January 3, 2003
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When my volunteer partner called to say that she wouldn't be able to join me this week to visit our Ethiopian family, I felt a little jolt of panic. Spending two and a half hours with 8 people and 3 languages is an overwhelming thought. I knew, however, based on all of my visits and interactions with the Ayale family, that it would be fine. More than fine, in fact, I knew that it would be fun. And it was.
When I first arrived, Yetuve (the mother of 5 and the same age as me!) was busy doing something that looked like washing clothes in a bucket. She invited me to take a closer look, though, and I realized that she was making injera, the staple bread in the Ethiopian diet. I've had it before, but I don't think dinner in an Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax Ave. in Los Angeles was quite the same experience. She walked me through every step, teaching me Amharic words along the way and eventually we had a finished product. It turns out to look a little like a pancake and she laid it out on a plate with a spicy potato and onion "salad" in the middle. As Yetuve put the dish in front of me, everyone was watching to see what I would do. It's amusing to them to watch someone completely different and I'm more than happy to be the one to introduce them to "Western" mannerisms, facial expressions, and language. I hope they weren't disappointed, though, because I already knew how to eat the dish -- thanks to my restaurant experience and a visit to see my brother when he was in the Peace Corps in Mali, West Africa. So I tore off a piece of the injera and used it to scoop up the potato and onions. Delicious!! Unlike anything else I've ever had and completely bursting with flavor. After we all enjoyed Yetuve's creation, the kids dug into the All-American chocolate cake that I had made. Quite a jump -- injera to chocolate cake.
The truth is, this "jump" from injera to chocolate cake is just one example, albeit a minor one, of the many physical, emotional, and cultural jumps they have made over the last year, since moving from Gundar, Ethiopia to Mevasseret Tzion, Israel. As I mentioned, the path to Eretz Yisrael has been taken by thousands of Ethiopian Jews over the past decade or so. And as you can imagine, it's not exactly like moving from LA to Chicago. Before the volunteering began, our group heard and read a lot about the Ethiopian culture and how things change once families settle in Israel. To be honest, I found most of what we learned to be pretty sad. For example, in Ethiopia, a great amount of respect is given to parents, grandparents -- all adults -- by children. What happens here, however, is that a shift in power occurs. Because children are able to pick up language and cultural tendencies much faster than adults, they begin to play a different role in the family and some kids use this to their advantage. I tried to apply this to my own life and thought, "I wonder what would have happened if my brother and I knew a language when we were growing up that my Mom was struggling with." Wouldn't have been fun for her, I'm sure. Thankfully, the Ayale family is an exception to this phenomenon and have managed to escape some of the usual transition challenges. In fact, Yetuve brought out her Hebrew language workbook this week and the oldest son, nine-year-old Aboohai, sat and helped her. It was great to see.
So with all the challenges and obstacles, it makes sense that Ethiopian Jews living here want to hold on to what's familiar. And today, as I baked challah for Shabbat, a regular Friday routine, I thought about Yetuve and her injera. I thought about how proud she was to show me how it's made, how happy she was when I liked it, and how she was slightly hesitant to dive into the chocolate cake, yet thrilled to see her children enjoying it. A little bit of the old and a little bit of the new. Seems like the Ayales are balancing the two well. They're quite special and wise.
Wishing you and your families a healthy, joyous, and meaningful 2003. May every day bring goodness and a balance of the familiar and unfamiliar.
Love,
Rachel Ann
p.s. We have some updated pictures on our website, including one of Yair when we celebrated Chanukah with his family ... https://millers18.tripod.com/recent.html
