Before I came here I thought I didn’t have any expectations about what this experience would be like. The reality of that is I had many expectations and none of them have turned out to be true. I expected to be teaching a English class, the reality is I’m working with English teachers in many English classes. I expected to be in a tiny village with little electricity/running water/few English speakers/ no internet access/ and desert like conditions. The reality is I live in the second largest city in Ethiopia. Not only do I have internet access I can get free wireless internet when the power is on at a few hotels. While electricity isn’t always constant it’s never out (knock on wood) long enough for my cellphone to die. I’m nowhere near the desert. I meet a lot of people who speak enough English that we can communicate with my limited Amharic and their English. Water is on and off but never off for long enough that it’s a major problem. I make enough birr each month that I can treat myself to the occasional burger or pizza. Now they aren’t anything like an American burger or pizza but they get the job done. I expected that everyone in my town would know my name. There are people in Gondar who will never see me and the ‘th’ sound is impossible for Ethiopians to pronounce so those who know my name don’t actually say my name.
While I am pleasantly surprised by how this has turned out, I didn’t take into account how tough it would be to have internet access and be able to see my friends facebook pages and things like that. Seeing life back home, concerts, parties, weddings, etc., fun things makes me ask what am I doing here, why am I not home acting my age? I am the youngest PCV in Ethiopia, the average age of a Peace Corps Volunteer is 27. Now that I’m here that statistic makes more sense to me. Don’t get me wrong I am happy here, I just have some really awesome friends and family back home. The statistic makes sense because it takes a certain level of willpower to stay here. It also makes sense that I am the youngest PCV here and am 6 years younger than the average because I am insane. It also takes a certain level of crazy to stay here. Like my mother has said all of her children are extreme. Graduating college and moving to Ethiopia a week later I think counts as extreme. I expected this experience to be challenging, the experience itself isn’t the challenging part however, learning Amharic, building relationships, eating Ethiopian food is the easy part, the hard part missing my friends, family and cheese. The plus side of the internet is I get lots of encouragement from back home which helps me greatly to suck it up, there will be plenty of fun to be had when I get home in two years. Whenever I need a pick me up or a jump start to stay here all I have to do is walk outside. I always meet at least one person who makes me remember how awesome being here is and I always have the people on my compound like Abi or Selam to brighten my day. I am really lucky to have such a large extended family here.
Thoughts About My Current Life:
-My malaria medication has forced me to be emotional and deal with it.
-I still have no idea what happens with the trash and I need to solve that mystery.
-I bathe when I smell myself.
-I make up stories about the white tourists I see in piazza.
-I’ve been called teacher on the street almost as much as I am called ferenji.
-The mountain I walk up to go to school leaves me out of breath every time.
-I no longer dread blunt questions like what is on your face? Well that would be a pimple, not a bug bite. I now think the interest with me is humorous.
-Killing bugs with my hands, big or small is second nature.
-My voice is changing.
-The list of things I won’t eat has basically been eliminated, except for pickles.
-I have lived with a bed and small stool as my only furniture for over 2 months now.
-I have accepted bug bites as a way of life.
-I wear sunglasses no matter the weather to avoid eye contact with men.
-I am incapable of feeling embarrassed.
-Weeks go by faster and faster.
-The kids on my street have really sweet ninja moves and are now more interested in their karate fights than me when I walk by. Which makes me smile.
-I’ve watched season 1 of Modern Family 8 times and I still die laughing at it every time.
-Every time I get into a bajaj and speak Amharic to the driver, he is impressed and asks me where I’m from. When I say America, 99.9999% of the time they say “O! you killed Osama Bin Laden!” This cracks me up.
Albany to Africa 