A Quick Glance of my Ethiopian Home

Below are a handful of pictures I have taken around my site.  I can post more pictures on my blog upon request.

Peace Corps Challenges and Struggles

It is said that Peace Corps is the hardest job you will ever love.  It is true that being a Peace Corps is no piece of cake.  There are so many different things that make the Peace Corps experience hard for a volunteer; ranging from struggling with language to dealing with varied amounts of harassment.

Some varying struggles/challenges that other volunteers have experienced and were willing to share are listed below:

• ·      “Inconsistent internet access/electricity”
• ·      “No vegetables at restaurants on Saturdays through Tuesdays and Thursdays”
• ·      “Sometimes, I feel like I am living back at home when I must communicate when I will be back with the other family that lives in my compound.”
• ·      “Everything is harder – ordering food or drinks, scheduling meetings, traveling, bathing, etc.”
• ·      “I seriously shit my pants at least once or twice a week.  Partly due to the bacteria, partly due to the distance between the shintbet and my house, but mostly because the imbecilic conversance and aplomb nature of competently controlling my own sphincter…” So in other words, having diarrhea on a daily basis.

Each volunteer has such a different experience from any other volunteer.  This is very true when it comes to challenges and struggles.  Despite how much the challenges and struggles vary from person to person, there is a list of things that we all experience and struggle with on some level.

• ·      Language (In Ethiopia there is one of three possible languages you learn based on the Region you will be living in.  Some volunteers live in smaller towns that have local languages that are not taught during pre service training)
• ·      Integration (It can be a struggle for any volunteer and we all integrate at different paces)
• ·      Getting sick (from anything ranging from food to unclean water)
• ·      Slow moving culture (this is a challenge because we are used to working at a much quicker pace in the states and it can take quite a while to get a project started)
• ·      A community moving very slowly in getting to know a volunteer and in building trust with them
• ·      Especially in bigger towns, there will always be people who won’t have ever seen a volunteer before and won’t know what Peace Corps is.
• ·      With smaller towns, it is possible that everyone will know the volunteer and will know everything there is to know about the volunteer and what they do all day every day.
• ·      Being isolated or at least feeling isolated can be a common feeling among volunteers
• ·      Change in food/diet can be difficult because it is so different from what we were accustomed to in the states and there are many who do not like the food.
• ·      And of course the new culture can be difficult to adjust to.  It can be hard leaving the culture you knew behind for two years and having to learn to live with a new culture.  The Ethiopian culture can be hard to adjust to because many Ethiopians don’t necessarily understand the concept of something like personal space.  I know that this was something many of my fellow volunteers struggled with, especially during pre service training when we lived with host families.

There are so many other things that as Peace Corps volunteers, we struggle with on a regular basis to some extent.  I have learned that how we really prove ourselves as volunteers is showing that we can step out of our comfort zones, being willing to make changes and adjustments in our lives, and facing these challenges and struggles head on.  I am sure that any volunteer would agree that this is easier said than done.  As I said before, being a Peace Corps volunteer is no piece of cake.  It isn’t easy to uproot yourself from your life in the states and move to some foreign place for twenty-seven months.  The Peace Corps volunteers I have gotten to know are some of the strongest people I know and it is always amazing to me how motivated volunteers are to push through the struggles and challenges that we deal with to make some change in the world. 

On another note, I am also extremely impressed by anyone in general who is very clearly willing to step out of their comfort zone and willingly face struggles and challenges to do what they know in their hearts is the best thing to do.  That could mean, becoming a Peace Corps volunteer, moving across country from all whom you consider closest to you, or giving up a great paying job for something that will fit your strengths better.  There are so many different ways in which I have seen people willingly step out of the comfort of their lives and face immense challenges because they ultimately know that it is the best thing to do.  It is a good reminder that the best choice is not always the easiest one.

 

If the stress of the struggles and challenges of a volunteer becomes too much, their head might explode... (not really, but it sure feels like it might happen at times!)

The many different faces of a volunteer when dealing with various struggles and challenges.

A Day in the Life of A Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia

Many people have wondered and have asked me what my experience has been like so far, what it is like to be living in Ethiopia, and what my regular/daily routine is like.  Honestly, every day is different.  Every day varies based on the amount of harassment I receive, the amount of work I have to work on, errands I have around town, the amount I struggle with the language barrier, as well as which of the various moods I may be dealing with.  Some days are easier than others.  Some days I don’t feel like leaving my room.  But I try to make the most of every day, even if that means leaving my compound once and interacting with a few kids for a couple of minutes.

I have been asked what a normal day looks like for me.  During the first three months in country when I was going through pre service training, most of my days would look like this: 

·      Wake up around 7am

·      Eat breakfast with my host family

·      Arrive for a technical training or language session at 8am

·      Shay/Buna (Tea/Coffee) Break at 10am

·      Sit through another technical training or language session starting at 10:30

·      Finish up the session for lunch (usually with the host family) at 12:30

·      Another technical training or language session begins at 1:30 pm

·      Shay/Buna break at 3:30 pm

·      Session #4 starts at 4pm

·      The fourth and final session of the day finishes up by 6pm

·      If the last session of the day finishes early enough, I would often go to the hotel and use the internet or hang out at one of my friends houses

·      I usually arrive home by 6:30 and eat dinner with my host family

·      I will spend some time with my host family after dinner

·      I head to my room by 8:30pm and study and/or work on any assignments

·      I am usually in bed by 10pm at the latest

·      Wake up around 7am and repeat my day

My first three months in Ethiopia were very structured.  Generally, I was either in a session, spending time with my host family, or studying and working on assignments with other trainees.  Every once in a while, we would have enough free time to go watch a soccer game or hang out.  This schedule was basically the same for every volunteer during their first three months in country prior to becoming an official volunteer and moving to site. To tell you the truth, the structure was kind of nice.  At first, it was a little bit of a shock to the system moving to site because that structure was gone.

In some ways, it can be a little difficult being at site because I have had to create my own schedule.  It has been nice in that my time has been more flexible and I have the option to really do what I want with my time.  My normal day since moving to site generally looks like this:

·      Wake up around 7:30am

·      Eat some breakfast and get ready for the day

·      Go to the health office for a couple of hours, visit a non-governmental organization, help/attend a training or meeting, go to an internet café, and/or run some errands

·      Around 12 or 12:30pm I will normally eat some lunch

·      After lunch I will normally, go to the health office for a couple hours, visit a non-governmental organization, help/attend a training or meeting, go to an internet café, and/or run some errands

·      Some days I will also go to a language tutoring session at some point

·      I often arrive home by around 4:30pm

·      I will relax, eat dinner, and head to by around 10pm

If I had to tell you what my normal day looks like, that would be it.  There are so many different variables to my day and one day never looks quite like another.  Honestly, there are some days in which I really do not have anything to do other than to study Amharic and read a book.  Some days are extremely busy and I will be at a training or meeting that lasts the whole day.  Unlike our first three months in country, this schedule will be very different for every volunteer based on the organizations they are working with, the projects they are working on, how motivated they are to do projects, etc.  It really varies a lot because each volunteer is different and we all have our own priorities and desires when it comes to our interests and what we want to accomplish in our sites.

There are also many other things that affect the life of a volunteer.  During pre service training, we all had different experiences because we all had different host families with differing lifestyles, religions, etc., lived in different areas of town, learned different languages, and were split up by sector (environment/agriculture and health).  Since moving to site, we have been living in vastly different regions of the country with different customs and traditions, have been speaking different languages, have been living in towns of very different population sizes (ranges from 2,000 to 100,000), and differing resources and organizations to work with.  The various factors go on and on.  No volunteer has exactly the same service.  Even volunteers serving in the same country have very different experiences.

So here is the short answer to the question:  what does are regular day look like?

Many days are routine in that I wake up, go to the health office or other non-governmental office (to do a training or plan), take care of any errands, go home, relax, make dinner, and go to bed.  But in reality, no day is ever like another.  Even the smallest thing can happen to significantly change my day or my who experience here in Ethiopia is a Peace Corps volunteer.

Painting Murals during PST

Language Trainings

Laundry is always a regular chore.

Playing games like UNO with friends always provided a much needed break during PST.

Big Group sessions during PST.

It's always fun going to community events like soccer games.