I don't think I have talked much about the coffee in Ethiopia, but, being a coffee lover, I should. The coffee that was served each day at the guest house was some of the best I have had anywhere, and the coffee served in the coffee ceremony was possibly even better.
For Ethiopians, a coffee ceremony is an expected show of hospitality. Whenever a visitor comes to your home, you are expected to perform a coffee ceremony. If you have 5 different visitors over the course of the day, you are expected to perform 5 different ceremonies. The ceremony begins with the host roasting the coffee beans over coal. The smell of roasting coffee is one of the most fantastic olfactory experiences in the world (you may recall my description of the Jittery Joe's roasting house from this post last year). Incense is traditionally burned during the ceremony as well. After the beans are roasted and any inadequately roasted beans are discarded, the beans are ground by hand and then the coffee is prepared. The host will serve a food with the coffee, usually popcorn. The popcorn is usually sprinkled with sugar and tastes much like kettle corn. I had never considered popcorn as a complement to coffee, but it was a tasty combo.
After the coffee ceremony, Birtukan graciously invited to join her family and friends for a time of praise to God for a successful adenoidectomy for her son. Although we almost take the success of such a procedure for granted here in the U.S., it is a much bigger deal in Ethiopia because the odds of complications are significantly higher. Birtukan and the other parents specifically set aside this time to give praise as an opportunity to teach their children something about thanksgiving. They were even hospitable enough to give an English explanation of what was being said in Amharic. We can learn a great deal from other believers, particularly those who have endured greater hardship than we have. What a blessing to worship with believers from other cultures. I have now had the opportunity to worship with believers in Mexico, Cyprus, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and it has been an uplifting experience every time. I might have been able to include Italy in that list, but we slept through that opportunity because we were a bit jetlagged.
Following the worship time, we were also invited to participate in a birthday party for Birtukan's son. This was another enjoyable experience. By the time we finished the coffee ceremony and birthday party, we were rather full, but then it was time to head out to dinner. Abel arrived to collect us and was wearing a sling on his left arm. He explained that he had fallen earlier in the day and hurt his shoulder. Being the gracious host, he still intended to take us to dinner, despite the fact that his left shoulder was clearly sitting an inch or so lower than his right. We returned to Yod Abysinia for dinner with two other couples (Chris, Jana, Wade, and Jennifer) and Abel. Abel helped us order and then explained the different foods when the food arrived. After he explained everything, we insisted that he go home and attempt to get some pain relief and sleep. The level of his pain must have been quite high, because he accepted some Advil and was willing to actually go home (after he was certain that all arrangements for our transportation home were set). He told us he was definitely going to go to the doctor on Sunday.
We had another great evening at Yod Abysinia, with excellent Ethiopian food and traditional music and dancing. The evening got even more interesting when the dancers came into the crowd to select patrons to join them on stage. As the dancers approached our area, we all tried to avoid eye contact (kind of like high school when the teacher is looking for someone to answer a question), but to no avail. The dancers came to our table and tapped Amy on the shoulder and brought her on stage. She handled this quite well. She ended up being asked to join in the dance (a wedding dance) and channeled MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice during her stage debut. See the video below:
Once Amy was released by the dancers (after a piggyback ride around the restaurant), we asked for the check and made an exit before any of the rest of us could be called up on stage. It was a great end to a great day.
After the coffee ceremony, Birtukan graciously invited to join her family and friends for a time of praise to God for a successful adenoidectomy for her son. Although we almost take the success of such a procedure for granted here in the U.S., it is a much bigger deal in Ethiopia because the odds of complications are significantly higher. Birtukan and the other parents specifically set aside this time to give praise as an opportunity to teach their children something about thanksgiving. They were even hospitable enough to give an English explanation of what was being said in Amharic. We can learn a great deal from other believers, particularly those who have endured greater hardship than we have. What a blessing to worship with believers from other cultures. I have now had the opportunity to worship with believers in Mexico, Cyprus, Kenya, and Ethiopia, and it has been an uplifting experience every time. I might have been able to include Italy in that list, but we slept through that opportunity because we were a bit jetlagged.
Following the worship time, we were also invited to participate in a birthday party for Birtukan's son. This was another enjoyable experience. By the time we finished the coffee ceremony and birthday party, we were rather full, but then it was time to head out to dinner. Abel arrived to collect us and was wearing a sling on his left arm. He explained that he had fallen earlier in the day and hurt his shoulder. Being the gracious host, he still intended to take us to dinner, despite the fact that his left shoulder was clearly sitting an inch or so lower than his right. We returned to Yod Abysinia for dinner with two other couples (Chris, Jana, Wade, and Jennifer) and Abel. Abel helped us order and then explained the different foods when the food arrived. After he explained everything, we insisted that he go home and attempt to get some pain relief and sleep. The level of his pain must have been quite high, because he accepted some Advil and was willing to actually go home (after he was certain that all arrangements for our transportation home were set). He told us he was definitely going to go to the doctor on Sunday.
Once Amy was released by the dancers (after a piggyback ride around the restaurant), we asked for the check and made an exit before any of the rest of us could be called up on stage. It was a great end to a great day.
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