Our language school uses a unique method of teaching Amharic in that it tries to duplicate the way in which children learn language. Well, as with children, there comes a time when baby birds need to be pushed out of the nest to test their wings. For us, that came last December when we began phase four. A mandatory part of phase four involves the students going out and collecting interviews in Amharic. So, trying to collect at least one, if not two interviews a week has been our task these past few months.
We started with the man we refer to as “The Happy Beggar.” He is an old man who begs on the side of the road near our house, but unlike most beggars, he does not yell at us to directly ask for money. Instead, his face lights up when he sees us coming and very formally greets us with “tenayistalign” which means “may God give you health on my behalf” (it is a formal greeting that you would use when meeting someone for the first time). When other beggars near him would call out to us for money, he would scold them saying it was rude. Needless to say, all the foreigners living in our area know and appreciate this man because he sticks out like a rose among thorns. So we interviewed him to find out his life story, taking our recording back to class for reviewing and clarification of unclear words/phrases. The most memorable part of the interview was when some teenagers stopped and stared at us for a while. Finally, the Happy Beggar, addressed them in Amharic saying “Go away, nothing to see here, they are people, just like you!” We had to laugh as we often don’t feel like normal people here in Ethiopia.
Later interviews included Dereje, a man who works in the government and church relations part of our organization. His interview was especially difficult as he used many government words (mayor’s office, signing a contract, registration, etc.), so we slowly hacked through that interview in class. Then there was the gardener at the school, Mola, who grew up outside of Addis Ababa, but ran away from home as a teenager when a cattle disease not only killed his family’s “wealth,” but also his dream of inheriting his father’s herd. He sought work all over Ethiopia before coming to Addis. Today, Mola is slowly putting his life together as he gardens during the day (earning about $40 a month) and attends night school (he is currently in sixth grade). His goal is to finish school and move back home to farm like his father. We interviewed a national Bible translator who grew up in the Orthodox Church and even attended priest school before coming to know Jesus as his Savior. He allowed us to see an inside perspective on the Orthodox faith and how it relates/differs from the Christianity we know in the Bible. We also interviewed Fasil, Travis’ co-teacher in the Greek class. Fasil’s story was an amazing one of a rough childhood (being unwanted and given away by his mother) turned around by Christ in his late teens. His testimony blessed both us and our teacher as we listened in class. This was especially nice following the previous interview of our landlord’s house-worker, Tadelech.
Tadelech, like the Greek teacher, was given away to relatives by her parents because she was unable to be cared for (the practice of giving children away to family members is not uncommon here). However, unlike Fasil, Tadelech was not given an education and not treated well by her caretakers (I can’t honestly call them parents because they did not parent her!). As a teenager, she left that life and began to try to make it on her own. She, like Mola above, recently began school in the evenings and is now in third grade. During the interview, as she was describing her schooling and her dreams of one day finishing and becoming successful, she broke down crying. Tears came to our teacher’s eyes as she listened with us later that day and her comments hit home - “Tadelech’s tears are the realization that she hasn’t and will not ever become successful…it is very hard.” Thankfully, the interview ended on a high note as Andrea asked about her religious faith and Tadelech responded “I am a born again Christian.” Andrea lovingly embraced her as a sister in Christ.
Interviews are a window into the lives of real people and the culture in which we are now living. Through them, we learn far more than mere language. We learn Ethiopian history better, we learn Ethiopian culture better, and most importantly, we learn to love Ethiopian people better – hopefully one day loving them as Christ already does!
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