Camp GROW 2015

Camp GROW is similar to Camp GLOW but the focus is more agriculture and environment oriented.  At the end of August, I helped with a Camp GROW in Fitche (located in Oromia Region).  I also brought two students with me to this camp.  I did not take students with me to the Camp GLOW in Debre Berhan, so it was a very different experience, but a good one too.

This camp included both male and female students.  We had about 40 students total.  Almost half of the students were from Fitche.  The rest came from different parts of Oromia and Amhara regions.  We had a handful of junior counselors from Fitche (primarily 11^th and 12^th grade) and university girls from Addis Ababa who helped a lot with sessions, translations, etc.   About 13 Peace Corps volunteers came to help and participate in camp.

The Peace Corps volunteers facilitated various sessions for the students that came, including the importance of and how to create a permagarden, the importance of recycling, a nature walk, a nutrition session, a few English sessions, the importance of goal setting, etc.  I facilitated the nutrition session (as I had during the camp GLOW in Debre Berhan).

A few sessions that stuck out to me in particular included the permagarden, the recycling session and the English session that focused on dramas.  I was extremely impressed with many of the students for being so interested in the permagarden session and getting very involved with the whole process of creating a permanent and sustainable garden.  During the session that focused on the importance of recycling, students were put into groups and as teams competed to fill up bags with trash.  I loved to see how competitive they could get, especially when it meant that they were also learning.  During the English drama session, students were put into groups again and within their groups were given different topics.  Each group was expected to create a drama (in English of course) that was based on their given topic.  It was so fun to see how creative they were able to be with their dramas and it was cool to see how much fun they had in presenting them.

It was a long, hard week that left me completely exhausted by the end.  But it was very worth it.  I was able to get to know many students and see their growth throughout the week.  I was so happy to get to know the two students whom I brought with me better and to see their growth throughout the week.  It was so cool to see the connections and friendships made between students from different towns who would not have ever met without having attending camp. 

I have actually been asked if I like camp GLOW or camp GROW better.  In all honesty, there is no way for me to choose one over the other.  There was really no fair comparison because both camps were so different in content, experience sharing, highs and lows, etc.   I was also able to work with two separate groups of people and as a whole the two groups functioned differently because of the difference in people.  In that sense, both camps were such great learning experiences because I learned so much about myself in how I work with people and how to work with different people around me.  Both camps were such great experiences for me.  Because of this, as I mentioned in my camp GLOW post, I would recommend every Peace Corps volunteer help in at least one camp during their 27 month service if possible.

Time for permagarden!

Getting In and Out of a Funk

Lately, I have occasionally been getting into funks.  These funks vary from work related funks, funks in which I just can’t seem to stay in site, and other funks in which I seem to question myself.  Some funks you just got to let pass.  Sometimes, I have to just rely on keeping myself as busy as possible and often need to also rely on my coping mechanisms.

The work related funks often happen when I am feeling as if the work I am doing is not impactful (or successful) at all, if I am finding it difficult to find work, and/or struggle to find the motivation to work.  In regards to this, I have found that I need to remind myself that even the smallest amount of work is worth something.  Despite how challenging it can be to find work and to find people who are actually very willing to work with me that when I do find these things, it can be extremely rewarding.  I have realized that in order to avoid these types of funks or getting out of these types of funks heavily rely on me reminding myself that I am ultimately doing all that I can do with what I have available and that I should be happy with the work that I do.  Even the smallest amounts of work can be the most impactful and the longest lasting.

Funks in which I just can’t seem to stay in site… when I say this, it means that that are periods in which I constantly have different programs, trips, etc. that for some reason tend to fall into periods of time where there are quite a few scheduled close together.  Sometimes I will have programs such as camp, training, or some sort of meeting that will take up either a full week (for a program like camp) or a weekend.  Or there are times where I take some vacation time.  For example, my parents came to visit last January (2015) and they were here for three weeks.  Sometimes I travel to my hub town (Addis Ababa) or to another town to visit a friend for the weekend.  Sometimes these types of funks happen because I have a legit reason for coming and going from site constantly and sometimes it might just happen because I become so used to being out of site so often.  I hate to admit it, but sometimes these funks do affect the work related funks.  But I have learned that if I fall into one of these funks in which I am out of site a lot, I need to try to adjust projects if possible.  For example, for one of my programs in which I meet with youth on a bi-weekly basis, I will give them homework and other assignments to work on while I am gone.

Then there are those funks in which I question myself and who I am.  I think that I have changed so much throughout this experience as a Peace Corps volunteer that it is natural for me to reevaluate who I am.  It can be easy to doubt myself though when I begin to ask questions of myself.  Sometimes when I question who I am, it takes on a negative connotation.  I think that many volunteers have in some shape and form have faced this.  I think that it especially within a context like this one, it can be a good thing to reevaluate and question yourself.  I have found myself occasionally question myself in negative ways.  But when this happens, I really try to find all of the positives rather than the negatives. 

iI think that with all of these different types of funks, I find myself struggling at times.  I know that I have already put up a couple of posts addressing the struggles that I have dealt with since being here, so I won’t really go into them.  But something that I have found is necessary are my coping mechanisms.  As I have mentioned before in another post, some of my coping mechanisms include exercising, reading, listening to music, and journaling.   One thing that I have come to appreciate the most in this country, especially when it comes to the various funks and struggles I have dealt with are the friends that I have made here.  My closest friends that I have in this country have helped me the most when I am having a hard time.  Some of these people have helped when I have struggled the most.  And I am extremely grateful for that.  If not for them, I would not have grown in the ways that I have and wouldn’t be who I am today.

*Two recent coping mechanisms:

Found a pool!

Sometimes cuddling helps!

Photos [some of them] Taken over The Last Two Months

Getting ready for Camp Glow!!

Camp Glow English games!

Talking about future life goals

Hike time!  Lets find a waterfall!

Add caption

Finished Bottle Brick Bench

Rice with avocado is surprisingly really good

*I have a ton more pictures, but was unable to get them all up due to slow internet and limited time.  I'll try to get more up when I can.

Shybunna Break Update

Hi All.

I have not received any responses for my shybunna break mini series.  So that means that I will not be able to continue these particular posts as of now!  Which is fine...

.... But really!  Don't be shy in asking me questions, etc.  For those of you who are not Peace Corps volunteers or may be future Peace Corps volunteers, feel free to ask me anything that you'd like to know about my experience, etc. or even if there is a particular topic that you would like me to potentially post on.

So in summary:  Don't be surprised if you don't see many more Shybunna Break posts.  But I really do want to encourage everyone to still help me out and send me any questions, topic requests, etc.  that they would like me to talk about in my blog.

Thanks!

Camp Glow 2015

GLOW stands for “Girls leading our world.”  The purpose of Camp Glow is to spend about a week focusing on girl empowerment, etc.  Camp Glow can be co-ed, but often is a girl’s only camp (meaning that all of the campers are girls).  In Ethiopia, there are two different camps, Camp Glow and Camp Grow.  Camp Glow has a greater focus on health related topics and Camp Grow has a greater focus on agriculture/environment related topics (I will be helping with a Camp Grow later in the summer; it is possible that a post will come up about it later on).

July 2015, I was able to help with Camp Glow in Debre Birhan.  We had a total of 18 girls come as campers, 3 Junior Counselors/translators, and 12 Peace Corps volunteers.  The girls who came are from various towns in which the Peace Corps volunteers serve.  The volunteers consisted of a few health, agriculture, and a whole bunch of education volunteers.  This camp was a four-day camp full of sessions relating to English related topics, health related topics, gender, etc.

The girls learned a lot about themselves, their goals, what healthy relationships are and their importance, gender roles and how these play into their lives, stigma, as well as various health related topics such as HIV/AIDS, nutrition, fistulas, the female reproductive system, etc.  The session I led was on nutrition.  I focused on the basics of nutrition, which of course included the different food groups and what a balanced diet looks like.

One session in particular that seemed to not only be a very good learning experience but an emotional one as well on both girls and camp leaders was the session in which we discussed fistulas.  During this session, we first watched a documentary called “A Walk to Beautiful.”  (I would highly recommend watching this documentary to anyone who is interested in learning more about fistulas and the effect it has on women in developing countries).  This documentary focused on a few different girls from Ethiopia that have gone through the experience of having fistulas and the process they went through because of having fistulas. 

Following the documentary, the female camp leaders had a discussion with the girls.  It was amazing to hear the stories, experiences, and other things that the girls had to share.  Fistulas are more prevalent in the more rural areas of Ethiopia, so it was very interesting to hear from some who in one way or another have been affected by fistulas.  It was very eye opening to experience so many girls learning about fistulas for the first time.  I think that this session in particular will be one that I will always remember.

Over the course of camp, all of the volunteers were able to get to know all of the girls and were able to see so much growth in every single one of them.  Even the growth in confidence that I saw in every girl was so encouraging to me.  During the last night of camp, we had a talent show that we encouraged the girls to participate in.  Many girls wrote poems, one girl presented her artwork, another sang, and there was even a group of girls that put on a fashion show.  It was so encouraging to see how excited the girls were to show off their talents.

All in all, camp GLOW was an amazing experience and I am so glad that I was able to participate and help out.  Not only was it so encouraging to not only see how much the girls learned but also to see how much growth happened in each of them by the end of camp.  Not only did this growth I observed encourage me, but it also helped me to grow positively as a person and help me realize that maybe I am doing something good and having a positive effect on some people as a Peace Corps volunteer.  Now that I have helped with a camp and have seen the positive outcomes that can come from it, I would highly recommend every Peace Corps volunteer try to participate in one camp during their Peace Corps service if possible.

*I will try to get more Camp pictures up via Facebook and/or via Blog as soon as possible (aka as soon as I am able to get good enough internet connection).

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.