First 24hrs in Mekele (27/7)

Tommy and I both had hopes of losing a few pounds whilst in Ethiopia. On evidence of the first day with the Daughters of Charity, it seems like the opposite may be end up being true! Their hospitality has been truly exceptional in every sense and I already feel at home; relaxed and at ease. I do apologise if this entry goes on a bit, but I'm still just overcome by it all!

On arrival, our rooms were already prepared for us; they are more than adequate providing a sink, desk, bed, wardrobe and bedside cabinet. Tommy is even complaining his bed is too comfy! Our rooms open out into a courtyard, one of two that make up the sisters compound. This is a pleasant area in which to relax and soak up a little sun (we keep being told it is rainy season and it rains all the time, but there has been little evidence so far!). There are several bath rooms for us to use and I tried out the shower for the first time this morning – its better than my one at home!

As soon as our bags were in our rooms, Sr Medhin prepared a snack for us and we tried out the very highly recommended local honey. It was also a relief that 'Addis Tea' is very similar to English tea but is actually grown in Ethiopia. It is usual to take powdered milk with hot drinks as the fresh milk is usually only available in the mornings in limited supply and it is full cream so not ideal for tea. They also have some lovely raspberry custard cream types biscuits. I am a big fan already!

We shared dinner with a number of the sisters, those from St Vincent's where we are staying, as well as sisters living in the Daughters of Charity other nearby house. They were very welcoming and we began to learn more about the different work that each of them are involved in. The food was excellent, but all very new and strange on English taste buds. The sisters were very understanding and explained what each thing was. Various types of vegetables, potatoes, meats were all prepared by the sisters' cook and meant we had the choice of around 6 or 7 dishes. These were all eaten with a large sour doughy pancake type thing called injera. I found it worked well at taking the edge of the more spicy food, although it is a slightly acquired taste! A previous volunteer described it as 'dirty bandage', which I think meant he was not that keen. It is made from fermented tef (a uniquely Ethiopian grain), which results in a rubbery texture and the sour taste. You scoop up the wat (stew) in the injera. I even had a bottle of the local beer, Dashen, with my dinner and the sisters have bought in Pepsi and Fanta to make us feel even more welcome. After dinner we retired to the lounge (we were excused washing up duty) to relax and watch some TV. English channels are limited, but there is BBC World and Aljazeera to keep us amused. We spoke at length to Sr Tsege who was visiting from the south of Ethiopia and is in charge of a teacher training initiative. It was interesting to hear how teaching methods are changing in the country, moving towards a child centred approach. An early night was required and so time to start playing games with mosquito repellent and nets…

Friday was our first full day in Mekele and we were under strict instructions to have a lie in and relax! I managed to stay in bed until around 9am when I got up to find that Tommy had been about for a few hours already. After washing and dressing we set about organising and sorting all the equipment that we had brought with us. Bags of football shirts, bags of pens, pencils, books, cameras all got put into piles ready to be used as Sr Fisseha sees as appropriate in the project.

It is Sr Fisseha who is in charge of the street children school project and seeing us ready and excited to get involved, sent us off with Tedros the project social worker to visit the school in the afternoon. Even as we pulled into the school gates in the truck the boys outside were waving to us. It brought a huge smile to my face knowing how pleased they were to see us. This is what we were here for!

Tedros first took us to the office, one of the 4 or 5 rooms along one side of the school courtyard. Here he showed us photos of the project work including the music, drama groups and football teams. We saw the large photo frame Anna and Susan (last year's volunteers) had put together and I just really hoped we could have as much of a positive effect on the students. While we were in the office, the gates reopened for the afternoon session and we were naturally being 'checked out' by the students. They were incredibly friendly and welcoming, shaking hands and exchanging names. Apparently I look like Wayne Rooney and some of the kids kept going "Rooney, Rooney". Always good to have an early nickname in school!

We spent some time talking to the most forthcoming of the boys. One of the boys Daniel has a good grasp of English and he is going to look after us. We discussed football teams at some length, it seems most of the boys are Manchester United fans, but also Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Derby (!?!) supporters here too. Five weeks time and the only team they'll know is Southend, trust me. I have already spent five minutes explaining about a little 1-0 victory from last season…

After a brief time at the school we returned to St Vincent's. The boys were upset that we were going so soon, but we promised them we would be back tomorrow. They were just so eager to spend time with us. It made me even more excited about what lay ahead in the next few weeks. Seeing the classrooms also made the challenges that lie ahead more real. I'm not sure I have ever written on a blackboard before, so I better learn fast!

Aluma who is the Daughters' accountant took us out around the town to try and get our bearings. Our main aim was to work out which is the nearest and best internet café to use. I feel my email will be the one thing that keeps me going when homesickness kicks in and I start to feel every one of those miles between Essex and Tigray. Mekele is a busy town that serves not only its own population but also that of all the rural surrounding areas. It has many shops and bars, most of which are along a few main roads.

The closest internet café only has 3 computers, but Robin who worked there seemed familiar with the various volunteers that had stayed with the Daughters. There was a queue and so we made our way to the next closest café. This had more computers, but was slightly more expensive (10Birr instead of 8Birr per hour – 55p instead of 44p). The connection was very slow and we had great difficulty in sending and receiving our mail. Apparently this common, but it does get faster sometimes. Let's hope!

Me and Tommy decided to have a wander around the local area with our new found confidence. It is very strange to be stared at by nearly every person on the street; conversations stop and people stop in their tracks to look. There are seemingly very few 'faranji' in Mekele, but we get little hassle. An attempt to have a look around the Catholic church which is next to the community compound and where the sisters go to mass each morning at 6am results in a meeting with both the priest-in-charge and his assistant priest. They welcome us and the assistant shows us around. I'm not sure how often we will make mass there as it is in Tigrigna and it is only at 6am ( 6.30am on Sunday).

It has been an exhilarating day. Firstly, I feel more aware of the task in hand now; I've seen the school and I've met some of the students. I also feel humbled by the kindness and generosity of all those I come across in Ethiopia. It is difficult to imagine how I could be made to feel more welcome and it seems I will be very comfortable and well looked after during my stay. However, I still can't quite believe I am actually here. For someone who has never been further from home than holidaymakers Europe, coming to Mekele is a very big deal and at the minute feels like a very great honour.