Welcome to Addis

Well, week 1 is complete plus a few days. It's been a busy, exciting, exhausting but an invigorating week. I leave for my post in Gondar, Ethiopia on Tuesday early morning. 

1. And   One is the number of nights that I’ve slept completely through the night.  This time difference and jet lag is kickin my butt! The chanting of the Orthodox churches doesn't help!

2. Hulat Two is the number of times per day that we receive, “health breaks.” AKA- a half hour break in the morning, and in the afternoon to drink tea or coffee, eat snacks and converse with each other. We are fed a ridiculous amount of food, but that will all change soon! The health breaks especially are pretty great actually.   

3.   Sost  Three is the number of “field trips” or cultural outings we’ve been on. The first to the largest festival in Ethiopia called, “The True Cross.” After receiving VIP badges to watch the festival in Meskal Square, the festivities continued at our hotel where there was a cultural, “Coffee Ceremony” and bonfire. The bonfires are held on this festival day all over the country, small and large. The second outing was to an Ethiopian restaurant with entertainment of Ethiopian dancers and an authentic band. The main singer of the band came over to our area, pulled me out of my seat and needless to say, I impressed my new friends with my shoulder dancing skills. Hahaha…so much fun with everyone dancing the night away. Lastly, the third outing was this morning when walked up a mountain outside of Addis, up to a historical church/palace/museum. It is also where there is, “holy water” thought to cure HIV/AIDS and other ailments is located, so many people who are sick travel to this place for healing. It was interesting to be there and see it.

4. Arat The number of days until I move to my site in Gondar. I am flying in a plane to the city on 

Tuesday morning! I'll be living on campus there in a "studio." I'm just praying that there is a working fridge and stove, hot water would be a plus. 

5. Amist  Five is T=the number of times I’ve been able to successfully get online-although it may be for just a few minutes at a time and in between power outages. It's funny because power goes out here, and it's just second nature. No one worries, just the way it all works. BUT, now I have an internet device so it should be more reliable from here on out...hopefully.

6. Sidist The number out of 10, or 60% of Ethiopians who are illiterate. Incredible isn't it? Can you imagine the what the US would be like if 60% of it's people couldn't read or write? We had speakers this week come in from USAID, Peace Corps, VSO, the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, Public Health representatives and other professionals who discussed the current state of Ethiopia, and the small role that we play in the big puzzle. 

7. Sabat  The number of my team members who have their doctorate degrees. The degrees vary from Urban Higher Education to Engineering. I'm actually the only one on my team with out a masters degree...it's a little intimidating!  7 is also the number of times I’ve heard my supervisor Ato Mamo say, “We sent you a job description just to get you here…” meaning that the job description isn't entirely true because we truly create our own position based upon the needs of our institution. Exciting, yet terrifying all at the same time.

     8. Simint The percent, (7.8%) of Ethiopians living in the Amhara region (where I’ll be living) infected with HIV/AIDS.

9.   Zatan The number of hours we’ve spent learning Amharic- one of the many languages spoken in Ethiopia. I’m hoping I’ll be fairly fluent by the time I leave. I will at least be able to do the basic functions and not have locals laugh at me!  

10. Asir The number of glasses of South African red wine I’ve had with my colleagues at the hotel we’re staying at over the past week. The wine is lovely, and even better when sitting on a rooftop, decompressing long days, getting to know amazing people, with the sound of a busy street and prayer chants from a local mosque in the background. 

Overall, it's been a great week and it's been fantastic getting to know such amazing people. I'm looking forward to heading to my site in Gondar where I'll call home for the next 10 months. Here's a few pictures from the festival we attended. More pictures will come later, but I need to get back to a meeting!

The sea of people as we entered the festival...

 Drumming away :) Such amazing colors

Umbrellas are customary- they worked well for the rain too! 

Our group, plus or minus a few

Bahera and Douglas- married for 30 some years, met while volunteering in Africa. Lovely people, and Bahera has taken the role as my mother away from home :) 

Lighting our own bonfire

Hope everyone is doing well! :)

<3