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