I always like to have a plan. I plan things for tomorrow, I plan things for later this year, and I have even started planning possible adventures for after my time in the Peace Corps. I suppose that is just who I am. The next two years are going to be a testament to this habit of mine because it has never been harder to have a plan.
Recently I have found myself writing letters in the morning, explaining briefly, what I plan to do that day. If you have received one of these letters, you can probably disregard what I wrote, because something entirely different probably occurred. Yet, I am sitting here in my house on my laptop with a list in front of me of things I need to do tomorrow. I can guarantee you all these things won’t be crossed off in the next 24 hours. What I cannot guarantee is that ANY of these things will be crossed off!
That’s the funny thing about life here, you really never know what is going to happen when you wake up in the morning. Everyday is different, and most days I really love that part of my life right now. I don’t mind when things do go as planned I suppose, I just love having that plan in case I find time to myself (which is not often these days). In fact, writing a new blog has been on my list for a while now, and guess what? That didn’t go as planned either.
I PLAN on getting online tomorrow and emailing my mom this update for her to post, but you just never know. That plan requires the electricity to be on, the little store nearby that lets me use internet must be open, the phone line has to be working to allow the computer to dial up. All that can only be a factor if I actually find time to go to the store in the first place.
Why have my plans fallen by the wayside? Well, partly because Ethiopians do not plan. It is not unusual for me to get a knock on my door at any hour telling me to come drink coffee or eat injera. These get-togethers are not typically announced to me beforehand, but rather a spontaneous gathering. It is also not usually a question, but rather a command, “Be!” (Eat!). These impromptu invitations have caused me more than once to eat a meal twice. I will have just finished lunch when a knock comes announcing lunch next door. I politely eat a small serving and enjoy the Ethiopian company.
Just this morning I planned on having a relaxing Saturday with only one appointment, lunch at 1pm lunch. I planned on getting up at 6am and going on a run with Arbay at sunrise, the only time I can find a little peace and quiet outside my house. Believe it or not, that part went as planned! Then I planned on taking a shower, which had to be substituted with a bucket bath because not only was the water off, but the water tank on my compound was empty. My lazy morning of reading was suspended when my neighbor Ali started talking to me about his new satellite dish. It is not uncommon for families to have satellite TV, which Ali told me, cost 1400 Birr ($140) for the satellite box and dish (once you have the box and dish there are no additional payments).
Recently I have found myself writing letters in the morning, explaining briefly, what I plan to do that day. If you have received one of these letters, you can probably disregard what I wrote, because something entirely different probably occurred. Yet, I am sitting here in my house on my laptop with a list in front of me of things I need to do tomorrow. I can guarantee you all these things won’t be crossed off in the next 24 hours. What I cannot guarantee is that ANY of these things will be crossed off!
That’s the funny thing about life here, you really never know what is going to happen when you wake up in the morning. Everyday is different, and most days I really love that part of my life right now. I don’t mind when things do go as planned I suppose, I just love having that plan in case I find time to myself (which is not often these days). In fact, writing a new blog has been on my list for a while now, and guess what? That didn’t go as planned either.
I PLAN on getting online tomorrow and emailing my mom this update for her to post, but you just never know. That plan requires the electricity to be on, the little store nearby that lets me use internet must be open, the phone line has to be working to allow the computer to dial up. All that can only be a factor if I actually find time to go to the store in the first place.
Why have my plans fallen by the wayside? Well, partly because Ethiopians do not plan. It is not unusual for me to get a knock on my door at any hour telling me to come drink coffee or eat injera. These get-togethers are not typically announced to me beforehand, but rather a spontaneous gathering. It is also not usually a question, but rather a command, “Be!” (Eat!). These impromptu invitations have caused me more than once to eat a meal twice. I will have just finished lunch when a knock comes announcing lunch next door. I politely eat a small serving and enjoy the Ethiopian company.
Just this morning I planned on having a relaxing Saturday with only one appointment, lunch at 1pm lunch. I planned on getting up at 6am and going on a run with Arbay at sunrise, the only time I can find a little peace and quiet outside my house. Believe it or not, that part went as planned! Then I planned on taking a shower, which had to be substituted with a bucket bath because not only was the water off, but the water tank on my compound was empty. My lazy morning of reading was suspended when my neighbor Ali started talking to me about his new satellite dish. It is not uncommon for families to have satellite TV, which Ali told me, cost 1400 Birr ($140) for the satellite box and dish (once you have the box and dish there are no additional payments).
So Ali tells me he thinks he has to pay 200 Birr for someone to assemble the dish ($20 for assembling a small dish here is outrageous!). I tell him I am quite handy and that I will help him put it together. After a short trip to the hardware store, where they let us borrow the 2 wrenches we needed, it took less than an hour for me to decode the confusing instructions put together the dish with the help of Ali and the 12-year-old son of my landlord. They were so grateful that they insisted on feeding me lunch at noon, which I could not decline, before hurrying off to my 1pm lunch appointment.
After that lunch appointment and coffee ceremony, I headed home expecting another coffee ceremony at my neighbor’s house (which was mentioned to me earlier this morning). It is now 4pm, the other coffee ceremony has yet to occur, but I did take time to play jump rope (with an old tube of some sort) with the kids in my compound for a while. Now I finally have found a brief moment of silence and decided to sneak away to my house before the next inevitable knock at my door!
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