Yaya Journal 9: Learning Languages on the Run

We headed out for my final run, our second run of the day— an easy 40 minutes through farm fields and forest. In Ethiopian running culture, groups of runners run in a single line. I have never asked the exact reason for this, but would guess it is because the terrain can be narrow and unpredictable. There is also a system in which everyone points to the ground or snaps their fingers when crossing an uneven patch of land — alerting the person behind them to tread cautiously.

Despite running in a line formation, laughter and chatter provided the soundtrack for our run— often sounding like a game of telephone. Since this was my last run with the Yaya Girls, they let me set the route at the front of the line, leading the five women on my desired path. Within minutes of running through the first farm field, we dodged a herd of cows. As we had to jump around to avoid the impassive animals, one of the girls began to yell  “cow” in English, which caused an eruption of giggles from the rest of the line. That past week in English class, we had learned the names of farm animals and played a game of charades by impersonating different animals, calling out their sounds.

After the cows, we saw a dozen stunning horses— whites, browns, and pintos. The girls greeted the horses with boisterous declarations of “horse!” We then passed a groups of donkeys with water jugs on their backs, headed to the same water spot where the Yaya Girls typically fill their water containers.

From the farm fields, we crossed a road to the forest entrance. In the forest, the sound of the girls’ feet and relaxed breath filled my ears as we weaved around tree stumps. Another interesting observation of Ethiopian running culture is that instead of running in a straight line, people make mini loops around trees, due to the fact that the trails are often hard to differentiate and even, nonexistent.

Suddenly, one of the Girls yelled “tota!” At first, I thought that something was wrong, but when I turned back to look, they had stopped running and were pointing to a family of monkeys. We had not learned their name in English class yet, so I motioned to the girls and said, “monkey.” Similar to during class, the group responded by repeating the word “monkey.” We were then back on our way, running through the forest— students of language, running, and life.

Yaya Journal 8: Will They Be Olympians?

“Are they Olympic Material?”

I have received this question numerous times by curious friends. I reply with a muddled “no,” explaining that I am not diminishing the girl’s running abilities, but explain that is not the aim of the Yaya Girls Program.

The goal of the Yaya Girls Program is not to make olympians, but instead to focus on fostering the development of these young women in numerous other arenas. Let me describe the greater Ethiopian running culture in order to full explain why this is:

Before coming to Ethiopia, I did not realize how many people in Ethiopia are trying to pursue professional running. After a few morning runs in the forest, where I would typically see at least 300 hundred runners in a span of 45 minutes, it became clear to me that thousands of Ethiopian runners are striving to win races.

Running in Ethiopia is seen as a way out of poverty. Many runners are encouraged to drop out of school from a young age to focus on running, and are told by their coaches that they will be unable to reach their potential as runners unless they leave school and train full-time. Many of those who drop out, join running clubs — training in the morning, resting during the day, and training again in the afternoon. Some of these clubs provide the runners with small stipends, while others do not.

Many of those who pursue running come from low socio-economic backgrounds and believe that running will be a pathway to wealth. I have often wondered whether if given enough money to live comfortably for the long-term, would they still choose to continue training? Is running just a pathway to making money or do they truly love the sport? Are these questions even mutually exclusive?

I had the opportunity to do short interviews with the six current Yaya Girls and explore their backgrounds. I asked each girl about her running dreams. In their own words, each said something to the effect of “I want to win races and become rich.” I also asked many other Ethiopian friends who were pursuing professional running about their running goals and received similar answers.

Unquestionably, it is a beautiful thing to believe in your dreams, but there is also the reality of understanding one’s abilities within the context of the surrounding competitive environment. Only a handful of people from each country can be sent to the Olympics in any given event, and when thousands of runners pursue these few spots, almost all will be sadly left out, without a ticket to Rio.

What do these runners fall back on when they are poor, have little education, are unemployed and have no marketable skills or job prospects?

This is where the mission of the Yaya Girls Program comes in. We provide aspiring young female runners with an opportunity to grow and develop as more than just runners. At Yaya, the Girls study English, gender empowerment, and receive vocational training. They still train twice per day and take their running very seriously. However, instead of running being their only way out, it becomes a culturally accepted safe space where they can practice hard work and discipline, while continuing to chase their uncertain running dreams.

When the Yaya Girls graduate from the program, the hope is for them to leave with new skills and connections to get a well-paying job, allowing them to become financially stable, young adults. What is most important is that they leave the program empowered, strong, and able to support themselves, whether or not they continue to run.

ROO Video: Doubles A’s and B’s

After the Yaya Girls’ morning and afternoon runs, they would do running drills which they called “A’s and B’s” or “gymnastics” on the soccer field at the Yaya Village in Sululta, Ethiopia. To learn more about the Yaya Girls, visit www.yayagirls.org.

Music by Junip, “Walking Lightly”

Yaya Journal 6: Sharing Food

Sharing food during my time in Ethiopia has been a transformative experience. In Ethiopia, many meals are shared from a communal dish in which everyone eats with their right hand. In contrast, growing up in the United States, I had been accustomed to eating with a fork and knife, and from my own plate. As a celiac, I am often cautious about sharing food with others, due to fear of cross contamination from gluten, which could get me very sick. As a vegan, I frequently plan in advance before going out to dinner to make sure that a restaurant has menu options for me. Being a celiac-vegan in Ethiopia has turned out to be very easy and I have been able to enjoy and celebrate sharing food with others.

The communal dish often used to share meals is layered with injera bread, which is made from a powerhouse, gluten-free grain called teff. I love iInjera’s spongy texture and happily eat it at least twice per day. At Yaya Girls, we eat a darker, iron-rich injera, since it has more nutrients than the standard white variety. During lunch and dinner, we often have variations of lentils, beans, and cooked veggies on injera. One of my favorite rituals before sharing a meal is when one person gets up from the table, and walks around with a water pitcher and basin helping the others clean their right hands before eating.

Dairy products and meat are very expensive in Ethiopia, which means that they are offered at Yaya Girls only a few times per week. In addition, Orthodox Christianity is widely practiced and their tradition dictates fasting two days per week. Thus, many people “fast” from all dairy products (milk /eggs /yogurt) on Wednesdays and Fridays, when restaurants serve beyaynetu plates, featuring a delicious rainbow variety of vegetable and legume sauces on injera bread (see the beautiful beyaynetu plate above).  As a result, it has been possible for me to be a vegan in Ethiopia in an almost seamless manner.

At Yaya Girls, the communal dish is a sacred, yet prosaic part of our lives— I feel so grateful to experience sharing food in a whole new way!

Yaya Journal 5: The Great Run – A Running Party

The Great Run’s party atmosphere!

What a day the Great Run was! Instead of being called the Great Race, it is called the Great Run. It did not feel like a race, but more like a running experience. Let me explain:

Instead of having a bib, participants in the run wore a red shirt that they received at registration. When I arrived in Addis, an hour before the race was due to start, the sea of red shirts were already in full-on party mode. In the States, people are often very solemn and nervous before the start of a race. In comparison, the Great Run in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, had a festival-like atmosphere with dancing, music, laughter, and camaraderie.

I had the privilege of receiving a media pass which allowed me to be in the street and at that finish line, taking pictures and GoPro video footage of the event. For the first 25 minutes of the run, I walked a section of the course capturing the spirit of the joyful runners. I have never had so many people wave and smile at me while running! I then made my way to the finish line where I watched the elite men and women come in. It was an incredible sight to observe such talented runners compete with the same fervor and enthusiasm displayed by the other runners. I noticed that at least 75% of the elite runners crossed the finish line blessing themselves. In the region of Ethiopia where I am, there is a large Orthodox Christian population. It was a moving experience to witness these runners paying homage to their faith.

One of the highlights of the day was meeting accomplished runner Haile Gebrselassie

The non-elite runners then began to trickle in, with some faster amateur runners leading the way. This included Workinesh L., the only Yaya Girl who participated, with a sub 39 minute 10k time, on a very challenging, hilly course. Eventually, thousands of runners made their way through the Great Run’s finishing stretch— many still smiling and celebrating their efforts. One of the highlights of the day was meeting the renowned runner, Haile Gebrselassie, who was the race director of the Great Run and embodied the electric energy of the event (trying to get him on a ROO Podcast soon!).

It was an amazing experience to watch, photograph, and film the Great Run (I plan to post a video this week of some of my footage— stay tuned). I hope to someday take part in it as a runner and experience its uplifting festival-party atmosphere, from the other side.

ROO Video: The Journey to Entoto

The Yaya Girls journeyed to Entoto for a challenging workout. They live at 8,858 feet in Sululta, Ethiopia, however wanted the higher altitude of over 10,000 feet for their kilometer reps. Their workout consisted of 4k, 3k, 2k with 2 minutes rest in between on a hilly field loop. In order to get to Entoto, the Yaya Girls traveled around 90 minutes by minibus and foot. They did not cool down after their workout since they had an over 90 minute walk back through the forest.

The Yaya Girls not only train hard on a daily basis, but also study English, gender empowerment, and receive vocational training. The Yaya Girls co-program coordinator, Julia Hanlon, creator of Running On Om, had the privilege of filming their Entoto journey and hopes to share more videos of their amazing work on and off the trails. To learn more about the Yaya Girls, visit www.yayagirls.org.

Music by Tom Misch, “The Journey”

Yaya Journal 4: Be Strong

Ayzos was my mantra during this dirt track session!

During my first week in Ethiopia, fellow runners would call out “ayzos” to me on the trails. I was confused since it sounded like “Achoo!” I soon learned that ayzos is an Amharic expression that means “be strong.”

This past weekend I took a four hour intensive Amharic class that covered basic words and phrases. Ayzos was included and even made it to the top ten most frequently used Amharic words on the teacher’s handout. Dil, the teacher, explained that ayzos was not only an expression of fortitude, as in the case of “keep running!,” but also a way to convey sympathy if someone experiences adversity.

After one month, I still speak tinish tinish (a little) Amharic and it has been both a joy and challenge to begin learning a new language with its own culturally specific words and phrases. The six Yaya girls I am working with giggle at my American pronunciation of Amharic words and fellow runners in the forest show surprise and smile when I answer ayzos right back.

Yaya Journal 2: Surface Strength

The Yaya Girls got surface strength!

I am not ready to write an in-depth blog post on why Ethiopia is filled with some of the best runners in the world. I have only been here for two weeks and just begun to skim the surface of this phenomenon.

Here in Sululta, in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, the majority of the surfaces people run on are made of dirt, pebble, and wooded trails. The foot and lower leg intelligence that is required to navigate the uneven terrains of the majority of runs requires strength—and that underlying strength to run efficiently on this rocky ground is developed over days, months, and years.

So far, surface strength seems to be threefold:

1.Ethiopian runners have unique “micro-muscles” in their feet and lower legs that develop from the challenging surfaces they run on.

2.I would argue that Ethiopian runners get injured less since they run the majority of the time on off-pavement surfaces, and in turn can run higher mileage.

3.When running on the smooth surface of a track or road, Ethiopian runners’ surface strength contributes to a faster, effortless gait.

There are many more observations to be unearthed on why Ethiopian runners are among the best. Right now, after only two weeks in Ethiopia, I am just beginning to skim the surface strength.

Julia’s First Three Impressions

Yaya Girls

It has been over two weeks since I Ianded at the Yaya Village in Sululta, Ethiopia. The Yaya Girls are to arrive in less than two days and we have been eagerly preparing for their arrival.

I have had numerous first impressions of the incredible Yaya Village but since I love things in threes (see my post on Running On Om about the three Ls of learning, loving, and living), I will distill my initial reflections into three areas.

1. Culture of Kindness:

Since the moment I arrived in the middle of the night and Xavier, the executive director program, picked me up from the airport, many people have gone out of their way to make me feel at home. The culture of kindness starts with Joseph Kibur, the Yaya Village Hotel’s founder, who works hard to foster an environment of generosity. Joseph was kind enough to take…

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Yaya Journal 1: Learn, Love, Live

My friend Tigist making injera bread in her home.

It has been an incredible first few days in Sululta, Ethiopia at the Yaya Village. The new class of Yaya Girls will arrive in two weeks and until then, we are preparing for their arrival.

I love things in threes. My birthday is on a third. My brother’s birthday is on a third. Om has three syllables within it (A-U-M). The father, the son and the holy ghost — basically, many powerful things come in threes…  As I take stock of my first few days in Ethiopia, I am inspired to reflect on the three Ls: learning, loving, and living.

Learn the Path of Patience: At over 8,400 ft, acclimatizing to the altitude in Sululta will not happen overnight. I’ve had to remind myself to start VERY slow on my runs, to be able to sustain them, and not worry about mileage or pace, but instead to be patient, as my body adapts and enjoys the journey.

Love Injera: Injera is the bread that is the base of most Ethiopian  meals. It is usually served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner with veggies, meat, lentils, and sauces on top. It is made from teff flour which is gluten-free! As a celiac, injera is the dream bread for me — it is spongy, filling, and nutritious. I also love that injera is eaten with one’s hands and is often shared, from the same plate, with others.

Live in the Flow: In the US, I am the calendar queen. Since arriving in Ethiopia, I have realized that I can’t have an agenda for every minute and hour of my day, since time passes here at a different, more relaxed pace. For example, the local bus is on a fluid schedule with no exact times; and in general, people won’t set precise times for meeting, but instead make plans by referencing a general part of the day. Also, I don’t have regular internet access where I live, and thus have to redefine my daily routine without being connected to the cybersphere. It is refreshing to live in the flow of the present in a whole new way here.

I know that I have lots more learning, loving, and living lessons coming my way over the next four months in Ethiopia…

Stay tuned for more reflections to come on my Yaya Journal!