When
I teach in the morning shift, I get to school at about 7:45 as students are
arriving around the same time. Classes start at 8am, but flag ceremony where
all the students in the shift gather to hear announcements and watch the
Ethiopian flag be raised to their national anthem begins at around 7:50. I
normally stand to the side by my classrooms and watch the blue uniforms
trickle, then pour in while my fellow teachers in their white coats stand
beside me with sticks in their hands, rushing the students a little bit quicker
to their lines in the compound.
I
stand off to the side with a smile, reminded of how grateful I am to be
teaching in the morning shift when it is still cool during the day, as opposed
to the afternoon when the heat can be too much to bear with 70 teenage bodies
in 1 small room. I am greeted by my students and others alike with anything
from a simple hello, to an energetic “Hi teacher” or “Ms. Kelsey!!”. If other
teachers are around me, the students become more shy and generally won’t say
any words, but will look sideways at me with a nod of their head and I have
come to accept that’s their way of saying hello to me without words.
The
other day I was approached by a fellow English teacher who asked why I stood
out there instead of standing with the other teachers in clumps at the other
end of the courtyard. I replied that I like saying “Good morning” to my
students. He asked if I talk to all of them or just my own, and I said, “I will
greet whoever says hi to me first.” Then he said something that will stick with
me. He told me that, “A greeting is a gift from God.” I asked him why and his
reply was, “It is given for free, to everyone, and without expecting anything
in return.”
I
get a lot of “Hello’s” here on the street that I tend to ignore, because I
assume they just want to talk to the firenji. However, after hearing that
explanation I realized that maybe I am limiting myself and my experiencse here
by simply walking past a greeting. I might not know much Tigrinya, but I know
enough to greet people. I greet waitresses when they come to take my order,
which always catches them off guard, because most Ethiopians just demand
something right away. I greet my students when I walk into class and that
signals to them that class is beginning. I greet my compound family when I
leave my room in the morning or when I come in from running errands and I am
reminded how lucky I am to be living in the house I am. I greet the little kids
on the street and in my neighborhood with fist bumps, smiles, and twirls every
time I see them.
My
favorite greetings are the unconventional ones. The ones that are not simply a
polite “Hello”, but one that leads into a conversation. One that reminds me
there is kindness in people. One that gives me a smile from a child that I
borrow and wear the rest of the day. There is a shop in town that I call the
firenji mart, because it has a lot of foreign foods (including cheese!!). I
have come to love the owner and her family. Recently a little girl has been
there (I think it’s her grand daughter). I am fairly certain she has Down
syndrome, but she is probably one of the cutest and sweetest toddlers I have
ever met. Every time I walk into the store her face lights up, she gets the
biggest smile on her face, and she runs over to me. We then make funny faces at
each other while whoever is working the store that day rings me up. It’s become
something of a routine, and it’s the best part of my day. That’s a greeting I
love.
I
fist bump kids on the street, but my high school students have seen me do it,
and it’s now become a running joke with my high schoolers to fist bump me as we
walk into class together. I have also started to receive more handshakes and
shoulder bump greetings by my students, both in the school compound and on the
street. I am amazed that my students not only acknowledge me, which is more
than they do with their other teachers, but that they actually want to smile
and laugh with me. Although this can make things difficult in class, because
they don’t always listen to and respect me, it makes for a fun time when I’m on
break or when I need a thing to remind me why I’m a teacher. Those fist bumps,
handshakes, and greetings from my students and other kids make me smile. That’s
a greeting I love.
In
America we walk down the street without acknowledging each other. Our culture
is a get from point A to point B. We use coffee to power our days, we drive
cars way too fast and we don’t use our mouth to smile. Here in Ethiopia everything
is much more care-free and slow. I still walk an American pace, which can drive
me crazy when others don’t. My face and body are still in the mindset of
getting from one place to another. But, I have learned to slow down a bit here
and relax more. I have learned that greetings can take more than just “Hello”
and when you see someone on the street it’s culture to actually stop and have a
conversation. It might be different from what I am used to, and it can make for
a much longer commute somewhere, but it also reminds me of one of the things I
have loved about my service here—the sense of community.
A
greeting here is not just a “Hello”. It shows the love, community, connection,
and laughter that is shared amongst everyone and which I have been welcomed
into. As Malala Yousaf, the brilliant young Pakistani girl says, “We human
beings don’t realize how great God is. He has given us an extraordinary brain
and a sensitive loving heart. He has blessed us with two lips to talk and
express our feelings, two eyes which see a world of colours and beauty, two
feet which walk on the road of life, two hands to work for us, a nose which
smells the beauty of fragrance, and two ears to hear the words of love.”
Greeting someone might seem insignificant, but as I was reminded by a fellow
teacher, it’s one of the most powerful things given to us by God.
