Ethiopians really know how to celebrate holidays.

Today is Ethiopian Christmas, or more commonly known as Gunna. It’s sorta funny being here, because I’ve now celebrated two Christmases, and two New years. The reason for all this, is that Ethiopians have their own calendar. It’s actually very similar to the Jewish calendar – both new years occur around September. But anyway, back to my previous statement.

For all of our family gatherings in the summer, a barbeque of my grandmother’s amazing kebab occurred once every two-three weeks or so was a must. My uncle and I prepared for this day extensively. We fasted and exercised, ensuring our appetites would be insatiable and our stomachs would have excess room. When the moment came, usually around 4pm on a Sunday afternoon, we would stuff our faces to the max. Him, very slowly and deliberately. Me, like cookie monster (the kebabs taste rapidly declines with time in my opinion, therefore stuffing the max in a minimal amount of time was always optimal to me). I now realize the err of our ways.

For Ethiopian Christmas, like many Ethiopian holidays such as new years or meskel, there are not many presents or decorations involved (unless you count the sheraton’s million and one santa’s all over the parking lot and building). The holiday is about spending time with family and eating. Most people buy chickens or sheep for the holiday. The eating begins early. For breakfast today, I ate tibs (basically chopped steak prepared benihana style) with traditional Ethiopian bread, and had some amazing coffee (of course, beans roasted right before they were mashed in a mortar and pestle). The food wasn’t excessive, and the coffee ensured that I don’t fall asleep into a food coma. I am now ready to take on the other eating challenges of the day – perhaps some doro wat (chicken dish) or kay wot (lamb dish). The holidays here are awesome. Even for new years, there’s no countdown or anything like to midnight. It’s more like, you wake up and spend time with family and eat and drink a lot. If I only had that coffee in the US, maybe I could eat more kebab. I’ll have to try it next time.

The past few weeks I’ve been keeping busy with starting and formalizing our school project. We are planning to send maybe 70+ kids to elementary school. The cost, after a final budget, turns out to be not far off from my initial estimate: $66 dollars per kid. Bump it up to $74, and you have a chai! Come on, who wants to sponsor a kid? I’ll supply pictures, I promise!

Working out the details of the program has been taking up most of my time. In addition, I’ve been preparing for my midyear seminar in Israel, where I’m going on Wednesday. I’m excited because I haven’t been to Israel in nearly 7 years, and this is the first time I’m going on my own, as opposed to a group or family trip. Freedom to explore!

Last week I took a day trip to Debre Libanos, a famous church to the north of Addis. We actually arrived on a special day -  the day before the birthday of the church’s founder. We got to go down below to the chanting room where the monks and apprentices were chanting and praying with traditional drums, swaying back and forth. The scene was tantalizing to the senses – you could feel the energy in the room (or maybe it was the humidity), smell the…smells, see the enthusiasm of the people, and of course, here their devotion to the ceremony. We also got to explore some side caves, one where legend says the founder of the church stood and prayed on one leg for 90+ years. We left the trip, and explored the valley near it, and an old bridge as well. It was serene and beautiful. Once I get the pics from my friend, I shall post them.

What else interesting to report…I’m getting better at diagnosing heart valve problems…the spine patients returned from their surgeries in Ghana, some gained 9-10 centimeters in their operations! I found a jewish mother here that loves to feed people, and I happily obliged…I took the drama troupe on another trip to the swimming pool in sodere. It was kinda melancholy for me, for reasons that will shortly be understood. Anywho, pictures to come!