Tuesday 28 February 2012

Joyful and jaunty


 
  
If the individual acts society is changed. Soceity is a combination of individuals. To change whether right or wrong, good or bad, the start point, the initiative must come from the individual... 
- The Dalai Lama  

Please let me tell you about my host brother Dejene.He's the kind of person who in a great deal of pain will smile and ask you how you are, he's a devoted boyfriend to his beautiful girlfriend Biza (who lives away whilst studying) and is a beloved member of the community. I admire him because he is so serene and affable, the number of visitors he receives is testament enough of this fact! 
I don't really affiliate with Christianity (being Buddhist) but I have immense respect for his piousness and I see how his faith creates kindness and peace within him. Last night Dejene said another profundity (he has a habit of coming out with real gems)

'If your sad fix it. You fix, fix, fix...'

I can honestly say in the 7 weeks I've known him I've never seen Dejene sad or angry, perhaps believing in something and having faith is a very powerful tool for putting things into perspective. I think Dejene is so loved because he is so reliable, in a group you can be sure that he wont need to down jambo (beer) in order to have fun. He has no need to go to clubs as he's not looking for anything, I'm certain Eden exists inside his head. 

It was no coincidence that Bob Marley called Ethiopia, Zion. This place though exhausting at times is the heartbeat of Africa. Once again this continent is reminding me that my hopes and dreams are alive and well. Africa exhilarates and inspires me to be the woman I've always wanted to be. The hot sun doesn't just warm my skin it heats my soul and invigorates the determination within me. I can and will do all my hearts content because Africa, she guides me! 

I believe the life plan will (hopefully) go something like this: 
 
1) Get a yoga qualification
2) Study International Development & African Studies
3) Become an accomplished Surfer 
4) Live in another country 
5) Have lots of sex and babies preferably with my current boyfriend (ha ha ha ha sorry Ant couldn't resist the temptation to terrify you....I'm kidding....sort of...)! 
6) Get a dog and a cat - or anything with a heartbeat for that matter.
7) Grow Vegetables and have plants on every available space
8) Have a home that is painted in bright colours my parents will think is vulgar. 
9) Embrace art and continue to live like a hippie 



So back to Ethiopia...

 Last weekend the whole team (21 of us including supervisors Peppy and Yosef), traveled four hours into the countryside to Lake Lagana. Its the only lake in Ethiopia you can swim in safe in the knowledge that there are no crocs or Balazia disease lurking about. Aside from having lots of fun with the team it was a really amazing place for a little spirituality. I woke up at 6.30am regularly to practice yoga postures by the shore and swim as the sun rose. There are no words to adequately articulate the experience. I swam and told the world how grateful I am for everything, I whispered to the water that I loved Antonio and realized that I do know my dreams I just need to start implementing them. 

Back to the city and things are going exceedingly well. I've hopefully secured a post teaching art classes to rehabilitated street children (the children have been through the federal system as they've committed crimes whilst homeless/orphaned). I am stoked to be doing something creative, not only because its an outlandsih excuse for me to embrace my inner artist, but also because these are vulnerable children who have difficulty expressing the atrocities that have happened to them. Art is a fantastic medium for self expression but can be done in a way that is not so exposing.

The other good news is again arts based. I'm working with a women's cooperative who make the most beautiful pottery. The community where the pottery workshop exists is incredibly impoverished and will really benefit from establishing a working trade. At the moment the women are battling middle man syndrome whereby much of their profit is not filtering back down to them. I aim to create not only a website but give the women the tools to self promote and hopefully run their own shop. They are incredibly talented and I'm certain won't need our help for long as they are perfectly capable of running the show! 

So all in all things are going great here. Without fear of gushing I also want to give a big shout out to my wonderful man fellow Antonio who is in Brussels at the moment working with graphic designers and doing his art thing...which I never understand but am always proud of! 

And lastly a little inspiration..Meet Wilma Johnson!
 

Wilma is a bit of an unsung hero of mine. She's the author of my favorite book Surf Momma which in short is about her change from being an earth mother living in remote Ireland to becoming a surfer a chick in Biarritz France at the ripe age of 50! Not only does her art work make me salivate its so beautiful (examples dispersed throughout this blog), her writing is hilarious, strong and utterly compelling. Again a great example that you do not need to be pigeon holed by your age, gender or place in society. Man, woman or child if you dream it you can do it!

So until next time folks! 

Please keep writing comments or sending emails I love reading your thoughts. 

Peace, good karma and all that shalom  

Love Sophia 

x

Sunday 12 February 2012

Surfer Girl Ethiopia


So how can a land locked girl in Ethiopia possibly write a surf blog without actually surfing...

Good Question. 

Today a Habesha (Ethiopian) friend of mine told me a story of their past, a real dark tale that thankfully ended well. It got me thinking about my on past and the synthesis of 

'Real Women have curves and surfboards.'

You see the truth is surfing saved my life. It sounds a tad melodramatic but the simple fact of the matter is that its entirely true. This is a public domain so I won't divulge exceptionally personal details but I'll give you the bones of the story.

I call the last year of university and the succeeding months of 2011 'The Dark Year.' In that period I was dealing not only with the usual admin headaches of a 3rd year degree, but complex personal issues also. I was caught in a vortex watching people I loved deal with horrendous issues and feeling completely powerless to help them. I developed a coat hanger grin, desperately trying to stay strong for everyone whilst underneath quietly falling apart. 
Only when I was back in Birmingham in the loving arms of my family did I allow myself to unravel. I'd been exposed to such suffering that when I was finally safe, out of that situation I crumbled. I lost my appetite, I ran, I ran for hours everyday because I couldn't cope. I got thinner and withdrew. 

Then the boredom ensued. 
I was listless working a job of necessity something that didn't nourish my soul. I had no purpose, I'd also lost someone I'd made plans with. 

I remember distinctly a day walking along the canal where a morbid though entered my head and I became preoccupied with the idea of committing suicide. For those that know me this is a contradiction to my usually upbeat persona. I affirm that I am a positive person, especially at that moment because despite the overwhelming desire to exit the world there was a small voice at the back of my head telling myself to not be such a plonker. 
So I switched my attention to the music I was listening to and heard the ocean undertones of a Jack Johnson song. It got me thinking about surfing - in a big way. 

Right after university as a way of celebrating leaving (and getting over an ex  hasten to admit) I went to Brittany with friends and had my first go at surfing. When board hit water it was love- Irrevocable love the kind that entwines you forever. 

At the canal I decided I had to go surfing or else. So along with a close comrade I spent 8 hours on a coach into Newquay and attended the Rip Curl girls tour (free surf sessions if you happen to have a vagina)!
After a few more months working the said 'necessity job' I decided to pack it in and after a spontaneous email ended up teaching Yoga in a surf camp in Senegal for three months (N'Gor Surf camp seriously check it out peeps)! 

Can I stand on a board...not really. Would I class myself as a surfer...absolutely. When my feet meet ocean my soul finds solace. I am goofy happy, even after my millionth wipe out I'm laughing. Surfing reminds me I'm but a small biological being but that I am connected to everything, in the ocean you are touching every continent in the world - how cool is that. 

So part of my 'Make it happen 2012' manifestation is to become competent at surfing. Ideally I'm going to move to a surfing beach and practice until I can stand up for more than three seconds. 
Real women have curves and surfboards, is a nod to Marge Calhoun, an American housewife who became a surfer girl and won some world titles. 
Like I said. 

Real women have curves and surfboards. 

ETHIOPIA 

As for Ethiopia...Well I rescued a kitten yesterday. I came across her whilst walking in Piassa, she had string tied around her neck and was in a plastic carrier bag. Needless to say she was quickly in my arms and riding a line taxi straight back to the Abera household! Her name is Honey and on putting her down she instantly started hissing at me...gratitude for you!! 
I'm happy to report however, though a little scraggy looking, after some tuna and milk she's now a (loud) and happy addition of the family. Below are some pictures of her >>>>




  


Helen Keller the chicken (named by Workayehu) a really lovely addition to my work place, especially as she brings her chicks aptly named Davia (Dave + Sophia) Worakyia (Sophia+ Workayehu) and Waves (you get the idea)!!

In other news Naomi, Sammie, Hubirt and myself ran a Global Citizenship Day on the subject of Globalization for the other volunteers. My area of expertise was the environment and the linkages between climate change and poverty. It was a hugely successful day and we made some beautiful collages to summarize our ideas and opinions about the benefits and pitfalls of globalization. 

Please See below....

 The girls making a globalization collage at the end of our day
 A particularly prevalent point! 

All the team at our Global Citizenship day :)
 
 Mid speech for my environmentalism discussion
 The boys doing some amazing collage art on Globalization (they stole all the glitter)
 Until next time Peace :) 


Saturday 4 February 2012

Sunscreen


I don't know much about the director/composer Baz Luhrman but I do know that when I listen to his 'Everybody wear Sunscreen' song all I feel is empowerment.I've been despondent of late, Ethiopia is so much more than famine and poverty but when children as young as four beg you for food its hard not to be affected. Its why I needed to hear Baz's sound advice, the song reminded me that small events throughtout a lifetime can weight the same as those big moments. So although I've only facilitated an HIV/AIDS awareness club here to just thirty youths, this might cause a ripple effect to happen...

Knowledge is power and with such stigma attached to HIV/AIDS understanding is an important weapon in the fight to reduce cases. 
We had a really inspiring day at Gulele Youth Association working with 10 Woreda (community groups) to inform of the issues and inspire change. The youths reinforced the notion in me that there are great people everywhere with real potential to change the world for the better. Below are some photos of the activities:

 
 Birsh our program supervisor devising an awareness game 

 
The Youth playing my introduced ribbon game, the object being to steal the ribbon which everyone tucks in their back pocket...the idea is to represent how easily HIV/AIDS is transmitted! 

 
Me, Dave and Workayehu with some of the youths who attended the training day
 
Another group shot! 

A wise Slovenian once said to me you can find good people everywhere and its a tidbit of advice that I've taken to heart. Its true, Ethiopia is another example of an African country being abundant with good people. There are many stereotypes about this region of the world, much of which clouds Western judgement. Often there is fear and suspicion, in some contexts this is more than justified but as I've said Africa is so much more than war and poverty. There is music, compassion, generosity and above all resiliency. From watching Attenborough documentaries at a tender age I've developed a deep love for the continent, I'm irrevocably entwined with the place and sincerely hope to spend more time here. Below are some pictures of those said good people! 
 

Beautiful Ruta my little sister 

L-R Yaseira, Ruta, Me and Hennon 

Some of the kids L-R Hennon, Ruta, Meto, Hermella and Yaseira

Yesterdays football match, our team (HIDA) are in orange and unfortunately lost to the Addis Ababa ambulance team in red! 

A friend of mine recently cheered me up by quoting the Dalai Lama: 
 Small things do make a difference try going to bed with a mosquito!  

So with this nugget of wisdom I'm going to live my life safe in the knowledge that it doesn't matter how big or small the impact as long as I'm living compassionately and trying to be better then that is all the success I need!

Peace & Love 

xxx  

P.s. I love you Antonio x