Sunday, November 13, 2011

Mr. Roger's Neighborhood

We didn't go far afield this week, but I can't keep from taking pictures.

It's easy to just see the dusty, rocky road outside our house...but when we keep looking, we are surrounded by so much more.

Here's a walk through our neighborhood....



I took this picture from our balcony.  I'm always amazed how the children are wrapped so securely on their mother's backs, and I've never heard a peep come from them.

I love these flowers in our compound.  They close up tight at night, but they open up as the sun reaches them.

This is a picture taken from our balcony of a house under construction across the street.  As with most things, back breaking labor by people and animals is the rule rather than the exception.  I've seen kids helping move rocks, too.  Check out the ramp from the street to the top floor where men use it to haul cement.

The University of Mek'ele is just down the street from us.  This university focuses on business and has 20,000 students.

Poinsettias growing in someone's compound.  Looks so different than buying them in little pots at Christmas time!

This is our local "7-11".  Cows were just meandering around like in most areas of the city.

Roger called me the Pied Piper of Mek'ele today because as we walked down the road, children would run up to me -- say hello, shake my hand and follow us for a couple of blocks.  These two little boys liked getting their pictures taken and as you can see in the background -- two others wanted in on the action!
Kids love getting their pictures taken.
The city of 200,000 looks like a combination of a war zone and a construction site.  Many buildings are either under construction or abandoned and the remnants of both are everywhere.  But in the midst of concrete there is beauty.  You just have to look for it.

Earth laughs in flowers.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Hamatreya"

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