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January 24, 2011

RAE Daily Update #18 FINAL

Posted by kriosconsulting under Amalia Fernand, Anne Stanton, Bill Palladino, Children, Chris Girrbach, Chris Treter, Claire Everhart, Coffee, Community, Culture, Dan Zemper, Dena Piecuch, Hans Voss, Jacob Wheeler, Jamaica Weston Lynne, James Weston Lynne, Jeffrey Metzler, Mary Moore, Matt Desmond, Music, Nigel Willerton, Norm Plumstead, Partners, Run Across Ethiopia, Running, Schools, Seth & May, Shauna Fite, Timothy Young | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |
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POST BY BILL PALLADINO

Monday January 24th, 2011     Our Final Post… for a while.

“Hear me, four quarters of the world – a relative I am! Give me the strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is! Give me the eyes to see and the strength to understand, that I may be like you. With your power only can I face the winds.”
– Black Elk, (1863-1950)

The Flaw of Odysseus

We are at the closing point of this journey.  A year in the making, it is now time to turn our ships homeward.  I want to bring you back to an idea I mentioned last week.  It was in reference to heroes and specifically regarding Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, which I’ve been reading over time to my eight year-old friend Sam.  That series, and many of the characters within it, is derived directly from Greek mythology and more precisely Homer’s Odyssey.  Homer’s nearly perfect protagonist, Odysseus, is sent on an incredible adventure spanning years.  One after the other he first seems to seek battles with gods, monsters, and mortals, managing to defeat or outwit them.

Only once does Odysseus falter from his state of grace.  After escaping many villainous characters, and spending seven years imprisoned on an island, he tricks the great Polyphemus by first blinding his one eye then telling the cyclops his name is “Noman.”  The cyclops is bereft as he tells his supporters that he was blinded by “no man.”  Odysseus, as he sails away from Polyphemus’s island, triumphantly shouts back to the giant that “no one can defeat the great Odysseus,” thereby ruining his original illusion.  The result of which was the cyclops’ plea to his father Poseidon to help him, whereby the great god of the sea sentences Odysseus to years of turmoil wandering the oceans.

I tell you this because the one bad trait Odysseus is credited with is “hubris”, that is arrogance and pride.  It would be very easy for us, On The Ground and the Run Across Ethiopia team, to fall victim to this same device.  To look back on our work in Ethiopia and say, “look at us, look at what we’ve done.”  We have taken great pains from the earliest planning of the Run Across Ethiopia journey to avoid such pitfalls of ego.  While we are not without fault, we have taken care to honor the people in Ethiopia first and last.  It is their dreams of education for children we’re trying to make a reality.

There was some worry early on that frankly this might look like a phalanx of white do-gooders running through Africa so they could throw down a big fat check.  We addressed this through comprehensive conversations and partnerships with the organizations, communities, and people this project would impact.  From the Tesfa Foundation taking our own team through hours of cultural immersion, to their Team Tesfa runners being an active component of the event itself, every grueling step of the way.  To Tedesse Meskela’s close relationship with his 800,000 coffee farming families through the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union.  Our team of runners didn’t run a protected ribbon of highway through Ethiopia, they ran through and with living communities of the very people we were there to serve.  The team was sent with a mission to be stewards of the trust that our 700 plus donors gifted to them.  As our team left the U.S. en route to Ethiopia in early January they were asked simply to “be well, travel safe, and come home changed in some way.”

Homer himself would ask no more from his heroes.  It is assumed that the Odyssey was not intended to be read, rather scholars seem to agree it was likely designed to be spoken from memory by the bards of the day.  Even here we strike some resemblance to Homer’s classic in sending our own modern day bards Seth Bernard and May Erlewine along on the trip.  They, along with our filmmakers & journalists, were asked to experience, catalog, and record the journey so that it might live on beyond the event itself.  We hope in the coming months to bring you this odyssey, the Run Across Ethiopia quest, so that you might experience, learn from, and allow yourself to be changed in some way too.

The posts from the team have diminished to very few.  Chris Treter left a beautiful tribute to our team medic Mamoosh on our blog.  Please click this link to see it. http://onthegroundtc.org/2011/01/24/bizuayehu-sees-all-things/

And last night most of our team made it home safely to airports and homes around the U.S.  Many of them returned to Traverse City.  We’re very happy they have made it back home to their families and loved ones.  Two of the last to arrive were filmmakers James and Jamaica.  And that reminds me that they are still seeking funding to allow them to complete their documentary of this journey.  Please click this image or the following link to view their Kickstarter project online. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weston/run-across-ethiopia-feature-film

We find ourselves conflicted now, pushed home by the winds of our own circumstance, having to leave behind the many friends and relationships we’ve made along the way.  I thank you for spending this past three weeks with us exploring this place half a world away.  Sometime later in 2011 On The Ground will likely launch another ambitious endeavor.  If you’d like to be part of that, and hear more as new plans develop, please stay subscribed to this newsletter.  If your quota for vicarious adventure is filled, feel free to unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of this page.

Here’s a final quote from Norman Cousins -
“The new education must be less concerned with sophistication than compassion. It must recognize the hazards of tribalism. It must teach man the most difficult lesson of all—to look at someone anywhere in the world and be able to see the image of himself. The old emphasis upon superficial differences that separate peoples must give way to education for citizenship in the human community. With such an education and with such self-understanding, it is possible that some nation or people may come forward with the vital inspiration that men need no less than food. Leadership on this higher level does not require mountains of gold or thundering propaganda. It is concerned with human destiny. Human destiny is the issue. People will respond.”

To read full-length stories posted by our RAE Team members please visit our blog pages athttp://www.onthegroundtc.org

Remember too that you can follow us on Facebook and on Twitter where we post frequent, if short, snippets about the adventure.

If you want to see our stream of photos as they arrive you can go to the website (see below) or go right to our Flickr Photostream using the link below. http://www.flickr.com/photos/57872575@N05/

This should be the last of our email updates for a while.

You can also help us continue this important work by clicking the Donate button below and contributing what you can afford to On The Ground.

With sincere and continuing gratitude,

Bill Palladino signature

Bill Palladino
Executive Director – On The Ground

Our Mission
“On The Ground works directly with communities around the globe helping them gain sustainable access to fresh water, education, and quality healthcare.”

www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 20, 2011

Another Humbling Experience

Posted by kriosconsulting under Coffee, Culture, Music, Norm Plumstead, Running, Schools, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , |
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POST BY NORM PLUMSTEAD

Thursday January 20, 2011

Norm Plumstead - Honor Michigan

We ran from our hotel in Yerga Cheffe to the village of Afursa Waru – approximately 10K.  When we reached the village, we were treated to a huge community celebration.  The love and support they  gave to us was overwhelming.  Over a thousand people were cheering, clapping, and signing.  All the runners took time to congratulate one another, and then we sat down while the village gathered around. The crowd was treated to songs, dancing and formal speeches of congratulations.  Chris Treter was given a chance to speak and shared some moving words.  All the American runners were presented with traditional Oromia clothes.  In the video, you can see some of the runners in their garb.

After the speeches and formalities, we were invited into a school where we ate lunch.  Following lunch we toured the village, visited the coffee processing area and interacted with the villagers.  It was at this point that I was able to grab my video camera and do some recording.  The attached video contains some of the sights and sounds from today.

Today was yet another humbling experience in Ethiopia.

Timothy Young posted this about Norm yesterday

I’d like to report that Honor Bank’s VP, Norm Plumstead, has just completed his 250 mile Run Across Ethiopia in great form along with our team of 16 Ethiopian and US runners. Thanks to Honor Bank and many other supporters, Norm is part of team that has raised over $150,000 to build schools in the coffee growing region of Jirge Chefe. Yesterday, in Hase Gola, where one of our schools is already under construction, Norm and the team arrived to a cheering crowd of over 2000 community members celebrating the team’s efforts to bring educational opportunity to this region.

www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 19, 2011

A Smile Is Universal

Posted by kriosconsulting under Amalia Fernand, Art, Chris Treter, Coffee, Culture, Dancing, Environment, Language, Music, Poverty, Run Across Ethiopia, Seth & May
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POST BY AMALIA FERNAND

Wednesday January 19th, 2011

People love to smile.  People love to laugh.  People love to dance.  People love to love and to be loved.  I have never felt more loved than I have in the last few days of traveling across rural southern Ethiopia.  A smile and a wave can mean so much, to those that have so little.  How excited they are, just to know that we care about them, just to have a momentary reprieve from the tasks of everyday survival.  Many have never seen a person with a different skin tone, and how glad I am that their first impression is that of friendliness and compassion.  We can both stare at each other in intense curiosity, but when we add a smile, the whole dynamic changes.  There is nothing like a true and genuine smile to let you know that love is involved.

Today, we were greeted by thousands of people from the community of  Hase Gola to thank us for raising money to build them a much needed school.  As we walked off the bus, the smiling faces surrounded us and lined the streets, clapping, singing, laughing, and beaming with an excitement that is so difficult to describe in words.  We walked through the crowds as policemen kept those singing, smiling people back and settled ourselves in the middle of a circle of thousands of expectant eyes.  Speeches commenced as the crowd sat to listen to thank you’s, prayers answered, dreams realized, goals yet to achieve, and accomplishments in progress.  Children watched from the tree branches as hundreds upon hundreds of faces clapped, cheered, and emulated gratefulness.  Behind us sat the ongoing construction of a school that these runners had worked so hard to help build.  The school will educate 480 children in two shifts each day, affecting a total of 8,700 people in the community when all of the people in their families are included.

We toured the current school house, tiny rooms with cracked floors and little furniture, it was hard to imagine that these rooms accommodate 90 children at a time.  The children that can’t fit have to walk a half an hour to another crowded school.  That is, if their family can afford a notebook and lunches, and if they want an education, and the possibility of secondary school remains dim.  There are no bathrooms, no running water, no electricity and tiny windows,  It is hot, dark, and crowded, yet math problems cover the chalkboards and children fight for the opportunity to become educated and the chance to improve their quality of life.   The people in this community are in dire need of education, health care, and drinking water (there is a 3 hour walk to the nearest water fresh enough to drink).  And what do they do for a living?  They grow our coffee, our fair trade, organic coffee that we pay top price for.  Yet, no matter how much we pay, such a small percentage goes to the grower and his family.  If you would like more information about the issues of the coffee growing region of Southern Ethiopia and what is being done about it, please watch the film Black Gold, available on netflix:  http://www.blackgoldmovie.com

The central figure of that film, Tedese Meskala came to the village with us and his Coffee co-operative is responsible for 1/6 of the funds needed for the school.  The other 1/6 is provided by the community itself and 2/3 by the run.  It is important to form alliances in international development, Chris Treter, founder of On The Ground, explained, because we need the community itself to feel invested and we need the coffee co-operative to continue the investment.   Tedese encouraged the people to join a coffee co-op if they had not already, because they deserve to be payed a fair price for their coffee.

How ephemeral it had felt the day before, almost as if we were a traveling carnival, offering only a temporary window, a glimpse of a better life, and causing a lot of confusion and questions.  Seth and May had played at the runners water and food stops as we blew bubbles and 9 year old Stella Young did cartwheels and the villagers gathered to dance, smile, and stare.  How much different it felt today to feel the appreciation of people that understand why we are here, that our sole purpose is to help and that so many have worked so hard to do just that.  A beautiful African choir had been serenading us throughout our visit to the community and when Seth and May began to play “My Family,”  they appeared as back up to lift their voices to the magnitude of the crowd that pushed in from all around,

We returned to the hotel in the city of Dilla along bumpy dirt roads as children ran along side us, waving and smiling, only to encounter another celebration  It is Epiphany day in Ethiopia, the day that Jesus Christ was baptized, and a giant crowd gathered in the streets outside our hotel to watch a traditional parade.  We joined a traditional dance with sticks on the way to our restaurant as the smiles continued to trail behind us…

Please remember to follow more details of the run on the live streaming page and if you are interested in learning more about my favorite musicians, Seth Bernard and May Erlewine, please visit: www.sethandmay.com

I have started my own website!   www.natureexplorersinternational.com/

To return to the Run Across Ethiopia website, please click this link. www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 19, 2011

A Film On The Way To Becoming

Posted by kriosconsulting under Art, Children, Coffee, Culture, Dancing, Jamaica Weston Lynne, James Weston Lynne, Music, Run Across Ethiopia, Schools
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POST BY JAMAICA LYNNE WESTON

Tuesday January 18th, 2011

While it is said that it takes a village to raise I child, we can now say it also takes a village to make a documentary. James and I went to Hase Gola this morning to finish an intricate part of the film; a day in the life of Teriqu, a student from Hase Gola. The energy was so powerful in this village with their kindness and curiosity, that I couldn’t have guessed the dire need for basics to survive.

We filmed Teriqu’s morning with his family of 7, 1 cow, 1 dog, and 4 sheep that lived in a homemade hut a few miles from school. Since we arrived at 7:00, Teriqu was already up so his family was kind enough to re-enact a morning scene. Although this morning was different from last, because it was water day. His mother has to walk 3 hours to get water and by the time she arrived back home it was time for Teriqu to go to school, without breakfast.

We followed Teriqu to school and he took us through a few miles of the reddest dirt, the rockiest road, and the luscious green grass I have ever seen. When we finally reached the school, we were the first to get there. BK, the greatest translator ever and a very good friend, told us that because of the holiday and runners coming later, the communities canceled school in preparation for the festivities. We watched the ox and sheep walk behind the school, knowing we’d see it later as a gift of dinner from the villages to the runners. This was our only chance to capture this school shot with Teriqu and we really wanted this shot as we had already done it with Timothy’s children in the states before we left, so people could see the differences and similarities. Now, we didn’t know if it was going to happen.

After awhile of sitting in the grass and watching limbs go from the back of the school to a classroom for preparation, kids started coming from every corner with their school papers. Soon we were surrounded with shining faces of curiosity and a million hand shakes to seal the deal, we really were going to re-create a school day. With the help of BK, a rising director, the Tesfa teachers and the talented new actors of Hase Gola, a film was on it’s way to being made. It was a powerful 2 hours to be apart of, but the kids were just as excited as we were to get out of their scrunched classrooms. While the new school was being built in the background and will be open in June, I looked around as I was surrounded by children and thought, the love that these children gave us today is not something that is taught in school, it is innate.

In more ways than one, the fertile soil here is so rich in nutrients but without water or other basics it will never fulfill its potential.

 

January 18, 2011

I’ve Taken You for a Loop

Posted by kriosconsulting under Coffee, Culture, Jacob Wheeler, Music, Poverty, Run Across Ethiopia, Running, Schools
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POST BY JACOB WHEELER

Tuesday January 18th, 2011

For the past nine days, my blogging has focused on running — that is, the 10 harriers running nearly 250 miles across southern Ethiopia. I’ve catalogued their aches and pains, daily mileage and terrain, and how the runners have interacted and boosted each other through this painstaking endeavor. In other words, I’ve been a sports reporter.

But I’ve got news for you. I’ve taken you for a loop. The running was never the true story here.

Today, Day 10 of the Run Across Ethiopia, after jogging a slight 12 miles through hilly coffee country, we met the true gravity of our purpose here — in the form of thousands of excited rural Ethiopians waiting for hours down a rutted dirt road for our arrival in Hase Gola — the hamlet where the first On the Ground Global school is already being built. Immediately upon disembarking from the bus around 1 p.m. today, our entourage was swarmed by an untold number of joyous local villagers, clapping their hands, singing in gospel choirs, dancing with sugar cain sticks, playing whatever instruments they had on the floor of their meager hut. The welcome was beautiful, intense, and seemed both triumphant and tragic at the same time. Imagine the kinds of crowds that turn out to greet the Beatles, or Obama. Now you have at leas

t an impression of what this felt like. I looked from face to face of our contingent — American and Ethiopian runners/journalists/musicians/interpreters, alike — and couldn’t spot a single dry eye. Many of us have traveled extensively to developing countries before; others have rarely left the Midwest. And no one — no one — had ever experienced anything like this before.

Our new friends numbering in the thousands mobbed us as we found our way to makeshift tables where Tadesse Meskala, head of the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, Chris Treter and others gave speeches about the importance of this new school for the community. Its construction is already underway. It will include four classrooms, which can hold 480 students (240, twice a day); it will reach 10 different rural communities, and ultimately change the lives of nearly 9,000 people whose sons, daughters, brothers and sisters will attend school here. Music took over after the speeches. Our interpreter Mamoosh danced like a jackrabbit along with the choir. Seth Bernard held hands and danced up and down with the pastor. Timothy and Connor Young joined Ethiopian youth in climbing a tree to take in the scene.

Our entourage was treated to a delicious meal afterwards in the new school, including a plate of fresh raw meat from this morning’s animal sacrifice. When offered a gift of luxury in an impoverished village, you never turn it down. so runner Matt Desmond, myself, Maureen Voss, Shauna Fite and Timothy Young tried the raw meat with berbere spice. Whether the cuisine will come back to haunt us is unclear. But what is clear is that today’s powerful visit to Hase Gola will remain lodged in the hearts and minds of our Run Across Ethiopia team. It’s clear now that the run, itself, is only a vehicle, a conductor. The school and the community is what the journey is really about.

To return to our website please click this link, www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 17, 2011

Music To Our Ears

Posted by kriosconsulting under Art, Children, Culture, Dancing, Jacob Wheeler, Music, Run Across Ethiopia, Seth & May | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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POST BY JACOB WHEELER – Glen Arbor Sun

Monday January 17th, 2011

Imagine that you’re a poor farmer in the Sidamo region of southern Ethiopia — an African herdsman — living in a mud hut by the side of the road. Imagine that you walk out your doorway into the sunlight one morning, and there at 7 a.m., a bunch of “ferenges” (“foreigners” in Amharic, probably derived from “Frenchies”) in skimpy running shorts are laying there on the grass, stretching. Imagine, too, that a couple white musicians are playing guitars and singing. You think, what on Earth! This scene has likely never happened before in such a remote part of East Africa.

But that’s just what form the Run Across Ethiopia took on Day 9. Earthworks musicians Seth Bernard and May Erlewine joined the team for today’s 16-mile run, which took us into the Yirgachefe coffee region, and a mere 36 miles from our ultimate destination on Thursday. At every water and food stop along the road, Seth and May lit up the crowds of villagers and children, who clapped, danced, and engaged in the sort of cross-cultural love and understanding that music knows best. At one point, RAE harrier Nigel Willerton requested a Beatles tune as he jogged by without stopping. Seth played “All we need is love”, and out of the crowd hobbled a weary old man carrying a massive rolled-up animal skin over his shoulder. He began hopping up and down and dancing to the song.

View videos below of Seth and May’s roadside performances, and other clips from Day 9 of the Run Across Ethiopia. 214 miles in the books. Just 36 to go!

The power of music in a village.

And even on a roadside during a short break Seth & May attract a crowd… and that leather peddler.  All you need is love… and a huge roll of leather.

To return to our website, click this link www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 16, 2011

Ethiopia, the Water Tower of Africa

Posted by kriosconsulting under Art, Culture, Environment, Music, Poverty, Run Across Ethiopia, Seth & May
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POST BY SETH BERNARD & MAY ERLEWINE

Sunday January 16th, 2011

Sending love from Yirgalem! Wish you were here man. Here are three short brain droppings for you to use as you wish — you can stagger them or use them all at once. Thanks for everything you do – I’ve had a hard time with internet access, every time May hands the computer over to me, the internet craps out. I’m on Treter’s rig now. Hopefully I’ll have more words for you soon. The songs are flowing!! 8 so far, and lots of scraps to piece together when we get home. No shortage of inspiration, just a lot to take in. Awesome. Hope you are well. Yours, Seth

This adventure has been a Visionquest. We brought with us the intention to look deeply into ourselves and our world and to return home with music that honors the cultures of both Ethiopia and America. So far, everything has exceeded our expectations. It’s almost as if we are in a life-changing time capsule and every moment, every smile exchanged, is magnified. Challenging indeed to translate the experience, but music is, after all, the universal language of the heart.

We don’t have enough accurate information about Ethiopia in America. Hopefully our expedition will help with this in some small way with this. There is too much fear and pity and not enough respect and amazement toward Ethiopia in our collective American mind. We have so much to learn. I find myself in awe of an ancient culture that has remained largely intact. This is the birthplace of mankind and the only nation in Africa that has never been colonized by imperial European powers. People have been kind and gracious without exception. I feel safer in Addis Ababa than I do in American cities of comparable size, and although I am a country boy (thank God), I have spent many moons in many a metropolis.

For centuries, Christians and Muslims, dark-skinned and light-skinned folks have lived in peace, shared the same morning coffee ceremonies and celebrated their shared communities here in Ethiopia. When I have asked my new friends what their secret is and what Americans can learn from their culture of diversity and tolerance, they say that it has always been this way. They say that kindness is more important than anything. It’s at the heart of being human. They day that it’s obvious, isn’t it? Cruelty and intolerance go against the teachings of all the religions and we’re all neighbors. Ethiopia is another heartland and we have been welcomed as brothers and sisters here.  It’s going to be hard to leave, but we have a wealth of songs and stories to bring back to our people in the American heartland.”

Here we are in Yirgalem at a beautiful place out in the wilderness. Ethiopia feels more like home every day and our time here is going by so quickly. I am already anticipating feeling torn when we begin our travels home.

Ethiopia is the water tower of East Africa and we live in the Great Lakes. Ethiopian music in the Tezeta style strikes a chord in our hearts because the music feels like water flowing. Yesterday, we wrote a song together in that style called “Mother Tree of Life”. We usually write alone, but this experience has opened the door for sharing the channeling of music, which is a great gift to us in our partnership.

We have been processing so many feelings and transformations. I feel hesitant to even begin to describe what my mind and heart are going through, as it is all so new. So know we are stewing and brewing and soaking it all up and will report back in stories and songs!

Tomorrow we will ride along in the runners bus and play songs for the runners annd the community members during their breaks on the road. We are excited to be back with the full team. Everyone seems to be holding up quite well considering the incredible distance they have run. Chris Treter told me he’s up to 198 miles!

-Seth & May

To go back to our website, click this link www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 15, 2011

We Are Inside Nature Always

Posted by kriosconsulting under Art, Culture, Music, Run Across Ethiopia, Running, Schools, Seth & May | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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POST FROM SETH BERNARD

Saturday January 15, 2011

Sitting on a robin egg blue wrap-around porch looking out onto a clear lake in Awassa. The path from the hotel restaurant to our room is covered in bright violet flowers that have fallen from the trees, they pop out against the reddish brown soil. There are birds everywhere, giant water birds with long hook-like beaks, soaring eagles, kingfishers, pure white little water birds, giant parrot like tropical birds with large beaks, love birds and on. Even the smallest little bird that would be our common sparrow has a little splash of unique color.

This morning we awoke with a group of visitors on our porch. Monkeys! They are little Grivet Monkeys and they are darling. They are everywhere and we have been feeding them bananas by hand. There are many mothers with their tiny little babies hanging on for dear life. They are a joy. Later in the day we also discovered a group of Colobus Monkeys too! They have giant paint brushes for tails. You can also take a boat from shore to see hippos out wallowing in the waters. I am in heaven with all of these little beings around us.
We are here and have had this day to focus on our songwriting. Our time in Addis was rich with musical inspiration and we found ourselves fueled with excitement, the creative juices are flowing! We have worked out four songs today and we have four more in the making and a few instrumentals floating around in our minds. We have had the opportunity to see some of Ethiopia’s finest musicians and have been welcomed by them with so much warmth. The music scene and the music is incredible. All of this leaves us really excited to record the album when we return home. Here are a few of the bands we have seen/met/jammed with.  These are Facebook links:
Working in the schools was incredibly moving and we learned so much from the children here. On Thursday morning we wrote two songs with the students at Mercado school Addis. The first song entitled “I love Animals” and the second “We are Inside Nature Always”. The kids wrote all of the words to the second song themselves in English and I can’t wait to share with you their insights. After spending three days at the same school it was hard to say goodbye to the children. We’ll miss them and we came to the conclusion that we’ll just have to come back again.
We met up with the group of runners yesterday and the families were finally reunited. What a beautiful moment to witness. So much love! The runners seem to be doing incredibly well and those of us on the sidelines are in awe of their strength perseverance and positivity! They have done three 30 mile days in a row! Now they get to taper down for a few days.
Well as I write these final words a giant tortoise is meandering across the lawn… Sending you all big love!
Missing you and looking forward to sharing more when we return.
love,   May and Seth
To return to our website please click this link, www.runacrossethiopia.org
 

January 14, 2011

Poverty is Apparent, but so is Love and Compassion

Posted by kriosconsulting under Amalia Fernand, Art, Children, Culture, Music, Run Across Ethiopia | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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POST BY AMALIA FERNAND

Friday January 14, 2011

Vast plains of sand spread below the airplane window as the orange light of the setting sun illuminated sandy peaks and a winding river.  The Sahara desert is the largest in the world, covering one third of the African continent!  Looking out over that endless desert, the immensity and ancientness of Africa becomes more present and the journey that I am about to embark on more real.  A thin band of orange rings the horizon as the deep blue of night sinks down upon the earth.  I think of the many nocturnal desert creatures as they leave their underground homes to enjoy the cool reprise of the evening and can’t help but be enchanted by the mysteries that a desert beholds.  Is there a Saharan cheetah down there, poised and ready to run?  Is there a wild gerbil, poking his head above the sand and scanning the sky for raptors?  Are there crocodiles in that river?  Can people really live within that vast emptiness?  Two small children peak over their seat at me, exclaiming loudly in their native language and I know that I am on the other side of the world.

I left the icicle draped snowy world of Traverse CIty Michigan on Monday to fly to Detroit, and then across the Atlantic Ocean to Amsterdam.  From there the plane turned South to Khartoum, Sudan, and then on to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  After 27 hours of travel, we arrived in an ancient land.  The cradle of human kind, Ethiopia is where our hominid ancestors evolved.  The only country in Africa, except for Liberia, that has never been colonized, the culture here is vibrant and deeply rooted.  We have spent the last 2 days in the capital city of Addis Ababa.  In this bustling city of 8 million people, poverty is apparent, yet so is love and compassion and the importance of family and community.

I will be sharing my experiences with you as regularly as I can!

Return to our website by clicking here, www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

January 14, 2011

Day 06 Hawassa and Real Food

Posted by kriosconsulting under Children, Chris Treter, Culture, Hans Voss, Music, Run Across Ethiopia, Running, Seth & May, Timothy Young
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POST BY TIMOTHY YOUNG

Friday January 14th, 2011

On day six that long straight-as-an-arrow piece of asphalt that’s been pointing the way through the Ethiopian plains to Jirge Chefe (Editor’s note:  We’ve found at least four different spellings of this town in official documents and maps.  Early on we settled on “Yirgacheffe” as the official version we’d use.  Though the running team is now immersed in the culture, so we’ll trust their judgment.) has given way to some curves, rolling hills and lush green vegetation. The good news for Hans Voss, Chris Treter and myself is that our loved ones, along with Seth and May and the film crew, just left Addis Ababa and are driving our way. We should see them in about 5 hours. We have a lot in store for everyone over the next few days.

Thanks to some quick organizing by our Tesfa Foundation support team we have  a dinner planned at a small hotel on Hawassa Lake. I just came from there where I booked some rooms for the family visitors. I have no doubt my kids will love it since within a few minutes of arriving I was feeding monkeys out of my hand. Many of them had clinging babies. Too sweet. So the team will have dinner on the Lakeshore tonight and possibly even get to go out on paddleboats and mingle with hippos….at a safe distance of course. Then tonight, Seth and May have a concert planned with other local musicians. I’ve been told by the organizer that they are already expecting close to 1000 people and the plan to do radio spots this afternoon, so the crowd will likely grow.

After running three consecutive 30 mile days the runners have put some miles in the bank so we can taper off a bit in the coming days and we begin to climb in elevation. Hopefully that will allow them to stay up a little later tonight to see the concert. Then after tomorrow’s run, we have arranged to have a goat roasted over a fire on the shore of Hawassa Lake. This a traditional Ethiopian BBQ and should be a fun and rewarding way to bond as a team and prepare them for the final stretch. I met the goat moments ago and thanked her for tomorrow’s contribution to our meal. I don’t think she understood my English, but my intent was pure.

Crowds gather at each of our roadside water stops. It happens like this; Bus pulls over at pre-determined mileage mark. We prepare water bottles and snacks. It may look like there’s no one for miles around, but as soon as we out of the bus to await the runners, people come pouring out of grass and mud huts off in the distance and at times what seems like out of thin air. They are always welcoming and return a handshake and some nice “hellos” or “Salam.” Our Nurse, Mamush explains what we are doing and the runners arrive and depart to applause, often followed for up a  mile or more by some the kids and adults.

P.S. More photos to come. My camera was lost on the trip here and I just found out yesterday it awaiting my departure in Addis. In the meantime, Chris Treter gave me his camera yesterday since he’s not using it.

Go back to our website by clicking here, www.runacrossethiopia.org

 

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