Ethiopian spring has sprung! The only big differences here are that pollen is replaced by dust, green grass is replaced with dirt, and colorful flowers are replaced by, well, the lack of anything colorful at all. Having moved to Dangila last February this was the first season I experienced here, and since then apparently I blocked that memory from my mind. I completely forgot how hot it can get here, and how dusty everything becomes. My supervisor even brought up my joke last spring about “which road is not dusty?” (see blogs from last spring) and we laughed about it in the office for a good hour this morning.
Even though the “air condition” right now is not exactly favorable (air condition here literally means the condition of the air, having nothing to do with machines that alter temperatures) I still find myself in one of the happiest states that I think I’ve been in since I arrived. Friends are always surrounding me (Ethiopian and foreign), work is good (meaning it is existent), and I am loving Dangila. Last fall I made a deal with myself to stay in site for an entire month without leaving, and let’s just say it didn’t happen. I always like spending weekends with friends and taking advantage of every opportunity that arises. But this month I’m just completely happy and content here is Dangila, and I will easily spend a month here without leaving.
The other day I was working the HIV testing event at the high school and happen to leave the compound to walk home for lunch at the shift change between 9th and 10th grade. The shift change is basically my worst nightmare; a sea of turquoise uniforms, 5,000 teenagers, all without somewhere to be for the next 15 minutes, and I found myself in the middle. A year ago, the event would have brought me to tears; I would have drowned in the sea of the harassment, feeling like an outsider. This year I swam through that sea with confidence. Not a single person yelled “ferengi,” but instead the students called my name, chatted with me as I walked, and greeted me with friendly handshakes. I’m finally starting to feel like I belong here, and I’m a part of this community.
I just finished week 4 of English/Life Skills classes with my two classes of high school girls, I have meetings set up to start a business project with those 10 boys I helped out with last fall, and there is less than a week until the big Easter celebration (and the end of fasting!). Yesterday I had a sudden urge to clean my house (a rarity) and found myself mopping my floors a few minutes later. Yenebeb (the 9-year-old son of my landlord) walked by my door and asked with a smile, “are you cleaning for the holiday?” A common Ethiopian habit is to clean everything before big holidays (I suppose Americans do this too) because they always host the neighbors and want their house to look nice. I smiled and said “yes” figuring it was easier than admitting I hadn’t mopped my house in probably 8 months. No time like the present for a little spring cleaning!
Time is starting to fly by during year 2 in Ethiopia. The countdown is at 9.5 months, which doesn’t seem like enough to finish all I want to do here. Before I know it dusty season will become muddy season, muddy season will fade, and my departure will be imminent.
Even though the “air condition” right now is not exactly favorable (air condition here literally means the condition of the air, having nothing to do with machines that alter temperatures) I still find myself in one of the happiest states that I think I’ve been in since I arrived. Friends are always surrounding me (Ethiopian and foreign), work is good (meaning it is existent), and I am loving Dangila. Last fall I made a deal with myself to stay in site for an entire month without leaving, and let’s just say it didn’t happen. I always like spending weekends with friends and taking advantage of every opportunity that arises. But this month I’m just completely happy and content here is Dangila, and I will easily spend a month here without leaving.
The other day I was working the HIV testing event at the high school and happen to leave the compound to walk home for lunch at the shift change between 9th and 10th grade. The shift change is basically my worst nightmare; a sea of turquoise uniforms, 5,000 teenagers, all without somewhere to be for the next 15 minutes, and I found myself in the middle. A year ago, the event would have brought me to tears; I would have drowned in the sea of the harassment, feeling like an outsider. This year I swam through that sea with confidence. Not a single person yelled “ferengi,” but instead the students called my name, chatted with me as I walked, and greeted me with friendly handshakes. I’m finally starting to feel like I belong here, and I’m a part of this community.
I just finished week 4 of English/Life Skills classes with my two classes of high school girls, I have meetings set up to start a business project with those 10 boys I helped out with last fall, and there is less than a week until the big Easter celebration (and the end of fasting!). Yesterday I had a sudden urge to clean my house (a rarity) and found myself mopping my floors a few minutes later. Yenebeb (the 9-year-old son of my landlord) walked by my door and asked with a smile, “are you cleaning for the holiday?” A common Ethiopian habit is to clean everything before big holidays (I suppose Americans do this too) because they always host the neighbors and want their house to look nice. I smiled and said “yes” figuring it was easier than admitting I hadn’t mopped my house in probably 8 months. No time like the present for a little spring cleaning!
Time is starting to fly by during year 2 in Ethiopia. The countdown is at 9.5 months, which doesn’t seem like enough to finish all I want to do here. Before I know it dusty season will become muddy season, muddy season will fade, and my departure will be imminent.
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