Time here is a strange thing. My last blog update was, I don’t know, 2-3 weeks ago? I was pretty shocked to see that it’s been 6 days. Oh Ethiopia! I am currently in Addis Ababa once again. It is nice to be back here. I can’t explain how much this place seems like a luxury now. I have a toilet that I only share with my roomie, not an entire family. There is a shower with HOT water. I took perhaps the greatest shower of my life yesterday. There are enough Americans that we overrun the hotel so we all get left alone… Amazing!

First things first: I cut off a ton of my hair. It is way easier and even looks goods! Double score!! I wanted to post a picture and while there were definitely betters ones, I felt a calling to post what may be one of the more fantastic photos of myself if I may say so.

As mentioned previously, my temporary site is Eteya. Now that I have spent some time here, I quite like it. There are some really fun people, lots of places to waste time and it is beautiful. Behind my compound are fields where they grow coffee (I really have no idea what they grow, that is a complete lie). I woke up early a few mornings ago and took some pictures of the trail I walk when I get coffee, which means I walk this way like three time a day. It was nice early in the morning because there were not many people. It really took my breath away. To be honest, I normally pay no attention to the landscape because I am focused on fist bombing children, staying away from crazies and not falling in mud.

And here is one of the main road of the city.

Last Saturday, we had our site announcement. It was this overly cheesy ceremony where we all found out where we will be living for the next two years. We all met in the hub town of Assela and each site was read off to the thunderous applause of us volunteers. When people’s names where called, they received an envelope with site information and a rolled up map of Ethiopia. When people in the front row had their maps, it became quite the silly walk of fame.

It was an intense experience. When a girl named Lauren was placed, I almost had a heart attack. Same with Nora. Finally, they announced my site: Assela!!! Sounds familiar right? Oh, yeah. It was the town that I was literally in. It is a town of around 70,000 people, which is on the larger size. It is three hours from Addis (all on paved roads!!!!). There are currently three other Peace Corps Volunteers serving there so I will have some American company. So even though I was hoping for a small site in the middle of nowhere, I really feel like I got lucky with my site. Plus, there is a place that has pizza. Pizza!!! That alone, I feel, is going to get me through some hard times! Once everyone received their placement, naturally a dance party broke out.

That is a-whole-nother thing. I don’t know if this is an Ethiopia thing or just Peace Corps, but there is impromptu dancing. All. The. Time. And dancing here is great. You step side to side and move your shoulders as awkwardly as possible. If there is one strength I have while dancing, it is looking awkward!

Well, I am going to go take a hot shower, purely out of desire not necessity. This upcoming week, I am going to Assela and learning the lay of the land. So while this training is crazy busy, I’ll try to post what the actual town I will be living in is like (entice you people to come visit perhaps)