Genfo - It Tastes as Good as it Sounds

Giving birth to Micah here in Ethiopia had its definite advantages. It allowed Andrea to stay put in our home without having to travel during the final weeks of the pregnancy.  It allowed us to continue to work on Gumuz stuff, work permit stuff, vehicle buying stuff, and just generally stay plugged into all that’s happening as we prepare to launch this project. It made our health insurance provider happy as doctor appointments cost just $5 and the whole delivery fee was right around $500 (and that’s after it was doubled for the c-section). And, staying here for Micah’s delivery endeared us to the people we are working with here in Ethiopia. As most foreigners travel out of the country for delivery, it was fun for many of our co-workers to be “with us” right up to the end of the pregnancy and the beginning of Micah’s life. One 8-9 year old American boy was really excited about it, “I’ve never seen a really small baby before.” Wait a minute, is this little guy just totally unobservant or extremely forgetful? No, his comment makes total sense when he has grown up in an environment where most foreigners go away for birth and most Ethiopian families follow a strict cultural mandate which isolates babies from the outside world for quite some time.

 

You see, when an Ethiopian woman gives birth, she is expected to take rest, not just for a few days, or even a couple weeks. If the child is a boy, she is expected to stay in bed for 40 days, getting up only twice a day to use the bathroom (morning and night). If that sounds bad, then try to imagine having a baby girl, where the mandatory, post-delivery, bed rest is extended to 80 days! (Girls must be that much tougher to raise!) Oh and did I mention that the bedroom must stay dark? Windows are blocked with thick blankets because it is believed that any direct sunlight would harm a child’s eyes during these first few months. As foreigners, we are not expected to follow this tradition of an extreme maternity leave, but still Ethiopian women are blown away to learn that just a week and a half after Micah’s birth, Andrea was reportedly seen in the kitchen frying up some eggs for breakfast.

 

A second interesting element of newborn babies in the Ethiopian culture is the big celebration of visiting the new parents. Sure, our home culture expects family and close friends to be at the hospital where they briefly visit the mother and child, but once the new family gets home, its seems to me that the only visitors welcomed those first few weeks are those who come to help the new family get adjusted, not those requiring the extra burden of hospitality. Here, life is different. For the first three weeks after Micah’s birth, we have had many, many visitors knocking at our door. Thankfully, SOME called before coming, but still the revolving door of well-wishing guests was wearing us out almost as much as the challenge of being new parents: the teachers from the language school, the people from our Amharic church, our neighbors, our landlords, the guard at our former guesthouse, our co-workers, the guy who sells meat, the fruit and veggie stand workers, and the shoe-shine boy from down the street. You name ‘em, they have either come to visit, or they have said that they would at some point.

 

Now, these visits are not just popping in to say hi and ducking out without being a burden. Culturally, we must at least serve tea/coffee with cookies or other munchies. But, if a large group is coming and a appointment is scheduled in advance, then the unspoken expectation is that we prepare the traditional new baby celebration food - genfo. The new mother is exempt from all the preparations (of course, because she is in bed 24/7!) but the new father and closest neighbors/friends are on duty to prepare this genfo and all the trimmings that go along. What is genfo?

 

Well, its best described as a warm play-dough like substance served in a small bowl and eaten with a spoon. The play-dough has a hole made in the top, into which is poured a whole lot of butter and crushed spicy red pepper. That’s genfo. Thankfully, our housemate recruited some Ethiopian ladies to help us with making this traditional dish each time it was expected of us.

 

 And as the obligation to down this concoction was handed to me time and time again, I have learned not just to palate a few bites, but to actually finish my whole bowl! Believe me, that’s an accomplishment worth bragging about.

 

All in all, its been interesting and fun to experience the Ethiopian culture express its celebration and joy with us for Micah’s entrance into our family, but at the same time, we are happy that the celebration is finally dying down. Real life with a newborn baby is enough challenge to keep our hands full.