Traveling to Tanzania

I had the opportunity to explore another part of Africa and spent 6 days in Tanzania over Christmas, along with a few fellow Ethiopia Peace Corps Volunteers.  It was the first Christmas I spent away from home, and I got to spend it on the sandy beaches of Bongoyo Island, swimming in the Indian Ocean, and eating fresh prawns and the most delicious mangoes I’ve ever had.  It was an unbelievable experience, seeing wonderful sights and experiencing a new place and culture.

Bongoyo island for Christmas!!

On a three-day safari in Mikumi National ParkI saw lions, giraffes, elephants (including a 2 day old baby!), impala, water buffalo, wart hogs, monkeys, hippos, crocodiles, a variety of birds and zebras, all in their natural environment! I got to watch the sun set behind trees where a lion and lioness were resting; such majestic animals and a picture perfect evening  We also went on a 5 hours hike to a waterfall, where we got to swim in it at the top; a truly unforgettable and amazing experience!  Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I shall stop here and let you experience some of the breathtaking sites for yourself.

The entrance to Mikumi National Park, where we saw all of the wonderful animals!

A magnificent sight; a lion roaring at sunset while the cubs sleep under a tree.

The wonderful view from our safari car (ps this photo is untouched!)

Zebras and giraffes mingling together!

2 day old baby elephant!!

I finally got the guts to jump off a tall rock into the water!

The whole group on our hike to the waterfall!

Tanzania is beautiful, the people and the bright colored clothing, as well as the lush green scenery.  It is very different from Ethiopia,. For example, we didn’t see even one donkey our whole time there, because machines and other equipment are used to carry and transport wood, etc.. and do farm work.  In contrast, in Ethiopia I see dozens of donkeys daily, carrying hay, wood, grains, charcoal, water and more on their backs.  They are essential to life in rural Ethiopia. It was really neat and eye opening to see a different African culture and country!  In Tanzania I also noticed more people riding bikes, and the houses were mostly made of brick instead of wood, mud, dung and tin as they are in Ethiopia. 

Some of the beautiful fabric found in Tanzania!

The week of vacation was refreshing and relaxing and one that I’ll never forget.

What a Wonderful Year!

Well, one year into my Peace Corps adventure, I can truly say I’ve fallen in love with Ethiopia.  The people, culture, food, scenery; it is all so beautiful and incredible.  And I think perhaps injera (the national food, a spongy pancake like food you use to pick up different “wots” aka stews, lentils, etc.. and eat them with your right hand) has an addictive quality, as it feels “off” if I don’t eat it for at least one meal a day!  It is made from t’ef, a highly nutritious and TINY grain. After 12 months in Ethiopia, I feel like I truly belong here.

An evening of coffee with my wonderful landlady, Zenebech.

Well, what have I learned this past year? I have learned so much that it is hard to know where to start. It really is nearly impossible to put this experience into words, it has been so powerful, challenging, exciting and rewarding at the same time.

Scenes such as seeing a man carry a sheep on his shoulders, or seeing someone balancing dozens of injera on their head as they walk down the street have become commonplace.  My 4x6 meter room feels like home, and washing clothes by hands has become a rather soothing and meditative activity.

Life here is so beautiful, yet as I look around me life is so very difficult.  Grains are bought at the market, after families in the rural areas spend weeks and months of hard work plowing with oxen, and harvesting by hand.  Then the grains are dried in the sun, sifted and sorted, and then either ground or roasted, based on what the desired product is.  Grass grows very tall during the rainy season (about June-September), and then it is all cut BY HAND using a sickle, and then bundles and sold, to use as animal feed or to cover the dirt floors in houses, or as a decoration during coffee ceremonies. Tree branches, wood, grass, hay, and more, are all carried on people’s backs each morning, as the sun is rising and the fog is settling in Mezezo..  I see this each morning as I run along the dirt road in Mezezo, greeting the people I pass and looking at them in awe and with much respect. Food is prepared using charcoal.  I think a new joke should be how many foreigners does it take to start a charcoal stove? The answer is at least 8; at a Thanksgiving celebration with several volunteers the power was out, and so we prepared all the food using charcoal stoves, and after a good 30 minutes we pushed aside our pride and asked the neighbor, who like a pro graciously started the fire for us.  

Highlights of my time here include the smallest interactions that really make a lasting impact.  Hearing children yelling “Hana, Hana” as I walk down the road (including about a 2 year old baby, which is absolutely priceless), singing the “Hokey Pokey” with the English club that I help lead as we all are smiling and laughing, listening to Adele’s new album with my best friend Hibist and humming along, and evenings spent without power drinking coffee by candlelight with my compound family, making turkey hands with students and having them explain in English what things they are thankful for, explaining to the Health Center staff what a zucchini is (they grew well in the garden)and how to cook them.  These experiences are ones I will never forget, and my family and friends in Mezezo have already had a lasting impact on me and teach me so very much each day.  Running in the Great Ethiopian Run, the largest road race in Africa was another great memory from the past year.

English Club!

Our Thanksgiving dinner, prepared on charcoal stoves; beets and carrots, mashed sweet potatoes and cabbage!

The Great Ethiopian Run start line!

Related to work, one of the most rewarding experiences has been helping to lead Grassroot Soccer, a curriculum designed to teach HIV/AIDS education through sports and games.  At the high school, with groups of 30 students, my counterpart Aman and I teach the students for 1-2 hours a day.  It is incredible to see them come out of their shyness and speak up about the topic, and stay after to play soccer together.  We do team cheers, funny “ice breaker activities”, and if we need comic relief I will show them my attempt at Ethiopian dance (for reference google Ethiopian Amhara Region dancing; it is all about the shoulders..)  HIV/AIDS is such an important topic to discuss, but it can be a difficult topic to address and through Grassroot Soccer, we are able to cross the bridge of stigma and address the difficult topic and hopefully share lasting knowledge to the students.

Using Grassroot Soccer to teach about HIV/AIDS at the primary school.

Teaching Grassroot Soccer with my counterpart, Aman.

Some of the English club members reading a Children's book
(very special for them, because Children's books do not exist here)

I originally was going to write a “Day in the Life” article, but then I realized that would be impossible. Each day here is unpredictable, equal parts challenging and rewarding.  I have learned though that everything always works out, and it is important to not try and ensure that it does, simply let it happen.  Do not panic if you are two minutes late to meet the students, or if you do not have the right materials (the Health Center staff proved this point by making a hand washing station for materials all found in the trash); take a step back, don’t be afraid to ask for help, and it will all work out.

I cannot believe I only have a little over a year left in Mezezo. It feels and is much too short.  I can’t think about leaving my family and friends here, so instead I will focus on the exciting plans ahead; continuing Grassroot Soccer, beginning nutrition classes for mothers at the Health Center, continuing with English Club for primary school students where songs like the “Hokey Pokey” and “Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes” leave us all laughing and smiling as we walk home, spontaneous opportunities to teach students or give health presentations at the Primary School, and last but not least show my friends how to make smores.

Hibist thoroughly enjoyed her first smore!

In Peace Corps there is a phrase that says we plant trees under whose shade we will never sit, meaning we generally won’t see the impact of the work that we do here. But on the other hand everyday I learn so many valuable lessons, meet great people who have ad continue to teach me so much and have wonderful conversations that will be with me forever and have so many memorable experiences that it is beyond worth it.  

My best friend Hibist and her dad Mamo, who is like my Ethiopian father!

My Ethiopian family who Love dearly!

World AIDS Day!

World AIDS Day

Flexibility is a key word in the Peace Corps, and in my opinion it is one of the characteristics required to be a volunteer.  Those of you who knew me pre-Peace Corps know that I was someone who liked to schedule things to the extreme, and I liked to stick to plans very strictly.  Flexibility was not one of my strong suits to say the least!! The past 11 months, little by little, I have learned to be flexible and to go with the flow, and it has been very valuable for me.

On a Wednesday morning I was doing laundry, finishing up several “loads” aka about two hours. Note: washing clothes by hands, once you’re used to it, becomes rather therapeutic and enjoyable.  Something about the repetition and being able to turn off your mind while you do it is rather soothing.  Although, I admit I may go back to using a washing machine in 2017J  As I finished up my laundry, I got a call from Bantayehu, my great counterpart and coworker, saying we were just appointed to go give a presentation at the Elementary School for the students, for World AIDS Day.  In the ten minutes following the phone call, I changed into my Grassroot Soccer t-shirt, gathered some materials including two tennis balls (from Grassroot Soccer Training), and met Bantayehu to go to the school.  Along with Aman, my counterpart from Grassroot Soccer Training, we planned and discussed while walking along the dirt road to the school. 

Upon our arrival, a bit of chaos ensued, as the students realized that Hannah, a “ferenji” aka foreigner had stepped foot onto the compound.  Students of all ages crowded around, greeting me, giggling and smiling, as we tried to get an icebreaker game started to entertain them until our lesson began.

As class let out for the morning shift (students here go to school for half days only), about 400-500 students gathered, and we presented about HIV/AIDS by using True/False questions for the students.  Then, we proceeded to select 20 students, 10 boys and 10 girls, and in the center of the mass of students, we played a game from the Grassroot Soccer Manual called “Find the Ball.”  Standing in two lines, facing each other, standing shoulder to shoulder and with their hands behind their lower backs, students passed a tennis ball from one student to the next, while students sang a song in the background.  When the song ended, each team would guess where the other team’s tennis ball was. The second time we played the game, the ball represented HIV. Both times that we played the game, neither team was able to successfully guess who had the tennis ball.  The message?  You cannot tell if a person has HIV/AIDS by looking at them.

Today was a wonderful reminder of the importance of flexibility, and it also was a great opportunity to start sharing the great knowledge and skills I learned in Grassroot Soccer.  Shout out to Aman and Bantayehu, in Mezezo, for leading this lesson and program today!

What is Grasssroot Soccer (GRS)?

Such a fun week!

I had the opportunity to spend four days in Addis, where I participated in a Grassroot Soccer Training called Peace Corps Skillz.  Fifteen Peace Corps volunteers from throughout the country met in Addis, and each brought one counterpart (a motivated person from their respective towns) to the training.  Together, this group of 30 people spent four days together learning about GRS and at the end of the training we all graduated as “Peace Corps SKILLZ Coaches”.  This means we are now equipped with the knowledge and skills to be able to carryout the GRS program in our own towns.

With a group of fellow volunteers!

One of our great coaches!

To set the stage, let me provide some background information about HIV/AIDS.  As of 2012, 34 million people were affected worldwide, and of that, 23.5 million were in Sub-Saharan Africa.  Looking specifically at Ethiopia, the HIV prevalence is 1.3% (.9% for males and 1.8% for females.  There are 1 million AIDS orphans in Ethiopia (note: AIDS orphan is defined as one parent passing away due to AIDS).

While the numbers can be shocking and overwhelming, some statistics are promising and show progress.  The number of people tested for HIV annually has increased from 40,000 in 2005 to 10 million by 2011.  In addition, the proportion of women aged 15-49 who received an HIV test in the last 12 months and who know the results has increased from just 1.9% in 2005 to 20% in 2011, and for men the increase was from 2.3% to 20.7%. 

Grassroot Soccer is helping to fight HIV/AIDS by providing knowledge and skills to youth ages 12-19 through familiar and fun games such as soccer, in a safe space with trained coaches.  GRS partners with many organizations, one of which is the Peace Corps.  It teaches about key behaviors that are driving the spread of HIV in Africa, which include unprotected sex, multiple sexual patners, older sexual partners, and gender-based violence.  GRS, along with its partners have provided education and prevention related to HIV and life skills to more than 700,000 youth since 2002, in 57 countries. 

Practicing one of the GRS activities with some volunteers!

PEACE

I am very excited to do this program at the secondary school in Mezezo, alongside Aman, my counterpart and coworker at the Health Center.  One GRS training/curriculum consists of 11, 60-minute lessons, and at the end there is a graduation where family and friends can come, and each student is praised and receives a certificate for completing the program.

Officially graduated as Skillz Coaches!

I had an incredible time at the GRS training in Addis, and now in Mezezo I have all of the materials I need; a Skillz Team t-shirt, 2 tennis balls, 12 cones, and 2 indestructible soccer balls (literally indestructible). The first round of students will graduate next week from the program, and we are all having a great time together, meeting each morning at the school for 2 hours!  Stay tuned for GRS updates from Mezezo! 

With Aman, my great counterpart from Mezezo!