Market Day and Resort Trip

Saturday started early for Jake and 11 of our teachers who left at 6 am for a mountain hike near our CH training centre. They had an awesome time--the teachers were so impressed with the fields of crops, the farming methods, the amazing view at the top and the camaraderie along the way! They wore the same suits they did all week complete with dress shoes-- Jake had a good laugh:) Because of the rains, the trail was very muddy at spots so their shoes became filthy. But by market time at 10:30, all the shoes were spotless again!

Our host had arranged for 4 "security " men to accompany us on our market tour-- not only do we "whites" stick out but also the very dark SSudanese! Our teachers loved it-- many bought shoes for their families, articles of clothing and one young male teacher bought a glowing pink backpack -- for himself---- we thought it was for his wife or daughter:)
After lunch 2 vans drove us to Sodere ( an hour's drive away)- a beautiful resort area with hot springs, Olympic sized pool, lots of monkeys roaming around, and a nice place to have supper together. Many of our group swam, some were petrified of drowning so didn't go, and others just relaxed on the grounds. It was so hot--like Juba!! Sodere is in the Rift Valley -- what a difference from Asella where we are in much higher altitudes!
None of our teachers ordered Ethiopian food-- they stuck with roasted chicken and rice-- I ordered Doro Wat-- a spicy chicken dish with traditional injera--not bad at all altho I couldn't finish it.
As we were driving home so many of our teachers commented on the "smooth" roads-- they wondered where all the potholes and bumps were? They also noticed all the electricity available to so many homes-- and the number of machines that are never seen in many parts of SS.

A wonderful day--again we are so thankful for all that was made possible for this special training to occur!