The sounds of an Ethiopian Morning #BloggingAbroad

Waking up in the morning:

I wake up to sunlight streaming through my windows.  I hear a rooster outside of my house. 

I can hear someone outside crushing coffee beans for morning buna.

I hear people beginning to open their shops for the day.

I hear the local transportation beginning to run.

I can hear the goats, donkeys, and cows outside of my compound.

These are common sounds that I wake up to every morning in Ethiopia and often carry out throughout the entire day.  These sounds generally stay about the same but change in just a slight enough way that you can tell how busy it is outside or how quite and peaceful it might be.  I feel as though how I live here in Ethiopia largely revolves around the noises that I hear outside my house.  Oftentimes, I will base what I do for the day and if I even leave my house based on what I hear.  It’s amazing how I’ve began to rely so much more on my sense of hearing and even smell so much more since coming to Ethiopia.

 

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

Living Within My Means #BloggingAbroad

Blog Challenge Day #7

The nice thing about living in Ethiopia is that it can very inexpensive here (in comparison to living in the states).  One USD is equivalent to somewhere between 20 and 21 birr (the local Ethiopian currency).  In my community, I am able to live within about 100 birr per day.  That would be around five USD a day.

Here's a list of items and about how much they cost:

A cup of coffee at a cafe:  6 birr (1/4 of a dollar)
A cup of tea at a cafe:  2 birr (1/10 of a dollar)
A kilo of bananas:  16 birr (4/5 or a dollar)

One weeks worth of...

Tomatoes:  10 birr (1/2 of a dollar)
Potatoes:  10 birr (1/2 of a dollar)
Onions:  10 birr (1/2 of a dollar)
Garlic:  5 birr (1/4 of a dollar)

Other things things I get on a regular basis:

1 kilo of popcorn:  40 birr (2 dollars)
Candles:  For one ~ 5 birr (1/4 of a dollar)
Toilet Paper:  12 birr (a little over 1/2 of a dollar)

It's amazing to me how inexpensive this country is.  To be honest, it is one of my favorite things about living in a developing country.  It also makes me realize how expensive it really is to live in America.  I really have to remind myself not to convert birr to USD sometimes though.  There are times when locals will try to overcharge me because I am a foreigner and it can be easy to convert in those moments when I do not know what the right price should be.  It's important not to convert because sometimes something may convert over to only five or ten USD and may not seem like a lot, but I have to remember that I am living within the equivalent to five USD a day.

Its amazing to me how much of a big deal money is in the states.  Having lived in Ethiopia now for about two years, it has been a great reminder that money is not everything.  It's not what ultimately makes a person happy.  Of course money is important when it comes to having an income to live on, but money is not everything.  It has allowed me to really focus on the most important things in my life, the things in my life that make me the happiest.

#BloggingAbroad

The Kids of my Community #BloggingAbroad

Blog Challenge Day #6

I interact with kids in my community on a daily basis.  If I were to leave my compound (house and surrounding wall and gate), it would be odd for me to go even a couple minutes without at least seeing one or two kids running around.  Sometimes I don’t even need to leave my compound because I will run into the seven year old who lives on the compound.

I wanted to take the opportunity to use this blog challenge to focus on talking about the youth in my community rather than one specific person because in some ways, the youth have had the largest impact on my Peace Corps experience.  The reason for this is because of all of the people I have worked with in my community, I feel felt the most successful with them.

During my two years of service, I have met with my set group of secondary school students with the occasional new students.  Whenever I have met with students, I have worked with them on their English skills and helping them to have a good (or at least better) understanding of what health is and the importance of good health and healthy habits.

I also had the opportunity to take two of my students to a camp during the summer of 2015 in which they learned a lot about things such as proper hand sanitation, proper nutrition and gardening, and sex education.  It was such a rewarding experience seeing the growth they had throughout that week. 

I was also able to do a project in my community with a large group of students teaching them about the importance of recycling.  For this particular project, we made what is called an Earth bench.  For this bench, we collected plastic bottles and trash throughout the community.  We filled the plastic bottles with the trash.  Then we got cement and then we put down a layer of bottles filled with trash and then a layer of cement.  Layer by layer, we did this until the bench was finished.  I loved that by the end of the project I was able to see the understanding the students had of the importance of recycling and the creative things you can do by reusing resources.

Then there is the seven year old who lives on my compound.  It has been amazing to see the growth in him over the past two years in his understanding of the world and even in his improvement in his English skills.

The kids and students are a majority of the people that have had the greatest impact on me throughout my Peace Corps experience.  Not only have I seen growth and improvement through so many of them throughout my two years in my community, they have also had a positive impact on me.  I have loved working with them because I see such great potential in so many of them.  With this potential, I can see the extremely positive impact on their country in the future.  I am so glad that I was able to work with the amazing students that I worked with and I am so excited to see what the future has in store for them.

#BloggingAbroad

Expect the Unexpected: Things I Didn’t Know Before Coming to Ethiopia #BloggingAbroad

Blog Challenge Day #5

Prior to moving to Ethiopia, I had visited a few other third world developing countries.  One of which was Uganda (another African country just slightly south of Ethiopia).  With how different each country was, I told myself to try not to have any expectations when beginning my Peace Corps experience in Ethiopia.  Despite this, it can be very hard to begin any new experience without having any expectations at all.  To be honest, I really didn’t have many expectations prior to coming to Ethiopia.  The only expectations that I really had were (1) that it may be similar to Uganda in the way of the poverty that I would see and (2) of the food based on food I had eaten once in an Ethiopian restaurant.

Okay… so here are some things that I was not expecting, things that were new to me upon arriving to Ethiopia:

1)  The food: 

I did know to expect injera, a spongy food that is eaten with all foods.  I do remember how spicy the Ethiopian food was that I had eaten back in America.  Surprisingly enough, the food that I have eaten in Ethiopia has not been as spicy as I remembered it being that first time trying Ethiopia food.  I also did not expect the variety either.  With many African countries, there is a set and basic diet.  For example, in many of these countries, beans and rice are staple foods and not much is eaten besides this.  In Ethiopia, injera is the staple food but it is traditionally always eaten with other food.  There are different meat dishes, different dishes based on a sauce called a wat.  Even wats vary a lot based on what type of vegetables are being used.

2)  The diversity: 

I did not expect the diversity of Ethiopia (I wouldn’t say that Ethiopia is diverse in the same sense that America is though).  Ethiopia is diverse in the sense that there are eight different regions.  There is the national language and almost each region has its own regional language.  These regions are divided even further into zones and many zones have their own languages.  If you want to go even further still, there are many tribes throughout the country with their own tribal languages.  In Ethiopia, there are 80 plus tribes and just as many if not slightly more languages.

3)  The religion:

In regards to religion, I did know that Ethiopia is predominately Orthodox and Protestant.  When coming to Ethiopia, I learned that there is also a large Muslim population.  One thing that really surprised me was when I learned that there is a small Jewish Ethiopian population present within the country.  Many are divided between the Amhara and Tigray regions.

Despite coming to Ethiopia trying to be as open-minded and with as little expectations as possible, I have found that there are things do not meet exactly what I expect.  I had an expectation that majority of Ethiopian food would be very spicy.  I did not expect the country to be as diverse as it is in the way that it is.  Coming to Ethiopia, I knew that the national language was Amharic.  What I did not expect was that there are many, many Ethiopians in the most rural and far corners of the country that can only speak their local language.  During my two years in Ethiopia, I have come in contact with Ethiopians whom I am unable to communicate with at all because they are unable to speak any Amharic at all. 

I have learned that even when you try not to have any expectations at all, that it is impossible to not have at least one (whether intentional or not).  To be honest though, I don’t think there is anything wrong with this though.  I think it can be very good to go into a new experience trying to have little expectations.  In my own personal experiences, having as little expectations as possible has allowed me to be more open to trying and learning new things.  I have learned that despite how hard you may try to go into an experience with no expectations, you are bound to end up having at least one or two.  The good thing about this though is that it shows that you do expect to get something out of an experience.  And at times, these expectations, as well as things you learn once beginning these new experiences, are what allow you to grow as a person.

#BloggingAbroad

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

On The Road: The Norms of Ethiopia #BloggingAbroad

Blog Challenge Day #4

I was just visiting my family in America for Christmas.  Coming back to Ethiopia, I was instantly reminded of how different Ethiopia is and how different normal things in Ethiopia are in comparison to the norms of America.  There are so many norms that are different.  For example, the culture, language, food, driving, etc. are all different.

Norms of Ethiopian culture, language, and food:  lots and lots of coffee.  Religion is also a huge part of Ethiopian culture.  Unlike culture in America, religion is a crucial part of culture for people in Ethiopia.  It is also very common to greet people, ev en people you don’t know very well.  If you were to see two people greet each other, you would think that they knew each other very well, even if they are practically strangers.  And of course the language is different.  There are 80+ languages in Ethiopia.  In my town, languages spoken are Amharic (national language), Oromifa (regional language), and English.  It can be a lot to juggle at times.  When I walk down the street, different people often greet me in all three languages.  When seeing people eating the local food, you normally will see them eat injera with whatever food they ordered and will eat with their hands.

Any normal day in Ethiopia as you walk down the streets, you are likely to see donkeys, goats, sheep, cows, horses, dogs, and cats roaming around.  Sometimes you will literally see them walking down the middle of the road and cars have to drive around them.  It seems as though these animals own the streets.  Depending on where you are, you may see monkeys and camels hanging around.  The most common types of pubic transportation (the often have to avoid running into these animals) are mini buses and small vehicles called bajajs.

This donkey had its own rain "jacket"

Sometimes I will have children run up and great me only to have old ladies yell at them for bothering me.  Then there are times when I get harassed by men and have no one help me.  Then there will be the ladies on the side of the road who try to sell me vegetables and fruits.  And there are those days when I walk down the street and smell something that reminds me of BBQ only to realize that it is burning trash.

Despite how different Ethiopia is from America, it begins to feel normal after two years.  When I went back to America, I felt a bit of culture shock but quickly fell back into what felt like normal life there.  It was strange coming back to Ethiopia after having spent three weeks in America.  It was strange to come back to a country that is so much fuller of chaotic movement after coming from a place that was so full of order.  But the feeling I felt being back in Ethiopia was a normal sort of strangeness that has slowly felt just normal again.

#BloggingAbroad

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

Living the Life of a Ferenji #BloggingAbroad

Blog Challenge Day #3

Living as a Peace Corps volunteer is full of ups and downs.  Any foreigner in Ethiopia is called a ferenji.  There is a difference though between living as a ferenji working through just any organization and working as a ferenji Peace Corps volunteer.  Most ferenji working with organizations outside of Peace Corps have the funding to live in nicer homes, have private cars, etc.  As any other Peace Corps volunteer knows, we’re living at the grassroots level.  We are expected to live just like the locals of our communities do.

I have found that I have gotten so much from living at the grassroots level because I am able to interact with locals and daily basis and have been able to get a better understanding of what normal, everyday life is like for them.

Here’s a timeline of what a day in the life of an Ethiopia Peace Corps volunteer looks like.  The times may vary a bit from volunteer to volunteer.   Also, the times in parenthesis are Ethiopian time.

7:30am (1:30): Time to wake up (and then maybe doze for a little while)!!

Good morning!

7:30am-9am (1:30-3):  Slowly get up out of bed.  Buna (coffee in Amharic) time!!  Oh, I can’t forget about my banana or a hardboiled egg for breakfast…

Buna!

But really... many mornings, I eat less than this.

9am-12pm (3-6):  Visit offices, school, market (lots of fruits and veggies!!  Yum!), read a book, study for the GRE, and watch a movie or a TV show, visit the post office and bank

And somewhere in there, I’ll go to the café for some more buna  J

But as soon as I leave my compound, I have to been on the lookout for little children, dogs, cats, chicken, donkeys, cows, sheep, goats, or monkeys lurking around corners…

Can't monkey around with these ones...

12pm-2pm (6-8):  Lunch time!  Not a single person to be found in their offices!

2:30pm (8:30):  People may begin to slowly find their way back to their desks…

2pm-6pm (8-12):  More time for visiting offices and doing programs, reading a book, studying for the GRE, watching one more movie or TV show

One more buna break sometime during the afternoon.

Often, buna is made in the traditional jebina.

6pm (12):  Dinner time!  Maybe I could cook some veggies, make a soup, or make some pasta or some rice.

7pm-9pm (1-3):  Relax!  Maybe I’ll read a book or watch a movie…

In bed by 9:45pm (3:45)!

7:30am (1:30):  Repeat!

When living in my town, this is what a normal day looks like for me.  Some days are boring and some days are packed with programs and meetings.  Some days I stay in my house literally all day and only study for the GRE, read books, and watch movies/TV shows.  In some ways, each day in my town is the same.  But in other ways, every day is just a little different.

As I am coming to the end of my Peace Corps service, my schedule has become slightly different.  My work is slowly coming to a close, so I have a little bit more free time on my hands.  Much of the time I would have spent visiting offices and doing programs is now spent researching jobs and schools and figuring out what I will be doing after my service.

#BloggingAbroad

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

Blog Challenge Day #2

Blog Challenge Day #2:  HOME

I live in a town called Woliso and is about two hours (or 120 kilometers) south of Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia).  The population of Woliso is somewhere between 50,000 and 75,000.  I live in a compound (a walled area with a locked gate) that has a main house where the main family lives, three rooms for tenants (one of which I live in), a shower room and a shint bet (a toilet, or really a hole in the wall).  There is also a large grassy area and a small garden.

My house is one large cement room.  My home is on the larger side of the size Peace Corps volunteer homes in Ethiopia.  My room has a curtain that separates it in half.  One side is my living space and the other side is my bedroom.  On the side that is my bedroom, I have my bed and a piece of bamboo furniture for organizing my clothing.  The other side designated as my living space includes a couple wooden tables, a wooden cabinet, another bamboo table and a bamboo bench.  I have all of my cookware in this area as well.

One thing I have found is how important it is to make my home feel like home.  I have tried to make it a place that feels comfortable, welcoming, and safe.  I have covered my walls with photos of family and friends, a calendar, etc.  I have one wall that is just for letters sent to me.

For more about my home, you can go to either of these previous blog posts:

http://caitlinrahn.blogspot.com/2014/06/living-at-site.html

http://caitlinrahn.blogspot.com/2015/12/pcv-tips-making-your-home-feel-like-home.html

Here is a general map of Ethiopia for those of you who are not familiar with the country.

This is the part of the compound where the tenants (including myself) live.

And here is my door!

It may look a little messy (and I am not a messy person), but within this context I don't mind because it makes it feel lived in.

My cooking area.  I generally use an electric stove and will use my propane stove when the electricity goes out.

Here I have my calendar as well as a timeline for myself.  I began the timeline with the month that I currently was in at the time and worked my way through to the last month of my service.

My bedroom area.

My wall of letters.  It reminds me of how many people back in the states are things of me and are supporting me.

Having pictures on the walls is so important!!!

#BloggingAbroad

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

Blog Challenge Day #1

Blog Challenge Day #1:  Your Why

Hello Blogging Abroad community!  As I near the end of my service, I like taking the opportunity to think about why I went abroad.

So how did I get to where I am?

I have taken a handful of service-oriented trips since I was in high school.  I spent a week in Mexico (in the more underdeveloped areas) when I was 16.  In Mexico, the group I went with built a house and spent time working with the youth.  When I was 17, I was part of a group that spent two weeks in Ukraine.  During this trip, we focused on organizing and participating in a camp focusing on people with disabilities.  At the beginning of my last semester in college, I went with a group of people to Uganda for two weeks.  During these two weeks, I was immersed in the culture and we spent a large amount of our time putting on a youth camp for kids around the ages of 13-17.  Following these trips, I found that I had the desire to continue traveling, experiencing different parts of the world, and do what I can to leave a positive impact on some level.  Upon arriving back to the states after my trip to Uganda, a few different people mentioned Peace Corps.  I actually never considered applying for Peace Corps until that point.  It sounds like a perfect fit for me, so I applied.  I had an interview beginning of May 2013 and I received my invitation to serve as a health Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia that following September.  February of 2014, I found myself in Ethiopia, beginning my training.

What were my hopes when I first went abroad?

When first going abroad, I tried to tell myself not to have any expectations.  But despite that, it is difficult to have none at all.  When first going abroad, I did hope that I would learn as much as I could about a new culture and that I would have at least a small positive impact on people in my community.

What personal values and priorities influenced your choice?

As I mentioned before, my interest in continuing to travel and experience new countries and cultures influenced my choice to live abroad.  I had also just graduated from college.  I wanted to go on to graduate school, but it was not the right timing yet for it.  I wanted to spend my time gaining experience and I felt that working abroad as a Peace Corps volunteer would be a very good experience.

What challenges and sacrifices did you overcome to get here?

In all honesty, there were not many initial challenges and sacrifices that I had to overcome to get here.  One sacrifice that I had to overcome to get here was to be willing to put my education on hold for two to three years.  I knew that I would be gaining valuable experience through Peace Corps, so it was a sacrifice that I was willing to make.  Major challenges that I had to overcome to get here I faced when first arriving in Ethiopia.  It was a challenge to immerse myself in the culture, learn the language, and get used to the food.

Have you achieved some of the goals you set for yourself through this experience?

I have achieved some of the goals that I had set for myself through this experience.  I have learned some much about culture very different from mine, have learned a new culture and have had a positive influence on people that I have worked with in my community.  I have learned a lot from this experience, which ultimately is all that I could ever ask for.

#BloggingAbroad

http://bloggingabroad.org/blog-challenge

Mail Update

For all of you send me mail:  For various reasons, I may only be returning to site to pack up all of my belongings.  I will try to stop by to pick up any mail that is there when I go, but this may be the only time that I will be able to do this.  If you really want to send me mail as of now, please ask for a new address.  Thank you!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Hello everyone!  I wanted to wish you all a Happy New Year.  I hope that 2016 will be a fantastic year for all of you!

As always, thank you all so much for your continuing support and encouragement!