Author Archives: lornaofarabia

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About lornaofarabia

I am a teacher from Medford, Oregon. I currently live and work in Bangkok, Thailand.

Worst idea ever

Posted on 30 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

I don’t know if I ever showed you the one word I can read in Amharic: Coke is one of the few American brand names you see in Ethiopia. But it makes up for all the others with its ubiquity. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethiopia | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The tagine queen and her new machine

Posted on 25 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

I came home from our October trip to Morocco with a suitcase full of nuts, preserved lemons, dried fruit, and five kinds of olives. Since then I’ve been working on my Moroccan cooking skills. I make a mean tagine, if … Continue reading →

Posted in Around Africa, Food | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Timket

Posted on 22 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

Once again I find myself in a blogging backlog situation. And once again it’s because I’ve been so busy being a tourist myself that I haven’t had time to write. Which is actually a happy thing, but now it’s catch-up … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Axum

Posted on 14 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

This time we included Axum on our visit to the north. None of us had ever been there before so it was all new territory. Axum was the seat of the Axumite Empire (100-650 CE), a wealthy and powerful kingdom … Continue reading →

Posted in Around Ethiopia, Ethiopia | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Lalibela, again

Posted on 12 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

We took a weekend trip with Sukey and Nik up to Lalibela and Axum. Yes, we were just in Lalibela a couple of months ago, but it’s one of Ethiopia’s most interesting historic sites and we felt our guests should … Continue reading →

Posted in Around Ethiopia, Ethiopia | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Gaudi

Posted on 3 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

Barcelona’s buildings by Antoni Gaudi (1852–1926) are so incredible that I had to give them their own post. Gaudi was an important figure in Catalonia’s Moderisme architectural movement. His works are colorful and curvy, based on shapes and figures from … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Homage to Catalonia

Posted on 1 Jan 2014 by lornaofarabia

After a week in Berlin, we transferred our moveable feast to Barcelona. The big Christmas holiday in Spain is Three Kings Day on January 6. With Ethiopian Christmas on January 7, we are getting the most out of our holiday … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere, Family, Food | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Then we take Berlin

Posted on 21 Dec 2013 by lornaofarabia

We began the holiday season this year with a visit from Alice, our older daughter who lives in our house in Oregon. Alice was more than ready to come see us after the ancient oil-burning basement furnace gave up the … Continue reading →

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Smells like Christmas spirit

Posted on 21 Dec 2013 by lornaofarabia

I’ve been finding it a little hard to get into a holiday mood. If you live in a country where Christmas starts as soon as the back-to-school sales are over, it might be hard to imagine anyone feeling nostalgia for … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Expat experience, Home life | Tagged , | 1 Comment

WWW

Posted on 19 Dec 2013 by lornaofarabia

A week of service learning outside the traditional classroom is an important component of the academic program at many international schools. In September, ICS students in grades 10 and 12 had their Week Without Walls: grade 10 worked with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Around Africa, Family, International Community School, Volunteering | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment