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
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