Thursday, March 4, 2010

Live like me!

A few weeks ago I recieved a wonderful letter from my good friend Mike Lewis. Towards the end of the letter he relayed a comment that was made about how excessive casino glitz and glamor is and how, especially compared to my life, is completely unnecessary. I want to share with all of you a day without luxury. Here is the challenge:

Choose one day, a weekend will be better because most of you use electricity at your jobs.

You can use only up to 2 hours of electricity throughout the day.

You cannot use the internet, watch tv or use appliances. You may, however, use your laptop but only until the battery runs out. Again, no internet!

You cannot use running water. Fill up some buckets the night before. Not for a shower, not for brushing your teeth, not for cooking, washing clothes or doing dishes. No running water!

You can only drink water from a bottle or if you have boiled it for 3 minutes.

No refridgerator.

You can only use one burner on your stove, and you cannot use the oven.

You may only eat rice, pasta, tomatoes, red onions, garlic (fresh only), mangoes, bananas, potatoes, and carrots. Also, only basic spices. No iodized salt. I have to crush mine with a rock. It sucks.

You can only walk or take public transportation.

You cannot go to the grocery store, walmart or any store like that.

You can only answer your phone if it is someone you have met in the last 5 months or your mother. Or if it is your sibling at a very late hour.

I wish I could think of a way to replicate the harassment, but it's impossible. Just think twice abotu leaving your house.

Have fun and good luck.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

The Waterfall/Schweitzer Challenge

The Waterfall

I've gone over a month without Internet, I am so impressed with myself! It has been a very trying first three months here in Masha, I am very happy to be going to in-service training this week. I desperately need the company of friends and a chance to relax a bit. Before I left I said that the first six months would suck, but then it would get better...I sure hope I was right about that. Of all the intense situations I have found myself in, the last one was particularly rough.

One Saturday night I get a text from my counterpart asking if I would like to go on a 3 hour trip to a waterfall with the youth association. Of course I agreed, I could use something to do on weekends and, to be honest, I could use more friends here. He told me to bring money for transportation so I assumed it would be a bus ride followed by a short walk. Fastforward to the next morning. It's pouring outside when I'm supposed to meet the group so I correctly assume that no one would leave their house until the rain stopped so I went back to bed. When I woke up again the rain had ceased and I grabbed a granola bar for the way and left my house. Finally, a group of about 50 people (mostly high school kids) left. After an hour of walking I decided I should probably ask for more details about this trip. I learn that it's actually a hike...and I only brought a liter of water, was wearing sandals, and had a 90 calorie breakfast. Great. After 5 and a half hous of very steep hiking, up and over two mountains, we reach the waterfall. I feel like I should mention that this hike was not on a path, but through the thickets, most slippery mud I've ever walked through. I had to hold on to two people's hands so as not to wipe out, and of course Ethiopians are super-fit and were basically at a running pace, barefoot, and laughing at the fat American who couldn't keep up (for the record I'm not putting myself down...they are just tiny people). For you nerds out there, picture Gimly in Two Towers falling behind as he, Legolas and Aragorn are tracking the army of orcs saying "just keep breathing". That was me. I didn't know what was worse, the exhaustion or dehydration. When we get to the waterfall I am stunned, it was absolutely beautiful. Of all the waterfalls I've seen I would rank it after the Niagra Horseshoe falls and the one in New Zealand where the Forbidden Pool was filmed (wow, Nikki...really? Two LOTR references?). All the boys stripped down and jumped in for a swim, I was quite annoyed that the girls didn't do the same, because I decided that I would only swim if other women did. After a few minutes we hear screaming, suddenly my thirst, hunger and exhaustion don't mean anything. One of the younger boys was sucked in by the current of the largest part of the waterfall. A few guys reached out to him to try to drag him back to the edge, but was unable to save him. There was nothing we could do, we watched him drown. Everyone was crying and screaming, we didn't know what to do next. An hour later when the body still hadn't surfaced the group started the long journey home. We stopped at a farm about an hour from the waterfall to call into town and the the police for an investigation. Everyone was told to wait for questioning. Some time later a guy comes and tells me to go with him and he'd give me a ride back into town because I wouldn't be much help in questioning. As we ride into town everyone is in the street. At this point I am the only person who had come back from the trip, and therefore the only person that knew what happened. The rest of the night is a bit hazy in my memory. People were at my house trying to ask me what happened, who it was and how many people died. I spent some time in silence crying with the kids in my compound because the boy that died was our neighbor and a friend. It was the worst think I have ever experienced. One of the saddest parts about the whole thing is that so many kids witnessed it. These kids rarely have anything exciting to do, and for the first time they were offered this trip. Even something that was supposed to be fun was plagued by tragedy. They can't get a break. All I can think of is how much these kids endure, whereas my childhood was filled with good times, laughter and everything that a kid could ever want. This experience made me decide that I would like to start up a youth recreation center for my major project. I want to give these kids back their childhood, let them play games and fool around. I want them to have options other than drinking and making them prone to risky behavior and growing up too quickly. I know I can't take away all the difficulties of life, but I hope I can make their lives a bit better.



Last night I went to the funeral. Here funerals last over a month and people filter in and out of the "lekso bet" continuously. When you go you are supposed to prepare something to eat/drink. I went with a bunch of neighborhood kids. The experience, for me, was so different from American funerals that instead of getting closure I left more upset. In the lekso bet tons of people were seated ont he floor of a tiny room. The entire time a man in the corner was starting at me, making me very uncomfortable. The kids were all pushing and laughing and nothing was said about the boy. It was like the wedding in Gonde. I was getting way more attention that i should have and it was very awkward. In addition to this, when I left my house wearing the traditional funeral scarf everyone laughed at me. Usually I'm relatively okay with this, I know I'm different than everyone else and, sure, I guess it's funny. But i was just trying to grieve, it was not the time to be laughing at me.

On another note. Today (Feb 24) is day 143. This is officially the longest I've ever been away from home. My Biggest Adventure Yet is nothing like I had anticipated and is much more difficult than I thought it would be. The big romanticized fantasy is not exactly what Ethiopia ended up being, but I'm happy with my decision. As long as I keep reminding myself that I didn't come here to have fun, be comfortable or fool around. This is a job, a sacrifice and my chance to do soemthing for a world that has been so good to me. If I keep this in mind I can see it through to the end. Also, things can only get better. IST is this week, I have a group training in May and then again in June. After that I can do some real work, take a vacation somewhere exciting and then visit home. After my visit I will be getting a fellow volunteer in my town and life will be less lonely. The hard part is over...I hope.

Oh, and just as a final kick in the ass before IST, yesterday I lost a toenail. I'm not really sure how or why, but it was gross.


Schweitzer Challenge

I have just finished re-reading Out of My Life and Thought by my boy Albert Schweitzer. In the epilogue he states "but however concerned I was with the suffering in the world, I never let myself become lost in the brooding over it. I always held firmly to the thought that each one of us can do a little to bring some portion of it to an end." I want to challenge you, my friends, family and random blog readers to, if you haven't already, realize the ethical affirmation of life in everything you do. I understand that life is busy and it is impractical to drop everything and sacrifice precious leisure time, but I ask you to just give some time, maybe even just once a month, to other life in the world, whether it be fellow humans, animals or the environment. "His life will become in every respect more difficult than if he lived for himself, but at the same time it will be richer, more beautiful, and happier. It will become, instead of mere living, a genuine experience of life." Everyone has the power to do good in this world, and even the smallest act of kindness is appreciated. So get out there and end some part of the suffering. I don't mean to sound like a hippie or a do-gooder, but I really believe in this. Write a comment to this entry with what you have done recently and share it with people.