Christmas Time in the City...well kind of.

I'm not going to lie, being away from family this year on Christmas was tough. If you know me, you know I love traditions. I love the feeling of Christmas in the states and having time that I can spend with my family uninterrupted. Christmas music, ABCs 25 Days of Christmas, checking out all the ornaments on our tree, looking at Christmas lights, pre-Christmas activities like buying/wrapping presents, Black Friday with Alex, arguing over what Christmas dinner is going to be (my family and I do this every year...really it's me just arguing if it's anything other than what I think the tradition is...) and all the other culture that makes up Christmas in the states. 

One of the teachers here, and a woman who is becoming a close friend of mine, came over to my house on Thursday before I left for Addis. Her name is Aster, and she is fantastic. She asked me what I do in America for Christmas and how we celebrate. Then she told me that she had heard people give gifts in America, and she pulled out a wrapped gift from her purse. She told me that she wanted to give me something small, just as a reminder that I am loved and needed in Gondar just like I am at home in Minnesota. She told me how grateful she is that I am here, and that she understands it must be hard to be away but she is so glad that I'm here.

It made me realize that in my short 3 months here, I have created family and friends. The next day, I traveled to Addis, the capital, for a conference with other IFESH volunteers for the weekend. Seeing all of the other volunteers made me remember once again that here in Ethiopia, they are my family.  Although they may not be close in proximity,  they would do anything for me if I needed, and I for them. It was wonderful to see everyone, catch up on how their time has been spent in Ethiopia, hear their trials and tribulations and spend some quality time together. We had a Christmas Eve Party to celebrate on Saturday night, and then on Sunday I celebrated Christmas by treating myself to a little TLC with my friend Kelly- a pedicure and manicure was the perfect cure for my home sickness. 

The Lord calls us to live life to abundance and through his birth He makes this possible. I was not able to go to church, not able to eat Christmas cookies or a giant Christmas dinner, no immediate family around, no wrapped gifts under the tree....but it was the perfect lesson. I realized it's not about the culture, the stuff, or even the family. It's about celebrating the birth of Christ,  it's about remembering the reason of WHY we are able to live life in abundance and the lesson that even the presence of family is a luxury.  Our Lord is so sweet, and even half way across the world He has provided me with the comforts of family, love, warmth the ability to live in abundance. And for that alone, it was a very merry Christmas...even if it was a little different than normal! 

Aster, Melishu, Alaseb...the 3 women I am closest with at the college. They are all amazing :) 

Flying to Addis-50 minute flight over mountains

Kelly and I "pregaming" before our Christmas Party, AKA drinking boxed wine in our hotel room :) 

Christmas Eve Dinner with the team-20 volunteer and about 10 family members were able to join us. It was fantastic. 

Dancing after dinner...quite the entertainment

A giant dancing circle definitely was made, we even included the hotel workers. 

Christmas day pedicures-giant comfy pedicure chairs, OPI nailpolish and a complimentary glass of wine :) What could be better!

Icecream after the pedicures! Incredible-

Hope you all enjoyed your Holidays, found many things to be thankful for on Christmas and feel as blessed as I do. Merry Christmas, time to bring in 2012 :) 

Asnolo Doro

 Coming home on Thursday to a live chicken in my apartment was quite the experience. To be honest, I thought my helper was going to bring it home killed, I figured I wouldn't take part in the process....but I was wrong. I laughed pretty dang hard when I walked into my living room to find a live chicken squawking about, realizing that this is how they do it here, so why would I expect anything different! Pretty sure it knew it was going to die soon...poor little lady.

Highlight of the week for sure: Helping kill a chicken (really that means standing near by, watching and wincing while taking photos), then helping clean it, cook it, and eat it. It was quite the excitement for me. In the states, we pay big money for "organic" food, and I am just as much to blame as anyone else. Here, "organic" is the standard, and you don't get much more clean or organic than killing the chicken yourself and cooking it up for dinner that night! ;) Oh the things I'm learning here in Ethiopia!

Asnolo Doro- sorry chicken...

A few pictures to show some of the excitement...

Walking in, the doro was alive an well.

Two guards came to help finish her off, women here in Ethiopia aren't allowed to kill things. 

The remains on my front stoop....as students were walking by, the ferengi with the camera, 2 guards and my helper, I'm sure we made quite the scene. 

Cleaning the bird. First, we poured boiling water on it, de-feathered it and then took it's skin off. Afterwards, she cut it up into pieces (not needing to think twice about it), gutted it, took out all the gross stuff, and put the edible chicken in a clean bucket of water to soak with lemon. 

The end result-Doro Wot. Onions, garlic, oil, burberry, salt, chicken and boiled eggs :) It's what Ethiopians make for celebrations and special occasions, for me, a post-Christmas dinner! 

Mom and Dad, next time I'll do it all by myself so that I can repeat this process when I get home in July! ;) 

<3 

An Adventure at the Bus Station

I HAD A CRAZY EXPERIENCE ON THE WAY HOME TODAY. I was in piazza (the center of town and to get home from there you have to go to this main bus hub where all the mini busses come in and out. There are always a lot of people, it's always busy, but nothing like I ever saw tonight. On a typical day, you walk up to the area, and there is anywhere from 4-10 busses sitting and waiting. There are young bus boys yelling out the destination of their bus, and you just get on! If it's busy, the busses pull up and the bus boy who is hanging out of the bus is yelling where the bus is going. If you're on the way, you get on, it's quite easy. Today was not an ordinary day.


I knew something was up when I walked to the bus stop area and there were well over 100 people waiting for a bus. Far more than I have ever seen before, even if it was right after work. I guess there was some type of road block on the way to college (that's where I live), which meant that all the buses going that way had to take a longer route, which messed up the whole system.  


A bus would pull up, and if it was going the direction of College, people would try to hurl themselves onto the bus. They would huddle and follow the bus until it stopped, and once the doors open it was a free for all. Didn't matter if you're a woman, child, crippled or scared shitless white girl...once those doors opened you had to figure out how to push your way onto the bus. One bus pulled up, and I thought it would be a good idea to get right in the middle- push myself up towards the front. I can handle it, right?! Well, once the doors opened, I was not ready for it. It was SO SCARY!! It was like I was in the middle of an Ethiopian mosh pit, that I did NOT want to take part in!  I got scared and backed out of it, it was just too much to handle and all the Ethiopians laughed- I'm sure I was quite the spectical. I'm a spectical enough just being white around here, but then trying to fight for a seat against the locals was just too much for them to handle. 

ANYWAY, after I backed away from my near death experience, I walked away from the road to regroup and figure out a game plan.  All of a sudden I heard, "Liz!" And oh my gosh, I've never been so happy to see someone I know. I forget his name, but I worked with him this weekend when I was doing language testing. Thank goodness I ran into him- seriously. We waited for a while because he was heading the same direction as I was. 


Finally, we decided it was time to fight the crowds again. A bus pulled up, he started running towards it, grabbed my arm and told me to hurry. He was pushing through women, children, and got himself shimmied towards the front of the bus where the front seat passenger side door was way to the front. He put one hand out to block people from getting in, used the other hand to open the front door, yelled my name, and then grabbed my bag from me and shoved me inside!! He hopped in after me and we were both able to sit in the front. Once we got in, everyone was laughing because tonight was quite the unusual experience at the bus station. I thanked my friend by paying for his  fare and eventually got home safely!


What a night. 


PS- This is a picture of a typical Ethiopian minibus. I hope you have a good image of me tonight. When each seat is occupied, it seats 12 people, plus the driver, plus the bus boy who sits on a small stool near the door. One time, I counted 25 people in a minibus. Did you know, Ethiopia is 2nd in the world for most fatalities for motor-vehicle accidents? Awesome. 

Camp in Ethiopia, what could be better! :)

Last weekend I led a camp with the help of 5 volunteer and the lovely people at Yenege Tesfa- Hope for Tomorrow. We played with, laughed with, taught, sang and served 35 orphans who are all a part of the Yenege Tesfa organization. There are 50+ kids in 3 shelters in the Gondar area and it is an understatement to say that it was an incredible 4 days.

Some of the things we did included a trash pick up around Gondar and students learned all about recycling and why it’s important to dispose of our trash properly. On Sunday, we focused on health. We had speakers from the Gondar Hospital come in and talk about malnutrition, and having a healthy body. Then, that afternoon we went and played with the malnourished children in the hospital. It was a really good opportunity for the kids to serve, and realize that although they may be with out parents, their health is something to be thankful for.  On Monday, we focused on Gender Inequality issues and had an intense debate about gender issues here in Ethiopia. It was great to listen to, even if it was in Amharic. We finished up the 4 days on Tuesday when we talked all about leadership, made self-portraits and reflected on the week.  Pretty solid if I do say so myself!

It’s crazy what camp can do for kids. Having the ability to play, be silly, make crafts, serve and be loved by a role model is so important for kids- regardless of where they are in the world.  It was an amazing opportunity to lead this camp for Yenege Tesfa and I’m excited to see what comes in the future for my relationship with such an amazing nonprofit.

After Tuesday, I was pooped! 4 days, non-stop that was amazing and fulfilling…but dang tiring! Wednesday-Friday I had classes, ran errands, and gave my students oral examinations, which took up most of my free time this week!

Oh! I almost forgot, highlight of the week: Receiving 3…yes 3 packages on Tuesday! Best day ever!!! My amazing parents even sent me some homemade Christmas treats.  So thankful for little things like a package or card to remind me how close my family and friends still are!

This weekend I took part in helping test 200 primary school teachers on their English abilities.  (PS- I was SUPPOSED to do my training, but it was CANCELLED…AGAIN….really? Lame. ) Anyway, this testing…it’s an initiative through the ministry of Education to improve the English of primary school teachers in nation wide and the tests give a base line. It was great experience to be involved in and interesting to see what standardized testing is like outside of the states, but also meant a 12 hour day! Woof, remember when I first got here and was feeling like I was spinning my wheels, and was praying to get busy??? Watch out what you pray for!! J  Not complaining though, it really was good, just tiring!

Tomorrow, Sunday will be another day of testing and then filled with planning that night (and my weekly Skype date with Mom and Dad ;) ) This week I’ll be preparing my quarterly report because I’m flying to Addis for an IFESH conference on Friday. It will be great to see all the other volunteers, and to be with people I’m close to over Christmas. Plus, a vacation with a hot shower is always gladly welcomed.

Crazy that Christmas is only a week away. Doesn’t even feel like Christmas over here, maybe that’s a good thing!?  Happy Holidays my friends. 

PS- Pictures to come soon :) I'm sick of words. 

Thank goodness for Cippro...

Well, I had my first encounter with the Gondar Hospital and never want to experience that again....ever again. Like I mentioned in my last post, I hadn't felt well all weekend and when it got my serious I figured I needed to get it checked out.

Monday morning I went to the only private hospital in Gondar (it's supposed to be a bit nicer than the government funded hospital) After 4 hours of waiting, the doctor prescribed me with some anti-biotics and I was on my way out. Although, I did not leave with out having to take a stool sample in the nastiest bathroom I had ever stepped foot into. The "Laboratory" (a small room, with a few microscopes which was filthy) handed me a small, clear cup...very comparable to the sample cups they give out on Sample Saturdays at the grocery stores. In the small cup was a tiny wooden stick, and I was told to give a "small sample..." I had to wait to go into the bathroom because there was another woman who was loudly puking and when she finished, I was motioned to enter. Pretty sure the woman was puking because she was sick, I also would understand if she was puking at the uncleanliness of the bathroom-at least that's what I almost did.  I did my business, and then had to do the walk of shame out of the bathroom to hand in my sample to the lab...with all the Ethiopians staring at the only foreigner in the place. Really Ethiopians, yes...white people get sick too!

Anyway, my friend and co-worker Aster was kind enough to come with me and I am so thankful for her being there. Being in a place with so many people in such extreme suffering was intense. Also, I'm getting used to being the only white person around, but when sick, it was nice to have someone with me who spoke fluent Amharic.

What an experience. And one that I don't want to repeat. Luckily the Cippro (the medicine the doctor prescribed) is working and today I'm feeling better and was even able to keep a little food down.

The non profit I'm working with, Yenege Tesfa (Hope for Tomorrow) has officially scheduled the day camp for the kids that I'm running for them. The camp starts on Thursday, and runs all weekend. Hopefully I'll be back to 100% by then, there's is some pretty amazing stuff we're doing with those kids, so I'm looking forward to it!

Good things are to come, and being sick is hopefully behind me! I also hope that when I get back to the states in July, I can laugh at these crazy experiences rather than be scarred by them!!

<3

T.I.A...This is Africa...

        This has been one heck of a busy week, which is exciting but also exhausting. Today was supposed to be my first teacher training session with one of the primary schools that I’m working with. I was going to give training on Classroom Management on Saturday, and techniques when teaching English on Sunday. 13 teachers, 10 hours, I was ready to go and feeling good about it. My colleague Mary who I visited last weekend in Bahir Dar even came into town for the weekend to observe the training.

I woke up at 6 am to tie up some final strings, got ready for the training and made my way to the school. I picked up Mary on the way and when we arrived we walked into the Director’s office. When I walked in, he kindly greeted me but also looked confused to see me. I said, I’m here for the teacher training…where should I set up? He looks at me with confusion and said, “the training is next weekend, now we have a teacher’s meeting but no training today.  There must have been a communication error…”

Really, a communication error!? This has been planned for the last 3 weeks, how could it be a communication error! Obviously I acted as if it didn’t matter at all, and rescheduling would be fine, but what a let-down. He even said at the end, well you know, “this is Africa…” After that comment I looked at Mary and almost burst out laughing at the outrageous irony of that comment coming from this man.  In the same breath, although ironic, it is true. Things here are so much different than in the states. Although frustrating at times, it helps to teach me patience, flexibility and is definitely humbling although nonetheless annoying when things like this occur!

Mary and I walked back to her hotel where she and her sister are staying and had quite the ranting session. We then enjoyed many cups of coffee and a leisurely morning at her hotel which made things better. 

It’s exciting that they are in town, and now a busy weekend has suddenly turned into a weekend for rest. This actually may work out quite well since I’m not feeling so great. I came down with a cold on Monday, and it’s just gotten worse. The past 2 days my stomach has been really upset as well (note, this is where a bathroom within close proximity would be amazing and would eliminate the terrible incidents that have occurred…) Then, this morning when I woke up I felt like one of the herd of cattle and trampled over me…so… maybe a relaxing weekend with no plans is just what I need.

Either way, being sick (especially stomach sick), having uncomfortable bathroom incidents, and having “communication errors” all I can think of as I lay in my bed now is, T.I.A….This is Africa.

Hope you’re weekend has been more enjoyable than mine! As they say here, “Izosh” be strong…chin up..

<3

Summer camp in Ethiopia??

Today was my busiest day yet in Ethiopia. The day began at 8am when I woke up, got ready for the day and met my tutor at 8:30. After a great tutoring session, I had 2 classes back to back with was quite entertaining today. Afterwards,  I ran back to my house, grabbed a few things, shoveled some scrambled eggs into my mouth and hustled back to my classroom to meet the women teachers on campus for our first women’s group meeting at 12:30. Whew. When that was finished at 2:00 (which went great) I hopped on a bus and rushed to make a meeting on time at 2:30. The meeting was with a woman named Nigiste, and she is the founder of a non-profit called Yenegateska- which translates to Hope for Tomorrow.

            The non-profit is for street children here in Gondar. Nigiste started it about 10 years ago. She is an incredible woman who exudes warmth and love as soon as you meet her.  She wants me to start doing art activities with the kids at the shelters a few times a week and help out with other activities they have going on. One of these other activities they have going on is a camp- that is going to occur in 2 weeks. What….summer camp in Ethiopia!?!?!? She wants me to help lead the activities because of all my experience with summer camps in the past. It will be 50 street children, 4 days and will happen in 2 weeks. Talk about short notice, but how exciting?!

I’m sitting at Central now drinking a macchiato, which reminds me of a little taste of home. To be honest, after today all I can think about is how good God is. I’ve been a bit emotional anyway the last 2 days, and now I’m sitting here in a coffee house full of Ethiopian men and am the crazy frenji with tears in her eyes.

I’m just overwhelmed- it hit me like a freight train after the meeting this afternoon. I think that the reminder of His presence in my life is exactly what I needed. Now is the first time I was able to stop and breathe today, and I am in awe of how awesome He is and how perfectly he orchestrates this life. There is so much pain, poverty, and evil in this world but through it all shines His grace, His love and the strength He gives us to persevere through all the crap.  You know when you stop, look around at your life and just have an “Ah huh….” Moment, where it all makes sense? As the smoothness and sweetness of this machiatto fall quickly into my stomach, and as I look outside to the chaotic yet colorful streets of Ethiopia I am having one of those moments.

It’s the little things, that when you look closely you see God working in this world regardless of all of the garbage. I get so caught up in the ugliness sometimes, and I forget to give praise. Today, I was lucky enough to have an “ah huh” moment and see a glimpse of clarity as to why I may be here and take time to praise. God is pretty sweet.

Hope you all had a lovely Monday and are enjoying you’re most likely short work week. Thanksgiving is fast approaching so you should head out and buy a pair of elastic waste sweat pants! I’m jealous, I would pay big bucks for some pumpkin pie!

Sending love. Pray and as I was reminded today, praise.

<3

"Walk Up"

Press Play.

"Walk Up" by Meklit Hadero. 

Things move slowly here in Gondar, but I’m starting to get used to the pace. There are two responses you hear all the time, specifically in regards to anything challenging or frustrating… 1. Izosh (be strong, chin up) or 2. Chigaralem (Don’t worry about it…)  If you know me, in the states I’m high strung so this is an adjustment but it’s nice to slow my pace a bit. I mean, who wouldn’t love 2 hour lunch breaks?!

This week has been successful. My students finished their first unit of instruction on introductions and gave their first spoken presentation today. They were quite nervous about it, but I ensured them, “Izosh, chigaralem…” and they laughed and calmed down a bit. :)  One of the highlights from the week was just teaching them. They are SO eager to learn, and one of the days I had 12 students come into my office hours just to talk. It was great, and it’s been fun to start to get to know them better.

In other news, activities are starting to pick up for me, and I have some new projects starting soon. I started a faculty women’s English club on campus and we had our first meeting this week. There are about 140 staff at the college, only 13 are women. I will be meeting with these women twice a week over lunch and working on their English skills, possibly doing a book club, writing, listening and speaking practice. It will be great for them to learn more English but I feel like I will learn even more from them since they are seasoned teachers who are so wonderful and welcoming. I'm sure there will be entertaining updates to come from the meetings. 

This week I also met a married Peace Corp husband and wife who have been living in Gondar for 2 years now. They have many connections with local NGOs and people “to know.”  They live on the top level of an orphanage and will be great contacts to have. We also had lunch with a doctor (from Lafayette, CA…how crazy is that family from CA??!!) who works in the malnutrition ward in the hospital in Gondar.  Both the PCVs and Dr. Dave are interested in having me come in and work with the children, especially with my background. I think I want to try to run a type of art program for the orphanage and also in the malnutrition ward, maybe once a week. I struggle with it, because it’s not sustainable but at the same time gives the children exposure to art, which is great regardless of what country you are in. This is just an idea at this point, but something that I am really excited about. I miss working with kids, so this would be amazing.

The main struggle of the week- “bimbee” bites, mosquitoes. I’m struggling… my legs look like I have a serious skin disease. Even the cleaning women see my ankles in a skirt and look horrified. My neighbor Mitch thinks I have fleas or bed bugs. He might be right, but I always use my bed net…and the idea of fleas or bed bugs makes me cry…so I’m going to convince myself it’s just killer mosquitos.

That’s all for now. I hope you listen to the song I posted in the beginning, it’s a new favorite from an Ethiopian-American artist named Meklit Hadero. Check her out on Itunes, it’s worth it.

Sendin out love my friends.

 <3 

Ebb and Flow

It ebbs and flows, has it’s ups and downs and I would be crazy to think that those waves wouldn’t hit me when I’m here in Ethiopia.  But when life ebbs here and I hit a rough patch, it’s just a little more tough than when I’m at home.

This week, don’t get me wrong, was an ok week but I’m missing home, especially today. After Skyping with my parents and then my college roommate, and my two best friends, I felt better.  At the same time, I felt so much further away from them all or maybe I just realized how far away I really am. It’s just hard to feel as far away from them as I actually am. When you’re lonely, it truly feels like half way across the world.

This week I was frustrated with Ethiopian “time” because it is so different than in the states. I was frustrated by the inappropriate and vulgar actions of dumb men who think it’s ok to make comments or rude gestures. I’m sad that Heather is officially gone, and back in the states. I was eager to get into the public schools, but disappointed when a meeting came up which made my previously scheduled school visits cancelled. I was frustrated when I planned my weekly lessons to a T, but then staff meetings, which I was never informed about commenced, and my classes were just cancelled! I was frustrated with electricity and lack there of, and annoyed with not having an accessible bathroom.  I am angry at all the bugs who love to bite me and the fact that my legs look like I am a leper. Things are just so different here and now that the shock of living in Gondar has worn off, it is going to take some adjusting. The laid back culture, different way of life, and I'm just going to have to remember to always sleep with my mosquito net on!

 I should really make a list of positive things after Downer Debby just got done ranting. .Alright, sorry for the word vomit. I'm going to allow myself to feel like things aren't great right now, and that tonight has been rough because it has been. Tears fell tonight for the first time since I've been here...a lot of tears. It took a while to make them stop, and it's ok that I don't feel in love with Ethiopia right now. Tomorrow when I wake up I will pray for a day that flows. Day to day and week to week things won't be perfect here. I just need to remember that when I stand in front of my classroom I feel like it is exactly where I am meant to be which is amazing, but that feeling doesn't make these dang bug bites itch any less!

I'll write more of a positive post soon, I promise. 

Hope all is well in America, my friends. 

<3 

Ms. Heather

Before I left, I specifically prayed for meaningful relationships here in Gondar. I’m a people person to my core, people give me energy, friendships give me substance and relationships help me to feel purpose.

Call it karma, positive energy, an answer to a prayer or just good luck but when I came here, the second day I met Heather. Heather is a Peace Corp volunteer who has been in Ethiopia for 6 months. Since I've gotten here, we've haven't gone more than 2 days without seeing each other. This past week, she decided that she is going to Early Terminate (ET)  and head back to America. Her heart just wasn't in the work she was doing and she wasn't being used to her full potential. Plus, let's be honest...a 27 month stint is a daunting amount of time to be away from home, especially when you're not loving your job! By the end of this week, she will be enjoying the comforts of America at her house in Albany, NY. 

Heather and I clicked immediately. She’s helped me immensely with my Amharic and introduced me to her amazing Ethiopian family that she lives with. We’ve sat for hours drinking juice at Central Café, took on the market, learned to make injera and learned a ridiculous amount about one another in the short 2 months that we’ve known each other. I’m so thankful that she came into my life. I’m so thankful that she introduced me to her “family” who has now adopted me as their own. I’m thankful for her friendship and I’m so sad to see her go.

On the positive, she will send me one heck of a care package! And, I now have a friend who lives in NY that I can visit- I’ve never been to the East Coast before!

To send her off, I helped to put together a going away dinner with the women at the compound and the ferengi volunteers we hang out with. We had quite the feast, which was topped off with a cake and a buna ceremony. It was a fantastic night for a fantastic person, who will be missed dearly.

The feast- including doro wot, misir wot, cabbage, fruit, salad, bread, injera, fandesha (popcorn WITH candy in it) and even soda. Quite to meal :) 

Heather and the kids 

The whole group, minus Usman who was taking the picture. Heather is in her Habesha clothes that the women bought her!

<3 

Happy November!

Happy November my friends :) In the states, the fall is my favorite season. Here in Ethiopia, I don't have much to complain about. It is gorgeous and sunny the majority of the time, around 80 degrees in the heat of the afternoon and nice and cool in the evening. I don't get the leaves changing colors, the pumpkin spice lattes or cozy sweaters but I also don't have to deal with seeing my own breath in the morning outside when I wake up!

Today was my first day of classes. Yesterday (Monday) was supposed to be, but the students didn't show up. That's Africa for ya! Miscommunication happens often, but oh well...they were there today and super excited to see that they were going to be taught by a frengee (foreigner). I had 40 students today, and then a few extra who saw me at the first English Club meeting, and wanted to sit in on my class to listen to my English :) It was quite funny when they told me afterwards that they had come to just hang out, that's what I call dedication to learning a language, eh?! I am excited to finally be in the classroom, and up in front of those students, I felt right at home.

I received my first package yesterday from home, and needless to say it made my day! I could not ask for better parents and was ecstatic to receive protein bars, sponges, some spices, antibacterial wipes, and even a bag of M&Ms :) It got me to thinking that I would LOVE to receive a card from friends and family...and I had this idea!

I decided since I won't be home for Christmas this year, I want to make my very own Christmas tree (my family knows how much I love the tradition of the tree...I did afterall throw a giant fit the first year we switched from a real tree to the dumb fake one, I may still be a little bitter about it...) The best way I thought of creating this tree was from love sent from friends and family. But that means I need YOUR help!

SO, if you have time, I would LOVE if you sent me a card or even your Christmas card. No need for fancy packages (unless you feel obliged, I won't say no...) But, I am planning on using all of the cards and hanging them on my wall in the design of a tree- a little corny, a little lame, but I'm excited about it :) I had this idea, but needed to get my address out there so that I can start collecting cards for this project! Then after Christmas, I'll leave them hanging but maybe not in the shape of a tree, just to remind me of my friends and family that are across the world!

This is my address:

Elizabeth Rath
Gondar College of Teacher's Education
PO Box 176
North Gondar, Gondar Ethiopia!

Thanks for your help, hopefully I receive enough cards to make a tree!! :)

Hope you all have a lovely week!

<3

Good things to come :)

I’m currently sitting at Central Café, which is my favorite café/hotel in Gondar, mainly because it has cheap and fantastic coffee plus there is free Internet.  I’m 2 macchiatos (heaven in a cup) in and have quite the caffeine buzz going. I’ve been here working for the past 2 hours, and needed a break, so here I am writing a blog instead!

This weekend was great. I was planning on laying low Friday night which did not happen… I ended up going out with some friends, and a few beers turned into a few more and before I knew it, it was 3 am before I finally arrived home. It was just like college in America again, except waking up and being in Ethiopia isn’t quite as good as waking up in the states. It was nothing that some Fish Goulash, 2 orange sodas and a 4 hour nap couldn’t fix though, and now I’m good as new. I figured that all of my friends are out celebrating Halloween, so I’ll celebrate as well, just without the costumes!

Saturday night I hung out with a friend, drank coffee and watched some scary movies in honor of the 31^st of October. And now, here I am, getting ready for tomorrow which just so happens to be my first day of class! 

Words cannot describe how excited/nervous/anxious/apprehensive I am to get into the classroom tomorrow. I am teaching two sections of Spoken English I. Some of the units are Greetings and partings, Introductions, Invitations, Advice, Expressing Opinion, Preference, etc. So, pretty basic stuff but I am anxious to see the level of English that my students will actually have. Communication may be tough, but I WILL make these students better speakers. All of my students are 2^nd years and are going to school to be teachers. My job is to improve their English so that when they are teaching 1^st-4^th graders, they will be able to sufficiently teach them.

The level of impact I am able to create is quite amazing when I actually think about it. I have 2 sections of 40 teacher trainees. Those 40 students will turn around and instruct a classroom from anywhere from 40-60 students in their classrooms just their first year, and the years to come after that. The impact raises exponentially which is why I feel so grateful to be here and a part of IFESH. No doubt in my mind there will be serious obstacles but not anything I’m not ready to take on headfirst. I’m sitting here in the café making an attendance roster, a daily planning guide, writing objectives, creating assignments, figuring out the grading breakdown…this is the real deal. I’m one of the lucky ones who knows that my passion is teaching, but how crazy is it that my first official classroom is in Ethiopia!?  I’m pretty dang blessed to be living out this adventure, that’s for sure. Good things are to come for this lady. 

I can’t help but think of this quote today as I get ready tomorrow, it’s one of my favorites ...

“I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be happy. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be compassionate. It is, above all to matter, to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all.”

Here’s to the first day of class in my first classroom that I can call my own. After tomorrow, I’ll officially be Ms. Rath! 

<3

I'm a real Habesha now :)

First of all, Habesha is the word for Ethiopian, and after this week, I'm the real deal.

I had a whole lot of Ethiopian culture and food this week, and it was fantastic. Here are some of the things I did this week...

1. Made injera for the first time- Ethiopian traditional food that is comparable to a spongey, giant tortilla and the staple of every traditional meal. It is made with teft (a grain) mixed with water, and then left to ferment for 3-8 days. Then, the batter is poured onto a giant metal pan, on top of a wooden fire and cooks on 1 side until it is taken off. It's quite the process, and my first injera experience was less than perfect but by the time I leave, I'll be a pro!

2. I was gersha-d. To "gersha" someone is to take a pocket of injera with wot (a stew) inside and feed it to another person. It's a loving thing, a way to show affection and also force feeding :) Typically as the parent's eat they will gersha their own children, and when you gersha adults it's a way to show affection. It's quite funny when it happens, because a woman literally just took a giant serving of injera and pushed it into my mouth!

3. I helped make wot! Cooking with Ethiopian ladies is a quality time. Wot is like a stew and there are all different types of wot that are traditional in Ethiopia. Misir Wot is lentils with burberry, oil, onions, salt, tomato.  Shiro wot is oil, onions and shiro mixture of powdered chickpeas and spices. And there are so many more types of wot, but we only made those 2. It was entertaining for sure.

4. Took part in multiple buna ceremonies. Buna is coffee, and here in Ethiopia coffee is a giant part of their culture. They begin by washing the dry coffee beans, roasting them over a fire, then they grind them using a mortar and pestle (typically). Then, they boil the coffee grounds with water in a special clay container, and pour it into tea sized glasses. It's delicious. It's the smoothest coffee I've ever tasted, and has quite the kick of caffeine. A buna ceremony typically takes place in an Ethiopians home, and the process I described above is done in full. There is usually popcorn served with the coffee (strange mixture, I know) The process takes about an hour or so, and anywhere from 3-5 cups of coffee later it is an okay time to say farewell! The pace of life is so much more slow here, and the buna ceremony is one example of the importance of community and relaxing with one another.

5. I officially have an Ethiopian family :) My friend Heather lives on a compound with 13 other women and that is where many of these events took place this week. After the 2nd time of visiting the compound, one of the women said "Liz, you are now our family.." Pretty amazing how open, accepting and loving these people are. Good to know that I now have a place to call home to celebrate holidays, traditional events and just go to be with wonderful people.

Needless to say, it was a good week. Another IFESH volunteer came and it was exciting to meet her and help get her accustomed to Gondar. We went to Arada, the market to get all sort of supplies for her and showed her some of the favorite restaurants around. Tomorrow, I start my Amharic tutoring and a week from tomorrow the classes I'll be teaching will finally begin. I left for Ethiopia a month from today, and it's starting to feel like my own which is an amazing feeling. Good things to come :)


Here are some pictures of the adventure of injera and wot making with Heather at her compound.

The injera cover...

Jonas, the baby on the compound. He's a doll.

Injera, (the way it's supposed to look!)

Tending the fire

Pouring the Injera, notice Meisa laughing...

Didn't burn myself! 

My final product! It doesn't look quite as good as it should! 

Heather making injera like a pro

Final product- injera with burberry, the spice that they put on everything. Delicious :) 

Mesia washing and laughing at my broken Amharic. She looks at me and just giggles

Misir Wot...yum :)

Jonas likes to help cook too!

Frey wanted a picture with me. So sweet. 

<3 

Home-cooked meals, classes, and a fire.

There are lots of good things happening right now. Looking around me I’m so blessed,  it’s pretty incredible. No doubt in my mind that this was the right move for me to make...even if I have to pee in a bucket at night time for the year! 

This weekend was good. Heather and I visited the Brewery on Saturday for quite a few hours and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Sunday was just a lazy day full of Dexter and reading.

Last week I made my first official home cooked meal. I made (with the help of Heather) rice and stir fry of onions, garlic and carrots. We’re a little limited with vegetable choice here, so just going with what we have! We even had wine, and only a minor problem when the power strip I bought in Addis started burning and almost caught on fire. I learned 3 lessons from this experience of the almost fire…1. Don’t buy power strips from street shops in Addis because they will burn your house down 2. Heather stays calm in all situations (as I was walking back into the room I hear…”Uhh…Liz, there’s a fire…yup…a fire…” 3. IF there was an actual fire in my apartment, I still have no idea what I would do.  There’s no fire station here…stop, drop and roll? THEN, on Sunday, I made popcorn and actually started it on fire for real. I think this whole cooking thing is going to take a while for me to get down...

Ha, Anyway…Today is Monday and I think it should be a good week. Classes start later this week or next week. (I asked…and there’s no set date. What the heck, right??) I’ll be teaching Spoken English 203, a class for English majors who are 2^nd year students. All of the students here are working towards their degree in teaching, but my students will be specifically working on English. They will graduate to become primary school teachers grades 1-4, responsible to teach all subjects including English. 

I met with a teacher named Teddy who’s great, and so helpful. He has taught 203 before, so he’s helping me make sure I have everything in place. I don’t know how I would make it here if the people weren’t so wonderful! He also invited me to his house the next time they slaughter a lamb….so excited to see that! I had a meeting with him this morning, and then we had some tea. I also met my new Amharic tutor who I’ll be paying to help me with my Amharic so I can learn more. She seems great, so I’m excited to start that as well.

Once I get all the materials for my classes, I will be one busy lady. I’m heading in to town for coffee and work this afternoon and then out for dinner with friends. Right now is lunchtime, in which the whole town shuts down for at least 2 hours. I made myself an egg and avocado sandwich which was pretty fancy if I do say so myself J

Anyway, just wanted to give an update on how things were. Life is pretty great here. I miss my family, but I really think that before I know it, it will be July and I’ll be flying home.  I Skyped with them yesterday and would have given anything to be having a Sunday at home, watching the football game and eating chili on a Fall day. Oh well, that’s the opportunity cost of things like this I guess!

Hope you all have a great week

 <3 

I'd say it was a successful Saturday...

I haven't taken a ton of pictures so far, mainly because being new frenge(the word they call me on the street, translating to foreigner) in town I get enough attention without needing to take out my camera. 

As I've mentioned, there are 3 peace corp living in Gondar and this weekend some of their other friends came to visit. We went to visit the castles which are located at the center of town and are AMAZING. The whole time I was there I couldn't help but think, this is where I live..I can handle peeing in a dirty hole for a year.. :) After we went to the castles, we got some juice at a local juice bit or juice house, ate a lunch of fried fish (an ENTIRE fish just fried...my friend took pictures of that not me), and then made our way to the local brewery called Dashen Brewery where they serve Towers of beer for only 60 birr (under 4$). Needless to say, I'd say it was a successful Saturday.

Anyway, here are some pictures :)   

Heather, the Education peace corp  volunteer

The three girls are who came to visit, the guy is Mitch whose my neigbor

mmmmm :) A spritzer which is mixed juice. Guava, Avocado and Mango on top. Delicious. 

Beer towers, ladies from Freshman year, you'd be in love. Dad, maybe we should get some towers like these for the cabin :) 

:) 

I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul...

I re-read my last blog post- let’s be real, it was kinda intense. Given, it was exactly how I was feeling at the time, but I figured I should update and let you know that I’m doing just fine!

Thank you so much for the encouraging messages and prayers because something did the trick! One of the most inspiring messages I got was from Don, the initial contact I made with IFESH. He messaged me, and said some wonderful things, including the quote he was reminded of when he read my blog, "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.." which is the last line in a poem written in the context of Nelson Mandella's incarceration. I'm a quote person, so this fit perfectly :) 

After sleeping Tuesday night, everything got much more manageable. I’ve been taking bucket showers in the kitchen and trying to go to the bathroom as little as possible. It’s definitely not anything like Americans live like, but when in Rome…If anything else, I’m going to be one hardcore camper after living here for a year!

Some things I’m thankful for

1. Other Peace Corp Volunteers- There are three living in Gondar that I’ve met so far and they are all friends and have adopted me into their group. Mitch, Heather and Usman are their names, and they are all great. This weekend, a group of other PCVs came into town from some rural villages to visit, so last night was spent at the Dashen Brewery where we got TOWERS of beer (coolest thing ever) for 60 birr (less than 4$...) and then went and drank tej at a local shoulder dancing house. Tej is a homemade honey wine that they make here, it made me feel kinda sick though so not on my favorite list. Either way, it was great to get out and about and meet new people.

2.    A Fridge and Stove! Since Wednesday I’ve been trying to get one but my bank account was acting up! Finally the funds went through and I bought both a fridge and stove today and couldn’t be more excited to get some food in it and start cooking. (Today, I’ve eaten a bowl of oatmeal and some saltine crackers….) The stove is just a small 2-burner unit that plugs into the wall, similar to a camping stove. The fridge is smaller than in the US but will be perfect for me. I’m also thankful that IFESH reimbursed me for the cost.

3.  The staff at the college. They are wonderful people and are so excited that I’m here. I’ve made friends with the cleaning ladies whose main station is right outside of my apartment and they love to listen to me try to speak Amharic. We all sit and laugh, gesturing and they try to teach me new words. They are all older women with quite a lot of energy! I’ve been introduced to many people on campus and everyone seems so kind and helpful. I’ve also made good friends with the personal drivers, and Fanta the electrician. He came and fixed my lights yesterday so I can see at night and fixed my closet today. That means I finally put away my clothes and things look half way organized in here. Now I just need to print of pictures, get some decorations and I’ll be set.

The school year for the students I’ll be teaching starts later here. I won’t actually begin to teach my classes for 3 weeks, which gives me plenty of time to plan! But, in the meantime I’ll be helping the peace corp volunteer in the English Language Improvement Center (ELIC) and plan out the other trainings I’ll be doing. I’ve made some good contacts and will be getting into the primary schools training  teachers on how to instruct English. I also want to start a woman’s group of some sort because gender inequality is such a huge deal here. It’s exciting that the peace corp and VSO (volunteer services abroad)  is here so that we can collaborate on projects.

Well, that’s all for now. Tomorrow I’m going to visit the castle that is located in the Piazza, or the center of town, which will be awesome.  I just wanted to update and give some good news of good things going on here.

Hope all is well my friends

<3  

No toilet, no shower, no lights, no problem.

Seriously, if you could only see me now. Friends and family reading this...you would be proud of me today. To be honest, I'm proud of myself.

The day started with a 4am wake up call in the hotel. After getting ready, I packed up my bags, put them in the car and we drove to the airport. Luckily, my supervisor from Gondar was flying back with me so it was nice to have him there since people don't speak much English here. We got through all of the long lines at the airport and needless to say, developing countries have much different airports than we do in the US...

We got on the plane, and an hour plus a sandwich later we arrived in the tiny airport of Gondar. My supervisor had somewhere to go so we dropped him off, and the driver took me to my new, "home" at Gondar College for Teacher Education. We pulled up to the college where the streets were filled with unknown faces who were all staring at me and I'm sure wondering who the heck I was. It's tough to be stared at, and talked about especially when you have no idea what they are saying. We eventually pulled up, unloaded the van and I was finally "home."

I put home in quotes because it definitely did not look, feel, smell or sound like my home, or really any place I'd ever seen before. The electricity was out when I arrived but luckily it was only 9am so there was plenty of light for me to see how filthy my new "home" was. I have two square rooms. One of the rooms has a bed, table and set of drawers. The other room is like my living room and has a sofa a few chairs and another wooden storage compartment. The walls are cement but painted white, and extremely dirty. It smells old and unlived in, but I guess my supervisor did warn me.

Even though he warned me, nothing could have braced me for the bathroom situation. Literally, I almost broke down in tears. It's disgusting. It's a 2 minute walk away which isn't too far, but it is the teachers public bathroom. I have a key to my own stall and my own shower but faculty come in and out of the bathroom on a regular basis-both male and female. It smells like an out house that has been sitting in the hot sun for 6 months. The ground is terribly dirty and the shower is just a tiny square with a door that locks, with a spicket.  Don't get me wrong, I know that I didn't come to Ethiopia thinking I would have American accommodations. I wasn't expecting it, and I'm not above what these people are used to, but it is SO different from how we live.

I talked to my supervisor and for a number of reasons asked if there were any other options. I know that they are planning to build a bathroom closer, but until them I just don't know if I can do it. He said that we would talk to the Dean, so that we did. It was an...interesting...first impression while meeting with the Dean (that's another story) but he insisted that I stay in a hotel. That was that, I was going to a hotel. He was planning on having me stay in the hotel for about a month until the new bathroom had been built.

I was so overwhelmed, exhausted, felt like a needy American, and also felt unheard because the Dean made a quick decision and that was that. My immediate supervisor (the one who flew with me from Addis) and I went to go check out the hotel. When we got there, I saw the room and I just said no, I don't want to stay here. I came to Africa to live in Africa, not live like I do in America. It would have been nice to stay in a hotel in some aspects, but I'm ready to make this place truly my new home...and I want to start by staying here tonight, not at some hotel.

Until the bathroom is constructed, I will take bucket showers in the kitchen. I'll just lock the door behind me, fill up a bucket and clean up over the drain in the floor. I've done bucket showers before, not pleasant but doable. In terms of using the toilet, I'm praying that I don't get sick and use the bathroom as I need to and just tough it out. It's a big change, but if other people can do it, I can too. I'll cover the toilet.

Today, after we went to the hotel we headed to the bank. The bank was a whole other fiasco and after an hour or so I walked out with my own account at Ethiopian Commercial bank. Then my supervisor, myself and the peace corp volunteer named Mitch (who had been with us all day) all shared a pizza at a local restaurant.  Afterwards, we walked around downtown Gondar, bought a few groceries and took a taxibus back to the college. The taxibus are the big mini vans that they shove 20 people into. I was too scared (and too spoiled taking taxis instead) to ride these types of rides in Tanzania but here, first night I was on one!

We made it home for only 2birr (around 8 cents) and when we got there all the electricity in the college was out because there weren't even street lights which Mitch said there usually are. I took out my head lamp from my purse, and we walked to our places. I lit a candle, and in candle light I sit here writing this blog. In a bit I will crawl into my sleeping bag and lay down on my makeshift pillow I created using extra clothes of mine. I'm all alone, and listening to my music that calms me down and I'm actually quite content.

There's no doubt in my mind that this is going to be hard...maybe the hardest adventure I've had but great achievement requires great risk. As I sit here unwinding from my day and debriefing it in my head I come back to the idea of my gratitude journal. There were so many things that were frustrating today, so many reasons I felt like I wasn't going to be able to make it here, and I'm just so exhausted. I feel like it's important to go back to the root of where happiness and contentment comes from and that to me is gratitude.

Today I'm thankful for human beings. I WOULD NOT have made it through today without my everyone around me helping out and supporting me, especially my supervisor and Mitch. They were amazing...they were patient, understanding and we worked through to day as a team. So fantastic to have them around and I'm excited to see the friendships continue. Apart from those two, I was reminded today at how good people are. Someone always offered to help when I was struggling with luggage, the Dean arranged a car to take us to the hotel and bank, people were patient with my crappy Amharic...all around, I'm just thankful for other people because the world would not be as grand as it is without the generosity of others.

That's the end of my rant for the evening. I'm sorry if there are typos and if it's sporadically written but that's just where my mind is right now. It's almost 9pm, and it's time for bed for this girl.

If you're a person of prayer, please send some up for me..specifically for strength, perseverance and extra love when I may not be loving my bathroom situation. :)

<3