June 1st- 13th

Two weeks of Ethiopian National Exams from June 1st until June 12th allowed for teachers to be off school and all students to be out of school unless they were taking the national exams. The only students who take National Exams are the 12th and 10th graders. So, my 9th graders and I had a two week break!

My counterpart, Mulualem, constantly reminds me that idle minds…ah something about idle minds;-) Anyway, he just wanted me to hang out with him over our break so that neither one of us would be bored. Especially since there isn’t much to do in Deneba except spend time in your house and entertain yourself or hang out with friends. So, after a week of solitude in my house, reading, listening to audio books, and watching The Sapranos, I texted Mulualem and invited him to lunch the next day.

Our lunch turned into coffee after lunch, then a change of location for a coke, then a walk to the forest on the outskirts of Deneba. Mulualem is my counterpart for school business but is my favorite and best Ethiopian friend. He is fluent in English and an incredibly intelligent and entertaining person. I have no idea what I would do here without him.

We pretty much discuss any topic, and he is fairly knowledgable about most anything I bring up and he himself stirs up topics that often surprise me. I am always bewildered by the amount of American pop culture he is able to keep up.

The other day he asked me if I ever watched the mini films on YouTube. I said yes, sometimes. He then asked me if I had ever seen the one about Charlie. I was a little puzzled, not remembering which one he was referring to. He then bit his finger and said, “Ouch, Charlie bit my finger!” Oh my goodness! I was laughing hysterically! We both had a good chuckle. That one has made it around the globe…even to Ethiopia…even to Deneba, population 5,000.

Until next time, Peace.

Photos of my idle MIND….flies are crazy in Ethiopia. At any one time there are about 10 in my house for no reason. And they have balls here. They don’t care if you swat them, aim guns at them, or spit at them. Nothing works. They just sit there. SO…one day I got really bored and took some selfies with them. Don’t worry, I never resorted to talking to them or anything.

Then some pics of my walk with Mulualem, as well as some photos we took of each other.