The Fabric of My Life

If you are what you eat, I am a weird mix between Ethiopian and American. If home is where the heart is, then my home is in Marietta, GA.  But, if you are what your home is, then I am currently a very unfashionable person.

I did not realize until just this week how peculiar the patterns and colors in my home would be to an outsider looking in; by outsider, I mean an American, because in Ethiopia, my home blends right in.  Now, I never thought I would say the words, “blends right in” about this harsh color of pink that adorns my walls, but it is true.  I believe there is some Ethiopian paint company out there who made about four shades of paint for the entire country and must have a monopoly because I have yet to see any competitors.  The colors I have seen are electric blue, bright yellow, a prominent teal, and a vivid pink.  These shades are used for just about every house, office, and store, inside and out.

You can ask my college roommates, I am not typically concerned with decorations or stylish trends, but I do admit that my house is pushing even my limit for clashing colors.  Against one of my wonderfully pink walls sits my disgracefully green sofa.  Even visiting PC staff made a comment about how Ethiopian the pattern of the sofa is.  I do not know if green is the right color to use, but I will upload a picture so you can name the floral pattern yourself.  The sofa was donated by my landlord though and since I do not care enough to have another slip cover made; I am going to let it be.  I must add that the literal translation of slipcover in Amharic is “sofa clothes,” haha.

Underneath my beautiful sofa lies my intriguingly geometric floor covering, also chosen by my landlord.  I am not sure that an attractive floor covering exists in this country anyway, but especially since it was free of cost for me, I will not be complaining!  It serves its purpose of covering my cement floors, and creating an easy-to-sweep surface, which is good enough for me.

Moving into the adjacent bedroom, prominently hanging from the middle of the ceiling is the bright blue mosquito net I was given by Peace Corps.  I did not know that mosquito nets came in this lovely color, and you can imagine my surprise when I opened the packaging since my net in training was a simple white.  I think it accents the pink walls appropriately and brings out the best in the plastic flooring beneath it though.

Finally, nestled beneath the radiant blue mosquito net rests my cozy Ethiopian bed sheets.  When you shop for sheets here, they present you with three options: floral blue, floral green or floral pink.  I, of course, opted for floral pink to highlight the pink walls.  Since that original purchase, I have added a second set of sheets that are floral blue, just to switch it up a little bit.  That second pair of sheets comes in handy when I do not feel like both hand washing sheets and changing my sheets on the same day!

I hope this little fabric tour of my home has given you a better idea of my living situation. I must admit that coming into the Peace Corps I thought my walls might be made of straw, and I never thought I would have a sofa, so all these amenities and the beautiful patterns that come with them are very much appreciated!