Trees n turkey

Well hello there! I’m now back in Goba after spending over a week in the hectic, bustling, booming city of Addis Ababa. Things sure are changing fast there and they are even building a big train rail system in the heart of the city, which will be great in the future but makes for crazy traffic now. I was in Addis for our “Mid-Service Conference” meaning I am officially half-way through with my service! Yay! It was a week of reflecting, planning and re-inspiring ourselves for the upcoming year. And also a time to feast on yummy ferengi foods.

Thanksgiving was a lovely day where 3 of my fellow PCV’s and I got invited to an American family’s home who work for US Aid at the Embassy. It was like being back in America for 6 hours- crazy! Fancy home with a regular bathroom, kitchen- the works- even a trampoline out front and tons of kids toys all over the place. The family was very kind and having been in the Peace Corps themselves knew how to treat us- delicious food galore! A full on real Thanksgiving dinner- turkey, mashed potatoes, pumpkin and apple pie oh my! It was really interesting to see their world, and vice versa. They were very eager to hear about life “on the other side”, since they essentially live in a bubble of luxury, completely cut off from real Ethiopian life, even after having lived here for over 2 years. It was a wonderful day but a slight disappointment to come back to reality.

But now that I’m back in Goba I wouldn't trade it at all. This morning I went for another sunrise run and ended up exploring up a river in total peace and quiet. As I wondered my way back to town I felt like I was in a timeless place. Little tree and cactus lined pathways with mud homes and grazing horses and donkeys that could have been the same scene a hundred years ago. It was so peaceful and I felt very content and competent as I asked for directions back to town from the surprised but very friendly locals. I was reminded of cultural differences when I tried to give a little boy “high five” and he flinched in fear at the white person raising her hand at him.  

Back home after making crepes from milk still warm from the cow I spent the day dinking around my garden, and doing chores. I wonder what it is that makes sun dried sheets smell so good? Maybe all the effort it takes to wash them by hand…

After a pretty low, frustrating and depressing week I really enjoyed relaxing and connecting with my neighbors. I also had an inspiring meeting with a local veterinarian called “Doc” who helped me translate and print a flyer about how to care for newly transplanted trees. Sometimes after much frustration and flopped efforts one little success can feel so good. Tomorrow I will hand out the flyers along with supposedly 10,000 tree seedlings. This is a project put on by the Bale Nature Club that I have talked about before and is yet another typical example of good intentions but poor planning. Last Sunday I found a flyer on my door announcing a program to give away trees and I spent this week trying to understand what the “program” was all about.

I guess due to a flood the Agriculture office has to get rid of all of their tree seedlings and called upon the Bale Nature Club to help distribute them to the public. Sadly this is the worst time of year to plant trees- the rains have stopped and it will be dry for the next 3 or 4 months. So that is why I tried to make a flyer instructing people to water their trees. (A new concept). Sorry for the cynicism, I guess that’s what Ethiopia has done to me.

Anyway I am inspired about my new partnership with Doc because he seems to be eager to help and work on different things. Currently we are talking about putting on a training for all of the gari drivers (horse drawn carriages) in Goba about how to properly care for their horses. This was his idea and I’ve learned to go with the flow and work where I can when people are motivated. So here’s to motivated action, let’s see where this gari ride takes me!