The Holidays

It has now been seven months in country. We have regular schedules at work albeit we can change them at any moment’s notice. The holidays came fast and passed even faster and the coming months are going to make the end of our first year in country go by just as quickly.

December was a month of new friendships and looking back on some that we may have put on hold for the time being. We gained three new site mates, Rebecca, Elle, and Hannah. Normally Peace Corps doesn’t just move three people at once to a new site but two were special circumstances and one is just a volunteer from the new Group 8. We are in Group 7 and in another five months Group 9 Education will be here marking the end of our first year in country.

Peace Corps reminds me of certain aspects of high school and college sometimes. All the same ridiculous sort of social rituals of high school; rumors, cliques, and the same hurt feelings caused by both but yet the camaraderie and inclusiveness that also accompanies those aspects. The addition of new classes or groups and the older groups rightfully moving on reminds me of college. Everyone gets younger, or looks younger, and you feel the inevitable feeling of being squeezed out of a place that you’ve come to know so well. The older generations pass down their useful yet irrelevant experiences (irrelevant because every volunteer has their own individual experience) because this situation is only understood and appreciated, to a certain extent, by other volunteers.

Still it is an entirely unique situation for everyone involved. So sharing and empathizing are an essential component to this life for all groups. When we were able to meet some of Group 8 Environment in Bekoji while visiting our host family, Scott and I shared how we got through PST and how we continue to “get through” every day. We talked about work and what has been successful for us. Mostly we discussed logistics (how to get people to come to meetings and what the benefits of inviting people to shai buna are) because that information can be transferred throughout every program. While exchanging all this information, in a familiar place that our group thought of as our own, I began to feel the squeezing process take place. It was nice to be knowledgeable and share what we now know about the inner workings of Ethiopian culture and how to be an American living in this country but I felt that time was once again getting the better of me of pushing me to the end of another adventure. Do I enjoy every moment? No. But then again, same goes in America.

Here we are in a new year. I guess I should explain in detail the events and situations that brought us to this point.

Long ago, in ancient PST, Scott and I promised a certain fellow Tigrinya student that we would visit her for Christmas. Back then, Christmas was some event that I could not fathom. We wouldn’t be going to Brett’s annual Christmas Eve party with his family that I have come to think of as part of my own. We wouldn’t be going to midnight mass with my grandparents or opening just one present at my mother-in-law’s house or sitting and talking with her, Carter, and Uncle Bob over wine and delicious food. We wouldn’t be with family. But, choosing not to think about things ultimately brings them speeding to a halt in front of your eyes. The holidays were around the corner and I was not prepared for the emotional consequences of our first holiday away from the home country and family. Thankfully, it wasn’t the disaster I imagined.

Before we left for our holiday weekend we were invited for lunch at Igziharia’s house. She has been making monumental efforts to keep in touch and we are always glad to go somewhere that feels like family. Igziharia also had other intentions for luring us to her house besides the promise of delicious food. She meant to give us a present in the form of savory sweet bread that had baked onto the top “Merry X-Mas”. This gesture caught us off guard but was generous and beautiful all the same. After we left we realized that we probably would not be able to devour this whole thing before we had to leave for our trip so we had Sarunas and Getachew over for dinner so we could have a last dinner together before the holidays. When we first came to Mekelle it seemed like we had garnered a little trio so it was only fitting to have Sarunas over for Mexican food in the form of Christmas dinner.  We made them eat and take away good amounts of our gift from Igziharia so I guess you could say we had some other motives as well. After they both left we packed away our things so we could get up at the crack of dawn the next morning and leave.

We were set to leave on the morning of Christmas Eve, our first trip outside of site besides training. The bus stations in Ethiopia usually give me an anxiety attack before I even get there. I just imagine all of the “where are you go?” questions and the pushing yet leading to the right bus. The yelling and people only talking about us kind of gets to me. But we made it there and found a bus quickly. Maybe it was because it was still dark outside and no one could notice our obvious differences but we didn’t get a single question or comment on the way to the bus. Now actually getting on the bus was another matter. Once everyone saw us they politely began to talk about us amongst themselves. We sat down and settled in. Our hopes of sleep were never really hopes because our previous experiences traveling by bus in Ethiopia have taught us that unless you can literally sleep through anything, you will never sleep on a bus in Ethiopia. However, we were prepared for the long haul and as soon as the sun came up we began to read.

About an hour into the bus ride I looked out of my window and immediately saw the cause of my death. We were basically grinding the edge of a cliff at about 35 km, a cliff that was probably 500 feet from the earth. Mind you were are on a huge bus that seems to be rocking like a cradle and barely hanging on to its own wheels. If I have one very serious and possibly rude criticism of Ethiopia it’s their driving. And I’m from South Florida! Imagine a teenager who recently acquired their license and is trying to show off by driving ten miles over the allotted speed limit through a crowded neighborhood. Now change that teenager to a grown Ethiopian man who has no license and isn’t trying to show off but refuses to go any slower around hairpin turns on a 500 foot cliff. That is the ride to Axum from Mekelle. I truly do not understand the logic behind such daredevil tactics. Is it because they don’t fear death and therefore I should be impressed? Or is it that they do not understand or acknowledge the danger involved in driving so recklessly? Either way, I am never going anywhere by bus again.

We arrived in Axum around two o’clock in the afternoon and after we checked in to the hotel we went to see Christine’s house with Joel, Jenny, and new friend Josh who has lived in Egypt for the past three years. We all went to lunch and caught up with each other and talked about Christmas. Some people told us Merry Christmas and that was nice. At least we weren’t the only ones recognizing the day. That night we had dinner with our Country Director, Greg and his wife and daughter. The woman and her husband who owned the restaurant spend time with family once a year in Lancaster, Pennsylvania my home town. How small is the world? Physically it’s humungous but seriously how many people can know each other across the globe? Well, just when thinking about home became easier that day because we were around our American friends, home came to me in the form of a beautiful Ethiopian woman with a tattoo of the obelisks on her arm and her husband who reminded me of my dad. Touché Ethiopia, touché.

The next morning we woke up, had delicious special full, and went to Joel’s to exchange gifts White Elephant style. I got a bunch of treats courtesy of Christine and Scott got a birthday candle holder that resembles a flower opening when you light it. After presents it was time to sight see because after all, how can you go to Axum and not see what it has to offer. This my first time sightseeing on Christmas but it seemed a good way to spend the day. We went first to the ancient Obelisks and tombs of the Axumite Empire that fell around the time of the fall of Rome. I am still trying to comprehend our experience there so excuse me for not revealing my opinion just now of what it felt like to be there.

While down in the tombs we inevitably did what young people do in ancient structures, we started making jokes and taking goofy pictures. We had a run in with a bat that ruined a good picture opportunity but laughed all the same because we were terrified by a little bat. We walked through the museum for a more serious explanation of the history of this ancient place and its structures. We ran into other ferenji who were pretty surprised that we live in Ethiopia. Reactions we are looking forward to when we get back to America.

After the obelisks we went to Sheba’s palace. Yes, the Queen of Sheba. The walk out of the city was nice and we got to spend time in the ruins all by ourselves. It was nice to site in this questionably structured observation tower and look out over this ancient city. The mountains in Ethiopia never cease to amaze me. I have seen mountains before but these ones are surrounded by arid land that was once incredibly fertile. The markings left on this land by an extinct environment are something I have never before had the pleasure to behold. As we sat looking around, contemplating stealing a camel, we ran out of water so we figured it was time to get some beer and we headed back into town.

Dinner was a nice affair because the food was decent.t the best, but certainly one of the more memorable Christmas dinners. Josh had a friend join us who is Ethiopian but grew up and still lives in Germany. He has the best accent I have ever heard. It’s so unique and undefinable. We were sitting next to another table of ferenji and from what I could tell they were American but we never said one word to each other. Maybe, like us, they have run into so many ferenji during their stay in Ethiopia that it is rendered unnecessary to be introduced. I mean, we aren’t going up to everyone in our home countries and trying to get to know them. After dinner we let whoever wanted a hot shower to take one. Least we could do on Christmas. Then we all settled, accompanied by Ethiopia’s finest wine (Gouder), and watched a Muppet Christmas Carol, a movie I hadn’t seen since childhood. It was nice to recognize parts and songs because they were lodge somewhere in my memory and I only had to be reintroduced to remember them.

The next day we took our last hot shower and headed to the bus station. A young man noticing our ferenji-ness escorted us to the bus that was headed to Mekelle. After getting seated I reached for a tip. Now, all this young did was walk us to a bus, not exactly saving my pets from a burning house or anything as crazy as that. I handed him one birr and he looked at me and said, “one birr.  Is that it?” Because I am a ferenji it is my duty to pay him at least five birr. F that. Well in my indignation Scott pulled out another birr and gave it to this young fellow. Well, now that I was all fired up it was time for the death race back to my home city. I can’t even go into that because it was too traumatic.

The days went by and I succumbed to the cold that had been threatening me since we arrived in Axum. But good things are usually around corner. New Year’s was coming up and we had a serious number of people coming to town. Being in a larger city we meet and befriend a lot of foreigners. I am so happy that English has become a medium because there is no way I could have learned Hebrew, German, and whatever English our friends from across the pond were trying to speak. Besides, beer is good in any language. Apparently so is dancing. We danced the night away. One of our friends here, Getachew, said that he had never seen anything like it and wondered if we did this every year. We all emphatically screamed “yes!” I don’t think I should go into more detail as to respect the privacy of others but let’s go ahead and say whatever happens in Mekelle, stays in Mekelle.

The New Year definitely started off with a bang. Being in Ethiopia with our new friends just made it that much more special. We will never forget that night and this year’s party will be tough to beat. But seeing as it will be our last in country I guess we can try our best. We have our first Program Advisory Committee meeting coming up this month and the next few months will be filled with things to look forward to. Until the next post…