Takin' It Slow in Addis

Hey there!

We had a very successful day in Addis. We got up at 5am, did some Shutterfly work, then went to ICS (an International School) to set up at 7am. We still don't have our laptop computers (more on that in a bit), but we were able to use the media lab at ICS and load software. These kids are quick, quick, quick. It is a good lesson in socio-economic disparity for us. These kids come from money, and so have access to better education. It just punctuates, for me, the need to head out to remote areas and bring technology. I just know that kids like Never, Isack, and Saada are going to go to college, and I'm betting that their time learning digital arts will be a key factor in this.

The kids here are making PSAs about environmental issues. There are many good things about being here. First, these kids are so accustomed to using computers that we can go really fast. This will mean that they can quickly become mentors. They go on outings to villages once a year, so our kids here will be positioned to do our digital arts program with marginalized kids by the end of this week. Second, it is a bit of a break from all of the emotions for Andy and me. There have been so many tough moments over the past six weeks (and there are SURE to be some more in Gambella next week), that it is good for us to take a moment to partake in some slow breathing.

Tomorrow, we have 10 kids coming from some of the poorest schools in Addis to join our International kids. We had a long talk today about inclusion. It will probably be some of the more affluent kids' first encounters with under-served members of Addis society. I can't wait for the cross-cultural mixing to begin.

I have to be vague in my attempts to tell you that I have to be vague. Andy spent much of the day trying to finagle our computers out of customs. We worked for hours last night trying to figure it out, and Andy spent many more hours today. We are going to donate the computers to a tech school in Gambella that has 500 students and just a few, very outdated computers. When we told the school that we were doing this, you could hear the screams and shouts for miles. More on Gambella toward the end of the week. It looks like we might get our computers today, but I can't say more than that right now.

Andy and I are going to edit the kids' narratives tonight and continue to do post-production on the movies from our other countries. No days off, but we wouldn't have it any other way. This trip has been life-changing. Oh, and we got in a small car accident on the crazy streets of Addis today. Our wonderful taxi driver is a master at weaving in and out. Lanes? Who needs 'em! (Jaime, you'd love driving here.) A big, dented bus carrying tons of people pulled right into us (honestly, Andy and I have been waiting for this as it seems like we should have been in at least ten fender benders by now). We watched the haggling, then our driver sped off. We were hoping for some kind of tussle, but it just ended with no drama.

Andy is off now buying ear-buds and splitters so that the kids can hear their narratives tomorrow. I am editing their films and sending this blog to Ben so that he can upload it. Thanks Ben.

More tomorrow.

E