The work begins...

Day 2: At 8AM we were out of the house walking confidently towards the SIM office in Bole. It was a beautiful sunny morning and we got to discover a new street- Tele Bole. We passed an amazingly beautiful and enormous church, and most everyone else was quickly making their way to work or school.   We met with Brian (the director of the men's support groups) and were warmly greeted by the entire SIM Bole staff. Then we began the first of our 4 home visits of the morning. We met a delicately featured 26 year old woman, her tiny home was immaculate and clean and she smiled shyly when she saw us. We sat with her and learned that she had contracted the virus from her husband over 3 years ago, and was the mother to two children a boy and a girl. Her son lives with her sister in the countryside, and her daughter passed away. Her courage and her honesty was incredibly moving, and she bit her lip as she told us that her son loved school but was no longer able to continue his education because she could not afford his school fees. She misses him terribly but cannot bring him to Addis for she doesn't feel that she could provide for him. Her family and friends are all unaware of her status due to the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, but she is feeling healthy and well thanks to the treatment that she is receiving.   We met with a smiling entrepreneurial woman in her mid-40's who had moved from the countryside to Addis Ababa once she fell ill. She once ran a successful restaurant employing one cook and a waitress, she expressed to us how sad she was to leave her business after 3 years of success but couldn't keep up with it any longer. She spoke of her parents, (her mother is still alive and in contact with her) but grew reticent once she spoke of her children. She has no contact with them at this time.   We talked to handsome couple 12 years apart in age and very well matched. They told us of their beautiful nine year old daughter and the toll that the virus has taken on their lives. Due to their declining health (the wife is 30, the husband 42) they are no longer able to work in their labor intensive jobs washing clothes and doing construction. Their voices were hushed as they explained that their neighbors, and families are unaware of their status, and spoke sadly of the friends that they confided in and then lost due to their status.   The social stigma attached to HIV and AIDS kept coming up, and the isolation of those who are struggling with the disease was apparent. They were pleased to have guests, to have their support groups, and to know that someone from SIM would come to see them and even attend their funerals. It was an intense experience traveling from home to home... Along the way we met with others, a skilled broker and electrician who spoke of the pain of finding out that he was positive when his pregnant wife went for a checkup and was subject to mandatory testing. He spoke of the shame of "being a man who has brought this black cloud onto his family", he spoke of his wife tenderly saying that she "was his strength, and his courage". He thanks God that none of his children are positive and his healthy beautiful 2 year old ran into the house to gawk at us many times. His quiet strength was incredible.   Needless to say, we had a lot to digest. We went to lunch with Brian and got a crash course in cultural norms and key phrases which we discussed over our first Ethiopian meal here. We were grateful for the company, the knowledge and the feeling of shared purpose and community.   We went home to change quickly, shower and head out to our afternoon meeting with a prospective partner. We are looking at working on a clean water initiative which is especially vital for those who are immuno-compromised. I think we have an incredible opportunity to help broker a mutually beneficial agreement that would allow beneficiaries to add to their income as well as increase opportunities to purify and conserve water in this region. More to follow on this...   After our important and exciting meetings, we headed to dinner where we met another fellow traveler and the conversation quickly turned to American politics and world affairs. 3 hours later we left for home and settled in for the night where we practiced amharic phrases and looked up new words in the dictionary. You'd be amazed at how small words like "stop here" are key when riding in a minibus with 30 other people.   Slowly but surely we're getting a sense of where we are going -as we walk more than we have in months...encouraged and cautiously optimistic we move forward with our plans for the project.   All for now... Day 1: Instead of feeling tired once we arrive we are ecstatic and full of energy! After seeing our new beautiful home, with a gorgeous garden complete with a "pet" turtle we head out to explore Bole. We walk through the winding street of our neighborhood, and continue on trying to memorize landmarks. The traffic whizzes by and nervously we cross streets, but the city feels alive with all the sounds of hawkers, and people living their lives. Sure enough we find all the necessary places, the ATM, a couple of different grocery stores, and an internet cafe but everything is fascinating. There is so much to see and take in, and I'm filled with the overwhelming desire to blend into the landscape and experience everything, but our presence as outsiders is pretty obvious. Must continue to learn more amharic words. While at a local Expat hangout that I want to call Lime something (but have obviously botched the name) we see our friend JT! A familiar face from RTP and it's as though it's perfectly normal to see one another here.     The project team catches up on what we've missed, and start to discuss ideas and partnerships that look very promising. Tomorrow we have a full day of visits with beneficiaries and meetings about a new initiative, and are enthusiastically ready to start working.   Braced for the rain we head out to have dinner with two wonderful women Martha and Marion and enjoy a Korean meal as our first night out. They share wonderful insight about Addis, how they have come to love this place and make it their home. They talk about the difficulties of transitioning back to the US and what brought them back to Ethiopia. It's a great perspective to have, and their love for this culture, the people here, and their lives here is obvious. We wrap up dinner laughing, promising to see eachother again and John continues to outshine us with his strides towards learning Amharic. He has set the bar high.   Tomorrow is a new day...can't wait.