August 25, 2009
I’ve now been living at my site, Dilla, for a little over six months and have been in Ethiopia for almost nine months. It’s ok, you can allow yourselves to be shocked that you’ve made it so long without me; I know I am. I mean, I’m shocked I’ve made it so long without YOU, of course! :) So apparently, according to the Peace Corps Emotional Rollercoaster (it’s not just internal, they actually have a graph), I should be in a little downward dip at this 6-month point of my service. Damn Peace Corps, I pride myself on being such an individual and they got me down to a T with their stupid rollercoaster.
Things have been tough lately. On a bright note, the harassment, although still very much present, has been getting better. “Benny” is quickly catching on and I am feeling a little more integrated in my very large community. While I am on that, I was disappointed to learn from my mom that many of you did not get my “Jets” reference. It’s Elton John, folks; “Benny and the Jets”. Maybe you’ve heard it before. Not one of my fave Elton hits but it fits the bill.
Anyway, what’s been difficult lately is mostly feeling a little unaccomplished with work. The American in me (I know, I didn’t think there was much in me either) is kicking in and naturally expecting to see results after 6 months of “work”. Not only are there no results, I have no concrete projects in the works. I feel like I am still just trying to meet people and so far behind the other volunteers. I am sure everyone is feeling this way, but I am still having a difficult time breaking my self-criticism and frustration.
I’ve also been pretty homesick lately. The funny thing about being homesick is that sometimes I find myself missing the strangest things/places. Of course I miss the people I love most and the places I love most (NY and my favorite spots within it). But sometimes places pop into my head and, while missing it terribly, I think, “I’ve only been there like 2 times” or “I don’t even like that place.” For instance, I find the hot dog stand outside the City Hall subway station popping into my head far too frequently. Granted, those that know me know I LOVE a good street hotdog but I can count the number of times I have been to City Hall on two hands (mostly to deliver grants to government buildings or for ROC events) and can count the number of times I have bought hotdogs at that stand on one hand. Yet I think about and miss it frequently.
The other place that caught be by surprise and let me know I was really having a tough time here, was when I found myself yearning to be in Los Angeles. No offense, Sister, I know you love it, but LA is really not my kind of place. When all of a sudden I had an image of LA in my head and wanted to be there, I was like, “Whoa, Bonnie. You need to get a grip.” Hehe.
I guess the stranger thing is that, even though I miss home so much, this place really does feel like a home of sorts. My life here feels like life; not a vacation, not this crazy temporary experience, but just life. In the beginning I had to tell myself that this was home for the next two years; that this was my life now. Now, I just think it naturally. Thinking about my life being anything different is what’s abnormal. The way I think about life in America is similar to the way I think nostalgically on my time studying abroad in Barcelona: an amazing time, but one that is over. It’s also kind of like the way people in America think about what it would be like to live in Italy or something. You imagine it being filled with drinking good wine and eating amazing aged cheese and salami all the time. It’s all romanticized and glorified.
That’s kind of how I think about life in America now. I think about summers playing in Central Park with my friends, eating any type of food I want, seeing more than two different races of people, getting someplace in less than 2 hours and without someone practically sitting on my lap, etc. Can you believe I even romanticize riding the subway?! I tend to leave out details like having to work, being broke and the like. But ultimately, I think it’s a good thing for me. Eventually, I will have to face “American” reality but in the meantime, living in America doesn’t feel like reality to me. Ethiopia is real; America is a dream. And if I keep thinking that way, I think I will last here longer than I sometimes want to.
Speaking of that, I have sad news. This week, we are losing two more volunteers from my group. Christina (who is from CT and whose mom works with my Aunty Mary) and CR (one of my good friends who lives relatively close to me…8 hours-ish) have both decided to Early Terminate (ET) and will both be back in the States within a week. Christina leaves on Thursday and CR will probably be gone by Monday. I am going into Addis Ababa this weekend to say goodbye to her. Both of them recently traveled outside of Ethiopia (CR to the States and Christina to Germany, where her mom is from and boy friend lives) and upon returning, realized that they were much happier in those respective places. Neither of them have been very happy since we have been at site and it seems this is the best thing for them. I completely support them but I’ll also miss them a lot. I am sure you all remember from my blog posts in the past how difficult it is to lose fellow volunteers. We really are a family here.
However, while I am on that note, I have a happy update on my friend Travis (the one who was forced to go home because of asthma). He applied to re-enroll into another PC program, one which could deal with his medical condition, and just last week left for the Philippines! Although it’s daunting to have to start all over again, he is really happy with his placement (and with good reason, that sounds way better than Ethiopia!). So I am really happy for him about that.
Anyway, there is just a quick little emotional update for you all. I am hanging in there and am optimistic about my future here. I still don’t really know what is going to happen work-wise but I have faith something will come together. Hopefully I’ll be climbing that next big hill on the rollercoaster soon. As always, thank you for your love and support. If anyone has any interest in supporting me more, um, tangibly, here are some things that I enjoy receiving:
Will accept unlimited supplies of:
-canned chicken and tuna (in water)
-cheese of any kind (it travels fine, I swear)
-beef/turkey jerky and summer sausage/hard salami (also travels fine)
-chips or crackers (triscuits and stonewheat are favorites)
-chocolate
-pasta and rice seasoning packets, like Knorr or Zataran’s black beans and rice or jambalaya
-nuts and dried fruit
-entertainment (books, DVDs, news magazines, puzzles, paint-by-numbers, crafts of any kind)
-recipes! (preferably ones that don’t have very exotic ingredients; simple is better)
Things I need only one of so communicate with each other:
-the book, The Magus by John Fowles
-a Schick Quattro women’s razor
-a dark-colored fitted sheet (anything you have extra in your closet, doesn’t need to be new, just dark because it’s dirty here. And they only sell top sheets which really don’t stay tucked in.)
And seriously, please feel no obligation to send me anything. I’m not starving or anything. Just if you WANT to send me something, these are some helpful hints. But I will accept ANYTHING gratefully so don’t feel tied to this list. Thanks!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tales of Turning 24
August 11, 2009
First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA (July 22nd), MAUREEN AND DAD (July 30th) and Kelly (July 31st)!!
I hope you all had spectacular birthdays this year.
As for my birthday, it started out a little shaky but was wonderful in the end. The night before my birthday was sleepless, interrupted by intermittent trips to my friend John’s disgusting latrine with persistent diarrhea and phone calls from home from loved ones who are used to the crappy network in my town and wanted to make sure they would be able to reach me. I have no complaints about the phone calls (thank you!) but the runs I could have done without.
Next, Kyle and I went to the bus station to catch a bus to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where I was meeting up with some friends for my birthday. The best part was, Gail, one of my best friends who lives on the other side of the country (we joke that she lives in Sudan and I live in Kenya) was going to be in Addis as well, for medical. The bus ride took 8 hours when it should take about 5, due to traffic outside of Addis. We were just sitting in absolute bumper-to-bumper for 3 hours. Might I remind you that I have the runs on top of it. So I was sitting there anxiously, trying not to crap myself. You’re welcome for the details; you just have to read it, I have to live it. When we FINALLY get into Addis, our bus breaks down and we are all forced to get out in the middle of a busy street and find line taxis, called “Blue Donkeys”. They have specific routes so we had to find the right one to get to our hotel.
Luckily, when we arrived at the hotel, our friends had already reserved rooms and I am able to take my first hot shower in what seems like ages! It was just what I needed. Getting to the restaurant to meet everyone was a chore, as it was raining, but when we got there at about 8pm, they surprised me with a cake, roses, a bottle of champagne and two huge beer towers!! We were treating ourselves to dinner at the Beer Garden. I was so surprised and felt so loved. I really have made some amazing friends here. At least through the other volunteers; I am still working on making some real Ethiopian friends. There has been some progress on that front, details coming in the next blog.
So after an amazing dinner (I ate chicken! Yeah, CHICKEN! I wish you could comprehend how exciting that was), a few of us went out dancing with these VSO volunteers (a service organization kind of similar to Peace Corps based out of the UK. They can serve 6 month, 1 year, or 2 years stints). One of them is dating an Ethiopian woman who just happened to share the same birthday as me! Although for her calendar, the birthday is the 25th of Hamlay, which is the 11th month of their 13 month calendar.
Brief aside: I believe I have mentioned that the Ethiopian day begins as 6 o’clock so their time is 6 hours after the rest of the world’s time…convenient, I know. Additionally, they have their own calendar. The Ethiopian New Year is on, coincidentally enough, September 11th (Maura and Catherine, maybe Ethiopia is the place for you two. Your birthday is actually a celebration over here!). They have 13 months, the first twelve of which are all 30 days long and then the final month is only 5 days long (and no one gets paid for that month). Additionally, the year here is 2001, 8 years behind the rest of the world. Therefore, there is no easy mathematical way to translate the Egrarian calendar date from the Ethiopian calendar and vice versa. Sometimes people and offices will have calendars that have both dates, which are very helpful, but in day-to-day life it’s extremely complicated, which is why I basically ignore their calendar. Have I mentioned that Ethiopia is unique? Yeah, it’s a little annoyingly unique.
Moving along… So my birthday was a success and lots of fun. The following day I had plans to visit my host family in Ambo, but they were in Addis for a wedding. I was somewhat relieved because it was really cold and rainy and the last thing I wanted was to get on a bus. So instead, Kyle and I went to the movies where much to his dismay, the only showing of the new Harry Potter had already passed so we saw The Hangover instead. It was funny and a nice break from Ethiopia. There weren’t even any power outages at the movie theater like last time! Monday morning we went into the Peace Corps office to use internet and such. They have satellite internet so all the sites that the Ethiopian government blocks (such as my blog site) are accessible there! So I got to actually look at my blog for the first time since I’ve been here. You can all thank my mom for posting my entries and pictures on my censored behalf.
In the afternoon we went to Fitche, a small town about 2-3 hours north of Addis where Karen lives. The ride was beautiful, despite riding in a bus with a bunch of Ethiopians who honestly believe that they will catch diseases by having the windows open and many of whom were vomiting into plastic bags on account of their illogical misconception. When we arrived in Fitche, it was close to dark, there was no cell phone network, and we had no idea where Karen lives. After much asking around, we find a bajaj driver who thinks he knows where she lives. We get in the general area and continue asking and through a neighborhood effort, we are personally escorted to Karen’s door. This is an early indication of how wonderful the people in Fitche are…and the benefits of being the only white person living in a town. Karen is surprised and delighted to see us and welcomes us in saying, “I didn’t know if you brought slippers so I bought you some.” Ethiopians all have house shoes, these ugly plastic shoes imported from China and widely available in any town, necessary in order not to track mud and dirt into the home. Karen, the doll that she is, actually went out and bought Kyle and I a pair. Unfortunately for Kyle, the largest size she can find was like a Women’s 10. Ethiopians are tiny.
None of us was particularly hungry so we just sat in her cozy living room, catching up by candlelight (no power). Karen is such a wonderful person to be around. She has the warmest presence and makes you feel more comfortable and at peace just by being near her. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a therapist back in the States and is professional listener. That’s actually why we went to FItche, in addition to wanting to see her, because she is doing an art therapy program for orphan children in her town. Kyle and I are both interested in doing a similar program in our respective towns, so we wanted to check it out. Kyle wants to do the program with children, many orphans, from the rural area of his town. I am hoping to adapt the program to adults in the Dilla Prison. Her program was great. Doing art for kids here is extremely difficult, though, because it is just so foreign to them. Artistic expression, any kind of creativity is not encouraged here so one is ever challenged to think abstractly or even to just think for themselves. It’s one of the things that frustrates me the most about living here. So the kids didn’t always understand the instructions, they were often just drawing what the person next to them was drawing, but they were so happy to have real colors to use. Karen had crayons and colored pencils sent from the States and I am confident it was the first time any of those children had used them before. It is going to take time for them to feel comfortable expressing themselves through art, but I think it was already a success. And I think these are the programs that are going to change Ethiopians’ mentalities so that progress and innovation may be possible from within the country, rather than always initiated by international organizations. I can only hope.
So thank you family and friends for the calls, the cards, the presents, etc. Even though I am far away, I felt extremely loved for my birthday. More updates (hopefully) coming soon! Love and miss you all!
Oh, and I got bit by a dog…but I’m ok!
First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY NORA (July 22nd), MAUREEN AND DAD (July 30th) and Kelly (July 31st)!!
I hope you all had spectacular birthdays this year.
As for my birthday, it started out a little shaky but was wonderful in the end. The night before my birthday was sleepless, interrupted by intermittent trips to my friend John’s disgusting latrine with persistent diarrhea and phone calls from home from loved ones who are used to the crappy network in my town and wanted to make sure they would be able to reach me. I have no complaints about the phone calls (thank you!) but the runs I could have done without.
Next, Kyle and I went to the bus station to catch a bus to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, where I was meeting up with some friends for my birthday. The best part was, Gail, one of my best friends who lives on the other side of the country (we joke that she lives in Sudan and I live in Kenya) was going to be in Addis as well, for medical. The bus ride took 8 hours when it should take about 5, due to traffic outside of Addis. We were just sitting in absolute bumper-to-bumper for 3 hours. Might I remind you that I have the runs on top of it. So I was sitting there anxiously, trying not to crap myself. You’re welcome for the details; you just have to read it, I have to live it. When we FINALLY get into Addis, our bus breaks down and we are all forced to get out in the middle of a busy street and find line taxis, called “Blue Donkeys”. They have specific routes so we had to find the right one to get to our hotel.
Luckily, when we arrived at the hotel, our friends had already reserved rooms and I am able to take my first hot shower in what seems like ages! It was just what I needed. Getting to the restaurant to meet everyone was a chore, as it was raining, but when we got there at about 8pm, they surprised me with a cake, roses, a bottle of champagne and two huge beer towers!! We were treating ourselves to dinner at the Beer Garden. I was so surprised and felt so loved. I really have made some amazing friends here. At least through the other volunteers; I am still working on making some real Ethiopian friends. There has been some progress on that front, details coming in the next blog.
So after an amazing dinner (I ate chicken! Yeah, CHICKEN! I wish you could comprehend how exciting that was), a few of us went out dancing with these VSO volunteers (a service organization kind of similar to Peace Corps based out of the UK. They can serve 6 month, 1 year, or 2 years stints). One of them is dating an Ethiopian woman who just happened to share the same birthday as me! Although for her calendar, the birthday is the 25th of Hamlay, which is the 11th month of their 13 month calendar.
Brief aside: I believe I have mentioned that the Ethiopian day begins as 6 o’clock so their time is 6 hours after the rest of the world’s time…convenient, I know. Additionally, they have their own calendar. The Ethiopian New Year is on, coincidentally enough, September 11th (Maura and Catherine, maybe Ethiopia is the place for you two. Your birthday is actually a celebration over here!). They have 13 months, the first twelve of which are all 30 days long and then the final month is only 5 days long (and no one gets paid for that month). Additionally, the year here is 2001, 8 years behind the rest of the world. Therefore, there is no easy mathematical way to translate the Egrarian calendar date from the Ethiopian calendar and vice versa. Sometimes people and offices will have calendars that have both dates, which are very helpful, but in day-to-day life it’s extremely complicated, which is why I basically ignore their calendar. Have I mentioned that Ethiopia is unique? Yeah, it’s a little annoyingly unique.
Moving along… So my birthday was a success and lots of fun. The following day I had plans to visit my host family in Ambo, but they were in Addis for a wedding. I was somewhat relieved because it was really cold and rainy and the last thing I wanted was to get on a bus. So instead, Kyle and I went to the movies where much to his dismay, the only showing of the new Harry Potter had already passed so we saw The Hangover instead. It was funny and a nice break from Ethiopia. There weren’t even any power outages at the movie theater like last time! Monday morning we went into the Peace Corps office to use internet and such. They have satellite internet so all the sites that the Ethiopian government blocks (such as my blog site) are accessible there! So I got to actually look at my blog for the first time since I’ve been here. You can all thank my mom for posting my entries and pictures on my censored behalf.
In the afternoon we went to Fitche, a small town about 2-3 hours north of Addis where Karen lives. The ride was beautiful, despite riding in a bus with a bunch of Ethiopians who honestly believe that they will catch diseases by having the windows open and many of whom were vomiting into plastic bags on account of their illogical misconception. When we arrived in Fitche, it was close to dark, there was no cell phone network, and we had no idea where Karen lives. After much asking around, we find a bajaj driver who thinks he knows where she lives. We get in the general area and continue asking and through a neighborhood effort, we are personally escorted to Karen’s door. This is an early indication of how wonderful the people in Fitche are…and the benefits of being the only white person living in a town. Karen is surprised and delighted to see us and welcomes us in saying, “I didn’t know if you brought slippers so I bought you some.” Ethiopians all have house shoes, these ugly plastic shoes imported from China and widely available in any town, necessary in order not to track mud and dirt into the home. Karen, the doll that she is, actually went out and bought Kyle and I a pair. Unfortunately for Kyle, the largest size she can find was like a Women’s 10. Ethiopians are tiny.
None of us was particularly hungry so we just sat in her cozy living room, catching up by candlelight (no power). Karen is such a wonderful person to be around. She has the warmest presence and makes you feel more comfortable and at peace just by being near her. It doesn’t hurt that she’s a therapist back in the States and is professional listener. That’s actually why we went to FItche, in addition to wanting to see her, because she is doing an art therapy program for orphan children in her town. Kyle and I are both interested in doing a similar program in our respective towns, so we wanted to check it out. Kyle wants to do the program with children, many orphans, from the rural area of his town. I am hoping to adapt the program to adults in the Dilla Prison. Her program was great. Doing art for kids here is extremely difficult, though, because it is just so foreign to them. Artistic expression, any kind of creativity is not encouraged here so one is ever challenged to think abstractly or even to just think for themselves. It’s one of the things that frustrates me the most about living here. So the kids didn’t always understand the instructions, they were often just drawing what the person next to them was drawing, but they were so happy to have real colors to use. Karen had crayons and colored pencils sent from the States and I am confident it was the first time any of those children had used them before. It is going to take time for them to feel comfortable expressing themselves through art, but I think it was already a success. And I think these are the programs that are going to change Ethiopians’ mentalities so that progress and innovation may be possible from within the country, rather than always initiated by international organizations. I can only hope.
So thank you family and friends for the calls, the cards, the presents, etc. Even though I am far away, I felt extremely loved for my birthday. More updates (hopefully) coming soon! Love and miss you all!
Oh, and I got bit by a dog…but I’m ok!
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