Mountains Beyond Mountains - A taste of Southern Ethiopia

I would never describe myself as an art enthusiast, yet when traveling I tend to migrate to the classic ‘must see’ museums. And while I would be lying if I said I understood even a fraction of the art I’ve seen, I have appreciated it. One of the particular exhibits that continues to stand out in my memory was that of Salvador Dali’s in Montmartre, Paris. It was a simple, modest set up located amidst narrow winding streets, coffee shops, colorful graffiti walls and overgrown ivy. Well the character of the neighborhood distinguished the experience in and of itself if was my understanding of Dali’s notion of time that stuck with me the most. His famous melting clock appears in many of his famous pieces but it first appeared in his piece titled ‘The Persistence of Memory’.

'The Persistence of Memory'

The caption under the sculpture reads:

 As the watch liquefies over the tree, it forms into a human profile, underlying the interminable relationship between man and time. The unexpected softness of the watch also represents the psychological aspect whereby time, whilst considered to be precise and fixed in its nature, can, in fact vary significantly in human perception. All men must bend to the passing of time.

My third row oasis 

So where does Dali fit into my experience in Ethiopia? Well last week myself and four other Oxfam staff made the 450km journey to Amaro for the inauguration of a 'Bulla'* Processing Center. As we drove the winding road through the lush green mountainous Ethiopian countryside I became lost in my thoughts while lounging in my third row set up. On June 1st I boarded the plan in Halifax, while I was filled with nerves and excitement for the journey that lay ahead, I also had to take many deep breaths and try to convince myself that six months wasn't the eternity it felt like in that moment. Sitting in the third row of Oxfam's SUV I found it hard to fathom that an entire month of my stay had already flown by! Ethiopia has quickly come to feel like my home and December often feels like it is just around the corner. Thus rather than wondering how I will make it until then, I find myself asking if I will be able to see and do all the things I'd like to in such a 'SHORT amount of time'.

Around Dilla on route to Amaro

While Dali's notion of time lingered in my thoughts, curious as how it was possible that this shift in my perception of time had occurred, other ideas from my past also flowed through my wondering mind. I firmly believe our experiences shape the way we view the world and I feel incredible fortunate to continue to have experiences, which challenge my perspective of the world. My question however is, what makes certain memories or moments stick? Or in other words become part of our framework shaping the way we view the world, while others pass us by never to be considered again.

Camels hanging out.. 

While I feel more than incapable of answering this question I couldn’t help but feel that as we continued to wind down the road –passing all sorts of new visuals for me, from camels stopping for a snack, to young men playing ping-pong with there donkey impassively watching beside them—my thoughts instantly went to a childhood road trip game when I saw a white horse. As kids our parents always told my brother and I that if you saw a white horse it was good luck to keep your fingers crossed until you saw a dog. My brother and I would silently peer out the window as the minutes of the journey passed by. Years later, to our disappointment, we found out it was one of our parents creative tricks to keep us quite/ calm us down on long drives, one if I may say so myself that proved to be substantially more effective than ‘lets see who can be quiet the longest’. Regardless of the fact that I knew it was all a myth, I childishly kept my fingers crossed, eyes peeling for a dog. This made me think that there are certain aspects of life that are able to transgress borders, oceans, ethnicities, religions and languages. Perhaps it was a childish sense of family I was craving while in the Ethiopian Mountains thousands of miles from the salty shores of Nova Scotia, its hard to say really... but I do know that if my parents early tricks to keep my brother and I quite were true BOY would I be a lucky girl! There are a LOT of white horses and dogs between Addis and Amaro :)

Tasha and I in Amaro! 

Aside from being lost in my own head there were plenty of things that made the three day journey more than enjoyable! I have realized that trying to learn new Amharic words is always a source of great laughter even if it is directed at me. Ones of my favorite words I learned while in Ghana was Ngolo, this translates to LIAR, a word one shouldn’t casually throw around, as honor and respect are of the utmost importance in many Ghanaian cultures. But with my minimal (at best) grasp of the Dangme language I used to use the word ‘Ngolo’ as my basic humor tool. When I told this story to my Ethiopian colleagues with whom I traveled, they thought it was a riot to say the least and immediately took to teaching me less than relevant Amharic words, starting naturally with liar and moved too things such as “shhh” “watch yourself” and “im done with you” which is expressed in one quick sound, that I am told is NOT a ‘T’ sound but am convinced the sound does not exist in english… to me it sounds like “et-ch”. My language lessons.. or the game of 'lets see if the foreigner can say this one' created perpetual laughter in the car as we drove along. And even though the majority of the laughs were at my expense I do feel that I have actually picked up a bit more Amharic in the process and I very much look forward to my next visit to the field-- which I am told could be as early as next week! 

Amaro women demonstrating new technologies

The inauguration we attended was also quite nice, it was wonderful to bare witness to the celebration of  a project successful completion. There were many more people in attendance than I had anticipated prior to arriving (aprx 75). They were all sorts of representatives from partner organizations, government officials and Amaro community members. Those present had participated in the various phases of the Agricultural projects in Amaro. The day was a celebration of much more than solely a processing centre. The projects in Amaro, spearheaded by Agri Service Ethiopia, had included many training and educational sections and all those involved we hopeful for the future impact on the community! 

As always please feel free to send me your thoughts, questions, comments etc! steph.milo.mackinnon@gmail.com

Much love,
Steph xx