Seppo Writes:

So much has happened in the last few days.

3 days ago: Erik and I went to a place called Addistagabaeya. Here we were introduced to an after school program for children and teens. This "School" (called Bright Future) is in an extremely poor area of Addis Ababa, where most of the people are malnourished, especially the kids. It's pretty easy to piece things together and understand that this makes learning very hard at school, and as a result this part of Ethiopia and many other places is stuck in a intellectual downward fall. However, most of these kids are extremely smart and respond to training.

I didn't know what was going to hit me when I came to the school. At first I experienced a complete separation from everyone here, mainly because I am white. Not everyone treats forengees like this, and I have happened to meet many extremely hospitable people. But, In reality, I really felt that it was going to be a waste of time to go and meet these kids. After a few interested stares, the questions started coming. Mainly, "why is you hair curly?" It was also funny to see them touch my skin and watch the blood flow back, "I guess the white people can turn whiter when you touch them." They soon became comfortable, and it was like I was some sort of Super Star. Anything and everything is hard to explain to them, so I relied on improv-sign language. This lead me to teaching them how to play rock, paper, scissors.

Before all this happened, we had spent some time in the city, checking out some of the million street vendors, and giving out a couple birr's (currency) to beggars. Of course, we enjoyed buna (Traditional coffee) and makiato (traditional latte), until our eyes were popping out of our heads. Mmmmmm caffeine. There are also quite a few silver and gold stores here, for dirt-cheap. (Which do you prefer?)

2 days ago: We made another venture to Bright Future. This time we had a craft planned. My mom got a whack of hemp and beads, so we thought it would be good to make Necklaces and Bracelets. It is a different kind of braiding, that requires a bit of attention, and I had my doubts. It was a huge success. The plan was to teach "only" the teens. They gathered in a circle around Erik and I, and we began the lesson (yes, I'm so proper). They caught on really fast, and also were excited when they say the craft come together. Some people had trouble with the concept, but anyone who had caught on, began showing the others the right way. (no need for a translator ahaha).
While all this was happening, the younger kids, began to make their own circle off to the side. We had said that there wasn't enough materials for them, and we would have to buy more for them to use. But it never struck me that since they were smaller, they would also need less hemp. So, we gave it a shot. "Maybe this will work," I thought. And what do you know, there was just enough for all 65 or so that gathered.

This might seem small in the scheme of things, and the irrelevancy of this small craft to the big problem is sometimes a shut down. However, something as simple as a craft works on motor skills. This is needed for surviving, especially in a country like this, where most of the poor people need to sell homemade things. Sure they might not be able to find hemp, but one of the boys who finished quickly found a phone cord, and tore it open, and braided the wires the same way that he had before, and it looked even better than what we had taught him.

This is all really exciting, but there is still a need for vitamins for all these kids. Most of them are sick, and it's crazy because it is as simple as curing scurvy. (If you aren't aware, that is the same sickness that sailors had in "olden-times" when crossing the Atlantic, because they had no fruit or vegetables). To supply 65 kids with these vitamins it would cost $2,000 dollars per year. This is really not much money. Currently, a support system is set up with "Bright Future", with people in the states and The Great Canadian Nation. (BTW, Canada is a cool country, and I think I told you before, be glad you live there, we have no problems as bad as there are here).

Yesterday And Today: Erik and I, as always it seems (I enjoy it actually), went to the Music School, in Mekanesa. We met more, and more people here, and learned more Ahmeric words. Most interestingly, we learned how to play the Ethiopian scales. This all revolves around a pentatonic scale (5 notes, plus the octave, if unclear). There are four versions, two minor and two major. Maybe I can explain better when I get home, and I use the mesingko (the Ethiopian Violin). I jammed for 4 hours straight, playing jazz mostly. Later, we went to a mini-recording studio that is run by some of the students, including the head music instructor. Marko is his name, and guess what, he is from Finland. This is the third Finn that we have met. Next week, if all goes well, I will be recording with some people, and laying down some violin tracks over some of their projects. I can bring this home, and maybe I will become famous, ha ha ha.

Another day at the school has gone by, it was really a repetition of the last day. Except, instead of going to record. I decided to take a drum student to get him some new drumsticks. We had jammed quite a bit, and it seems he has got the use out of his sticks. It took us three hours to find a store that wasn?t selling sticks for 400 birr, or even selling sticks period. After this adventure we took the taxi back home. Yes, I call it home already. It feels good here. Also, saying home is much easier to say, rather than, The Addis Kidan Guesthouse.

Now, Finally to the really good news? This morning, the visa for Miaja came through, and for the first time I saw my new sister. I held her, and she didn"t hit me, unlike one of Erik's experiences. I feel like a good older brother. I hope my impressions will last, ahaha. We plan to celebrate tonight, we will be going to a traditional Ethiopian Restaurant, with live traditional entertainment (recommended, so there is no worry of food poisoning).
I hope you have time to read this long charade of sentences. Please write back, if you want.

Sincerely,
Seppo Kimbley