Day 193 - Church of Emanuel - Market in Lalibela
Saturday, January 12, 2019.
Today was a very special day, mostly because we had two great guides, David and Philip. These were boys we had met the day before who wanted us to buy them books. At first, we were impressed that they wanted books and not money, but then we went to the store to see the books, we could tell that it was a scam.
First of all, the store sold all sort of things like clothing, suitcases, and so many things but no books. When I told them that I would buy the books but give to the teachers, they brought another older guy saying that he was a teacher and explained that sometimes the teachers keep the books for their children and they don’t share. Anyway, we were warned not to buy any school supplies when asked because the kids spend it on alcohol or other things. We told the boys that we needed to contact a friend first.
The next day, or today, they showed up and waited outside our hotel. They wanted to know if we had contacted our friend and what he said about the books. We told them that we wouldn’t buy the books and then they came up with another story. This time, they wanted money to pay their rent. They explained that they live in a guest house to go to school because their families live in the countryside. We told them that maybe but that we would give the money to the renter. They were happy and they wanted to show us their place. We told them that first, we needed to buy SIM cards for our cell phones. I could not believe that we could buy the SIM cards in a tiny village on top of a mountain but not in the international airport in Addis Ababa!
The boys took us to the Ethio Telecom office. The clerk had to register the cards with our passport numbers and then we had to go to another tiny store to get the card cut. The boys went with us everywhere.
When we finally finished with the SIM cards and the cell phones, I told the boys that I wanted to visit the churches that we hadn’t finish seeing. It was already 11:30am and the churches close at noon. Gregory wanted to go to the market first but since the church was closer, we walked to see St. Emanuel. On our way, Gregory twisted his ankle and couldn’t walk anymore. He decided to wait for us in the shade of a tree with Philip while David, the other boy, took us on a shortcut to the church. I’m not sure if we were supposed to be there because we walked through a small gate and David said that the dung and mud huts were where the priests live. They were tiny and dark. I stopped and asked how did they even see at night and David pulled a cord and turned an outside light. Daniel and I laughed.
When we got to the outside of the church, we had to show our tickets (that we bought yesterday and were good for five days) to some guards. They let us in. By now it was almost noon and I was worried that they were not going to let us in. We walked to the entrance and another guard stopped us to see the tickets. This time I got upset because he said that the tickets were not good. I showed him our passport and told him that they were good and then he smiled and said, ok.
We took off our shoes and went inside. The church looked similar to the others. There was a priest there and when he saw us come in, he walked behind the curtains were they keep closed and only priests can go in and took his holy golden cross. I did the sign of the cross as a sign of respect and he told me to take a picture. He called Daniel to his side and I took the picture. I didn’t even bother to check if the photo was ok and guess what? Grrrrr, it wasn’t but by then it was too late. Another priest walked in, someone superior because of the black outfit he was wearing and it was past noon.
We finished and we were supposed to see another one, just across but it was closed and Gregory was waiting for us. Next, we picked up Gregory and walked to the main road where we took a Bajaj to the market. Oh my, oh my, what an experience the market was. I found later that night that people from different places walk to the market, some of them even walk four hours to get here to sell and buy. At first, I was shocked by how poor the stands were if you can call the floor a stand.
Women and men had mostly leaves and grains on the ground on top of a sac. People were measuring and filling their sacks with seeds and grains. On another corner, there were many donkeys all tight up for sale. We also saw some goats and only one ox but then again, we didn’t cover all the market.
After the shock, I wanted to take pictures of everything but mostly to remember the experience, no thinking about beauty or the composition of the photos. Then after a while, I told the boys that I wanted to buy a scarf and a cross, which I have seen everywhere. We walked to the stands area where you could see many selling scarfs, dresses and fancy outfits. One of the boys explained that the girls buy new outfits for Ephifany which is coming up on January 19th. By the way, the Christian Orthodox just celebrated Christmas on January 6th!
At the first stand, I wanted to find out how much the scarf was. Gregory told me to negotiate because it is part of their culture but I couldn’t so we walked away and went to another stand. This time, the same scarf was even more expensive. By now, I had two or three more boys following us and trying to help us. I was starting to feel overwhelmed. I didn’t really want the scarf but I felt compelled to buy and help someone at least. The sale man was going to sell me the scarf at 200 ETB ( that’s right, now it is a different coin) but when I said no because I only had 110 ETB, he said fine, take it! The boys told me that it was a fair price.
Afterward, I really wanted to get my Lalibela cross or something small. I had seen one that I liked the day before and I didn’t buy it. I don’t know why I always wait and then I regret not getting it. We stopped in severals stands and I couldn’t find a fine or delicate one. David told me to give him the money and that he would get it for much less. I honestly never heard him offer that. Gregory and Daniel said that he did say that few times. At that point, I was so overwhelmed by the noise, the smells, the animals and the crowds. I just wanted to get out of there! At one stand I found a decent cross that probably would cost 30 (according to David) and I paid 100 ETB. Oh well, I said to David, that girl needs more the money than I do and he smiled.
Gregory tried to call our tuk tuk friend to come and pick us up but luckily it didn’t work and we just took another one that was right there. We jumped in the tuk tuk and I closed the curtain. I was exhausted and my energy level drained. I get very emotional and my senses were all super stimulated. When we made it to the hotel, we thanked our friends and tiped them well. I told them, this money is for your rent and I hope you are smart enough to use it for that and not in something else! They were so happy. Gregory and I ran for a beer and a coke and to our bedroom to rest. Daniel was a trooper and had a good time learning the alphabet and talking to David and Philip who were older than him but they were genuinely friendly.
I didn’t have the energy to go back to see the other church. We went downstairs to eat in the restaurant hotel, which had delicious food and we like their staff. After lunch, we stayed in our room looking for flights to go back to Addis Ababa, and a place to stay. This took many hours. When we finally found everything, Gregory and I went for a walk to the ATM to get cash for tomorrow. On our way, we made new friends, boys, and girls who wanted to practice their English. Very cute. They also asked for money, clothing or whatever. I had already given some of Daniel's stuff so I think the kids spread the word and we had many followers.
We finished by buying some bananas to some children that follow us to our hotel. At first, I thought they were going to say no to the fruit but my heart ached when I saw them devouring their bananas!
We skipped dinner. I went downstairs to say goodbye to the SOS Cretian de l’Orient group of friends I had talked to on the day we arrived. Amazing organization and great people doing good things! I need to check it our more in detail. I hugged Ora Mary good-bye, she was also a preschool teacher and volunteering a year of her life.
Today was a very special day, mostly because we had two great guides, David and Philip. These were boys we had met the day before who wanted us to buy them books. At first, we were impressed that they wanted books and not money, but then we went to the store to see the books, we could tell that it was a scam.
First of all, the store sold all sort of things like clothing, suitcases, and so many things but no books. When I told them that I would buy the books but give to the teachers, they brought another older guy saying that he was a teacher and explained that sometimes the teachers keep the books for their children and they don’t share. Anyway, we were warned not to buy any school supplies when asked because the kids spend it on alcohol or other things. We told the boys that we needed to contact a friend first.
The next day, or today, they showed up and waited outside our hotel. They wanted to know if we had contacted our friend and what he said about the books. We told them that we wouldn’t buy the books and then they came up with another story. This time, they wanted money to pay their rent. They explained that they live in a guest house to go to school because their families live in the countryside. We told them that maybe but that we would give the money to the renter. They were happy and they wanted to show us their place. We told them that first, we needed to buy SIM cards for our cell phones. I could not believe that we could buy the SIM cards in a tiny village on top of a mountain but not in the international airport in Addis Ababa!
The boys took us to the Ethio Telecom office. The clerk had to register the cards with our passport numbers and then we had to go to another tiny store to get the card cut. The boys went with us everywhere.
When we finally finished with the SIM cards and the cell phones, I told the boys that I wanted to visit the churches that we hadn’t finish seeing. It was already 11:30am and the churches close at noon. Gregory wanted to go to the market first but since the church was closer, we walked to see St. Emanuel. On our way, Gregory twisted his ankle and couldn’t walk anymore. He decided to wait for us in the shade of a tree with Philip while David, the other boy, took us on a shortcut to the church. I’m not sure if we were supposed to be there because we walked through a small gate and David said that the dung and mud huts were where the priests live. They were tiny and dark. I stopped and asked how did they even see at night and David pulled a cord and turned an outside light. Daniel and I laughed.
When we got to the outside of the church, we had to show our tickets (that we bought yesterday and were good for five days) to some guards. They let us in. By now it was almost noon and I was worried that they were not going to let us in. We walked to the entrance and another guard stopped us to see the tickets. This time I got upset because he said that the tickets were not good. I showed him our passport and told him that they were good and then he smiled and said, ok.
We took off our shoes and went inside. The church looked similar to the others. There was a priest there and when he saw us come in, he walked behind the curtains were they keep closed and only priests can go in and took his holy golden cross. I did the sign of the cross as a sign of respect and he told me to take a picture. He called Daniel to his side and I took the picture. I didn’t even bother to check if the photo was ok and guess what? Grrrrr, it wasn’t but by then it was too late. Another priest walked in, someone superior because of the black outfit he was wearing and it was past noon.
We finished and we were supposed to see another one, just across but it was closed and Gregory was waiting for us. Next, we picked up Gregory and walked to the main road where we took a Bajaj to the market. Oh my, oh my, what an experience the market was. I found later that night that people from different places walk to the market, some of them even walk four hours to get here to sell and buy. At first, I was shocked by how poor the stands were if you can call the floor a stand.
Women and men had mostly leaves and grains on the ground on top of a sac. People were measuring and filling their sacks with seeds and grains. On another corner, there were many donkeys all tight up for sale. We also saw some goats and only one ox but then again, we didn’t cover all the market.
After the shock, I wanted to take pictures of everything but mostly to remember the experience, no thinking about beauty or the composition of the photos. Then after a while, I told the boys that I wanted to buy a scarf and a cross, which I have seen everywhere. We walked to the stands area where you could see many selling scarfs, dresses and fancy outfits. One of the boys explained that the girls buy new outfits for Ephifany which is coming up on January 19th. By the way, the Christian Orthodox just celebrated Christmas on January 6th!
At the first stand, I wanted to find out how much the scarf was. Gregory told me to negotiate because it is part of their culture but I couldn’t so we walked away and went to another stand. This time, the same scarf was even more expensive. By now, I had two or three more boys following us and trying to help us. I was starting to feel overwhelmed. I didn’t really want the scarf but I felt compelled to buy and help someone at least. The sale man was going to sell me the scarf at 200 ETB ( that’s right, now it is a different coin) but when I said no because I only had 110 ETB, he said fine, take it! The boys told me that it was a fair price.
Afterward, I really wanted to get my Lalibela cross or something small. I had seen one that I liked the day before and I didn’t buy it. I don’t know why I always wait and then I regret not getting it. We stopped in severals stands and I couldn’t find a fine or delicate one. David told me to give him the money and that he would get it for much less. I honestly never heard him offer that. Gregory and Daniel said that he did say that few times. At that point, I was so overwhelmed by the noise, the smells, the animals and the crowds. I just wanted to get out of there! At one stand I found a decent cross that probably would cost 30 (according to David) and I paid 100 ETB. Oh well, I said to David, that girl needs more the money than I do and he smiled.
Gregory tried to call our tuk tuk friend to come and pick us up but luckily it didn’t work and we just took another one that was right there. We jumped in the tuk tuk and I closed the curtain. I was exhausted and my energy level drained. I get very emotional and my senses were all super stimulated. When we made it to the hotel, we thanked our friends and tiped them well. I told them, this money is for your rent and I hope you are smart enough to use it for that and not in something else! They were so happy. Gregory and I ran for a beer and a coke and to our bedroom to rest. Daniel was a trooper and had a good time learning the alphabet and talking to David and Philip who were older than him but they were genuinely friendly.
I didn’t have the energy to go back to see the other church. We went downstairs to eat in the restaurant hotel, which had delicious food and we like their staff. After lunch, we stayed in our room looking for flights to go back to Addis Ababa, and a place to stay. This took many hours. When we finally found everything, Gregory and I went for a walk to the ATM to get cash for tomorrow. On our way, we made new friends, boys, and girls who wanted to practice their English. Very cute. They also asked for money, clothing or whatever. I had already given some of Daniel's stuff so I think the kids spread the word and we had many followers.
We finished by buying some bananas to some children that follow us to our hotel. At first, I thought they were going to say no to the fruit but my heart ached when I saw them devouring their bananas!
We skipped dinner. I went downstairs to say goodbye to the SOS Cretian de l’Orient group of friends I had talked to on the day we arrived. Amazing organization and great people doing good things! I need to check it our more in detail. I hugged Ora Mary good-bye, she was also a preschool teacher and volunteering a year of her life.
Please click here to see pictures
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BCM5jPgBL6iCmrW28
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