Celebrating the Holidays

For the first time in a long time, I cannot say "Wow! The year has just flown by!" The opposite in fact, as I revisited memories from 2008; I cannot believe I managed to fit so much into one year! I had an amazing last semester of college, travelled Asia for a couple months, spent four wonderful months at home in Atlanta, and to top it all off I can check off month one of 27 in Ethiopia.  I cannot believe that I have only been here a month. I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life and all the adventures I was able to have this past year.

In order to properly welcome in 2009 the Peace Corps Trainees were itching for a night away from our host families.  And while the 9pm curfew on Christmas was respected for the most part, New Year’s Eve is just not the same if you cannot count backwards from 10 to 1 at midnight.  So with some dedicated PCTs and some slightly complicated bi-lingual party-planning, the 40 trainees were able to split the cost of a "meeting room" at the back of the pool area of a local hotel. Even more complicated, I anticipated, was communicating this slumber party plan to my host family, but surprisingly there was no problem.

It was a bizarre feeling being a 22-year-old having to ask permission to spend the night away from home, but it was also incredibly liberating to just feel like an American again for one night.  I would not consider anything here "normal" compared to the American equivalent, but packing that overnight bag felt incredibly refreshing. The night turned out to be one of the best New Year's Eve I have ever celebrated; a brief oasis in the middle of the desert.  My night of freedom partnered with the delivery of my first package (thanks mom and dad!) made me think for just a moment that things were normal.  In these high-stress situations, you need things like that to ground you.

Bonfire at our New Years celebration!

New Year’s Day was also wonderful, having just two hours of class and lunch at the school, and then we were able to enjoy the rest of the beautiful day.  Typically, January 1 is not spent at a pool lounging in the hot sun and jumping off rickety diving boards (in America at least), but it was the perfect first day of this much-anticipated new year!  I pray that each of you had a wonderful New Year celebration as well, and that 2009 is filled with joy and purpose.