Again, I woke up at 3:00.
We ate egg and avocado sandwiches Hailey made and headed out to a hike by the river, of course followed by group of kids. At first, we tried to get them to stop following, but when it got to a reasonable number of kids, around eight of them, they became our tour guides. Eminet, Gobez, Aforth led us through farms. We came upon a gojo bet, a traditional round Ethiopian hut. Hailey walked into the yard to ask if we could see and when the girl saw her, she screamed and ran away, but the man said we could enter.
Our guides took us to a tree farm, where we were told exactly what each tree was. I would share it with you, but I didn't understand a word they said. As we approached the river, they tried to rearrange rocks so we could cross the river. They raced with us and walked into waterfalls so, we could take their pictures. Tired and very sweaty, we said goodbye and went back to the compound.
We rested for a few minutes before going to a special lunch we were invited to at Yohn and Mulanesh, the sister of Hailey's teacher counterpart, Agenyo, and Yohn's house, They are Happy and Honey's parents. She made us a traditional, Ethiopian lunch consisting of ibe, which is like a ricotta cheese, D'nitch wat potato , Misir wat, lentils, and cabbage served atop injera, of course. She also made kita bread, which is like a hard corn bread. It was delicious and we felt very special to be treated to such hospitality.
Later that night at the compound, Hailey performed coffee ceremony. She went through each step with the guidance of Alemitu!
John and Hailey ate leftover doro wat, while I had some peanut butter crackers.
Mesay and Derjay brought a special surprise of corn for us, so we enjoyed that too! Alemitu gave me a hand embroidered table cover. What a beautiful gesture! I was thankful for her before I met her and now feel a love for her in my heart. She is Hailey's Ethiopian mom! She is the only woman, in the Woreda Education office, whose job duties include making sure girls go to school. Her and her husband own and maintain the compound Hailey lives in. Hailey claims this 5 foot tall woman is never tired, and I believe it. She stands tall in my book!
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