Welcome To Dangila

This past month I had the privilege of hosting my mom, dad and brother in Dangila for three days.  When I was planning our Ethiopia-section of their time in Africa, I thought about all the historical places I wanted them to see- Lalibela, Gondar, Bahir Dar.  But when it really came down to booking how many days I wanted to spend in each place, I immediately knew I wanted them to spend the most time in Dangila.  Not only did I want them to experience my home, and way-of-life, but I wanted them to meet all my friends and drink more coffee than they could handle, just as I did when I first arrived!

Our time spent in Lalibela, Gondar, and Bahir Dar was fabulous.  The sites in Ethiopia are spectacular and one-of-a-kind, but my favorite part of having them here was the hospitality received in Dangila.  I knew I had some wonderful friends here, but the warm welcome they gave my family was so special and unrivaled.  The first night in Dangila, we were invited over to Ali and Billie’s house.

They used to live in my compound, but moved out a few months ago into a bigger house nearby.  We all sat in their living room and spoke in broken English, while I translated the rest of the details back and forth.  They served us a plateful of injera and wat; some of the best I’ve had in Ethiopia!  I was a little nervous about having my family taste Ethiopian food in a restaurant the first time, but at least there, you can openly say something doesn’t taste great.  At a friend’s home, it is a bit harder to reject the food!  Luckily, the food was well received by my family.  Thanks for being troopers family.   Then, as we were putting our plates down, satisfied by the delicious food, another round of plates came out!  That’s right, another plateful, but this time it was western food! Spaghetti, tomato sauce (with burbere spices of course) and bread; we all looked at each other with wide eyes.  We graciously accepted the second dinner and followed it by a coffee ceremony, although there was quite a bit of food left over.

The next night we had yet another two-course meal, featuring almost all the same foods! It was amazingly thoughtful how all my Ethiopian friends catered to our needs and welcomed us into their homes.  My favorite part of coming to my town was the night we first arrived, after the first marathon meal, my friends Tigist and Tewelde awaited us back near my house.  They were so excited about meeting my family, and they came bearing gifts.

They had an “Ethiopian” beaded bracelet for each of them, freshly made local bread, local-made potato chips, and Christmas cards for us!  It was the nicest thing.  Then they escorted my family back to their hotel on the main road.

It truly brought tears to my eyes.  The hospitality here and love I receive from all my Ethiopian friends is truly the reason I am still here.  They teach me something new every day about selflessness and generosity.

Family Safari

While I waited in the terminal for my 10AM flight to Tanzania to board, I had butterflies in my stomach. It wasn’t the flight I was anxious for, but three of its passengers that awaited me! Of course, nothing in Ethiopia goes as planned, and as I looked up from the book I was reading to scan the terminal for possible boarding information, I caught my brother’s eye. There was my family, going through security to join me in the terminal!

It was an epic reunion, filled with hugs and tears, and before I knew it time was flying by. Hours, which felt like days as time lead up to seeing them, turned into minutes. Before I knew it we were stepping into the humidity of Tanzania and our safari had begun. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, not to mention countless giraffes, elephants, zebras and wildebeests; It was like being thrown into The Lion King. While my brother will cringe as he reads about these Disney references (he also wasn’t my biggest fan when I sang “Hakuna Matata” while on safari), I can’t help but compare the safari to something unreal. Each day kept exceeding my wildest expectations.

We traveled from Kilimanjaro International airport to the Ngorongoro Crater, to Serengeti National Park, then retraced a bit to Tarangerie National Park, and finally wound up in West Kilimanjaro for a couple nights. On our first afternoon in the Serengeti, we drove right up beside two cheetahs.

 After a moment of watching them, the one other Range Rover in sight flashed their lights at our driver and just 100 yards away we saw a lion, and following his line-of-sight, there lay two more!

The next day in the Serengeti NP, we were driving along a side road when we spotted a group of at least 10 elephants on the horizon. We were the only car in sight, and decided to stop, turn off the engine and observe them for a bit. We watched in awe as they walked right towards us. Maybe twenty minutes later they crossed the road around our vehicle.

 Half were in front of us and half were behind us, and we were speechless. Later that day we pulled around this large rock formation and saw another car stopped, always a good sign that there is something to see. A leopard was perfectly perched on a branch overhanging the rock.

That was a set straight from The Lion King. Moments after arriving, the beautiful animal stood up and wandered back off the branch to rest in privacy I suppose. Lunchtime was approaching, so we decided to park there and eat our boxed lunches while waiting to see another glimpse of the leopard. With binoculars you could see the unmistakable leopard print through the brush. Just before we gave up waiting, he decided to grace us with his presence again, going back to prone position on the branch.

One of the last days, when we were staying in private game reserve in West Kilimanjaro, in the nicest tent I’ve ever stepped foot in, we had a little scare. We piled into an open-air range rover and headed out for a morning game drive. The lack of walls between me and animals that could attack me didn’t faze me at first, I was anxious to see them up close! We spotted our first group of elephants outside a National Park and we approached with excitement. Our guide, used to NP animals instructed the more inexperienced driver to pull up close… the elephant swung his trunk, flopped his ears, and made a noise that made us wish were movingin the opposite direction (as I snapped pictures, obviously)…and the driver stalled the vehicle.

 

 We all survived the weeklong safari in Tanzania, and had an adventure of a lifetime! It would have been a wonderful vacation all on its own, but as it was, it was just the beginning of ours!

Tanzania Day 1

This video shows the highlights from Day 1 in Tanzania... only to be followed by 6 more incredible days. More pictures will be posted soon. For now, enjoy the video!

One Year Later

I can’t believe it is already December 11th. I kind of thought this day would never come! Tomorrow morning I meet my mom, dad, and brother aboard a plane to Tanzania. This also marks the only blog post so far that I have posted myself. A little behind-the-scenes information I don’t think I’ve mentioned- blogger doesn’t work in Ethiopia, so my mom posts all my blogs for me. Since my family is already en route (I actually just received an email from them from Cairo) I am posting this one first hand from the comforts of fast-ish satellite from the Peace Corps office.

Since I last updated, so much has happened. The countryside itself exemplifies the changes around me. It seems like overnight the fields and hillsides of bright green have faded once again to bold yellow, ready for harvesting. Water, which I forgot to mention has been consistently available in Dangila, is now again starting to disappear for a few days at a time. Electricity too, which was reliable for a few months after rainy season, is beginning to have outages across the country. And Peace Corps has finished its seasonal change as well; all PCVs from Group 1 have closed service and in a week Group 3 will swear in.

Just after Thanksgiving I was fortunate enough to be invited by a Muslim neighbor to celebrate the Arafa holiday. As I sat around eating injera, listening to prayers and drinking coffee I wondered if any non-Muslim in Dangila had ever been invited to celebrate with them, and I felt so honored. Then I celebrated World AIDS Day in my town, where HAPCO had organized a field-day of sorts, including a 100m girls’ race. Of course, I had to run in it. My town would have it no other way. I was prepared to get smoked, until the women lined up beside me wearing skirts and some wearing no shoes. I wound up getting second place, and was called a lion in Amharic for the remainder of the day.

Lining up to run the race on World AIDS Day.

The crowd on World AIDS Day in Dangila.

I had been invited to spend this past week in Assela with Group 3 trainees, so I came in a few days early to Addis to prepare for the cooking session my friend Danielle and I were in charge of. I had the privilege during those few days last weekend to say goodbye to my dear friend Jordan, who decided to go home early. It was very bittersweet to see him go, but I completely understand his decision. His presence in Ethiopia will be dearly missed.

I also had to say goodbye to the group of 10 boys in Dangila (mentioned in previous posts). When I return back to town they will have returned to live with their families. I went over the night before leaving town to say goodbye and could barely hold back my tears as they each said goodbye to me. They will still be living in town, but I won’t be able to dependable see all of them every day, and I am going to miss those boys so much. As much as I’ve told them how much I love all of them I think they will never realize how much of an impact the 10 of them have made on me.

This past week I stayed in Assela, and spend the days visiting the trainees in their satellite villages with the technical trainer and two other volunteers. I had a lot of fun with the other PCVs and getting to know the new group. Although I saw them for a brief visit when they were still jetlagged, I really enjoyed getting to know them this week. Just yesterday Danielle and I were able to do a cooking demonstration for them, showing them how to create a stove-top dutch oven, and make some delicious home cooking!

Now I am back in Addis Ababa, and ready as ever to see my family tomorrow! Since I last updated I also passed my one year mark since leaving America. It has been a wonderful year filled with opportunities I could have never imagined a year ago, and I have grown exponentially from them. Thank you to everyone here and in America who has supported me on this adventure. I feel so loved and blessed. I will try to update about my month-long family adventure along the way, as I am sure our reunion abroad the plane tomorrow will be quite a scene!