how does it feel … to be without a home … a complete unknown … like a rolling stone ???

it’s so hard to post when so much has happened since the last post … i have been RELIGIOUS in keeping a journal (missed only 2 days so far) … but computers are not so close at hand …

sooooooooo … in condensed form … we left debre sina to much sadness … saying goodbye was as hard as expected, and there were definitely tears in some people’s eyes (though not mine, what kind of pansy-ass do you take me for :p) … i achieved the nickname “where’s brandon” as apparently my affinity for getting out in the community and spending time with locals had my fellow Canadians always wondering if i was dead in a sewer somewhere … i take this as a compliment, personally, as going to people’s homes to enjoy food and coffee and laughs will forever be one of the hi-lights of my trip …

as i mentioned, i marked my return to addis by promptly stepping in a open sewer … in sandals … mmmmmmmmmm … it was strange to be back in our neighborhood again … when i first arrived, i thought it looked pretty impoverished … what with the open sewers and the unpaved roads and the garbage everywhere … after 6 weeks in rural areas, i suddenly realize that we live in a high class suburb … and the homes are NICE … perception is everything …

its impressive how fast you get over food … after 6 weeks of Habasha Fasting food, i nearly cried when we ate the sheraton buffet (coconut spinach soup … you heard me) … but after breakfast the next morning (pancakes and omelette’s) , and some oreo’s i found at a little grocery store, i don’t even notice anymore … i actually have been getting Habasha fasting good the past couple nights … its just so GOOD …

after a few days in Addis, YCI footed the bill (read: my sponsors footed the bill)  for a little weekend retreat to Nazaret … it’s the 2nd biggest city in the country, and about 2 hours south of Addis … we went to a place called Safari Lodge, which was basically a resort with a pool and a wierd UFO tower beside it … over food … NOT over swimming pools … we had some final meetings (beside the pool), played cards (beside the pool) and just generally had a good time (beside the pool) … think swimming pools aren’t a big deal ??? try not having a real shower for 2 months …

back to Addis to say more sad goodbyes to Lindsay (off to Kenya) and Medin (back to Canada) and Jess and Laura and I took off to check out some 800 year old churches in Lalibela …

we were all supposed to fly together, but they bumped me off my flight at the last minute, giving me a 6 hour stopover in a place called Bahir Dar … Bahir Dar is at the start of the Nile, and Lake Tana beside it is home to a few dozen ancient monasteries (including 1 which shows evidence of worship dating back thousands of years and where the Ark of the Covenant was said to  have been stored for a few centurie) … they really didn’t disappoint, and with my incredible tour guide (who let me drive the boat … though i still had to pay the driver … seems like they should have paid me) … we zipped from 1000 year old copies of the Bible (which, I am told, tell quite different stories than the modern versions) to miraculous crosses that kill snakes just by being pointed at them … to miraculous tombs that fill up with local medicine all on their own, and have been for 500 years …

i can understand why people have been praying at these locations for so long … something about the air just feels … magical … the dominant religions have changed 3 or 4 times over the millennium, but the feeling that the air around you is somehow brighter is unmistakable …

a few hours later i was in Lalibela … a town not unlike Debre Sina … except instead of lush green valleys, they have dry, desert like valleys … and instead of joyful friendly people, they have joyful friendly people who know that tourists have money … i really shouldn’t be so negative … friendly is friendly … but somehow what was genuine elsewhere seemed like an attempt to be-friend me for my $$$ in Lalibela …

anyway … yesterday we toured the churches there, which are without a doubt the most impressive thing i have ever seen in my life … 850 years ago, King Lalibela had 11 churches carved out of the hardest rock he could find … for 850 years people have been making pilgrimages there to be close to God … and for 850 years, the churches have hardly changed …

that’s not true … some have been beaten down by the weather of the centuries … but most have not … and sharp edges and colorful frescoes  can still be found most everywhere …

and now i am back … Jess leaves for Egypt tomorrow … Laura for Rwanda the day after and Becky for Latvia the day after that … and just as suddenly as we came together … my family for the past 8 weeks will drift apart …

i leave for Kenya in 2 days … i arrive in Nairobi on the afternoon of the 5th and get to finally stretch my legs as a solo traveler … if i wasn’t so sad to be leaving this beautiful land, i would be excited …

i have spoken already with many people about the possibility of coming back (and getting paid this time) … for something a little more long term … i really do feel like i am home, and that there is so much more to learn here …

but at the same time … maybe i am just romanticizing my first taste of Africa …i suppose only time will answer my questions … and i have many steps to take before a decision like that would have to be made …

i really do hope i come back some day …

and i know i promised pictures … but in the turnaround between the airport and the hot-springs shower … i forgot my memory cards at home … i should be back on again tomorrow though …