A few older photos

The "monument" in Hawasa

Dr.Seusse flowers, Bekoji

Bekoji Market

Sunset on Lake Hawasa

Hippos in Lake Hawasa (with a very good zoom lens)

People were bathing and swimming not so far from the hippos. The guide said "They understand each other"

Happy me with Hippo's in the background

BreAnn and I about to get eaten by the giant Malabou stork at the fish market

A few random photos

My compound family and an outdoor buna ceremony in my yard

Classic rural Muslim women bringing wood to market

Me in my Nut'ela at Timket

My shower bet (house) and the compound rooster

Drumming in the Timket parade

Water nymph on the Tekona River

Rural Ethiopia, east of Goba

Priests in the Timket parade. They were lucky to have the sun shades- it was hot!

Timket Celebrations

Timket Celebrations                                                                                      Sunday January 20, 2013

Qwan Adarasatchu! That’s the greeting for most holiday’s and this weekend I sure said it a lot. The past three days have been a big Orthodox Christian holiday, Timket, celebrating the baptism of Jesus. Friday afternoon Alemu (my counterpart) and I attended the big procession parade following a line of priests and church kids up to the river about 2 kilometers away. All the women were wearing their traditional clothes, white dresses and nut’ela white head scarves. I wore mine to attempt to blend in…it didn’t work, but they loved the fact I was wearing one. There was lots of drumming and signing as we walked up the road. The parade went a little slow because there was a team of teenagers sweeping the cow poo off the road so they could lay down a red carpet for the priests to walk on. The parade ended at the river where there were lots of prayers and songs.

Saturday (Kidame) I went with my new friends Winsht (sadly I can remember her name cuz it sounds like wine sh*t), and her mom Deminich. They were all dressed up in their fanciest and we walked up to the river then joined the procession as it went back down the road to Goba. At one point I was with a big group of women who were singing, clapping and dancing their hearts out. I joined in and we had a lot of fun. I’m getting pretty good at the banshee cry (high pitched lalalalala), which indicates happiness.  The parade ended at a church where everyone gathered outside for more prayers. Again it was really fun but very hot. My nose got burned and I was pretty stinky when I got home. Unfortunately we have been out of water for the last few days so taking my weekly shower was not an option.

Today I opted out of the continued celebrations (today they climbed a big hill to a far away church) and instead enjoyed a quiet morning at home. In the afternoon I went for an exploratory walk this time walking downstream from town. I was delighted to find a path that follows the river as it goes into a canyon. After wondering down the canyon for a ways I sat in the grass by the stream wishing I could dangle my toes. Peace Corps medical team warned about getting a nasty disease shistostomiasis (sp?) from fresh water. I know we will get treated before leaving Ethiopia no matter what so it is tempting to enjoy the water while I can. I’ll do some more research on this…

Walking back I was a wacky ferengi when I gathered some cow dung and forest dirt in a bag to bring home to start my garden. Today I finally planted a minimal experimental garden of spinach, cilantro and parsley. I’m not sure how it will turn out in this very clayey soil with little sun but I had to try. Plus having fresh greens would be great. The only greens available are kale and cabbage. So go eat a salad for me please!!! (I’m still working on getting photos posted. Just know that the longer it takes the more great photos I have to post). Chao!

Natural Progression

Tuesday January 15, 2013                            

Today was a fabulous day so I figured I would capture it and share. It is not the norm when I feel like I am making progress, most days are slow and feel fairly unproductive for American standards. For example last Friday I did not do any “work” like making contacts and talking to people, but I did manage to go for a run. I only ran for 20 minutes which was tough at 9,000 ft but I had many people cheering me on which helped. The rest of the day I stayed at home dinking around and doing some research (thank goodness for the wonders of instant knowledge and resources from the Internet). I do feel very happy about the fact that I have established the pattern of going to the agriculture office after lunch so I generally have my mornings to meditate, read and wash the dinner dishes outside.

Today I actually went to the office in the morning (because yesterday everyone was in meetings) and Alemu, my great counterpart, and I talked with more people about the big Peace Corps introduction meeting I have tomorrow. It feels like there are many different people and projects I would like to work on so I am trying to meet and invite as many people as possible. We then walked 20 minutes across town and the river to the preparatory and technical high school. I guess high school is divided into grades 9 and 10, after which is a big test that pretty much determines Ethiopian students fate. If they pass the test they go on to preparatory school for the next two years which (theoretically) is taught in English and prepares them for a second big test which determines if they get to go to college or not. If they failed the first test they go to technical school and learn a trade like cooking, carpentry, mechanics and such.

Anyway so I met with the director of the preparatory school and the teacher who leads the Environment Club. Another side note- Ethiopian government requires all schools to have an environment club, but most are inactive or stagnant. The teacher in charge of the Nature Club, Abebe, whom I actually met previously at the bank, was very enthusiastic and invited me to attend a meeting they were coincidental having that afternoon. So after a nice lunch of injera, shiro wat (a chickpea sauce) and tomatoes with lemon with Alemu at his house I went back to the school by myself.

The meeting was a great experience. The students were very polite and nice and five of them ran the meeting as the elected officials. Their decision and discussion for the meeting was to have a buna (coffee) ceremony for me in two weeks. It was fun seeing how the meeting was organized and how the students interacted. Abebe helped guide it but took a more passive role, allowing the students to run it. So now I am excited to have contact with many students who are also excited to work with me doing various projects and learning more about natural resources and environmental protection. As I was reminded Bale National Park is the largest in Africa and has many indigenous species only living right here. So I was able to remind the students what an incredible place they live in. I know things will take time but this is another great start towards future projects. Abebe is also very happy to work with me and is very kind and knowledgeable.

So now I am at home after eating a yummy meal of mashed potatoes mixed with lentils, cabbage and onion. I sure am coming up with some wacky meal combinations but they are quite tasty and it is fun being creative with my ingredients. I realized back home I would look up a recipe then go to the store buy the ingredients, then cook. Here I look at my ingredients, try to find a recipe to match, then cook.

Tomorrow is my big introduction meeting so let’s hope it goes well as today did!!!

Off with a bang!

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!!!

Settling into Goba (and a little side vacation)

December 29th, 2012
(Wow I just realized a year ago this time I was having my gallbladder removed....crazy what can happen in a year)....

Well I’ve been in Goba for exactly two weeks now and it’s starting to feel like home. As I’ve mentioned before I had the great fortune to inherit many things from the previous environment volunteer so my house is pretty dang cozy already. I have satin blue couches, a few tables and my new propane stove to cook on. The propane is so nice to have compared to stinky kerosene or charcoal which is the way the majority of Ethiopians cook, so sadly I guess I’m already living like a ferengi…but it’s worth it!

I’m learning where to buy different things- yesterday I found the suk (small shop) that sells the best dabbo (bread) in town, and today I discovered a different location for the market. I’m still having a lot of fun going to the market. Today I bought a huge handful of ginger, a huge bundle of kale, onions, garlic, avocado and some eggs. I’ve yet to figure out the array of spices and grains but it will be fun when I do. Yesterday I went for my first exploratory walk and found myself on top of the closest big hill overlooking the surrounding countryside and up into the Bale mountains. Looking down I could see all of Goba and got a sense of how many people live in this area. Almost everywhere I look are either houses or cultivated fields. Only in the steep and jagged mountains are the remaining forests.

This evening I went back up to that spot to watch the sunset. As I walked up the road I said hi to some little kids and they gave me a handful of green beans to munch on. Farther up the road by a big church I came upon an old man hobbling up the hill to visit the church. I said hello and he put out his hands asking for something. Fortunately I had a big handful of beans that I was able to give him and say “thanks be to god”. He was very appreciative and happy. It was such a delight to have simple beautiful interactions like that in just a matter of a few minutes. I am quickly learning how kind and giving Ethiopians are, it is very touching.

For the majority of the week I was in the resort town of Hawasa, a four hour bus ride down into the Rift Valley. Several other volunteers gathered there to celebrate Christmas. We had a wonderful day of feasting, exchanging little gifts and playing charades. Christmas morning was one that I will never forget- 6 PCV’s (Peace Corps Volunteers) and I took a boat ride out onto Lake Hawasa and went hippo hunting! Not really hunting but we got to watch 12 of them bobbing along the shore hanging out a very short distance from where some locals were bathing and washing clothes! I could only see their heads but even that was huge. A few times they made wacky loud grunting noises- so very cool!

Now I am back in Goba settling into the slow pace of Ethiopian life. My next task is to keep getting a grip Amharic, and start learning a 2^nd language Afan Oromo which the majority of the rural people speak. I’m getting started on growing a garden so that I can use it as a model to teach others. I’m still bursting with ideas on what to do but know it will take time to meet the right people and be able explain and teach it.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will have a Happy New Year! Cheers to following your dreams!!!

Happy Holidays from Goba!

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!!!!!