grace

Dr. Zenaw checking in on a patient

What I miss the most about Ethiopia is the grace with which people treat their friends and acquaintances. As our guide to Lalibela said: “We are so poor without warm greeting we have nothing.” Every morning before rounds everyone was properly greeted and inquiries were made about how you slept and how you felt. We are too busy to greet each other in my office back home. We have lost this ability to connect with each other on a basic human level.
The last dinner with the doctors was amazing. All the general practitioners were there and everyone was ribbing each other and being playful. All their classes in medical school are in English so their language skills are impressive. It is much easier to joke when you have language in common. My bad for not learning Amharic of course, but one month was not enough time for me to learn the language. I realized at a certain point how much I was going to miss them and got quiet. Dr. Zanew immediately noticed and asked why I was being so quiet. I realized few of my friends in Portland would have even noticed I was quiet but Dr. Zanew did.
In a country where people have so little, TV, computers, and smartphones are a rarity. People actually look at each other when they talk and notice each other. They stretch out their hand when you trip because they are completely engaged with you when you walk together.
I will miss that engagement, that grace.

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