Hi world! I am very happy to report that I am now an official Peace Corps volunteer. We, 50 of us, swore in last Friday in the beautiful gardens of the US Embassy. The US Ambassador gave a nice talk about the lifelong commitment it is to be a Peace Corps Volunteer and how influential it can be for many many years to come. It was a lovely, inspiring ceremony and I am filled with enthusiasm and joy at fulfilling one of my dreams.
I have now been in Goba for exactly one week and love it. My new home is wonderful- it has a lovely grass yard, colorfully painted shint bet (outhouse), a shower hut (that sometimes even has warmish water), and two furnished rooms! Not the small simple dirt house I always imagined but I'll take it! So many other volunteers have a tough start to moving in with no furniture and I feel very very fortunate. I took over the home of a previous volunteer who just completed her service so I was gifted many kitchen items too, even some spices and ferenji food like almonds! So very very lucky am I. I am having fun cooking meals....except for tonight because the power is out again....luckily I cooked a good lunch of rice, tomatoes, onions and a dash of berberi spice.
It was a busy week of hosting other volunteers as they got their housing situation figured out, and going to markets to get basic living things- like wash tubs for dishes and laundry. Going to the market is great fun- so many colorful displays of foods, grains, and cookware. Random side note- have you ever wondered what Goodwill and other second hand clothing stores do with their unwanted clothes? Answer- they send them to Africa where people resell them (for a pretty penny) in huge piles to dig through.
Another beautiful display at the market is the clay pot cookware- huge flat dishes for making injera, small charcoal stoves for cooking, incense burners, buna (coffee) pots- all handcrafted and sold by beautiful ancient looking women in colorful headscarves.
Monday I am going to the tropical tourist town Awasa for Christmas with other volunteers. I also hope to buy a propane stove so that when the power does go out I can still cook.
It doesn't really feel like Christmas since it is warm and sunny and tropical here but seeing photos of the snow back home help to remind me of the other world that I am missing. Actually I miss all of you but not the chaos and commercialism.
Sending warm Holiday wishes of love, peace and joy!!!!!
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