Why Have an Amharic Phrasebook?

 

I just bought an Amharic phrasebook/dictionary…it's the only one currently available in the country in English, mind you.   My first clue that this was the most ghetto book I have ever owned was when I realized that some of the pages needed to be cut apart!!  So now any time I read it, I have scissors easily accessible.  

Today was the first day that I seriously sat down to study since buying the book over the weekend.  I had flipped through it before and saw that half of it was a dictionary, leaving about 150 pages for language acquisition tips.   Well, guess what!!  There are no verbs in that section! There are phrases that have verbs in them, but absolutely no instruction for how to conjugate verbs (which is fairly complicated, from what I've learned thus far – 4 different forms for "you"!)   How are you supposed to learn a language without verbs, please tell me! 

Ok, now for the part that made me laugh out loud…keep in mind that this book was printed in 2006. 

First…in the introduction there is a page that is titled "Why have an Amharic Phrasebook?"   And then it gives about 10 reasons…here are the best ones (verbatim): 

• If you believe Rastafarianism is your religion or philosophy then learning Amharic is just part of that way of life.  
• Learning the local language of the place you're traveling to, Amharic in our case, is amazingly fun and adventurous!

The book is then divided into topics useful to the traveler, such as going to a restaurant, shopping, etc.  Before each topic is a little quote (in English) to introduce the next section.  Here is a sampling of those: 

• Time is up the essence – introducing fractions of time
• Best vitamin for a fruit-eater is B1!
• What does it take to be Lance Armstrong? – for the sports section
• Hair you are! – oh yes, they even have hair care in here!
• I so don't need this right now! – can you guess what this would be a quote for?   It's for telling your pain. 
• Pretty body going down the street… -- Body parts

Ok, for body parts, they list some interesting ones, such as urine, whitehair (I can't make this stuff up! –the word is sibat) and lower tip…what is the lower tip?? It's listed after tongue, but why in the world would you give a name to the tip of your tongue??  

That's where I stopped.  Hopefully you'll get as much enjoyment out of this as I have, but it would be better if you could read it for yourselves.   It was certainly worth the 50 birr ($6) purely for the entertainment value.  Not sure how far I'll get in learning Amharic with it, though.  

The Photo to prove we met him

Presidential Visit

 

I don't believe I've ever met a foreign dignitary…until this week.  Last Saturday Butajira, the town about 8 km away, hosted a millennium celebration.   (Ethiopia doesn't just celebrate a new millennium one day – they're having a year-long party!)  Unbeknownst to us, the President of Ethiopia was their guest of honor.   Sometime late Thursday, 2 days before his visit to Butajira, word was spreading around Project Mercy that the President requested to stay here rather than a hotel in town.   So you can imagine the frantic preparation that all the staff and some of the older kids had to do. Lasagna noodles were made from scratch; flowers were cut and put in the rooms; furniture was moved from various locations.

Just like in the States, the President doesn't travel alone.  He had an entourage of about 20 secret service and army guys who accompanied him.   An SUV full of them came on Friday and checked out the place. They came back again early Saturday morning and everything seemed to check out ok.  The president arrived in the afternoon, and all the children were lined up clapping to welcome him.  We didn't even catch a glimpse of him at that time as he was ushered into his room to rest before the festivities.  

We weren't sure if we would have the opportunity to see how the local people celebrate a new millennium, but thankfully we got a ride there.   Not only did we get a ride, we were ushered into the front row, about 10 feet down from the President! Oh yes, the token ferengis – myself, Scott, and 3 ladies from Washington state who had just arrived - 5 white people in a sea of Ethiopians.  There had to be well over 25,000 people lining the streets and surrounding the field.  And it was all captured on camera…about a dozen members of the press lined up with microphones and video cameras…so I'm pretty sure we were on TV somewhere in Ethiopia. 

They first had an unveiling of a huge billboard promoting improved livelihoods and the end of poverty for Gurages (the local people group).   Then several governmental officials gave some speeches, the President spoke, a marching band played, a group of ladies did a traditional dance, and a music group got the crowd hopping.   It was a very exciting cultural experience.

The President spent the night at the compound, along with his people.  The next morning, as we were getting ready for church, someone knocked on our tuckel door and said the President wanted to greet us.   We all went in and Marta introduced us individually.  She explained to him the fruit project and he asked me if these trees that we brought are proven to grow here, and which ones have the best potential.   Talk about being put on the spot…I responded that these species had been grown in similar climates and had done well.  I said that avocados great for their nutritional value, and mangoes and papayas are practical because they can be preserved.   These are the 3 trees that they plan to distribute in the community, so I figured they should be highlighted.  The President may be over 80 years old, but his mind is very sharp and his English is perfect.  

Ethiopia has a Prime Minister, overseeing Parliament, and the President, who is more of a dignitary.  He has served in this role since 2001.  

My promised pics

One of the first things I had to do upon arrival was citrus budding.

A heavy load heading to market.

The greenhouse full of the trees imported from ECHO.

My Tuckle: Home sweet home.

Food Security

 

Tim and I had the opportunity to speak with Deme (the founder of Project Mercy, along with his wife) at length today about how this tree project came to be and its intended outcomes.   In 2003, Ethiopia faced a severe famine.  15 million people were affected and over a million lost their lives.   In order to prevent another occurrence with such dire effects, Project Mercy has instituted a food security program for the surrounding regions, an area about 30 miles wide encompassing over 200,000 households.   With an average of 5 individuals per household, there are well over a million people living in this district.  The food security program includes several components, one being the fruit tree importation.   The goal with these fruit trees is to propagate them here at the Project Mercy compound and then distribute them in the community.  Our goal is for each household to have 3 trees planted in their backyard.   The varieties may vary, but the main types will be mango, avocado and papaya.  It will take several years to propagate a supply large enough to provide for all 200,000 households.   We also need to see what varieties do well in this high elevation, and what trees people are accepting of.

The other component of the project is vegetable gardens.  Project Mercy would like each household to have a drip irrigation system, similar to the type we used in Burkina with a bucket that feeds into the dripline.   This requires a significant financial input to buy the drip kits and ship them here for distribution, as well as training on correct usage of it.  The rainy season is very similar to Burkina, with the summer months bringing rain, and the rest of the year being quite dry. However, due to the high elevation, the temperatures are much cooler.   It does not often get above 80 degrees, and falls to around 40 degrees at night in the coolest months.  Our water comes from a spring in the mountain, but May and June water must be conserved because those are the last months of the dry season.  

This is a brief sketch of my purpose for being here.  I will help the staff establish a nursery and teach them how to propagate the trees, whether by grafting, cuttings, seeds, etc.   We will research other areas in the region to see what is growing and what other potential crops could be introduced. 

 

Then God said, "Let the land sprout with vegetation – every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit.   These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.   ~ Genesis 1:11