So it turns out I’m in Ethiopia

Today marks the one-week anniversary that I have been in country. While normally a one-week anniversary is reserved for addicts and 14-year old girls in relationships, for me, it feels like an accomplishment. Based off everything I have done, it feels like a month ago that I was home. And a lot of that comes from the three-day long trip I was just able to take. 

Peace Corps Ethiopia has this new part of training called “demystification”. The goal is to get us, new volunteers, grouped with experienced volunteers so we can see what life is actually like for a PCV. My group left Saturday afternoon to live with an education volunteer in Hossaena. We caught the bus at Mercado- the largest outdoor market in all of Africa. At that moment, I finally felt like I was in Africa. There were seemingly endless people all trying to peddle their product. It was pretty overwhelming due to the sheer amount of people and my lack of language skills. But, we made it onto the bus and we able to see the amazing scenery of Ethiopia before arriving to Hossaena.

Once there, we visited the compound where the PCV lives and saw some of the town. We went out for dinner and as we were eating, the power went out. Although eating dinner by candlelight in a distant land may sound romantic and surreal, it just made eating mystery meat a little more unnerving. After that, we got to run home in the pouring rain and hope that we did not trip on the dirt roads.

On Monday, we were able to visit several schools in the area and observe a class. We went to a public primary school, private primary school and college. All were different so it was nice to be able to see them all and compare. The public schools have about 50-60 students per class while the private schools have 30-40. Summer break was just starting so it was not a routine day but we were able to see a teacher give a lesson to young students where they sang about the actions of various animals. I don’t know that it taught them practical English, but it was really cute. On the way home from these schools, we walked by a very “oh man, I'm in Africa” scene. There was a dead hyena being eaten by vultures. I mention this disgusting detail for two reasons:

1. Apparently no one every sees dead hyenas and when we told people around town, the were instantly jealous
2. Vultures are huge. Like seriously huge. I have never seen a bird that large. The wing span had to be 4+ feet across.

All in all, I don’t think I will watch The Lion King that same way every again. Here are some photos on the walked back- minus the hyena.  

One of the worst parts of being a PCV is all the down time. You may work 6 days a week, but only for 3-4 hours a day. While watching movies and reading are all great options, the Peace Corps is kind of about experiencing culture so it is important to get out. One way we did this was to go to a juice bar in Hossaena (I had a half mango half avocado drink, it was great). This juice bar also has cultural things, which makes it a fancy/special café that I cannot remember the name of in Amharic. It was there that I met a little friend. He was enthralled with his own reflection in my glasses so, today, I leave you with this