Tomorrow is the Ethiopian New Year and it will be September 1, 2005. In America, in 2005, I was close to graduating high school and moving to Gainesville to start college at Santa Fe. Now I am living in Mek'elle Ethiopia (2012) with my best friend and husband, Scott. Seems light years away and yet it also feels like yesterday that I was walking across that stage in that hideous royal blue robe.
School will be starting soon here and I have already met a number of teachers I will be working with thanks to my counter-part , Igziharia. Her name means "chosen by God" and she is the vice director of my school. I can not tell you how happy I was to hear that my counter-part is a woman with authority. It is very difficult to find a woman with a higher position in administration but throughout the country there are efforts to make gender issues a top priority. I am more excited for school to start mostly because I will finally be getting to work but also because since I haven't really had a steady schedule I am starting to feel a bit anxious. We have had a great time getting to know Mek'elle, meeting new friends, and getting used to living here but now that we are more comfortable I want to move on to something more substantial. I can't read books all day, every day.
With down time comes the reflection period. The last 12 weeks have been a whirlwind experience and I can't help but also look at the last two years leading up to this time in our lives. I came back from Zambia, got married, got a job, and began the Peace Corps process all over again. We really didn't know how tough it would be or how easy. We just knew that the path was in front of us and we had to keep going. During that time I met some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to encounter and I took for granted the time we shared. Some of my favorite memories are going to the St. Augustine Beach and eating delicious burgers or relaxing by the Enclave Pool and grilling out on "Sunday Funday". Fourth of July 2011 was probably one of the best days I have ever had. We played sand volleyball, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and lounged by the pool with everyone we cared about. I went through two football seasons at the University of Florida. I was no longer going to the games and cheering alongside my fellow students. I was serving them. And I never realized how rowdy people can get when your on the other side. Game Days weren't the only horrors. Generally, every night at Salty Dog was a reason to bash the student body. After every 6 hour shift my legs were tired, my pants were filthy, and I had at one point yelled at one individual or taken a step further and kicked them out of the bar. I also had the money I needed to help pay the rent and friends that I could commiserate with after hours.There are too many stories from that hole in the wall that I could write a very hilarious and terrifying novel. I had a great job, that although I sometimes loathed, made me a more confident and able person.
Thinking about the past gives me a whole new appreciation for where we are now, what we went through to get here, and what we will go through by staying here. I miss my friends and family but I know Peace Corps Ethiopia will add to our lives just as those last two years did. For now, we are setting up for a crazy two years. At least this time around we know it will be nuts.
School will be starting soon here and I have already met a number of teachers I will be working with thanks to my counter-part , Igziharia. Her name means "chosen by God" and she is the vice director of my school. I can not tell you how happy I was to hear that my counter-part is a woman with authority. It is very difficult to find a woman with a higher position in administration but throughout the country there are efforts to make gender issues a top priority. I am more excited for school to start mostly because I will finally be getting to work but also because since I haven't really had a steady schedule I am starting to feel a bit anxious. We have had a great time getting to know Mek'elle, meeting new friends, and getting used to living here but now that we are more comfortable I want to move on to something more substantial. I can't read books all day, every day.
With down time comes the reflection period. The last 12 weeks have been a whirlwind experience and I can't help but also look at the last two years leading up to this time in our lives. I came back from Zambia, got married, got a job, and began the Peace Corps process all over again. We really didn't know how tough it would be or how easy. We just knew that the path was in front of us and we had to keep going. During that time I met some of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to encounter and I took for granted the time we shared. Some of my favorite memories are going to the St. Augustine Beach and eating delicious burgers or relaxing by the Enclave Pool and grilling out on "Sunday Funday". Fourth of July 2011 was probably one of the best days I have ever had. We played sand volleyball, grilled burgers and hot dogs, and lounged by the pool with everyone we cared about. I went through two football seasons at the University of Florida. I was no longer going to the games and cheering alongside my fellow students. I was serving them. And I never realized how rowdy people can get when your on the other side. Game Days weren't the only horrors. Generally, every night at Salty Dog was a reason to bash the student body. After every 6 hour shift my legs were tired, my pants were filthy, and I had at one point yelled at one individual or taken a step further and kicked them out of the bar. I also had the money I needed to help pay the rent and friends that I could commiserate with after hours.There are too many stories from that hole in the wall that I could write a very hilarious and terrifying novel. I had a great job, that although I sometimes loathed, made me a more confident and able person.
Thinking about the past gives me a whole new appreciation for where we are now, what we went through to get here, and what we will go through by staying here. I miss my friends and family but I know Peace Corps Ethiopia will add to our lives just as those last two years did. For now, we are setting up for a crazy two years. At least this time around we know it will be nuts.
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