The Running of the Bulls, Addis Style

With Azeb as our excellent navigator, J. Mo and I took the babies to a local pediatrician today hoping the doctor would check our collective 6 baby ears with an otoscope.  No such luck.  The doctor said that it was not necessary.  She did, however, take a look at Bami's cradle cap (infantile seborrheic dermatitis) and prescribe some Miconazole cream which was helpful.  She also gave us the script that we need to take the babies to a lab where we can get stool samples to test for parasites. As evidence of our concern, I showed her Bami's big belly and she smiled and said, "no, she is just fat."  By the way, HER scale showed Bami at 7.4 kilos.  My little heavyweight.

The clinic is just 2 kilometers from the Semien and as Mengi's taxi turned onto the main street, a rogue ox ran by with this rope flying behind him and his fast and fit shepard chasing him at full speed (is this how Ethiopians become such good runners!?!??). 

While the shepard was on his charges tail (literally) young runners started to join from all directions.  We were just 2 cars behind the action and had a front row seat.  The first car after the culprit was a silver Toyota pick up truck.  At some point, the shepard realized that he had only so much gas in him and he jumped onto the side of the Toyota and was holding on as the driver was voluntarily or involuntarily made a part of the chase.  The Toyota driver tried to cut the animal off several times, to no avail, and then another blue taxi tried his hand, or foot.  Unfortunately, at one point the poor bovine fell down on his side but got right back up and kept going. 

J. Mo was having a ball with this and she instructed Mengi to keep going and that WE should try to cut it off.  (Please picture her in her sunglasses actually drinking a bottle of coke at this moment--hysterical!!)  The vegetarian in me was, of course, routing for the ox's freedom but knowing that that was unlikely, I voted for NOT watching how the spectacle ended, and we made a u turn and headed for home.  

Sorry to disappoint with no live footage (Mengi was BEGGING us to get out our cameras,) but I found that when I am suddenly and inadvertently amidst a real live rodeo in the middle of Addis Ababa with a baby on my lap, digging for the camera is not a priority.

Sundown ushered in my 13th Shabbat in Ethiopia and we celebrated in typical fashion at the Hodes Family compound.  In addition to the usual crew of kids,some of whom have just returned home from surgeries in Ghana, there was a group of social work students from Sapir College in Israel as well as an Israeli couple who were attending a "coffee conference."  

We said a healing prayer for the sick which tonight, tragically, includes a 2 month old orphan baby girl in critical condition at the hospital with fluid in her lungs. 

On a happier note, we all sang Happy Birthday to beautiful Azeb who turned 29 yesterday!! 

The Hodes' Household Movie Outing is quickly gaining in popularity (shockingly) and no less than 23 kids shave signed up. This week's outing is being generously sponsored by two of my dearest friends in NYC:

Rabbi Burt Visotzky and Sandra Edeleman

The Visotzky/Edelmans have been following the blog and wanted to show their love and support -- THANK YOU, Rabbi and Sandy!!  (23 x 45 birr = $59.48)

Love and Shabbat Shalom from Addis,
--Jen and Tali Bamlak