It has been a while since I last posted. Things have just been busy and I haven't really had the motivation to write. Everything usually comes at us all at once these days and it's hard to know what's worth writing about. I don't think I'll ever get used to how new and different everything is or how used to them I am becoming. I know that sounds confusing but that's literally how everything is. I have grown used to living here and now feel like I am a part of this culture in some way but things still shock the hell out of me. But seeing as a lot has occured and I feel bad about leaving family and friends so much out of the loop, here I am writing this blog.
October was pretty good month for two reasons. One, we had a great time getting to know some new friends and we didn't have any setbacks at work. And, two it went by really fast. I sort of made this promise to myself that I wouldn't hope for time to go by quickly but sometimes I miss our families and our country a little bit too much. We have been here for almost 6 months and sometimes I can't help but think, "awesome, we have made it a quarter of the way".
I really missed Halloween (American style) but it was nice to have everyone over for our party. I got to make some good food and I made onion rings for the first time. Beer battered onion rings. I also made fried green tomatoes with a garlic aoili and bruschetta. Some people dressed up. We had a boxer, a basketball player, and Scott was a Floridian. What a stretch. I dressed up as our boss, Dan Baker. I was able to show Dan Baker a picture of myself dressed up as him and he thought it was a riot. Imitation is the best form of flattery...
Most of October was spent traveling to the rest of our schools and gathering information for our CENA's. The CENA (Community Educational Needs Assessment) is a report that conveys our roles as volunteers, the history of our sites, and the needs that our schools and teachers needs. I am really making it out to be a fairly simple report but the amount of effort and finesse that goes into gathering information and making critical assessments of our schools and the community is very taxing. Our reports came out to be about 23 pages. Those 23 pages do not even begin to explain our communities and the issues they face in trying to develop their educational system on first a regional level and then on a national level. I knew that our jobs would be challenging, that we would face obstacles that we may not be ready for, but I didn't realize the scale of what we are dealing with until I wrote this report. I am grateful that Peace Corps provides us an IST (In-Service Training) so we can hone our skills and prepare for our two years of initiaiting and developing programs.
Now on to IST...
We arrived in Addis Ababa full of excitement because we would be seeing everyone and we could venture to our favorite restaurants and eat great food or even see a movie. I forgot how difficult and overwhelming the capital city can be. We live in a fairly large city but I do not feel scared for myself or my possessions as I walk down the street. That's not to say I'm not vigilant in our home town but I'm not as worried that someone will actually do something. We were able to walk to our first destination, the cupcake place, but every few seconds we were being harrassed by adults and children all trying to sell something, take advantage of us, or trying to steal something.
There is a little trick here in Ethiopia where a seemingly nice man will be bending down to tie his shoe and then he will "accidentally" spit on you somewhere near your crotch. When he says "sorry, sorry, sorry" he will try to clean off the spit and while he does so he will pick-pocket you. As a westerner you're so offended and caught off guard by this person who has just spit on you that you are not concerned with him going for your wallet. They usually only do this to males because they think that males carry all the money. HA! Gotcha thieves! Anyway, this little trick has been done to Scott four times including after we got off the plane in Addis and were on our way to get cupcakes.
I knew it was going to happen before the spit even came out of this guys mouth and Scott knew it too. I was talking to my friend Whitney when I saw this man bend down to tie his shoe and inch closer to our group and Scott. I turned heel and headed straight for the guy just as he projected his spit onto Scott's pants. As volunteers physical altercations are prohibited unless you are defending yourself from an attack. This man was not trying to attack Scott but he was trying to rob him so we had to be clever about how we were going to handle this. At first the thief pretended that it was just an accident as we began calling him a "layba" or thief and he began backing off. But as we were screaming at him a get-a-away car pulled up and he quickly exited the street. He had an accomplice! We had about eight very angry ferenji and also two police officers very close by so I think we won that battle.
I know what you guys are thinking so just stop that right now. We feel very safe where we live and for every thief or horrible person here there is ten more amazingly kind people who abbhor that behavior from someone in their country and are embarrassed that that incident happened to us. Just like back home there are good and bad people. Someone looking to take advantage of you and someone willing to genuinely help you out of a tight spot. This was just the fourth time this happened to Scott and though we take these situations very seriously, sometimes you just have to laugh about it after.
After our great night in Addis where we had delicious cupcakes and good German beer we went back to the hotel to get ready for the two weeks ahead in Ambo. The drive to Ambo was great because we hadn't seen this side of the country before. We had lived in Bekoji for two and a half months but this was different and in a different season. Ambo is truly beautiful and the sparkling water is in plenty of supply because that's where it's made.
IST is a two week training where volunteers discuss the CENA and how to move forward. For the first two days the counter parts were present at the trainings so we could do team building activities to better work with one another. My counterpart, Igziharia, was excited to learn about new ways to develop programs and learn more about Peace Corps and how we will work together for the next two years. She is incredibly protective over Scott and I and has called me almost everyday since she went back to Mekele.
Every day except Sunday was a training day. We went over the CENA and then we discussed the VRF (Volunteer Reporting Form) which we turn in every 4 months, and we also did trainings on HIV/AIDS and Malaria. Training didn't stop there though. We also did trainings on Cross Culture, creating and strengthening clubs, safety and security, leadership building, and how to teach grammar. It was varied and strenuous. The sessions were separated into morning sessions with a tea break at 10:30 then a second morning session then lunch at 12:30. After lunch is our first afternoon session with atea break at 3:00 then the second afternoon session. We ended the day at 5:30 every day tired and full to the brim with new information. The only other time I felt so stressed and on a tedious schedule was during Pre-Service Training which I can not believe ended 4 months ago. I guess you could say we are now full fledged volunteers.
Our hotel room in Ambo was very nice. It almost felt a little too nice. We had two rooms with two bathrooms, and two balconies. I got to take a bath for the first time since we have been in country. I didn't realize how much I miss just being able to take a bath. At first, the food at the hotel was great! It tasted great and there was plenty variety (as far as habesha food goes). Unfortunately the food ended up making everyone sick. And I mean everyone. All 63 volunteers had one or more stomach issues and some even contracted bacterial infections. Scott and I got sick but thankfully it only lasted a day and we quickly recovered.
Being with everyone was like a breath of fresh air. We got to hang out at the pool that looks more like a lake and we got to eat shakla tibs after a hard days work. Scott and I love our home but seeing all of our friends again was more powerful than I imagined it would be. We all share this experience together which means we are the only ones who can truly understand and empathize with one anothers problems and joys of being a volunteer here in Ethiopia. It was also nice to hear different stories from all over the country. I knew that we would get to know this country and love it but I didn't realize how much of a local I would become. I have regional pride.
In Tigray we speak a different language, we have different food, and we have different cultural norms. Notice I am saying "we". When I am with my friends from Oromiya we have a friendly banter that can get a bit nasty sometimes. Now this friendly banter is really just between us volunteers. In the country there is a reals strife that doesn't really reach the surface between these two regions. It's mostly political and economical but it is still very real. I am not saying that people are fighting in the streets but the tension here is much like the tension between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. We really don't like eachother but in the end we're all Floridians. Except me, I'm Pennsylvanian. Or more importantly I'm American.
Training was full of fun times catching up, playing paper football, and we even had a high stakes poker game (50.00 Birr buy in). Scott split the pot with our fellow volunteer and fellow Floridian, Adam. Needless to say the time went by way too fast and that's when we came upon our first Thanksgiving away from home.
At least all of our group was in the same place at the same time. Scott and I had dinner with a smaller group of very good friends Rachel, Shayna, Sam, Nathan, and us. We ate at a great restaurant here in Addis that served us roasted leg of lamb, eggplant calzones, and gnocchi. Not your typical or traditional Thanksgiving but we figured if it was good food and good company then we could call it a good Thanksgiving. Once the food came we went around the table to say what we were thankful for. Every single one of us said how thankful we were to have an amazing support system of family and friends back home who not only support us in the States but also support our decisions for coming here and sacrificing the time we could be spending with them. We were also thankful for eachother.
Now I am writing this blog from the VRC (Volunteer Resource Center)-gosh, Peace Corps loves it's acronyms- and I am trying to process the last couple of months. Before we go back home we are seeing our host-family in Bekoji. Returning to Bekoji will put our time here in perspective. It feels like a lifetime away that we lived there and I am sure our host sisters have grown in more ways than just height. Returning to a place that is familiar here is something I really can't descirbe right now. I'll try my best later but right now I have dueling thoughts in my head.
I am torn between excitement and fear of returning back to our home in Mekele. It will be nice to return and know that we are going home but I am afriad of missing my friends who live so far away. I am excited to get to the real work of being a volunteer here but I am also afraid that I may fail in some way. Failure here is not the same as in America. If I fail here I not only affect myself but I affect an entire community that is relying on me to help them become better. However, I am excited for that challenge. All I have to do is try my best. I've done that before so I guess thats not so new.
I know I jammed a lot into one blog and it may seem a bit frayed but know that this is just what its like. I am trying to organize my thoughts to reflect on our experiences but it's really just too much sometimes. I'm realizing that that's okay. It's okay to be confused, hopeful, terrified, and exhilarated all at the same time. I know I am feeling much more than that but I won't bore you with vocabulary words that are supposed to explain our lives but will never come close. All I can do is give the story little by little or "kas ba kas" as we now say. So please, bare with us.
