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Posted on August 30, 2010
Still working on getting settled back into “normal life” (I use the term “normal” very loosely). Spent the majority of the weekend in Oklahoma City, so it was great to see my friends again. I loved my team, but I did miss having my weirdo friends around.
Just a heads up, I just updated all my print/product pricing. I haven’t raised my print prices since I started my business three years ago, and it was about that time. Everything is listed under “investment”, and if you have any questions about any of it just shoot me an email!
Now a little randomness… Because I missed that.
1. Andrew freaking Belle
I have a tendency to become a little obsessed when I find a new artist I like. Lately it’s been Andrew Belle (courtesy of Laura). I don’t even have a favorite song…his “The Ladder” album is lovely.
2. My hair is back to normal.
(Again, using the term “normal” loosely.)
I finally took the cornrows out yesterday. Mostly because I was tired of being stared at like a crazy person.. I may make it my life goal to make it okay for white people to have cornrows. COME ON AMERICA!
Anyway.. I couldn’t resist taking some photos. I only liked one. haha
I call it, “Afrocan”.
I am also retarded.
3. BEN KWELLERRR!
Got to OKC Friday night, and my sweet friend Jessica informed me that Ben Kweller was playing at OU. Heather will vouch for this…there was more than one happy dance. I was so excited! I didn’t take my camera with me and we didn’t stay for long, but it brought back so many good memories. He’s such a goofy looking cat but he’s one of my favorite people to see live. Bless him.
4. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Heather and Cash talked me into watching this Saturday night.
I was fairly skeptical when Heather started describing it to me, but I actually loved it. And that’s saying something…I can never sit through movies.
5. Jumped right back into W.R. when I got home.
I kinda missed that too.
Tonight I shall stay up. My sleep schedule has been so…normal…since I got back. I’ve been going to bed before 2am and waking up before 10am. SO LAME.
So tonight I’m going to stay up until sunrise and work on a freaking huge (36×48) painting for my big brother. Honestly, I’ve never been so nervous about a painting…it’s almost as big as I am…
peace.
-ak
P.S. New favorite boots!
listen to. –> “oh my stars” by andrew belle.
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Posted on August 26, 2010
I have been sitting here staring at a blank Word document for a good hour now. I wrote out a shorter, funnier post earlier…but that’s not where I’m at right now.
So what do I say? You’d think the third time around I’d have it down, but I’m still figuring this out. Still processing.
How do I describe that odd feeling of both relief and fear after being thrown back into my own comfort zone?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned the last couple of years, it’s that the first month home is the hardest. I always find myself judging people and not understanding why no one is as sensitive to these issues as I am. I can put on my happy face when someone asks how the trip was, and I’ll say “It was indescribable” and wait for them to prod some more, but they rarely do. Deep down I’d love to throw out all the unsolved issues, all the unanswered questions. Just list everything I saw…everything I’ve seen the last three years. I could go on for hours if they’d let me.
I feel like I react to Africa a bit differently than everyone else. I put my tough face on when I’m there. I can go through an entire month of hearing stories that would blow your mind, and I don’t cry. I can hold the hand of a homeless 15 year old, and it doesn’t faze me. It’s like my emotions get shut off while everyone else is dealing with what’s going on around them.
And then I come home. And everything I should have felt while I was there hits me all at once.
And at the same time it kills me that I have no solution, and I feel like the best I have to offer when I’m there is just sitting there, listening to a language I don’t understand, and holding their hand. I’m not the most compassionate person in the world. I can be very hard-hearted. Half the time I wonder what good I’m even doing by being there. But I keep going back.
And I’ll keep going back until I feel like I’ve given all I can.
[Photo taken by Asher Wood]
[Photo taken by Asher Wood, edited by me]
[Photo by Brandon Stone]
[Photo by Whitney Shugart]
I’ll swing back into my regular, weirdo self soon enough.
peace.
-ak
P.S. Still rockin the cornrows and fro. I feel like a lion.
listen to. –> “add it up” by andrew belle.
Posted on August 14, 2010
I don’t even know where to be begin. This may get lengthy. And I intended to include pictures, but they are taking FOREVER to upload. I’ll post a ton when I get home. :)
The last 11 days have been somewhat of a roller coaster. The experiences in themselves have been amazing, but I’m still fighting off whatever congestion/sore throat I had. I STILL don’t have my voice back…I’ve forgotten what my actual voice even sounds like. And what we call “The Fear” (stomach issues) has struck most of the team within the last few days. A lot of our team members haven’t been feeling great lately…everything from stomach issues to sore throats to high fevers…and our leader’s little 3 year old girl, Gaia, has had it the worst of anyone. So we could definitely use some prayers for not only wellness, but energy. Our days haven’t been super jam packed but we’ve got a lot of hard workers on this team, so anytime we’re doing anything we’re going full force.
Other than that, everything is great! Currently sitting at The Lime Tree…a restaurant in Addis with real food and internet. So basically there’s a lot of whities here. :) We just made the drive from Ambo to Addis this afternoon.
In Ambo we’ve been spending some days teaching the Compassion International kids English and other days we’ve been hanging out with the street boys. Teaching English definitely has to be the most challenging thing for me here…I can handle days on end without showering, weird food, lots of bugs, etc…but teaching has got to be the bane of my existence here. I should not be allowed in a classroom. Ever.
We’ve only hung out with the street boys two days so far (sad face), but we’ve more or less “adopted” some of the boys onto the team. Geytar, Burahnu, Tora, and Daniel (pretty positive I only got one spelling right) have really completed our team. I honestly feel like I just gained a few new brothers…they are such incredible guys and I feel so blessed to even know them. The fact that they’re so tenderhearted despite what they’ve been through and what they’re still going through blows my mind. I could learn more from them than they could ever learn from me.
I think the rest of the street boys can be kind of overwhelming, but I love our days with them. They’re super rough and can be really hard to get through to, but I think that’s why I love them so much. I feel like this is why I keep coming back. The Compassion kids are sweet, but we’re not teaching them anything they don’t already know…they go to church on a regular basis, and they’re taught the Bible stories, and they go to school and learn English. I think working with them is awesome, but they see this all the time. It’s different with the boys…they’re shunned by society and looked down on and aren’t shown love or even attention on a regular basis. They’re “invisible” here. They remember the names of our team members from last year and ask about them, because those short relationships with other human beings, other than the rest of the boys, mean the world to the majority of them. Yea, there’s a small group who only hang around us because they want clothes, but most of the boys just want to sit with us and simply enjoy the fact that we’re there and we care. I wish people could just look past their lifestyle and realize they’re human, doing the best they know to do. I don’t know…I could go on forever about them. I wish we could spend the entire month with them.
Also, some of the boys started calling me Mata Adi…”white hair”. Cracked me up.
Anyway..
Finally got to meet my new “nephew” last Saturday! Shay and Stephanie came to Ethiopia to meet Shay’s little boy she’s adopting…he is the funniest/cutest 2 year old I know and I cannot wait for him to come home and meet the rest of our Ethiopia ’08 family and be spoiled rotten. It was also great to spend a day with Shay and Steph and kind of venture around Addis on my own. Oh, and we went to the lion zoo…I have never in my life been so close to an actual lion. If I didn’t value my life, I could have reached out and touched it. Unreal.
We spent Monday-Wednesday at Women At Risk in Nazret. The organization works with ex-prostitutes to start rebuilding their lives…they receive counseling and job training and they also get a monthly salary for 9 months to help them get started. Some of the women’s stories are incredible. Two of the women shared their testimonies with us Monday morning, and then myself and Missy shared ours. I’ve never in my life told my whole story…none of my friends or family know everything I went through within a 2 year period…so it was an emotional day to say the least. There was crying. And Amanda Keith does not cry. haha
Oh, and we finally got Sammy as our driver! He’s been our driver the last two years, and I trust this crazy man with my life. He has a gold tooth and occasionally wears mesh shirts and drives like a bat out of hell but has never been in an accident. He is one of my favorite people ever.
Alright, I’m passing on the internet to someone else. I’ll update when I can!
peace.
-ak
Posted on August 3, 2010
Can’t believe I’m finally “home”.
It’s been amazing seeing so many familiar faces. I think the best feeling in the world is getting off the bus and realizing the same people you think about on a daily basis actually remember you. The level of joy that brings is just unreal.
There’s no way I could totally sum up the last week, but I’ll attempt.
Met with the team last Wednesday (loving getting to know them…this is all their first trip to Africa!), got into E-country on Thursday and spent a little bit of time Addis…played at an orphanage on Friday and recognized a couple of kiddos. Then made the (beautiful) drive from Addis to Ambo…possibly my favorite drive in the world. I’m awestruck every time.
Hung out with the Compassion kids in Ambo on Sunday and Monday. Wasn’t as hectic as it has been the last couple of years. Granted, I am incredibly sore from running and lifting children all day, and I’m pretty positive I pulled a muscle in my back. Also, I have been battling a sore throat and managed to lose my voice today. I am so pathetic. haha.
Today we got to see the street boys. This was the day I’ve been most excited about! My face hurts from smiling so much. I adore these boys, and just seeing how far they’ve come in two years blows my mind. I’ll have to do a post dedicated to them and their story eventually. It’s incredible.
Also, ran across this verse the other day..
“…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
I don’t know that I will ever be worthy of this.
peace.
-ak
P.S. One of my favorite street boys…”Don Cheadle”. He gave me the biggest hug ever when I got off the bus and I’m pretty sure my life lit up.
Random Amharic lessons for some of my favorite people:
For Laney.. “zehone” = elephant
For Kyle and Steven.. “anbessa” = lion
For Heather.. “udu” = butt (I think Cash needs a new nickname)
You’re all welcome.
