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. :)
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prayers sent your way Liz! love you!
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