This Global Walk Outside | Day 3: Ethiopia
My name is Stacey. I am a high school Spanish teacher and the Assistant Principal at an International School in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. My family spent 14 years in Peru before moving to Addis and our family is in a new stage with two of our oldest children in college in the US while the other two teens are in Addis with us.
FIND ME AT:
I live on the same compound as the school where I teach; it is an 8-acre campus in the suburbs of Addis. The campus is surrounded by a stone wall with razor wire on top. On our campus, you can find wild Genet cats, Mongeese (or Mongooses..both are acceptable plurals), and a few tortoises roaming around. The neighborhood outside our walls is packed with people, mosques, churches, and a variety of small shops selling everything from fruit to fabric to used shoes. Both the beauty of our campus and the life outside the gates play a part in the outdoor space I call home.
This is the view from my well-loved porch. (Left Photo) This is right outside the front porch door, and a mere 100 feet from our school classrooms. Sitting on this porch allows me a bit of outdoor air, with minimal interruptions since the wooden walls provide some privacy. On weekends, during the dry season, I bring my coffee out here for some “still” time. It isn’t fancy, but it’s what I need in this season of my life.
Rainy season is from May until the end of September; it’s muddy, cold, and moss and mold grow rampantly. This is in the middle of our school campus, with large eucalyptus trees, palm trees, and flowers growing all year round.
This view is from my kitchen window. Our apartment sits up high enough to have a view of both the school campus and some of the neighborhood outside our compound. The chimney doesn’t work, and the tin roof is so loud when it rains or when the ravens walk on the roof. When we were waiting to hear about our housing assignments, I prayed that God would give me a view out my windows…and He provided this one.
This is towards the back wall of our compound, and this tukul (pronounced too-kull) is where I often have lunch with a colleague. These tukuls are used for so many things like studying, eating, working, resting, and shelter from the rain or sun. I love that these tukuls dot our campus and are representative of the round homes found in Eritrea, Sudan, and other parts of Eastern Africa.
One of the many large tortoises that roam our compound. They have been known to block traffic, wander into classrooms, and wander onto the soccer pitch during games. No one really knows how old they are or how they arrived on our almost 70yo campus, but our compound wouldn’t be the same without them.
(Left Photo) A look at the river that surrounds the backside of our compound through the security fence. There is a path that goes around the entire campus which is perfect for long walks (It is approximately 1km around the perimeter), prayer walks, or just being outdoors.
(Right Photo) Another view of the river that flows along the backside of our school campus. The neighbors in the houses that border this river (on the other side) use it to dump their garbage, pick through the potential recyclable materials, and wash their cars or clothes. It is a trickle during the dry season and flows quite heavily during the rainy season.
This is the view across our soccer pitch with the main house in the background. This was the original building for our school, built in 1953, as a boarding school for missionary kids whose parents were working outside of Addis or outside of Ethiopia. My family lives on the top floor, which include the three windows on the top left. This building will be torn down in the next five years as the campus develops, but it holds many memories for TCKs all over the world.
From this view you can see the neighborhood outside our compound walls. It is filled with the noises of honking cars, shouting neighbors, and loud generators that come on when the power is out. The smells of garbage, roasting coffee, and Fatira (Ethiopian flatbread eaten for breakfast) often float through the air into our living space. The mosques that surround our compound can be heard in the early morning and at various times throughout the day. I never tire of this view.
Outside of our school compound, the city is always bustling with people, animals, shops, and a variety of public transportation. Most of the local shops in this area are selling used shoes that have been cleaned and fixed to be resold. Restaurants and cafes sell delicious coffee and the typical Ethiopian food, injera. This neighborhood is home.
During the rainy season, I walk down this muddy road that is lined with flowers and plants and am so thankful that I live here. While it’s not ideal to live in the same place that you work, I am fortunate to live with people from all over the world; we are a community that loves and serves each other and the students we educate.
This is my global walk.