Ethiopia 9 – Last Day at Project Mercy

Well, on Sunday it had been decided, rather suddenly, that on Tuesday I should go to Chacha to photograph cows.

Let me back up a minute. I’m not going to get into all of the details, because there isn’t a whole lot that I understand or that has really been figured out, and it stressed me out to think about it. BUT, suffice it to say that somehow it came about that I would be working with another team member on a long-term project: making a photobook about Project Mercy. Or…well, something like that. One of the myriad of off-shoot projects that Project Mercy is working on is a ranch in a town called Chacha. Chacha is a farming community on the other side of Addis Ababa – about a 4-5 hour drive from Project Mercy. There, they are attempting to breed hardy, disease-resistant Ethiopian cows with American cows. American cows (Jersey cows, I think) produce almost 10x as much milk as these Ethiopian cows. The goal here is to produce a hearty cow which is both resistant to Ethiopia diseases and produces more milk.  If successful, this project could help many families improve their nutritional intake.

At any ate, this would be a great thing for me to photograph for any potential book (which may or may not happen…?) so it was decided that I would go with Sean, Bete and David to Chacha on Tuesday. What this meant, then, is that Monday would be my last day to capture the goings-on with our group and Project Mercy. So I spent the first part of the day at the school clinic (in a new location for the new week) and the latter portion driving around with Marta and Deme, taking pictures of what they felt were significant parts of Project Mercy.

It was great to spend some time with Marta and Deme and hear their stories. The end of the day was sad for me as I was thinking about leaving. Leaving this beautiful place, and the new connections I had made – leaving the new way I felt about my place in the world. But all good things must end, and I was (and am) pretty sure that I will come back to Project Mercy.

 

I’m trying something new with the images – click on the first image to see the gallery.

 

 

 

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a new place

You know where is a good place to sit in silence? A new apartment. It’s quiet. There’s nothing gurgling on the stove, no computer fans whirring in the background. But it’s not too quiet – you can hear the clicking and shhhing of the rain falling on rooftops, the distant horn of a passing train, the occasional gust of wind shaking water off of the trees. It’s a good place to sit still and look out the window and ponder.

This is a strange transition time, when you know a new place is already yours, but it has none of your stuff in it yet. There are no fond memories of friends gathering for food and games, no paths dented into the carpet where you walk around the furniture every day. There’s just a feeling of something new about to happen, a new chapter, a new leaf – better even than the clock striking midnight on new year’s eve.

The living room in our new place is roughly the size of the entire old place. The giant window takes up most of one whole wall and looks over the rooftops of surrounding homes. There is so much light. Oh, the things I plan to do in this light – the ways I will be better. I will make stained glass windows again, I will edit photos. I will read and look out the window. I will ride my bike around town and hang out in the coffee shop around the corner. I will enjoy the city. I will be new again.

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Christmas in Boise, part 3 – the long-awaited snow

When the snow doesn’t come to you, you must go to the snow. So the last day in Boise, we borrowed Sean’s Grandparents’ all wheel drive car and headed into the mountains. My absolute glee at the glory (the snowy, white, rich, freezing glory) which we encountered there can only be described in pictures. So here goes.

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