Leaving Ethiopia

I am currently sitting at the Addis Ababa airport, waiting to board my flight. My final day here was one of the most powerful days of my trip. Many of the professionals I met in the past week had asked if I could make some time to speak with them personally, so I told them all that I would be at the Lime Tree Cafe on Sunday and they could come at any time.

The result was a networking opportunity beyond my expectations. Nine professionals - psychologists, social workers, medical students, University professors and even a nurse, from Ethiopia, France and the US. - spent hours together sharing resources and discussing how to bring more psychological training and supervision to the country.

Many of these people had not previously met each other, but everyone exchanged phone numbers and emails, and made plans to increase the interactions between their organizations.
Several of my new Ethiopian friends have volunteered to help me organize the EMDR-HAP training in Addis next fall. From the 87 people who took the Trauma workshop, we have already filled 16 of the 25 openings. I know that rest of the spots will be filled soon.

As we all piled into the pick-up that would take me and my suitcases to the airport, all traffic was stopped by dozens of armed soldiers who were stationed along the main road. After what seemed a very long wait, but was actually only 10-15 minutes, and the passing of a VIP motorcade, the road opened back up and I was on my way to catch my flight back to the US.

I am having very mixed emotions as I leave. Compared to us, Ethiopians have little, but their sense of gratitude and appreciation of life far exceeds anything I have seen in the US. When I look back at the past two weeks, it is the beautiful smiles and the warm hearts of so many people that fill my mind.

Dorothy
PS It's not just in Ethiopia that the unexpected can rearrange your plans. After a 16 hour flight from Addis to Washington DC, I have just found out that my flight to Newark has been canceled. Thunder and lightening throughout the Northeast has grounded most flights. An alternative flight to Allentown in about 6 hours seems to be my best chance of getting back to PA tonight!