Friday night we drove to our new Ethiopian friends house for tea. It was quite a way out of Melbourne but when we arrived we checked the address thinking we were at the wrong house. It was a brand new 2 storey town house. There was our 1st expectation blown out the water!! Mame and her hubby Brahanu have been here since 94. She had cooked all day for us and couldn't have been more hospitable if they'd tried. They had every type of alcohol to offer when we arrived (2nd surprising thing) but Mame wouldn't drink any because she was fasting for 2 weeks to impress Mother Mary (yes the virign mother) so she can pray on behalf of Mame to Jesus. This will mean her prayers have a greater chance of being answered. We ate injera (Ethiopian pancake) with wat (stews). She had made 5 different sorts - lentils, cabbage based, chick-pea, and an egg and chicken one that was made especially for us, because the fasting means no meat, egg, dairy, alcohol, and no eating before 3pm each day.The food was really spicy, and poor Oli's eyes were watering at one stage!
For desert we had baklava which is quite Ethiopian (surprise 3) and a home-made bread with orange rind. We finished off with a coffee ceremony which was fantastic. No Nescafe - real Eth coffee beans roasted on the spot, crushed etc and fantastic. It was small and a little like Turkish coffee and with a teaspoon of sugar in it was sweet and yummy. It smelled great but as for sleeping that night.......forget it. We got to talk lots and found out so much, but it's too much to put here. The one thing I will say is mid-sentence and while 'chatting' they let it drop that both of them had been in prison in Ethiopia (one for 3, the other 5 years) and were allowed into Australia as political refugees. (Big surprise)
On Saturday we had a lovely family day watching the boys play basketball and then playing at a fantastic park we found (with flying fox) that was right near the old pentridge prison! There is a new housing dev right in the middle of the old prison, but the thick stone walls and guard towers and still there. We even saw some old razor wire along one wall! It looks quite strange, and an atmosphere 'inside' I'm not sure I'd like to live in!
Saturday night I then went to an Islam Iftar meal with an Islamic group called Benevolance. Iftar is the name given to breaking the Ramadan fast after sunset and the food was fantastic. I tried a lebanese salad made of chick peas, fried pita bread, and yogurt and garlic, that I would recommend to anyone! The people were extremely warm and hospitable to non-muslims, but it felt strange to know I was on the receiving end of an effort to reach out to the unreached!! I felt sad to see the big number of young women especially in their early 20s that have been drawn to the religion. They are modern, made-up, with silk head scarves, and obviously attractive to outsiders. They had a speaker for us, that advocated the relationship we can have with Allah and how to be a better person by fasting in Ramadam. It was slick, appealing (eg - warm, welcoming,great food) but also disturbing. I sat next to a wonderful Indian woman who was 90 lived in Sth Africa, and Australia. She travels fairly constantly, and has been a muslim her whole life. She was in an arranged marriage from age 16 and her husband died 12 years ago, and she still had tears in her eyes when speaking about him. It was so cute. She made no effort to evengelise me which was quite nice, but was simply friendly and kind.I am praying she will find the truth....and fairly soon as she grows older each day!
Our final day of the weekend Sunday was spent at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (week 3 - 1 to go!). This week there were so many people there Shane and the boys couldn't get inside. They were quite happy to escape the bells and smells, and spent the time chatting with men outside. Shane learnt more about politics than reading all our books, and they bought him coffee, hot chips adn fried lentil parcels.I on the other hand did fit in the church foyer part but there was no spare wall space this week so I stood unsupported for the 2 hours. there wasn't any space to sit down. Lucy was on the floor at my feet and did some drawing with little Eth girls which was very cute. She seemed unfazed by it all - after only 3 wks she is an old hand!!
Because we saw the sun in the arvo we walked to the playground near Visy park and felt very trendy. Yuppies were out everwhere, plus joggers, cyclists, walkers in the nearly spring air. I felt like I was in a movie - when you see families out at the city park, with bare trees all around us. Very inner city living!
Well that was our interesting weekend. I hope it was interesting to you too....I guess if not you would have stopped reading by now!! We are loving learning new things, but best of all is meeting new, fascinating people, all with their own stories.God has made us all so different, and in his image. Amazing!!
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| With my new friends Mame and Sisey |
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| Some of the women outside the church |
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| We found a new playground near the basketball stadium. Lots of fun!!!!! |
Thanks for the blogging Naomi; it is really interesting to hear what you are up to. Sounds like you are making new and special friends in the Ethiopian community.
ReplyDeleteI am following an Orthodox fast at the moment, mainly because I have to reduce my cholesterol. So it sounded very familiar. I know that Orthodox people celebrate the Dormition of Mary in the first half of August, where they celebrate her being taken bodily after her death into heaven.