Laying the Ground Work: Finally off the Ground

Laying the Ground Work: Finally off the Ground!

“If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.” – African Proverb

For the past 3+ months in Mezezo I have been laying the groundwork, so to speak, for future projects and for the rest of my time here. The past months included a lot of studying and practicing Amharic, and much time spent in the community meeting people and listening to needs and opinions of others. The African Proverb above really resonates the philosophy of Peace Corps and the work that I will do alongside the people of Mezezo.    I’m thrilled to say the hard work and patience paid off and due to a lot of great help from the people of Mezezo, I have started projects and work in Mezezo. 

First up: A Health & English Club at the Primary School.  We meet two days a week, for an hour each time.  There are between 25-50 students depending on the day, and we have discussed hand-washing, nutrition, and also English topics such as gerunds and adjectives.  As in Ethiopian culture, when I walk in the room for class, I say “Good Morning, Students” all the students stand up and in unison say “Good Morning, Teacher.”  Only when I say, “You may sit down, thank you,” do they find their seats and class begins.  Many students are shy to speak English, but gradually many are coming out of their shells and we are enjoying games and activities together during these summer months when there is not a regular school schedule.  It truly makes my day when students from the class run up to greet me in the road and ask to double check when we have class next!

English Tutoring/Lessons: For many people in town who are eager to learn English, having a “ferenji” or native speaker in town is an opportunity to practice and perfect their pronunciation.  Many have shown interest and have been eager to learn via lessons and tutoring.  I have four regular students: grades 3, 6, 8 and 9.  This is my first experience teaching English and it definitely is quite an experience!  As is the case with Amharic for me, pronunciation of some English words can be challenging for the students, and therefore I repeat words several times so they can hear the pronunciation before they try.  Turns out repeating a word about 10 times makes it sound like a jumble of letters and not a word at all, and makes me question if I’m even pronouncing it correctly! For example: try saying the word “vegetable” 10 times slowly with good pronunciation.  Also, you know the saying “I say potato, you say patato?”  While I was teaching the names for different food items last week, I myself struggled with how to correctly say both potato and tomato, especially since it’s a lot of pressure knowing these students are learning their pronunciation from me!  Just something to ponder while you’re out and about speaking English this week!  Especially the word “water,” which turns out I pronounce (along with many Americans I do believe): wu-der…  Seeing the students make progress, like when they shout, “This is delicious” while eating lunch or “Don’t mention it” in response to when I say “Thank You,” is priceless!

Additionally, I made my first full coffee ceremony at my home and had 3 wonderful women from Mezezo attend.  It was an incredible experience to from start to finish, washing, roasting, and grinding the beans, and hosting a coffee ceremony for others. I definitely still have a lot to learn to perfect the ceremony and technique, but it was a step in the right direction!  Visiting with the three women, as they graciously gave me tips and helped me was a wonderful experienceJ Not to mention the aroma when I came back to my home in the evening; freshly roasted and ground coffee, there is nothing like it!

Sinis (small cups used to drink buna), sitting upon a "rockabot"- a small stand found in everyone's homes!

 my first three guests for buna!

Washing the coffee beans!

Garden update: The kale is growing nicely and is getting to the point where it very soon will be ready to be picked!!  The squash and pumpkin plants are also doing well; the HUGE amounts of overnight rain are very helpful; I haven’t had to hand water in 3 weeks!

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