Site Visit

Wow am I glad to be back with my host family. This past week was site visit, where all the volunteers spend a week at their permanent posts. What a week it was! Coming back to my host family really felt like coming home. I take great solace in knowing that a place in Ethiopia can feel like home in just a month, so it is possible that my site will one day feel comfortable. My site is one of the most remote, I really live in the jungle...complete with 2 species of monkeys and herds of baboons. To reach Masha I had to take a 2 day journey on public transportation. Without going into too many details, the trip was terrifying. Ethiopia has the most car accidents per capita in the world...I can definitely understand why. We almost hit cows, goats, sheep, donkeys, dogs, people, other vehicles and often veered off the road. Perhaps the word "road" isn't really appropriate. Most of the way to Masha is unpaved, steep and winding. Luckily was I was not travelling alone for this first trip out there. The two closest volunteers to me are awesome and our personalities compliment each others' very well. This will prove to be a very important support system I am sure.

The adventure did not end there. Living in my town is going to be a challenge. With the exception of about an hour I did not have electricity the whole week I was there. The water definitely needs to be purified and filtered...there are floaters. I do not have running water and need to take bucket baths, which I am not very good at yet. I share a shint bet with a ton of people, which is pretty unsanitary and smelly, but at least it is pretty well kept. Because of the lack of electricity I need to keep my door open to let light in...apparently an open door is an invitation. Kids poured into my room, touching my things, putting things in their pockets, rubbing their snotty hands all over everything and eating on my bed. I think the privacy issue will become my biggest problem...I need to fashion a screen door out of my bed net (I don't have mosquitoes! so no need for a net). My living space consists of two rooms, very similar to dorm rooms. They are across from each other, not connecting. One room I will use for sleeping/bathing and the other for cooking/eating. It sounds like I've got the roughest living conditions of the people I have spoken with, but I'm kind of flattered by the placement. The fact that I am so far from other volunteers, close to no-go zones and quite rural means that the Peace Corps staff thinks I can handle it and that I'm tough. Maybe I should have acted a bit more needy and codependent those first couple of weeks?

So enough about the challenges of my site. There are so many good things about it too. The area is bat'am k'onjo naw! (very beautiful). It is wild, untamed, untouched and exactly what I envisioned when I thought of Africa. The jungle is dense and very, very green. The cell phone network is good, so you can call me (hint hint) with no problem. I have a posta bet (Andrea, you know how much I like towns with 1 post office) and a bank, so there is no real need to leave my site other than travel. I am far from a lot of things, but there are also a lot of awesome places to visit near me. I love the volunteers that are next to me. My counterpart is excellent and very helpful. My landlady's daughter is an awesome dancer (iskista dancing!) and I am determined to pick up some sweet moves for when I come home.

My first night sleeping at site was hard. I really, really wanted to pack up and go back to America. Being in my home made me realize for the first time that this is real. I am going to be away for 2 years...and 2 years never seemed so long. Fortunately, that night Kevin called me, and it was the most comforting phone call of my life. Just hearing a familiar voice, being able to speak in English and to talk about familiar things was so, so nice. Kev, thanks...you saved me that night. The next day, however, was much better. I had meetings with local groups such as the PLWHA Assoc (people living with HIV/AIDS), a group of local volunteers, administration, and schools. The exact moment when I changed my mind about the night before and realized that I am exactly where I need to be was when talking to the PLWHA assoc. I guess that they have been trying to get help from NGOs for a while now but with no success. A woman said to me "we would be so happy to be able to work with you for two days, let alone two years". It's going to be hard, but I see a lot of opportunity already and cannot wait to get started. I think I have found my Lambarene.