What a name means to me

Ellen, Lupiya, Sarah, Kimena, Ben, Mangesha. We all have names and usually we don't have just one but 2 or 3 or 4 or more. Names give us a sense of identity. We associate them with who we are. We are given names or nicknames out of affection. This is why when a teacher with the organization I am a fellow at, Nyaka AIDS Foundation, gave me a name I felt honored and that I needed to live up to my name.

I have been given many names in my life. The one I was given at birth, Ellen, means light or sun. I was named after my aunt, grandmother and great grandmother. This is the name that I first came to know myself by. It is my first and primary identity. It is the way my parents helped me enter into the world and guided me into becoming the person that I am now. I aspire to be light to people. I want to bring joy, happiness and ah-ha! moments to people. I hope to bring sunshine and warmth to people.

When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in a rural village in Zambia the children jokingly named me Luatazho, trouble or problem. I enjoyed this name, partly because when the children called me it at first the adults would look shocked and didn't know how to respond. Partly, because the adults eventually began calling me that name, but mostly because it meant that I WAS being troublesome. I was forcing people to think about their health and make changes. I caused good trouble in the community. In a way, it was a badge of honor.

In the first few weeks that I was at Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project the oldest teacher decided take the role of giving me a name with great seriousness. A few days later when she approached me telling me she had the name for me, you could only imagine the anticipation that I felt. She decided on the name Kiconco meaning a gift. She explained to me that it was a gift for the Nyaka organization to have someone coming to help and staying for a year. I explained to her that it was also a gift for me to be in Uganda and being selected to work with the amazing staff and community at Nyaka. It was a sign that she and the community were welcoming with open arms. 

No one wants to go their whole lives being referred to as “person”. This is why we are giving names, as identifiers. The names given to me mean something. I think that this is the reason why when the children and adults first began calling me Lukatazho I got excited. I was accepted into their family. When the community at Nyaka began referring to me as Kiconco it was a sign that I was truly present in the community and important to them. As the name spreads from just one person to the whole community it is a reminder how many people my life can touch. The power of a name is also why I look up in expectation when someone says “Ellen”. It reminds me of home and my family and the kind of person that I would like to be. Names are important they give us identity. People like to hear their name, its a proven scientific fact. 

Ellen is something I hope to live up to. I hope I can be half as amazing as the women that I am named after. I hope that I spread positive light where ever I go. I hope that I can continue to be a Lukatazho (trouble) and challenge individuals to move past the norms. I want to be a Kiconco, gift, to Nyaka AIDS Orphans Project. I hope that when I leave the community they feel like I was a gift. I want to always remember what a gift my life has been and continue to be grateful for the opportunities that I have had. Each name that I have been given defines a piece of me. Ellen, Lukatazho and Kiconco are all something that I aspire to be.

Carrots, Beets, Spinach, Watermelon.

Who knew that carrots, beets, spinach and watermelon could make you feel so good? Well I suppose I did. I knew that creating your own garden, tending to it and then reaping the fruits of it feels amazing. In Zambia and in Uganda it turned into way to see that yes, I am doing something even if it is just growing vegetables. It is a way to fill up the times when I have nothing to do. It is a reminder every time I can go to my garden and pick something to eat how the small things can give you so much joy.

But there are two reasons that gardening is even more rewarding. One is proving that yes, I know how to dig and plant and weed and water and harvest. It is something that people in the West and women can do. I will admit that I do feel a twinge of pride when they are surprised that american, especially a girl, can garden. It gives me and the community members something to connect on. I am also able to show them that although I may do things a little differently, like not sprinkling seeds everywhere but putting them in a row, or not digging the same way they do that we are able to get the same results. I also enjoy proving people wrong, which doesn't always happen. “Ellen you are wasting your time carrots don't grow here.” Unfortunately, or fortunately they do proven by the2 dozen carrots that I have already eaten or the beets and watermelon that are currently growing in my garden.

I think my most favorite part is when I am able to share the fruits of my garden with my friends here. Their astonishment that I have grown so much that I have extra being someone who “doesn’t know how to garden”. I am also able to provide the families with something different from what they are able to grow because I am able to take the risks and grow something that may not grow well. My diet does not depend on my garden.

However, gardening is dirty and I have the ability to get myself really dirty...and hand washing those clothes are no fun!

The Year Without Christmas or New Years

This holiday season as you all were enjoying turkey, eggnog, hot chocolate, presents under the tree, family, balls dropping on new years and everything else that goes along with that season, I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Ethiopia. Ethiopia the land of delicious food and drink, beautiful environment, ancient churches and castles, wonderful music, vibrant culture and the place where, at least Ethiopians believe, great religious leaders and artifacts are or came from and of course 13 months of sunshine (Ethiopia follows a different calendar so I technically wasn't even there for Christmas).

I cant say that I didn't have a little twinge of homesickness throughout the trip but luckily I was surrounded by GHC friends and friends met along the way. I could just look around and see how lucky I am. Who else gets the chance to look at rock hewn churches built in the 12^th and 13^th centuries where in the 16^th century a pillar inscribed with the ten commandments glowed the entire century, on Christmas day.

Juice Spritz (mix of juices).

The first thing, and perhaps the most important thing, is that this was always going to be a good holiday. I planned on eating my fair share of injeera. Little did I know how many other wonderful things there were to eat. I had fruit juices layered on top of each other, peanut chai, essentially peanut butter heated with sugar, delicious breads, beets, a million kinds of sauces for the injeera that I had never heard of before. Don't worry, I remembered to bring some of the spices back to Uganda with me. I thought that after eating all this delicious food I would be ready, and possibly even excited, to go back to Uganda and accept that matooke (mashed plantains) posho (thick grits) and beans. Boy, was I wrong. I haven't been back for a week and I still crave the smell of burbery, the sour taste of injeera, the variety. Ordering food wasn't always smooth. We asked for 1 plate of injeera and ended up with 3. You definitely need to share these plates. The last few days were especially difficult, when unfortunately the group that I had been traveling with split up and I was with 2 other non Amharic speakers, English is not as widely spoken as you may think. We tried to order injeera with vegetables thinking that it was safe. For some reason the waitress decided that we had ordered spaghetti noodles covered in butter with some vegetables, it wasn’t exactly what we were looking for the last few meals in country. Or when we tried to order some boneless meat in a pot and instead got butter soup with a piece of a goat leg we think. I suppose that is just part of the adventure.  

Injeera and tegabeano

Home made grape wine

 

I could keep talking about the food but that just makes me hungry and sad that I can't be eating it everyday. Perhaps I should talk about the 3 day trek in the Siemien mountains where the views were spectacular and the altitude did a number on my endurance. We definitely were glamping. We slept in small dorm style buildings along the way, where I may have picked up a few flea bites, donkeys carried our bags, every which way you turned was another amazing view.

A tribute to Mary at one of the 2 Christian Churches in the Ciy

Or maybe Harar would be better to tell you about. A walled city that was founded between the 7^th and 11^th century and where many different religions have lived peacefully. You get the chance to meander through small alleys that all the sudden open up to courtyard where someone is setting up for a wedding or a small market. The women are dressed so beautifully in colorful outfits that match the colorful doors, houses and alleyways. If the city isn’t what you are looking for why not head to the camel market where you can get extremely close to camels, sometimes in my opinion frighteningly close to a heard moving your direction.

An alley way within the old city

one of the gates to enter the old city

Camels EVERYWHERE!  Watch out for the drool!

Then there is Lalibela, as I mentioned earlier with the rockhewn churches. These ancient churches were literally carved from the ground. There is 11 of them all together all pretty close together. Just to imagine how these were built in the ancient times without machinery is inspiring. The best part, I think, is that you can still see Ethiopians coming to these churches to practice their religion.

 

Then there is Gondar where there are ancient castles both restored and in ruins. You cant help but think of knights and princess and yes even dragons. Their are old baths that are only filled for a festival called Timkat, Jan 19^th. There also happens to be a Peace Corps volunteer that shares all of her american food with you. What a great surprise!

Then there is Bahar Dar a city right on Lake Tana. The boat cruise takes you to old monasteries on the church...the one that I went into was unimpressive but apparently some of the books the monks were touching were from the 9^th century. The hippos are also right where the lake turns into the Blue Nile. The sunsets were amazing. It is also the place that you need to buy your bus ticket more than 15 hours before you want to leave the next day. But if you weren't aware of that fact it is an extra day meandering the market eating at a local joint where you pay 50 cents for a meal and of course drinking more juice.

And of course there is Addis Ababa, a capital city with way less traffic then I expected, delicious ice cream and cookies and much more I am sure.

So, although Christmas in Ethiopia isn’t until January 7^th and new years happens in September. And even though, there were no real Christmas trees there were plenty of fake ones, even some with strawberry lights. And there was no turkey, meat stuffing, or pies there was injeera, peanut chai and fruit juices. And I may have not been surrounded by my family at least I had a group of friends to travel with (and even one who would sleep in the airport with me!). This year without a Christmas will still be a memorable one.