Change is in the air

With 8 days until I leave for DC and then 2 more days until I leave on a direct, 12.5 hour flight to Ethiopia, there is a lot of change occurring. I have been spending time with friends and family, have said many goodbyes (or as I prefer, “I’ll be seeing you again soon”), and of course some packing and organizing thrown in the mix.

Many people have asked me what I will be doing once I arrive in Ethiopia.  Quite a reasonable question, but the truth is a lot is unknown.  For now, what I do know is that I will have 3 months of intensive training (cultural, health, language) and during this time I will live with a host family in a town called Butajira, about 2.5 hours from the capital, Addis Ababa.  From there I will be assigned to some part of the country where I will begin my work as a community health volunteer. I am looking forward to both using my knowledge and skills and learning from the people of Ethiopia.

Among all of the change that is coming very soon, I find peace in something a friend recently told me: Change is a part of nature: the four seasons are proof of this.  Change is natural and change is good.

What I am excited for:

• ·      The beauty and culture of Ethiopia
• ·      A much slower pace of life (no more studying flashcards while on the stationary bike at the gym)
• ·      Meeting a group of incredible, talented, and like-minded individuals and fellow Peace Corps volunteers
• ·      Learning from the people of Ethiopia

What I suspect will be (quite) challenging:

• ·      Washing clothes by hand
• ·      Learning Amharic (or one of the other several other main language., keeping in mind that there are over 200 differect dialects spoken)
• ·      Learning how to prepare food without the amenities that I am so used to and grateful for
• ·      Many more that I am sure will arise….  :)

Most importantly I am striving to go into the Peace Corps with no expectations; a blank slate and sponge, ready to write my Peace Corps story and take it all in.

One final thought, and I will try to do both while in Ethiopia....

8 weeks and eating injera!

8 weeks.  8 weeks until depart for Ethiopia as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

It is such a short amount of time; 2 months, 8 weeks, 60 days… These last 8 weeks will be full of studying, but more importantly spending time with my family and friends across the US, and of course eating lots of injera and working on my impossible packing list!  If you have not had injera, it is a “spongy pancake” that is eaten practically with every meal in Ethiopia.  Injera is made out of teff flour and the injera acts as the utensil to scoop up the food with.  No silverware means less dishes though—and everyone eats off of one platter in Ethiopia. So if you are looking to cut back on dishwasher cycles per week you may want to try out this technique… J  The restaurant Nyala Ethiopian Cuisine in Fort Collins is an authentic Ethiopian restaurant, owned by a very sweet woman from Ethiopia who I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with just yesterday evening—if you have never tried Ethiopian food I would highly encourage it!

My departure for the Peace Corps has been such a “far off in the future” event that I have been thinking of and planning for and talking about for so many months that I cannot believe it is practically here.   I am feeling excited, nervous, scared, anxious, and practically every other emotion as the departure date gets closer and closer.

I am reading books, talking to people in the community who have worked and still work in Ethiopia, am trying to learn bits and pieces of the language, and each time I talk to someone I get more and more excited, as it slowly becomes more real. 

As I am reading about Ethiopia and talking to people who work there, I have found out some very fascinating information.  Here are two examples that you might find interesting:

• 1.     The Queen of Sheba and King Solomon had a son, Menelik, who was the first emperor of Ethiopia.
• 2.     It is said that the Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia, and is guarded 24 hours a day. 

I eagerly await the email I should receive in a few weeks that will tell me where our group will fly to in the US for our 2 day “staging” event before flying to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

I want to truly thank you all for your support, love, and encouragement the past weeks and months. I will look forward to keeping you posted with my adventures!