Traveling Home

The past month I’ve been out of Dangila on vacation and it’s been a whirlwind of activities. I’m now back “home” in Dangila, exhausted and a bit confused.  I looked forward to this trip for so long that it’s hard to realize that it’s actually over. Now I only have two months left in Peace Corps. It’s amazing how time sneaks up on you like that.

At home with my family!

Going back to America was a bit overwhelming but not quite like I expected.  I think I expected reverse culture shock, change, and maybe a realization about how I’ve changed.  Instead, what I found was home, almost exactly as I left it.  My biggest fear in signing up for Peace Corps was that scary two-year commitment. I was signing up for two year away from everything I know and love, and signing away my first two years after university to something vastly different than I ever expected I’d be doing.  Everyone dreams about the future, and for me I dreamed while in university that I would graduate, move to a new city, get a job, discover true independence, and grow up a bit.  In theory, I did just that except where I am now is nothing like I dreamed. The main difference here is that I didn’t have my support system to lean on. Support came; I don’t deny that, but sometimes letters and emails once a month don’t compare to long phone conversations, warm hugs, and words of support from people that truly know what you’re going through.

As the day of my flight neared I began to worry that things would be different.  I feared before I left two years ago that I would miss out on so many things back home, and that fear came back as I was returning. What if I missed too much? What if everything and everyone I know grew in different directions? What if the person I am today doesn’t fit so nicely back in that cozy little spot I left two years ago?  But home was exactly as I remember it. Friends, family, neighbors and pets all greeted me with love.  I’ve changed, although I’m still discovering how. And my friends also have changed, as I imagined. But we still all fit back together.

And Arbay settled nicely into her new home in America!

Two thoughts came into my mind quite often, and the friends that were with me know them, I’m sure, because I mentioned them often. First was, “Why are there so many choices?!” Choices come from freedom, I get that, but they are so overwhelming! Everywhere I went people were forcing me to make decisions and not easy ones. I think maybe if you have a routine you are used to making all your daily decisions and don’t need to think about them each day you make them, but for me it was all new again. Communion: wine, juice or community cup? Dog food: chicken, salmon, beef, or vegan (really?)? Movie theaters: 24 movie options?! And don’t even get me started on the bread aisle at the grocery store.

The other thought I couldn’t get out of my mind was, “How can this place even be on the same planet as Ethiopia?” It amazes me that in half a day on an airplane you can arrive in a place so vastly different than the place you’re in. And it doesn’t even take half a day in most cases. Earth seems so small sometimes, and yet problems on the other side seem so easy to ignore, until you’ve seen them and lived with them. You can’t un-live or un-see the type of things that I’ve seen here. After two years I almost became numb to the differences in lifestyles, but you cannot ignore those differences when you see both extremes on the same day. Traveling home after being in Ethiopia for this long allowed me to see both of these places, both of my homes, with new eyes.  I’m so grateful for the things I know and the things I’ve learned. I pray that I don’t ever forget them, but I know already that I cannot.

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!