Saturday January 5, 2013
Wowzers what a wonderful week. I feel like a horse that just
shot out of the gate with a great start. I finally got to meet up with my
counterpart Alemo on Monday and after a short time of preparing taught 15
agriculture and natural resource experts some mapping basics and how to use a
GPS. The class went superbly and everyone was very excited to learn how to use
the GPS. Now they can go out and calculate how much land is being used for
agriculture, and start delineating watersheds- information that is so very
important. At some point during the class I realized that I wasn’t even nervous
and that I was really enjoying myself. It was wonderful to feel confident in
what I was teaching and knowing how important it was for my new coworkers. I
did learn a few things on teaching in Ethiopia. 1- Keep it very simple-
communication is still quite a challenge (luckily I had an excellent
translator, another new counterpart Yosen). 2- Drawing pictures is a great way
of explaining things, if drawn well, and 3- Give examples and little tests to
make sure the class understands the subject. The class was very good in asking
questions and making sure they understood what I was saying. Now I feel excited
to work on new projects knowing that I have a built a good rapport with many
key players in the agriculture and environment offices. Already I had someone
ask for input on an aquiculture pond, and another person asked if I wanted to
help with a training on sustainable harvest of the bamboo forests in the Bale
National Park. Like I said –wowzers!
Today Alemo and I walked up 6km into the hills to look at an
apple orchard that needs some help. Sadly all the apples are infected with a
powder mold and being eaten by caterpillars. I’ll have to use my connections
and resources to see if I can help with that too. I feel like there are so many
directions I can go with helping here and so excited that I actually have some
knowledge and experience in how to help. But I also know that it will take a
lot of time. On a more basic level I am having a lot of fun interacting with
the kids- we both teach each other new words and it is flattering to see how
excited some get when they see me.
Well its 8:30pm which means its close to my bed time. I’v been pretty tired at the end of the day- the sun in intense and I do a lot of
walking throughout the day. I am having issues with posting photos, the
internet connection is slow and doesn’t like uploading photos. But hopefully
soon I will have some luck and be able to share some of the beautiful things I
am seeing.
Happy 2013 everyone!!!
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