Ethiopian Culture Camp
EACSA (Ethio-America Community Service Agency) is holding their annual cultural camp near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin on August 3-5, 2007.
Last year I went because another family guilted me to agree to go. Basically, they dangled their adorable, clever, charming 3-year old spitfire in front of me and said, “if you want to see her, you have to go to this.” So, I did…begrudgingly.
I am SO glad we went and I’ve let go of my previous animosity towards the blatant bribery/arm-twisting of the aforementioned family. Unlike some of the other events we’ve gone to where it is basically American parents (usually white) with baby, toddler and pre-schooler Ethiopian children chatting to each other, this was different. There was a mix of ages there.
Some of the Ethiopian kids were teenagers and had been in America for years. It was great to have a perspective of what my son’s life might be like in 10-15 years and to hear about some of the issues they are going through. It was also great to have some teenagers welcome my toddler with open arms (giving me a break). My almost 6-year old loved it when the old kids (the 10 year olds) let him play with them.
There were families who adopted children from several different agencies. It’s amazing the different experiences we had and the different “target” groups of children in their orphanages.
And, there were real, grown-up <<GASP>> Ethiopians. There were adult Ethiopians who immigrated to America as adults. Some were adoptive parents, some were not. But, they were all kind, sincere and very helpful.
In general, all the families sought out learning about the others. And, everyone seemed to look out for everyone else’s kids. Or, maybe that was just me letting everyone else mind my kids for me…
They had sessions that included how to make shiro wat, hair care, coffee ceremony, a talk with the older kids about their ties and responsibility towards Ethiopia and goals for the future.
There were competitive soccer games, both adult and children versions. There was a delicious Ethiopian dinner catered by an Ethiopian restaurant. And, there was dancing. Lots of kids dancing and some shake, shake dancing lessons from the adults.
They had some non-Ethiopian specific activities available like swimming, volleyball, a scavenger hunt, crafts and marshmallow shooters. There were playground areas for the smaller kids.
The weekend events are set up for flexibility. If you can stay from Friday evening through Sunday, great! If not, just come when you can. Some people just came for dinner and dancing last year and seemed to enjoy themselves.
I highly recommend this event to everyone. Well, actually I don’t. If you are a high maintenance person, a whiner/complainer, that person who has to melodramatically tell everyone in great detail about the trials/tribulations of their adoption experience, or someone who just plans to come so they can check off the “maintains Ethiopian culture” on their child’s annual update for Ethiopia, you should not come. I don’t want you being a buzz kill for everyone else.
Come if you are going to enjoy the camping experience. Come if you want to intermingle with Ethiopians. Come if you want to learn and experience some bits of Ethiopian culture. Come if you don’t mind a weekend where events happen on Ethiopian time.
Click here for a link to the registration form. If the link doesn’t work, right click on it and then click Save As.
