My Life as a PCV (through July 2015)

I wanted to use this particular post to give you an update of my life and service in Ethiopia up to this point in time.  I have people ask me all the time what I am up to, what am I doing, and what work/projects I am doing.  In case some of you are reading my blog for the first time I will begin with the beginning of my service.

The first three months in country were called pre-service training (PST).  Volunteers go through these few months of training in their country of service before officially becoming a volunteer.  After these first three months of service, my group went through our swear-in ceremony and became official volunteers (May 2014).

Following the swear-in ceremony, we moved to our sites (the towns that we would be living in for the next two years).  For the next three months, we spent time getting to know our communities and figuring out how we would best serve the people of our communities.  After these three months, my group met for an in-service training in which we spent time experience sharing and sat through technical trainings.

Over the past year since this in-service training, I have spent time in my site conducting various training and programs with the different non-governmental organizations that I work with in town.  The two primary non-governmental organizations I have been working with are Family Guidance Association and Vision Community Based Rehabilitation Association.  With Family Guidance Association, I have led a few individual sessions at various training for youth, teachers, etc.  I have also worked one-on-on a little bit with the students that regularly come to the youth center at Family Guidance Association compound. 

Currently, my site mates and I are working on an Earth bench on the compound.  The point of this project is to teach the students the importance of recycling.  With this bench, we first had to collect used plastic water bottles and trash.   We filled the water bottles with trash as well as some sand to help maintain the shape of the bottles.  Once the bottles were filled, we began to build the bench itself.  We first dug out an area that would be used as the base of the bench.  Then our first layer was a cement foundation.  Following this cement layer came a layer of water bottles filled with trash.  Then a cement layer followed by another water bottle layer.  We have been continuing this process and will continue until the bench reaches an appropriate height.

At Vision Community Based Rehabilitation Association, I have helped lead a few sessions in various training for the staff.  A continuous program that I have been doing with staff is a weekly English class.  It is a very cool experience seeing their improvement in the English language as well as in their growth in confidence, etc.  Future programs with Vision Community Based Rehabilitation Association will include focusing more so on disabilities and people who are differently abled.

Over the past year, I have also done other smaller projects as well including helping out a little bit with one site mates English class and helping a little bit with the girls club at the secondary school.  I have gone to various programs such female support meetings, etc.  Last December, I participated in a two-week permaculture course and by the end of the course, I earned my permaculture certification.  I also recently helped with a Camp Glow in Debre Birhan during the first week of July (just a little north of Addis Ababa).  The camp was a girl’s only camp.  It was such a great experience and my next blog post will focus on the camp because there is so much to share about it.

It may sound like I am busy, but there really are times in which I have a lot of free time.  When I have periods of up to weeks where I am not doing much, I try to fill it up with productive things such as language tutoring (now I’m trying to learn a little Oromifa), reading, exercising, etc.  Some of these things that I fill my free time up with also act as really good coping mechanisms for when I am dealing with harassment, stressing over something, or even just having a difficult time in general.

Sometimes, I am very busy.  Sometimes, I have way too much time on my hands.  But that is the nature of Peace Corps service as a health volunteer in Africa (and maybe even specifically Ethiopia).  With the mind set of many of the volunteers, this can be very difficult because many of us have come out of working constantly for school, full-time jobs, etc. and it can be very difficult for us to have to deal with not having very much work for extended periods of time.  Despite how challenging this experience is, I am realizing that I am being tested.  My limits, boundaries, etc. are being tested and this experience is pushing me (sometimes in a bad way, but hopefully mostly in a good way).  Even though this experience is challenging and extremely hard on me at times, I am also very grateful for it.  I am so grateful for the people that I have met here.  Some of these people will be lifelong friends and will be some of my best friends for life.  These people are the only people who will ever fully understand this experience I have had and the changes I have gone through because they have been right next to me since the beginning of this experience.

One thing that I have learned is that despite how good or bad any situation or overall experience is, you can come away from that experience a better person for what you have learned and the growth that you have made because of it.

Tips For Future [Ethiopia] Peace Corps Volunteers: Expectations

As I have mentioned before and I wanted to state again:  These posts on tips for future volunteers are fairly applicable to all people applying.  But some points might be a little bit more so directed towards those coming to Ethiopia because this is the country in which I am currently serving.  And on that note, I’ll go ahead and dive right into expectations!

I think it is a common question among future volunteers to ask, “What should I expect going into this experience?”  Honestly, there are so many ways to answer that question.  I could share as much as I possibly could about my own experience and that would only maybe help you a little bit because every volunteer experience is so different.  Even my experience has been extremely different from volunteers also serving in Ethiopia and has been different from even those of the volunteers who are living in the same town as me.

For future Ethiopia volunteers, here is the information that I can fairly give you on what to expect:

• When it comes to language, you will learn Amharic, Oromifa, Tigrinian, and/or very likely a more rural language.
• You will learn how vastly diverse Ethiopia itself is from region to region, zone to zone. 
• You will learn how different and unique the Ethiopian culture is.
• You will learn about how different Ethiopian food is (and how different it might actually be from the Ethiopian food is that you may have possibly have tried in the states).  And don’t worry; even if you’re not a huge fan of Ethiopian food at first, it usually begins to grow on you.
• And my final, if not most important expectation for you:  Expect to be surprised, expect to learn a lot, and go in with an expectation that what you may have expected originally might not be met.  Try to go into this experience not expecting much more than knowing that you will learn a lot from this experience and that this experience will also change you and hopefully will allow you to grow in positive ways.

For any future volunteer (not only those coming to Ethiopia), know and expect to learn a new language, learn about a new culture, and be willing to try some new food.  And seriously, even if the expectations you had starting your Peace Corps experience are not met, still give it a chance.  As I said, every single Peace Corps volunteer experience is different.  So no matter what you have heard and learned from current and returned Peace Corps volunteers, I can guarantee that you will have a vastly different experience.

My final note is this:  It is good to go in with some expectations.  But please try to be open-minded and know that at least some if not all of your expectations may not be met.  My advice is to learn as much as you can about what it has been like for current or returned volunteers and find the commonalities that you notice.  If you feel the need to create expectations for yourself, try to base those on the similarities that you notice. 

I have found though that the more expectations you have, the more likely many of them are not met and the more disappointed you will be.  That is why I have said to try not to have too many expectations when coming into this experience.  The less expectations you have and the more open-minded and flexible you are, the less disappointed you will be.  With that being said, I have also seen that oftentimes, those who come in with less expectations are often more likely to gain the most amount of personal growth, and in some ways, have the most beneficial and successful experiences.

That is what I have to share on the expectations of future Peace Corps volunteers as they are preparing to begin the next two years of their lives.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am always happy to receive comments and questions.  Feel free to ask questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

On a similar note, if there are any current volunteers reading this post, feel free to leave any comments that you feel would be beneficial for any future volunteers reading.  And for future volunteers:  please let me know if there are any specific topics that you would like me to give tips on as you are preparing for your service.

Honestly (when looking back at my service thus far), one of the best ways to look at starting your Peace Corps experience.

Shybunna Break Reminder

Hi all.

I wanted to post yet another reminder about my shybunna break posts.   These posts are designed to take a break from my normal posts and to focus on any specific questions you may have for me or any topics you would like me to write about.  This could be anything from specifics on Ethiopia and Ethiopian culture to my Peace Corps experience.  I am even happy to write about things prior to my Peace Corps experience and/or leading up to this experience.

But I NEED you to ask me questions/topics to post about!!!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE send me an email, facebook message, and/or post a comment.  Whichever works best for you is fine by me.  So, please send your questions, thoughts, comments.  I will not be able to continue this mini series without your input!

Please and thank you!!  :)

Tips For Future [Ethiopia] Peace Corps Volunteers: Packing List

I would like to begin this post by saying that this will be another mini series that I will be writing in order to give tips for future Peace Corps Volunteers.  Please note that some tips I will be giving will be applicable to all future Peace Corps volunteers, but some tips might be very specific for those who are coming to Ethiopia.

This post will focus on what I think would be important things to pack when preparing to leave for your Peace Corps service.  The list will include, clothes, toiletries, electronics, etc.

Clothing

For the clothing list, it can get a little tricky because the clothes you need will vary from country to country and even vary between areas within a single country.  Here is a list of clothing that I would recommend bringing initially (and keep in mind that you can have more clothing mailed to you from the states).

• ·      A few nicer tops (ones that can pass for casual or professional)
• ·      You can pack some tops that are used just for professional use, but that’s totally up to you
• ·      Pack a top or two with longer sleeves in the case of cold weather
• ·      Quick dry tops and bottoms!  (These are really great, especially is you have to hand wash and air dry your clothes)
• ·      Jacket/sweater shirt (In Ethiopia, a rain jacket is needed for the rainy season; for other countries, you’ll need to do some research)
• ·      A couple of shorts/yoga pants (great for exercise, sleep wear, etc.; do keep in mind what would be culturally appropriate… In Ethiopia, it might not be as culturally appropriate for women to wear shorts outside of their compounds/homes.  But totally okay in the home for exercise, etc.)
• ·      Skirts for women (keep in mind what is culturally okay for length, etc.)
• ·      Of course underwear, socks, etc!
• ·      Bring a swim suite (even if you are in a country where you can’t swim, you will be so glad that you brought it if you travel internationally)
• ·      Shoes of course are a must ~ I recommend good walking shoes at the very least.  Bring some professional shoes as well. 

o   Girls, when I say professional, high heels may not be the way to go… flats would probably be better (but that’s coming from my own personal experience in Ethiopia, so do some research if you’re going to another country). 

o   Sandals and/or chocos are always good.  Many Ethiopia volunteers have chocos and they are very durable (and you can also get a volunteer discount on these… keep an eye out for other discounts as well).

o   It doesn’t hurt to have a handful of pairs.  I would recommend that they are durable, but whichever type of shoes is really up to you.

Ultimately for clothing, I brought clothes that I knew that I would be comfortable in as well as ones that I knew would be culturally appropriate.  Most of my clothes I am okay with wearing out easily and I would be okay with getting rid of at the end of my service.  Please keep this in mind!  If there are clothes that you cannot live without and/or would be heartbroken if you had to part with at the end of your service, take that into consideration.

Toiletries

• ·      Toothbrushes/toothpaste/dental floss
• ·      Deodorant
• ·      Shampoo/conditioner
• ·      Face wash
• ·      Soap
• ·      Hand sanitizer (You can’t get this in Ethiopia, and definitely comes in handy)
• ·      Sunscreen
• ·      Chapstick
• ·      Hairbrush/comb
• ·      Pads/tampons/diva cup for female volunteers (you can only find pads in Ethiopia and usually only in bigger towns)
• ·      Any medications that you take regularly (and please note that melatonin is not available, at least in Ethiopia, so it may be worth bringing)
• ·      And towels!  (You can also find quick dry towels, depending on where you are, these can be great)

Most of these items you can find in country (other than the ones I have noted otherwise above).  Keep in mind that it may be easy or difficult to find certain supplies depending on the country that you are in.  If there are specific brands that you like, it may be worth bringing a small supply with you initially.  Also, most medications such as ibruprophen, Benadryl, pseuodophed, etc. will be provided by the Peace Corps medical office in country and you should be able to get refills at any time.  This may or may not be applicable for prescribed medications depending on the country that you are in and the availability.

Electronics

• ·      Laptop (In Ethiopia, there are many towns/villages in which volunteers are placed where there is minimal to no network at all and internet is very limited, but having a laptop is still worth it. 

o   When I can’t use my laptop for Internet, I commonly use it to watch movies and TV shows as well as typing up blog posts, typing up responses to emails, etc.

• ·      External Harddrive

o   This is completely worth having and one of the things that I am most happy about bringing.  I would recommend getting an external harddrive with a memory of at least one terabyte (you really don’t need more than two terabyte)

o   Put all of your favorite movies and TV shows on it (especially if there are any that you absolutely cannot live without).

o   And don’t worry if you feel like you don’t have quite enough on it, many other volunteers will bring harddrives with movies and TV shows.  I highly recommend doing swaps to get stuff from other volunteers.

o   And side not for MacBook users:  your harddrives tent to automatically format a certain way so that it is difficult for non-MacBook users to transfer movies and TV shows from your harddrive to theirs.  When first registering your harddrive, you may want to consider trying to format it to make it all-computer user friendly if you are able.  If it’s not possible, you can always use the small thumb drive transfer as well.

• ·      Kindle is great for traveling if you are big on reading!
• ·      Ipod/Iphone – totally worth having for the music (especially when traveling).

o   If you have an Iphone, consider if you would want to use it for your mobile in country.  If it has a slot on the side for sim card, then it’s possible.  If you want to do that, then make sure that your phone is unlocked prior to leaving the states (this will make your life so much easier).

o   Also, the Iphone is great even if you don’t actually use it as your primary phone in country because you can have apps like whatsapp and viber to keep in touch with people back in the states.

Miscellaneous

• ·      Solar shower (this may be something worth having sent over at a later time in a care package)
• ·      Journals (if you are a journaler)
• ·      Swiss army knife (I absolutely love mine)
• ·      Pens/pencils/erasers/colored pens and pencils
• ·      Card Games (UNO and a plain deck of cards are two that I would definitely recommend bringing)

So that’s my big long list for all of you future, potential volunteers out there.  I know it seems like a lot and might be overwhelming, but take it step by step and know that these are just recommendations.  Some things you may not need at all.  Do your research to get country specific information on weather, etc.  I would also like to note that Ethiopia itself varies a lot in climate, altitude, etc.  This may mean that during any given time throughout the year, certain volunteer sites may always be much colder than other volunteer sites.  So I would recommend packing what you know you absolutely need and cannot live without.  Also for clothing, keep in mind that you can layer your clothing.  Also, put aside other clothes, etc. that you may want sent in packages later on.  What you can do is make a pile of clothes for warmer weather and a pile of clothes for colder weather.  Once you know what the weather will be like at your future site, have whichever clothes are more appropriate sent to you. 

I know this is a lot.  So take it one step at a time.  And start packing early.  If you have any questions about what you should pack, specifics, whatever, feel free to send them my ways.  Good luck! 

MSC

May 11 through 15^th of this past month marked the mid-service conference (MSC) of my group in Ethiopia.  This conference essentially marked the one-year mark (or half way point) of our two-year service.  It was exciting, yet overwhelming to see so many people because it had been about nine months since the last time my whole group was together.  It was exciting because I was able to see so many friends whom I had not seen in a very long time yet overwhelming because I was not used to seeing and being apart of such a huge group of “ferenji,” or foreigners (or white people, however you want to describe it), in such a long time.

The conference was four days filled with sessions.  Some sessions were technical, some experience sharing, and others focusing more on logistical information.  Technical trainings focused on giving us information that would be helpful when creating and implementing programs, activities, etc.  During our experience sharing sessions, we talked a lot about current projects that we are all working on and talked about other things such as what and what does not work when it comes to the creation and implementation of projects.

The logistical info sessions touched on a bunch of things including review of how we as volunteers report all of our work.  I think one session that was at the top of everyone’s favorite sessions list was the session on close of service.  There was a lot of information about what we all will be doing a year from now, including how to go about researching for jobs and graduate schools as well as other Peace Corps related options.  For anyone not familiar with these options, here is a quick summary of the different options:

1)   Extension of Service by one year

a.     Extend one more year at your site

b.     Extend as a Peace Corps Volunteer Leader (PCVL)

                                               i.     PCVL for Health Program

                                              ii.     PCVL for Ag/Environment Program

                                            iii.     PCVL for Education Program

                                            iv.     PCVL for Training

                                              v.     PCVL at Regional Offices (Jimma, Bahir Dar, Mekele, Hawassa)

c.      Extend through a Non-governmental Organization

2)   Another option is a short term response program

a.     As a returned Peace Corps volunteer, you can serve in different countries for usually 6-9 months

b.     These assignments generally are very specific

So that’s a quick look at some options for volunteers after their 27 months in country.  If you want more information about close of service specifics, feel free to send your questions my way.

Overall, MSC went really well.  It was great to see people and have a break from site.  Work can be a bit stressful at times, so it was nice to get away for a little while.  MSC was a really good way to motivate us (at least me to some degree) to continue to do work in site, think of new ideas, and get creative.  Not to mention that I got to eat lots of great food and was able to stock up on some supplies to take back with me to site.  Also, thinking about how I have less than a year of service now is also a good motivator.  Honestly, it is a strange thought that I have been in Ethiopia for over a year now and that I have less than one year left to go.  At times, this thought is a little bittersweet.  Other times, I’m just become more and more excited as the date draws closer and closer.  But I am realizing that when it comes down to it, all I can and need to do is make the most of every moment that I have left in this country.

G10 crossing over to our second year of service

Had to include this one... one of a few surprise photos I found on my phone that was taken during MSC.  One of my favorite surprise photos!

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!!