Where my heart leads me: Three Weeks in Country

I have been in Ethiopia for a few weeks now and have had some free time to write my first post in country. Funny enough, the first two weeks went by without any problems at all. I think that these two weeks went by easily for me because the first two weeks all of the trainees were together in Addis Ababa for training. I had no problems with feeling homesick (likely because I have experienced going on two week service trips a couple of times and have only been able to communicate with those at home via email).

As week three rolled along, we moved our training to a town called Butajira. All 63 trainees are living with host families. Around this time the homesickness began hitting me in waves. I finally came to realize one of the reasons why people say that being a Peace Corps can be one of the hardest, yet best jobs you will have. Please realize that the homesickness has nothing to do with my host family. My host family has been wonderful. I have a host mother, sister, and brother. I think I began to feel the homesickness come on because I had reached the maximum amount of time I had ever been away from home (or even out of the U.S.) without actually talking to family and hearing their voices. I was also used to constantly being with a group of Americans and moving to host families meant separating all of us a little bit. Not having familiar (American) people around me constantly was a little bit of a stressor.

I understand now why some choose to have an early termination and head home. What really helped me was realizing how many people back home are supporting me, and I have to thank you all so much for that. It is also a wonderful thing to know that there are 62 other Peace Corp trainees in Butajira who are going through the exact same thing as me (okay… maybe not exactly since all our host families are different and we are all at different stages of processing… but basically the exact same thing). It is so great to see all of the friendships that have been forming in only three weeks. I think the support network that has formed among us has really helped me.

Since pre-staging in Philly, our training has been very structured. We have sessions starting at 8am and go till 5 or 6pm almost every day. We have half days on Saturdays and have Sundays off. It is interesting to compare to the Ethiopian culture because the kids here often have half days of school every day. So it was not surprising to see how shocking my host mother was when finding out that not only do I have trainings all day every week day, but that I have trainings on Saturdays as well!

Even though there are days in which I wish there is more free time, I think that the packed schedule has helped me immensely. The training itself has been extremely helpful in learning about the culture as well as language and technical skills. Our busy schedule has also kept me occupied. This has been such a blessing in helping me to not feel homesick constantly. But when I am homesick, I really do think it is a good thing. These times I feel homesick, I actually have time to think about everyone back home. Despite how much I miss everyone, I am always reminded how much I am supported and I know that no one would want me to come home just because I miss everyone!

I hope I have not sounded too pessimistic up to this point! Despite my moments of homesickness, I have loved being in Ethiopia so far. I have enjoyed learning about the culture and learning the language (which is extremely difficult)! I have enjoyed the food for the most part. There are some foods that I don’t particularly care for, but no one can like everything!

Over the past few weeks, one of the highlights was the weekend before I came to Butajira. This particular weekend, everyone was split into groups of three to five people and we travelled to different sites throughout Ethiopia where current volunteers are serving. This weekend is called our “demystification” weekend. This is a time that is supposed to demystify what the volunteer experience is like. My group travelled from Addis by plane up to Axum, which is in the northern region of Tigre. It was extremely hot during the day but was pleasantly cool at night. Axum is a really cool place. There are many historical sites up there. We got to see some basilicas, tombs (including what is supposedly the tomb of one of the Wise Men who visited Jesus on the night of His birth), as well as the location where the Arc of the Covenant is believed to be located. I am so glad that I was able to go up there because I am not sure if I will have the chance to go up there in the next two years.

I have had my fair share of ups and downs during the past few weeks, but I really do think that it will be worth it in the long run. The first five months or so are the hardest from what I hear. I appreciate all of the support and encouragement thus far. Please keep it coming!

That’s all I’ve got for now! Please let me know if you have any specific questions, and I will do my best to answer them!