Teaching is okay the first few weeks. But we have to be there by 7.45Am, failure to which there are consequences, like losing 5k out of your salary.(Russian Mafia level of BS😅😂)There is this inside joke we Kenyans already have about consequences...Ethiopians pronounce the word as /kwenskwens/ so we mockingly use the same corrupt pronunciation when threatening each other.
Another funny language thing is how Ethiopians don't know how to say tall, when referring to animate things and long when discussing inanimate things. So, since Sue is the tallest friend among us, they call her 'the longest one'Like...'Miss, where is your long friend?'We meet a third 'Kenyan' during our training. Well, He is from Tanzania but it is easy for him to assimilate into our crowd because we can all speak Swahili when we want to gossip. His name is Thabit, He is an old soul, very mature and grounded.He has worked in South Africa before, and has been in Addis for about three years when we get there. He immediately becomes like a big brother to all four of us ladies new to the campus
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I am glad to now haveThabit for support, because the events of the week that follows almost get me packing my bags and heading back to Nairobi.
On Friday, as we walk to school, my friend Sue announces that her mom is coming to see how well she has settled in. She needs recommendations of nice hotels around Mekanissa for her mom. I ask Eric, and he recommends a few.The visit from Sue's mom is what leads to us meeting Madam Boss, the Director, in her true colours.
Well, how do I tell you about the boss?See, if Madam Boss was a guy, we would call her Assertive, Decisive, No-nonsense and Uncompromising.But she is a lady, so...bitch pretty much summarizes her character.
Anyway, so my friend Sue can't get a quality hotel within such short notice. We think that since it is her mom, it is okay to host her in the Guest house...huge mistake number 1.🙅♀️
A Kenyan colleague who has been in the system for 2 years tells Jay that it would be wise to inform the school admin before bringing a guest into the house, and being the good guy he is, very positive about the organisation, he does. ...Huge mistake number 2🙅♀️🙅♀️
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I go to bed early on Sunday evening because my head is aching. Sue and Liz go to the airport to receive sues mom. By the time they get back, the rest of us are sleeping.
The real drama unfolds Monday morning just before we go to school. I don't even know where the whole ordeal starts, but all I remember is waking up to a guesthouse full cursing and yelling. Madam Boss is in our guest house!! She is shouting at the top of her lungs. "Who the fuck are you, what are you doing trespassing on my property?" I hear her scream. I jump out of bed and walk towards the terrace which separates my bedroom from the rest of the building.
I see an elderly woman in a bathrobe which barely covers her, running from Sue's bedroom, towards the stairs which lead to the ground flour of the house. She seems to be crying. She has a shower cap on her head, and flip flops on her feet.
The guards are following her, followed by the MD and the ESL coordinator.
"How can you sleep in the same bed? How can I even know you are her real parent? Did you come here to sell drugs?!" The madam yells. I am horrified. We don't treat our mothers like that where I come from, even when they are clearly on the wrong.
The story quickly morphs into a police case👮♀️👮♂️👮♂️.
Sue's mom is accused of crazy things ; they are going to lock her up. She is flustered, Sue, on the other hand, is confused AF. (Excuse my French). Beth, Bibi and I are standing on the back terrace, crying. This is the most traumatic thing I have ever seen, and it is happening on my first trip outside the country.
"The fuck are you staring at, go to school if you don't want to be fired." Madam boss shouts at us. we scurry into our bedrooms to get dressed. We barely talk on the entire way to school. We get to work, but I cannot concentrate. I am thinking maybe this trip was a mistake.
I really need to talk to Eric, but we are not allowed to use mobile phones during working hours.
By midday, there are allegations that we were sharing beds, yeah....girl on girl action.
Hold up...girl on girl action? How preposterous; I am insulted. I am a conservative girl; I love Pinga. Pinga is a Spanish word, and Google is your friend.....
Fortunately, Sue's mom regains composure and holds her ground. She is a ranking Kenyan Education Officer, she tells the morons that if they arrest her, they can kiss goodbye any chance of ever getting teachers from Kenya.They release her, and apologise profusely.
When we get home, I check the date on my return ticket, and google to see if it is possible to change it. But the following day at school, Thabit tells me to calm down. He states that the Madam only stays in Ethiopia for a few weeks at the start of the term, then disappears to the US for the rest of the year.A quiet week follows
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On Friday, I get home and log into Facebook. My sis has left me a message to call home. I ask her how everyone is doing. She has gossip. My Bae has moved in with his Bae. Yes, that bae who bid me farewell at the airport, three weeks ago, and cried.
Hmmm...Chestpains..
.The news takes away my strength to walk...we are supposed to invest together, and get married once I return from the 9 month contract. I try try to reach Bae but he isn't picking my calls. All Gmail chats go un-replied......Then, comes Saturday morning, there's no school. I just want to sleep in. But a text message wakes me up.
Hi Mellie, this is Luke, Yohaness' friend from the Juice Parlour. Can we have Buna at Kaldi's later today, say 11 o'clock?It's the hunk from the juice parlour! He wants to see me...Me!!!
Ethiopians count their hours the way we do in Swahili. So, 11 o'clock means 5 o'clock in the evening.
Question is, to go, or not to go?
