so cold!

Anyway, I don’t feel like I have been that productive so far, but I guess I just got here a week ago. I also don’t want to come in and tell people what to do, especially because I have no idea what I am talking about haha! I am thinking I might want to teach a health class, sort of like I did in Uganda. But I guess we will see where the summer takes me!