Beauty from the countryside

It’s another day in the truck. Travel through Ethiopia is not fast, nor particularly comfortable. But fun? Yes, we can muster that.

It’s not hard in Ethiopia; warm smiles and kindness greet us around every bend. Bumping along in our truck, we spot amazingly decorated homes. “Stop!” Poor Demise, our extremely good natured driver, hears this repeatedly. Getting from Point A to Point B is made infinitely more difficult with a truck full of artists stopping the truck to record the beauty all around. Still, he is good natured about it all, and maybe even having a bit of a good time.

The artistry of the huts is truly amazing!

The design inspires!

Tree trunk pillars. So beautiful!

Over we pull, off to the side of the road. As we attract a crowd, out comes my Polaroid, the great friend-maker. One of the women in the crowd stood out, funny, with a laugh that was like a scream filled with joy. Upon seeing her own image, she let out the loudest laugh of all. She laughed and laughed, but she also said her hair was a mess. Women will be women all the world over. I made a mental note to myself to try very hard to be kind to myself.

A gorgeous smile from a lady who knows how to laugh.

Just as our team is discussing the beautiful black and white Guereza monkeys we had been enchanted with throughout our trip, we spot some on the side of the road, but they are fast and elude our cameras ones again. So we stop to buy bananas. And while this did not work on the Guereza monkey, it did work on the baboons. Seeing wild animals in their usual habitat and open natural element is such a thrill. (See video at bottom of blog.)

The elusive Guereza monkeys

Our bananas finally come in handy!

And this is how it goes, traveling Ethiopia with a group of artists. We respond to our elements, we react with the situations around us and store it up. We are having fun on the road, but it’s never far from our minds that we are here for a reason beyond all of these rich and fun experiences. We are here to support literacy and education. We are here for Ethiopia Reads and the sweet ones they serve.

Beautiful Maji

How can it be our last day in this paradise? I want to dig my heals in and somehow not return to city life, to being connected.

Turns out living off the grid has its vast advantages. My window is left open every night in our little guest house, and I hear crickets, the stars seem to fill the night sky and their light rains down on us. When I wake, I can hear the birds and the chiming of cow bells. The area so lush I can’t bear to leave. And for this one last day, I don’t have to.

An awfully little boy for all that responsibility.

A very typical scene in Ethiopia. Sunset means time to get back home with your cattle!

We four artists paint all morning. In the afternoon, we drive the half hour up the mountain to Maji and again we paint all afternoon. We paint until the sun is beginning to set and reluctantly we pack up to head off to supper.

Team member Troy getting the kiddos engaged in art.

Our drive is never boring; children follow us, and on this night, we even have a very impressive runner keeping up with our truck. (See video at end of blog.)

As cute as they make ’em! This is our persistent little runner!

I do not pretend to know the hardships of this region. I understand giving birth can be very dangerous, and the hard-working people do their best, but medical care is lacking all around. No electricity or running water might be lovely for us for a few nights, bumping in and out but for the people… I am humbled.

Maji rolling on and on in its splendor.

My art is not — nor do I ever foresee it to be — about hardship. It is about joy and beauty, and the area has given me more than enough fodder for my work.

Spending the morning painting at our little guesthouse in Tum.

A study to be explored in more detail later.

In fact, joy and beauty are spilling over, and I’m a little heartbroken to have to wake up and pack my bags.

To my team and the lovely people in Tum and Maji, my most sincere thanks. I shall never forget this time in the magic that I felt!

A future Olympic runner no doubt, this little cutie followed our truck for what seemed like forever giggling and laughing but determined. Today he is my hero!