Melkam Genna! Merry Christmas!

A little belated, I know, but Ethiopian Christmas was just celebrated yesterday (January 7).  I was very excited to have the day off class, and unsure of what to expect from the much-anticipated holiday.  There was not a huge build-up like in America with lights and decorations adorning the streets and houses a month beforehand, in fact little evidence of the holiday was present prior to January 7.  My sister's house produced a small Christmas tree the day of Christmas, but it was hardly a part of their celebration.  I was actually very puzzled by the lack of happenings on Christmas day.

Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of chickens killed, and several trainee friends helped kill goats at their respective houses in preparation for the big day.  But all in all it was, well, very much like an American Christmas in the fact that there was just a whole lot of lazing around!  There were no presents exchanged or football on TV, but the mass quantities of food and family gathering felt very normal.  I suppose food and family are universal for celebration.  After getting the chickens cooking in the morning, we proceeded to watch TV and eat for several hours.  I escaped to my friend's host family to see if they were doing anything out of the ordinary, but they too were just hanging out.  It really felt like an average Sunday in Ethiopia.

The liveliest festivity of the day was celebrating my host brother's 5th birthday! In the afternoon several relatives and neighbors came over with their children to join the party.  We sang several songs, lit-up a big "5" candle, took many pictures, and cheered loudly.  Each guest was served a plate with a small slice of cake, a cookie, cholo dabbo bits, and popcorn.  The cake, like all cake I have tasted in Ethiopia, is far more delightful to look at than to taste.  It is a shame really, that so much sugar is spooned into a single cup of coffee and yet the bakery lacks a drop! The cookie was a decent attempt at a Keebler treat, and the cholo dabbo are these tiny little pieces of cookie about the size of rice.  By the end of the day, I was sufficiently stuffed with Ethiopian food!
 

It was a semi-uneventful day, but through each meal I learned more about the Ethiopian culture.  I have been told that several other Christian holidays are the source of larger festivities, such as Easter and locally celebrated Timkat.  I look forward to celebrating those holidays with my new town later this year.

That being said, I still do not know where I will be living for the next 2 years!  This week feels like it is inching along though because all the trainees are looking forward to Saturday when they tell us our site placements!  Last weekend we had our second and final placement interview where they asked us a little about our site preferences.  Many people had requests such as a toilet, shower, internet, etc, but I came up with two main requests.  I want to work with HIV Prevention mainly, and I want a smaller town (which was later defined as a town the size of Ambo, where I am training or smaller).  I also mentioned that I like learning Amharic, but I think everyone mentioned that one.  There are several regions we could be placed where a smaller language may be necessary, but we will not know that for sure until after our Site Visit.

This Saturday not only reveals my home for the next two years, but it also brings training to its halfway mark! I cannot believe I have been living in Ambo for five weeks already, and I really cannot believe that I only will be living here for four more weeks.  Of the remaining five weeks, one whole week will be spent visiting my new site and meeting with my counterpart organization (during week 7 of my 10 training weeks).  I can only imagine how fast the time will fly!