Gambella Leafy Greens

One of my favorite shows is called “Going Tribal”. This intrepid Aussie guy travels the globe in search of people who have not yet encountered much of Western civilization. He spends a fair amount of time just lying low, taking in his surroundings, and understanding the culture. Eventually (and inevitably) he is accepted into the community. He does some pretty out-there things in his attempts to become integrated. He drinks coagulated cow blood stew, joins the hunters on 20-day treks for meat, and participates in all of their rituals, including the use of hallucinogens to search for his spirit animal.

Andy and I have our version of this show going on in Gambella. Granted, our adventures pale in comparison to the Aussie guy’s experiences, but we’re having a grand time.

When I was here last year, dropping Andy off for his eight-month stay, we were in a very protective and isolated setting. We were warned repeatedly not to travel into town due to the conflict. In my five days in Gambella last year, we made one trip into town, in a big group. We also crossed the Openo River once to visit with a widow who had the grave of her husband in her yard. After I left, Andy ventured out more and more, eventually becoming one of the most loved and famous white dudes in the area.

So, here I am in Gambella getting the insider’s tour of the town. Everyone knows Andy and has fond memories of him. We walk from our hotel, in the humid and very hot weather, down the dusty streets into town a few times a day. There is a big road-paving project going on, but the streets are still just dirt and ruts. Every so often, an NGO truck (UN, WFP, IOM, etc.) zooms by to put a big pile of red dust in your mouth. There are goats, donkeys, and people carrying heavy loads everywhere. The buildings range from well-built professional building to ramshackle huts with corrugated tin huts selling slabs of meat, maize, and onions.

Andy has taken me to a few local haunts at night to grab a few beers. We eat fried fish at the hotel, and injera and stewed chicken at local cafes. Little children follow us yelling, “Hey Ferrengie (spelling wrong, but a term for a white person…originated with the French who first came here…Frenchy turned into Ferrengie) how are you?” We walk to the Pact offices down a crowded street in the market pungent with roasting coffee beans, cow dung, burning trash, and tons of people smells. I love it! There is loud music coming out of every other shack. You wander down the alleyways past compounds of round mud huts teaming with chickens, goats, and laughing children clad only in ill-fitting underpants. They so love to follow us around.

Not exactly Going Tribal, but our hotel loses power about every other hour. When you shower, you have to time the cold trickle correctly. Just about the time you get some shampoo on your head, the water stops. So, you crouch down on the VERY human smelling floor and wait for the water to get a little more pressure. Shaving can take 20 minutes. I washed my pants in the shower with me yesterday and hung them up with dental floss in the doorway. My pants made good company with the myriad cawing birds, huge lizards, and the most beautiful black and white monkeys. They’re about two-feet tall and have long white tails that bush out in a vibrant plume of fir at the end. They make a terrifying baritone grunting sequence. Their favorite time seems to be between 1am and 3am when they swing through the trees behind my room on their way to the chickens in the mud-hut compound not 15 feet from my back door. You first hear the dogs barking, and then the monkey grunts get louder and louder. Then the chickens start screaming. Finally, the men frantically emerge from their slumber to whack the monkeys away. This goes on every night.

I wake up and have a deep, rich coffee with toast (if power) and runny marmalade. We meet the kids at 8am. We still don’t have computers (maybe tomorrow…) so our resident artist, Zerihun has been working on art with them. We’ve also had them write their narratives and practice filming with the Flip cameras. They’ve all been through so much and it is coming through loud and clear in their narratives. Many of them have faced challenges the rest of us would never have even thought existed. Can't wait to show you their films, as well as the rest of the kids from this trip. Oh, Zerihun is fantastic. He is an amazing artist (check out www.zerihun.com) and so great with the students. They are going to create some kick-butt pieces of art. Zerihun is also one of the coolest people you'll ever meet...he's one of those guys you wish you were more like. Oh, and Jody continues to amaze and become a better friend every day. She manages some very noteworthy and worthwhile projects for Pact. I'm going to have her blog tomorrow so that you can find out more. I know you'll love her as much as Andy and I do.

So, we’re dirty, smelly, and filled with carbohydrates. There are no fresh vegetables in the diet here (except during “fasting” season), so I’ve been eating fried fish, roasted potatoes, bread, maize, and injera (sour flat bread made with tef). I’ve gone from no carbs to all carbs in five days! Before yesterday, I was in dire need of some “greens”.

So, because I needed some chlorophyll, Andy decided that it was time for me to see the real Gambella. We made our way through the maze of winding alleyways past hundreds of mud hut compounds. Finally, we ended up at one of his friend’s compounds. There were about 10 men from Gambella and us (Andy, Erik, Keith, Zerihun). On the way, we’d stopped to purchase our own offering of chat. Chat stems are covered with what look like cocoa leaves. They have a caffeine-like effect when chewed.

We sat down on the ground and I got a primer course in chat chewing. You pull the leaves off (the younger, red, softer leaves are the best) and pack them into your back teeth on one side. You then grab a couple of peanuts (the leaves are really sour) and start masticating…and masticating…and masticating. Ojud is about 21 and is the go-get-it guy for an afternoon of chat chewing. He went to get Cokes, more chat, and more peanuts about five times during our afternoon. As I chewed, and chewed, and chewed, I started to feel cooler (it was the hottest day yet, yesterday). I got used to the sour taste quickly. Then, I started to feel really focused and the conversation really began. The longer you chew, the more coffee-buzz you feel, but you don’t feel anxious or jittery. It’s more like a hyper-focus coupled with a sense of well-being. I had a four-hour Anuyak language lesson and learned a TON. We talked politics, and learned about the tribal elder system of justice that still exists in Gambella. Andy and I agreed that it was a much better system than our non community-based system at home. I think I chewed through about 10 pounds of leaves (“elephant food” one of Andy’s friends poo-poos when he sees chat). As I sat there with these amazing people, I totally understood how Andy could live here for so long. There was a beautiful glow from the vermilion sunset, I was feeling slightly buzzed but calm at the same time, and I was having great conversation at the most leisurely pace. It made me feel like my life is just way too harried and complex. I wanted to sit there for two more weeks.

Finally, a driver showed up to pick us up…Jody was waiting for us at the hotel and was only too familiar with how a bunch of men could get caught up in chat-versation, so she sent a car. We went back to the hotel, still feeling the chat and still feeling Ya Met (“I feel good from the core of my liver…”). We sauntered down town and had a beer with some of Andy’s friends (well, my friends now, too). I slept really well and felt refreshed and relaxed today with the kids. I love this place.

The kids are drawing pictures for their movies and I’m sitting here typing. Andy just got back from yet another call with customs about our books and computers. They have been “released” and a car is supposed to pick them up today and take them to the town where one of our drivers will meet them tomorrow. The kids are so anxious to get on those machines! It will happen!

The Internet connection here is so slow that I can’t upload photos to Shutterfly. Also, I am lucky to get one email off to Ben (I have to try for about 20 minutes) with these updates. Andy and I will be in Addis for two days at the end of the trip and I’ll upload some photos of our amazing students then.

So, a relaxed, patient (can you believe it?), and un-hurried Erik signs off. Andy has promised to blog tomorrow.

E