Seasons of Ethiopia

The seasons of Ethiopia are changing often and can be very unique to this country.  Ethiopia is located just above the equator; so when it gets hot, it can get very hot.  In a sense, the seasons in Ethiopia are similar to those in America but are flipped.  For example, during the “winter” months when it is cold, rainy, and snowy in the states, it can be very hot, dry, and dusty in Ethiopia.

Here is what the four seasons are called in Ethiopia:

Kiremt – the rainy season

Belg - the hot, dry season (there is some rain)

Bega – the very hot season

S’edey- there is some rain and it is very green

During January and February, we experience bega.  I first arrived in Ethiopia beginning of February, so the end of the very hot season was what I first experienced.  Also, the Ethiopian holiday called T’imkat (Ethiopian Epiphany) is during January.  March through May is belg.  My pre-service training was during these months.  It was fairly hot and dry majority of training.  Towards the end of training, we did have a few rainy days.  In regards to holidays, Easter occurs during this period of time in April.  As a side note, Easter is called Fasika in Ethiopia.  

June through August (and also the 13^th month of the Ethiopian calendar) fall during the kiremt season.  These few months were the first few months that I was living at site.  Kiremt is the rainy season, so my first few months at site could be a bit gloomy at times.  It was interesting to experience the cold and rainy season during this time of the year because I am used to the hot weather that we have in the states during these months.

During the months of September through December is the S’edey season.  I think what I have struggled the most during this season is that it is the holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years (as well as other holidays) and I generally associate this time of the year with cold weather, rain, and snow.  There are quite a few holidays that occur during this season.  The Ethiopian New Year occurs between the 13^th month of the Ethiopian calendar and September.  There is also Meskal (finding of the true cross) and Genna (Christmas).  As a side note, some of these holidays such as the Ethiopian Christmas fall on a different day than when we celebrate Christmas.  Although the Ethiopian Christmas falls during December of the Ethiopian calendar, to falls during January of the Georgian calendar.

Now, time for a language lesson!  For those of you who are curious about what the months are called in Amharic, here is a list below:

September - Meskerem

October – T’imk’imt

November - Hidar

December – Tahisas

January – T’ir

February - Yekatit

March - Megabit

April - Miyaziya

May - Ginbot

June - Sene

July - Hamle

August - Nehase

The 13^th month – P’agume

With the 13 months of the Ethiopian calendar, it definitely has proven to be a challenge at times to schedule events, activities, etc. with people I work with at times.  They are on a different calendar than I am, so it has proved be very important to make sure that both parties are clear on the day.  I do not have an Ethiopian calendar of my own, so sometimes I have to rely on others to give me the correct corresponding days.  Mixing up days has not seemed to be a problem as of yet.  I have learned though that if something such as the date is mixed up, it is extremely important to be flexible and patient.  Both can be hard to do at times though (I am sure almost any volunteer could agree with that).

Despite how different the seasons and calendar here are in comparison to those in the states, it has been a great experience learning more about the Ethiopian culture, similar holidays, different holidays, etc.  It is something that I may grow accustomed to over my two years of service.  Despite how much I miss the seasons, holidays, and traditions that I have left back in the states, it has been such a good experience living in a country where such things are so different.  It has been amazing learning about and living in a new and different culture and it has allowed me to grow as a person and learn more about myself as well.  As each season of Ethiopia changes over to the next, I change a little as well (and I hope that at the end of my service, it has overall been a good change).

Rainy Season

It can be very pretty as rainy season ends and the dry season begins.

Meet Bobby

Meet Bobby....

Bobby is the six year old son of my landlord and landlady.  My site mate and I live in the same compound and when she first moved in (I moved in months later) Bobby was actually a bit afraid of her.  He was about five at the time and probably had never seen a white person before.

But about a year later (now with me having lived in the compound for about six months), he has completely changed!  He is very comfortable with both of us.  He knows our names.  When we say hello to him and ask him how he is doing, he has no problems responding.  In fact, he will come over and sit with us when we are doing something.  If I leave my door open, Bobby will even come over and hang out with me.  He will ask to take pictures on my camera and sometimes will have me play some of my music or a movie for him.  Sometimes he will pick things up and ask me what they are in English and/or Amharic.

This can be great for me because it gives me the chance to practice my Amharic and even learn some new words from him.  I learn a lot from this kid (even if I don't realize I am learning something from him) and I honestly think he helps me grow as a person and improve things like my patience and flexibility.  

As a side note:  I think that my landlord and landlady might like me even more because I hang out with Bobby.

A little bit more about Bobby:

He is a very energetic kid who is curious about everything.  Despite living in Oromia (regional language Oromifa), he is speaks Amharic.  I am not sure if he is learning any Oromifa or not.  As I mentioned above, he is six years old.  He is attending one of the primary schools in town (I am guessing this is his first or second year of school based on his age).  He has two older brothers and an older sister, all of whom attend school in Addis Ababa.  Based off of this, I am guessing Bobby's parents will also be sending him to school in Addis Ababa as soon as he is old enough to go.  I honestly hope that this will happen after I am done with my service because it is really nice to have a kid running around the compound.  

I am really jealous of all those volunteers that have a ton of kids on their compounds to play with and those who have people on their compound who are in secondary school and/or are around their age and are able to become friends with them.  But hey, it is still fun to have Bobby living on the compound.  It can be so fun running around and kicking the soccer ball around with him.  

It is amazing how much you can learn about the kids in Ethiopia (I am sure other volunteers, even those serving in other countries could agree in regards to the kids in their countries).  You can learn so much about what their lives are like at home, school, etc.  I learn something every day.  Some kids can stress me out so much and others can help me to de-stress with their energy and curiosity.

I am grateful to have Bobby living on my compound because, despite how frustrated I can get with him always picking things up in my room and asking about them, he is ultimately a great kid who has taught me so much.

A couple more pictures of bobby:

Communication

There are so many different forms of communication.  There is language (word of mouth, which can take so many different forms), body language, facial expressions, hand gestures, etc.  The list could go on and on.  In some ways, communication has never been more important since moving to Ethiopia for my twenty-seven months of Peace Corps service.  Communication can be difficult when moving to a third world developing country where the host country nationals speak a language you have never heard being spoken before in your life.  It can be hard to communicate with those back in the states due to unreliable Internet and network access.  It can be just as difficult to communicate with Peace Corps staff and other volunteers in country for the same reasons.  It can be hard to communicate with host country nationals purely because of the persistent language barrier.  I have also realized that the difference in culture in some ways has created a barrier in understanding between host country nationals and myself, causing some difficulty in communicating at times.

Since moving to Ethiopia, I have realized how much more important it is between family and friends back in the states and myself.  Yet, it can be harder.  When I was back in the states, it was so easy to send text messages or making calls at any given time without any problems.  Since arriving in Ethiopia, it has been more difficult because it is unrealistic to send text messages and it can be hard to make phone calls because (1) it can be very expensive and (2) the network is not always very good.  I have relied so much more now on using Facebook, sending emails, and writing/sending letters in order to communicate with people.  I have noticed that it is surprisingly more difficult for not only myself but also for everyone in the states to communicate now.  It was just so much easier to make national calls and texts.  The communication between myself and everyone in the states definitely requires a two way street in which there is effort taken on both sides.  Being in a third world developing country can make communication extremely difficult because despite how much I still heavily rely on Internet and phone network, these two services are often extremely unreliable. 

Considering how difficult this is now, I can’t even imagine what it was like for the volunteers who were here in the ‘60s.  Despite having phone network and internet access somewhat regularly (really based on where you live; some people live in areas in which they rarely get either), it can even be hard to communicate with Peace Corps staff as well as other volunteers at times.  Unlike in the states where we have multiple phone services (Verison, AT&T, T-mobile, etc.), Ethiopia has only one phone service.  This is partly why the network can be an issue at times.  Since there is only one phone service, everyone in Ethiopia who has a phone is on the same network.  This can make it hard to get calls out to other people and may at times lead to the network crashing.  I have gone a couple weeks at a time with bad network and have been unable to make a single call.  This can be a potential issue if I ever need to get in contact with Peace Corps staff or Vis versa.

Letters can be a pain to write and send sometimes, but for some reason it can be one of the things that I have looked forward to the most while living in Ethiopia.  It can be so nice to receive mail (expected or unexpected), especially because internet and phone network can be unreliable and it is a nice way to receive people's support.

I have briefly talked about this in my post titled Barriers, but there are definitely communication issues that stem from language barriers between myself and host country nationals.  There are over 90 different languages in Ethiopia.  The national language is Amharic.  Two other major languages are Oromifa and Tigrinian.  There are many different zonal and tribal languages throughout the country as well.  During PST (pre service training; our first three months in country), we are taught Amharic, Oromifa, or Tigrinian based largely on where we will live for our two years of service.  I learned Amharic during this time.  I am in a fairly big town only two or three hours away from Addis Ababa, so many people speak Amharic. 

We used a lot of diagrams and pictures when we were learning language during PST.

But my town is located in Oromia and the regional language is Oromifa.  It seems like there are at least just as many people who speak Oromifa as there are who speak Amharic.  There are also many who know at least some amount of English.  It is difficult for me because I want to focus on Amharic because that is the language I originally learned and it is the one language I can really use almost anywhere in the country.  But many people also think I should learn Oromifa because I live in Oromia and there are also many people who want to practice their English whenever they speak with me.  It can be very difficult having three languages thrown at me.

Sometimes it isn't clear if the kids speak Amharic, Oromifa, or some sort of combination of both... but it is still fun to try to speak with them and take pictures of them.  Side note: for some reason kids love having their pictures taken! 

Communication can be very difficult when living in a third world developing country because it takes a whole lot more effort communicating with people back in the states on both ends.  It is also very difficult communicating with other Peace Corps volunteers and staff because of unreliable communications within country.  It can be difficult communicating with host country nationals because of the language barrier.  But communication is important.  I have learned that it requires some give and take from both parties involved in the process of communication.  It oftentimes requires some level of patience and flexibility. 

I have found communication has been very challenging many times throughout my service thus far.  But I have been challenged to improve my communication skills as well as become more patient flexible, and have the ability to adapt.  I won’t lie, I have been in country for about nine months and communication in all aspects has been very difficult at times.  I am sure that the next 18 months won’t be any easier in regards to communication.  I learn and grow more every day and not only will it make the next 18 months potentially easier in some ways, it hopefully my communication skills will help me later in life when I am back in the states.