church dome in Addis Ababa

Greetings from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!   What a beautiful morning!  I awoke quite early in the quiet darkness.  As I searched for my light and my book a soft sound arose from off to my left.  The tone slowly rose and fell into the morning call to prayer.  In Al Ain, this chanting song lasts a few minutes and the jarring amplified sounds fade as dawn approaches.  Here in Addis, the songs linger on.  Even though I fail to understand any of the words, the breaking of the night and calling of the dawn draws me into a new day.  After my morning routine, I walked outside the hospital up to the kitchen.  The kitchen staff is an amazing group, spoiling me rotten.  Approaching the faucet for clean drinking water, I am greeted with smiles all around.  One woman always rushes to the stove.  The clay pot is resting there ready to be heated; my coffee shortly arrives.  Oh yes!  Today I cuddled the warm cup and walked along the pathway as food was prepared.  The song from off left was still accompanying my day.  As I strolled farther, other vocalists were also in tune.   After breakfast, I walked down to the bottom of the CURE hill and could appreciate four different singers surrounding me and echoing across the hills.  The hills were indeed alive with music! Read the rest of this entry »