Since arriving in Addis Ababa in mid-February for my group’s Mid-Service Conference, I have yet to go back to Dangila. A week for the training, a week of traveling in the south (see previous entry) and then I had a few days to kill before some medical appointments and my visit to Group 3’s In-Service Training. This time spent mainly around Addis has been filled with fun times with friends and delicious food, but more than anything it has made me miss the comforts of my small town. Spending so much time in Addis though has afforded me the opportunity to know where I’m going, and walk like a local. I know where all the local minibuses around town are heading, I know the best ferengi restaurants, but I also know some Ethiopian dives to get good injera and wat for less than $1 (which for Addis is quite a claim). I don’t feel like I have a whole lot to talk about, especially concerning the “Peace Corps experience” since I’ve been attending trainings and traveling so much, but I did realize that I’ve had some fun adventures in Addis that are worth sharing, so here are a few short stories:
Ethiopian Dentist
Since we’ve now been at-site for over a year, everyone in my group is required to have a dental cleaning appointment. I’m not one to fret about going to the dentist, in fact, I usually look forward to the experience, so when I was waiting for my Peace Corps taxi to take me to my appointment, I hadn’t even thought about it all that much. When I finally arrived, I climbed the stairs to the third floor of a run-down building in the suburbs of Addis and told the front desk that I was there for a cleaning. After thirty minutes of sitting in a waiting room with Ethiopians who were intently staring at the television playing an Arab Sat soap opera in Arabic (which no one understood, clearly) I was called to come back to see the dentist.
An older Ethiopia man motioned for me to sit down in the dental chair and we chatted for a minute about the other Peace Corps volunteers he had met. He briefly poked around in my mouth and then said, “we used to be very proud of our teeth,” in a very beat-down voice; He blames the sugar and soda. He then ushered me to another room, which seemed identical to me, and powered up what appeared to be a metal pick. The assistant entered the room, handed me a few pieces of toilet paper and tied a dental bib around my neck. Before the dentist began the cleaning he looked at me questionably, motioned for me to remove my glasses and simply said, “for safety.” I chuckled to myself, followed his instructions, and he began to poke around with this metal water pick. Every time the pick touched my tooth it made the most horrible sound, and better yet, the pick must have had a leak because water sprayed all over my face. A-ha! That must be what the toilet paper is for, and the glasses removal! I sat there choking back my laughter as I realized this is by far the oddest dentist appointment I’ve had to date.
Amharic for Foreigners
My next story occurred on the taxi ride back from the dentist, while I was already in a laughing mood. The taxi driver, who is used to having Peace Corps volunteers in the car, happily had a conversation with me in half English, half Amharic. While stopped at one traffic light a man walked between the cars carrying three very random items in his hands which he attempted to sell to the passengers in each car. He got very excited when he saw me because one of the three items he had was a book titled Amharic for Foreigners. In English he told me that I must buy this book from him; In Amharic I told him I didn’t want it. Not fazed by my Amharic response, he continued with his case of trying to make a sale. I kept answering in Amharic and eventually said, while laughing, “I’m speaking Amharic, so I really don’t need the book!” The driver, also laughing at this point repeats my argument, “Dude! She’s telling you all of this in Amharic, she doesn’t need the book!” Ok, so there isn’t an Amharic word for “dude!” but I imagine that he would have said that if there was a word. Finally, the hawker said in Amharic, “You speak it completely?” I responded, “Yes, completely!” (a small fib) and he finally walked away.
In Other News
In a couple days now I have the privilege of returning to Sodere to help for one night with Group 3’s In-Service Training. I suspect it will be a fun visit, especially after spending today in Addis with Group 3 helping them learn their way around this city. I’m really fortunate to be surrounded by so many neighboring volunteers, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know their entire group since they arrived in October.
Fasting is still going well. I’ve only cheated once with an opportunity for some real ice cream, brought to our Mid-Service training. Otherwise, I’m handling the lack of animal products well. Recently too I’ve realized the true meaning of fasting, and enjoyed the benefits of sacrificing something physical (food) to move closer to God during this lent period.
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| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Ethiopian Dentist
Since we’ve now been at-site for over a year, everyone in my group is required to have a dental cleaning appointment. I’m not one to fret about going to the dentist, in fact, I usually look forward to the experience, so when I was waiting for my Peace Corps taxi to take me to my appointment, I hadn’t even thought about it all that much. When I finally arrived, I climbed the stairs to the third floor of a run-down building in the suburbs of Addis and told the front desk that I was there for a cleaning. After thirty minutes of sitting in a waiting room with Ethiopians who were intently staring at the television playing an Arab Sat soap opera in Arabic (which no one understood, clearly) I was called to come back to see the dentist.
An older Ethiopia man motioned for me to sit down in the dental chair and we chatted for a minute about the other Peace Corps volunteers he had met. He briefly poked around in my mouth and then said, “we used to be very proud of our teeth,” in a very beat-down voice; He blames the sugar and soda. He then ushered me to another room, which seemed identical to me, and powered up what appeared to be a metal pick. The assistant entered the room, handed me a few pieces of toilet paper and tied a dental bib around my neck. Before the dentist began the cleaning he looked at me questionably, motioned for me to remove my glasses and simply said, “for safety.” I chuckled to myself, followed his instructions, and he began to poke around with this metal water pick. Every time the pick touched my tooth it made the most horrible sound, and better yet, the pick must have had a leak because water sprayed all over my face. A-ha! That must be what the toilet paper is for, and the glasses removal! I sat there choking back my laughter as I realized this is by far the oddest dentist appointment I’ve had to date.
Amharic for Foreigners
My next story occurred on the taxi ride back from the dentist, while I was already in a laughing mood. The taxi driver, who is used to having Peace Corps volunteers in the car, happily had a conversation with me in half English, half Amharic. While stopped at one traffic light a man walked between the cars carrying three very random items in his hands which he attempted to sell to the passengers in each car. He got very excited when he saw me because one of the three items he had was a book titled Amharic for Foreigners. In English he told me that I must buy this book from him; In Amharic I told him I didn’t want it. Not fazed by my Amharic response, he continued with his case of trying to make a sale. I kept answering in Amharic and eventually said, while laughing, “I’m speaking Amharic, so I really don’t need the book!” The driver, also laughing at this point repeats my argument, “Dude! She’s telling you all of this in Amharic, she doesn’t need the book!” Ok, so there isn’t an Amharic word for “dude!” but I imagine that he would have said that if there was a word. Finally, the hawker said in Amharic, “You speak it completely?” I responded, “Yes, completely!” (a small fib) and he finally walked away.
In Other News
In a couple days now I have the privilege of returning to Sodere to help for one night with Group 3’s In-Service Training. I suspect it will be a fun visit, especially after spending today in Addis with Group 3 helping them learn their way around this city. I’m really fortunate to be surrounded by so many neighboring volunteers, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know their entire group since they arrived in October.
Fasting is still going well. I’ve only cheated once with an opportunity for some real ice cream, brought to our Mid-Service training. Otherwise, I’m handling the lack of animal products well. Recently too I’ve realized the true meaning of fasting, and enjoyed the benefits of sacrificing something physical (food) to move closer to God during this lent period.
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