you'll be fine...

I had the opportunity to spend the night at a friend’s home on while I was in Ethioipia. It was great to really be in the culture… taking the various kinds of taxis around the city, buying from the local markets, learning to make Ethiopia spaghetti, and enjoying the community feel as people would come and go into their home - having coffee, staying for lunch, and just hanging out throughout a day and evening's time.

Upon awaking the next morning, it was time to make buna (coffee). You may recall, this isn’t the typical coffee making ordeal we tend to think of - no, this was the roasting of the beans over the fire and making it the Ethiopian way.

Once my friend got the coals going she asked me if I would like to roast the coffee beans. I thought to myself, "I can handle this." (Keep in mind, I have watched this done many times but never, ever participated in the actual doing. I do know - you have to be very careful not to burn the beans.)

Once the beans were on the fire, my friend walked out the door saying, "You'll be fine." I am not certain what she meant by this or why she said it because she was just stepping out for a moment, right? Well after a few minutes and she didn't return, I thought I should move the beans around. I contemplated her words of "You'll be fine," wondering if she meant "They'll (the beans) be fine." But because of my experience in watching, I thought it would be better to move them around as to not burn them. And it was a good thing! My friend was gone for 20 minutes!

Much to my surprise, I managed to keep the coffee beans from burning.

The finished beans.

I guess my friend was right. I was fine. And the coffee... it was fine too.