Some Days Require a Little Silliness and Other Things #1

Over the past couple years, I have learned how important it can be to let myself be silly at times and even be a little mischievous.  Being silly can take many different forms and when I talk about being mischievous, this usually takes the form harmless pranks.  One of the fist actual pranks that I helped with was covering the floor of a professors office with cups filled with water and having a few containing real fish.  With pranks themselves, I have learned that sometimes it is best to prank someone who you know will appreciate it.  This professor in particular definitely enjoys a good prank.  At times of high stress such as during finals week at the end of your last semester of university, it can be really fun and a good stress reliever to be a little silly and a little bit mischievous and play a harmless prank.

I have found that over the past year living in Ethiopia, sometimes the absolute best thing for me to do is be silly.  Being a Peace Corps volunteer (PCV) can be very stressful and tedious at times, and having something to take my mind off things and lessen the stress is sometimes needed.  Also, there are some times in which that does include being a bit mischievous and might take the form of a prank.  But in a place like Ethiopia, the only times I can be silly are either in my house by myself or when around other PCVs (particularly with those whom I am closest with).

Recently, a good friend of mine and I have made a couple videos in which we have been fairly silly and have messed with each other just a little bit.  I guess these videos could loosely fall under the category of being pranks.  With things like this, you have to have a certain relationship with each other where you can be silly like this, yet knowing your limits.  But I've found how important it is to have relationships with people where you can mess with each other and be a little silly without taking each other too seriously.

I am extremely lucky to have friends in Ethiopia that I am close with and can at like a complete idiot sometimes and know that it's okay.  With this experience in Ethiopia, I have realized how important it is to have friends like this.  Friends who I can rely on, be silly around, and even pull pranks on sometimes.  People like this help make the experience much easier and will ultimately help me in completing the full twenty seven months of service.

And here are the two videos I mentioned above (who knows, there may be more videos in the future)...

Video #1: My original video

Video #2: Payback

Shybunna Break Reminder

Hey all.

First, I would like to thank you all for continually reading my blog and supporting me throughout my twenty seven month Peace Corps experience.

I wanted to post a reminder to all of you to please send me questions, topics, etc. that you would like me to talk about for my shybunna break mini series posts.  I have recently posted my first post in this series.  This is the only question I have received and would love to get more requests from people.  I need these requests for this mini series to continue.  So please start sending questions and comments my way!  You can send via commenting on this post, emailing me, or sending me a message on Facebook.

Thank you!!

Taking Risks & Trying New Things

Over the past year in Ethiopia, I have grown a lot and am much more willing to take risks and try new things.  I do have to give some credit to the friends that I have made here.  They have definitely helped in pushing my limits and helping me grow.  I have been able to push the limits of my comfort zone.

Looking back at where I was at ten years, five years, and even one or two years ago, I would have never thought that I would have been able to do or handle things that are now no problem for me at all.  Such things include being able to handle traveling around a country that is not my own by myself and be fine, dying my hair, and even being willing to make myself look absolutely ridiculous sometimes.  Even a few years ago, I wouldn't necessarily be willing to do something if there was a chance of me looking ridiculous.

These are things that I have gained throughout my experience thus far and know (at least hope) that I will take back with me when I move back to the states and ultimately are making me a better person.  Despite how difficult this experience has been and how badly I do wish sometimes that I could finish my service early and come back to America, I am extremely grateful for how this experience has changed me in good ways.

Side note for any future potential volunteers:  To be frank, Peace Corps is not for everyone.  But if Peace Corps is something you are serious in trying, it is worth trying.  For some people, it might be clear if Peace Corps is the right choice.  But for many people, it is not clear until you start your service.  If you are seriously thinking about trying Peace Corps, try it.  In my personal experience, it has been an overall good experience for me.  Some people only have a negative experience, but there was no way for them until they tried.  So go for it, take the risk in at least trying the experience.

Shybunna Break #1

The first question for my Shybunna break series:  Can you tell us a story about one of your shybunna breaks?  My shybunna breaks began first day of pre-service training (which also was my first day in Ethiopia).  My first shybunna break experiences took place twice a day every day during pre-service training; once in the morning and once in the afternoon.  These would often be half hour breaks in between sessions.  Depending on the sessions and where we were, sometimes Peace Corps would have shybunna provided for us and sometimes we were on our own to decide how to use that break time. 

Since moving to site, my shybunna breaks look a little different.  My schedule is much more flexible then it was during pre-service training and so shybunna breaks fall into my day usually when I feel like I need it the most.  When I attend a program or training, shybunna break is usually built into the schedule of said program/training.

One of my favorite shybunna breaks was when my parents came to visit me last January.  I have been teaching an English class for field workers at a local non-governmental organization twice a week.  My parents came with me to class on Tuesday and the women in the class decided that they wanted to do a full coffee ceremony for us during class the following Thursday. 

It was nice for me to experience the full coffee ceremony because I rarely get to see the full process.  It was also a very cool experience witnessing my parents experiencing an Ethiopian coffee ceremony for the first time.  The ceremony began with washing the coffee beans.  We watched as the girls roasted the beans, crushed them, and eventually made the coffee itself.  My mom and I even took turns roasting and crushing the coffee beans as well.

The women in my class were also nice enough to buy fandisha (popcorn) and pop it.  They also brought homemade bread.  Having both at coffee ceremonies are very common.  They even brought Gouder wine and soda to share.

Up to this point in my service, I think this is my favorite and most memorable shybunna break because not only was I able to experience and help with the full bunna ceremony, I was able to share the experience with my parents.  I got so much out of being able to share yet another part of my experience and culture with my parents during their visit.

*Please send more thoughts, questions, and ideas for future shybunna breaks (they are needed for this mini-series to continue)!!  Please and thank you!!

Cleaning the bunna beans

Roasting (more commonly done on a charcoal stove)

  

Making fandisha

Cutting bread