Ethiopia is a beautiful place with beautiful people. It is the people and their stories that have captured our hearts, but we have also enjoyed the chance to experience this culture. Our favorite exposure was a visit to Emebet's home. She prepared traditional Ethiopian food for us-six or seven different dishes some like stews or sauces, made with beef or vegetables or beans. These were served with injera, the characteristic Ethiopian bread. Injera is like a light pancake with a somewhat sour taste, full of air bubbles. It is made from a grain called teff, and it is gluten free :) Injera is served rolled up. You unroll it and tear off a piece, which you use to pick up the other food. It takes the place of silverware. Very different from what is typical to Americans, but tasty and kind of fun! The team was impressively open-minded about the food and the eating style.
There is no Ethiopian culture experience without coffee, and more specifically a coffee ceremony. We learned about the steps in a coffee ceremony and got to participate with the preparation. We helped roast the green coffee beans over a charcoal fire and then grind them with a mortar and pestle. We watched the coffee pot be prepared and the water heat til it was steaming. Then, Emebet poured the ground coffee directly into the coffee pot and let it heat some more. When it was ready, she poured a little cold water in so the grounds would go to the bottom. The best part of the coffee ceremony is the final step-the drinking of the coffee. It is so dark and a little thick, typically served with sugar. Mmmm...
We had more hands-on time with preparing the holiday bread, difo dabo, outside over an open fire. The bread dough, prepared the day before, is wrapped in banana leaves. The team was surprised to learn that cow dung is one of the mandatory ingredients (for the fire), prized by Ethiopians for the distinct smell it puts off. There was a lot of laughter and joking as we processed that one! After less than an hour of cooking, the bread is a large beautiful circle loaf. The guest of honor or the oldest person present (Chas, in our case-we will let you decide if he was chosen for his age or his honor) makes the first cut and the bread is shared. Believe it or not, it is delicious!
Injera making was part of our experience also. This batter sits for several days before it is poured onto a special large round electric griddle and covered with a lid. It is ready within 5 minutes! We have had lots of opportunities to practice patience on this trip, but we didn't need it waiting on the injera to cook!
Emebet demonstrated how to take cotton, straight from the field, remove the seeds, and spin it by hand into thread/yarn for weaving. Bethany tried her hand at it, and she demonstrated that it is an acquired skill! We also saw basket weaving starting with just reeds. Our time there was ending, so we didn't get to try that ourselves.
It was so special to experience Ethiopia in a real home. What a treat!
Another treat was our supper at a cultural restaurant, where the food, the instruments, the music, and the dancing were all traditional and very entertaining. The dancing was like nothing we had seen before, and I'm not sure what word to use to describe it. Maybe impressive? Definitely unique...
We will remember parts of the culture that we observed independently-animals in busy city streets, love of color and flowers, genuine hospitality, lengthy and somewhat chaotic travel, and many other things.
Beautiful place, beautiful people, beautiful trip. All made by our beautiful Savior.
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