**Disclosure: the length is very intimidating, once again, I
know, but it reads fairly quickly. Then again, I’m biased seeing as how I wrote
it…
Selam! I hope this post finds you
all well wherever you may be on this ginormous planet of ours. I have been in
Ethiopia now a little over a week and thought I’d let you know that I’m alive
and well.
Sincerely,
Sem
Just kidding. For those of you who
know me, you know how much I love to talk and these posts are not exempt from
my tendency to ramble. If you do not wish to waste your precious time, this is
a good time to stop. You’ve been warned. For the rest of you, it’s story time!!
Where to begin? Well this is semi
good news. For the past few days, I have been “waking up” (I use this term
loosely as it implies I’ve been sleeping, which I have not been. I am an
insomniac naturally plus I still have yet to adjust to the time. A very
unhealthy combo according to my face, which is sporting such a delicious
looking pimple right in between my eyebrows. TMI and a tangent. Double whammy!)
wondering where Brad (Pitt) and our 12 children are. Let me explain. Regardless
of the fact that I pretty much sleep with bug spray, as in I’m drenched in it
as well as cradling or spooning it (depending on what has taken over that day:
my estrogen or testosterone levels respectively), a “bimbi”, which means
mosquito in Amharic, got a little too intimate and bit me right on my mouth.
I’ve been sporting Ang’s signature pout, which isn’t necessarily a bad
thing. In fact, it’s something I’ve
always wanted, however, these means, while inexpensive, are a little unsanitary
for my taste.
Of course this happens on my first
day of teaching. Looking a little Joan Rivers-esque in all her botched plastic surgery
glory, also donning A WHITE CHEMISTRY/NURSE/ STRAIGHT JACKET (yea, all the
teachers wear them) I walked into my 5th grade class and began to
inspire young minds. I wish! Not quite that idyllic, but it actually wasn’t
horrible, despite all of my worries. The kids were very sweet and were very intrigued
by the fact that my parents were born in Ethiopia, but I’m an American. All
they wanted to do was speak to me in Amharic, but seeing as how I’m a spoken
English teacher, I felt that it would defeat the purpose of my entire class. I
proceeded to write my name and date on the blackboard as chalk came snowing
down my face, “Monday, September 23rd, 2013”. The kids all laughed
as I stared blankly back at them. One girl gently raised her hand and said it’s
2006.
Fun fact: It’s 2006 in Ethiopia.
Think back. What were you doing in September 2006? I was starting my sophomore
year of high school. It’s crazy how time flies… and then goes backwards. Bet
you’ve never heard that expression. It’s the Ethiopian version. So for those of
you who have regrets and wish you could do a particular year over again, come
to Ethiopia and watch your dreams come true. Or if you had an outstanding year
and would like to relive your glory days, come on over as well and watch the
fun unravel once more. Well, it took me a second to collect my thoughts and
rewrite the date. Yet another thing to adjust to, but of all the things I have
to get used to, this is the least of my worries.
I think the most difficult thing
for them as students and for me as their teacher is learning our boundaries and
appropriate behavior regarding our time and space. Being a volunteer, I have
the opportunity to play with the kids until they leave the grounds at around
5:30pm including days I am not scheduled to teach. The yard is a nice size with
the means to play all kinds of sports or games and of course talk, talk,
talk. Being comparatively younger than
the other teachers, paired with amount of time spent playing, it makes for an
interesting dynamic. On one hand, we can relate to each other as our generations
aren’t ridiculously spaced, but that makes it difficult for the children to see
me as both their buddy and disciplinarian. It’s difficult for me as well to
make the switch from one to the other, afraid of loosing either friendship or
authority (Machiavelli, what conclusion did you come to again?). Unfortunately, it’s a fine line and one that
may take a while to draw. Fortunately, I have some time. Regardless, they are
smart kids and have the ability to do some fantastic things once they learn to channel
their energy into something more productive when in a classroom setting.
In between classes, I hang out in
the teacher’s lounge, which is essentially another classroom, but with lockers
for each of us. It’s quite convenient actually. I’m still in the meeting and
greeting process, but everyone I have met so far has been incredibly warm
spirited, light hearted, and willing to teach me any and everything I need to
know to have a successful year. However, curiousness has them asking me
questions like, “So, you’re Ethiopian. Why have you never been here before?
Don’t you like your country? It is the blood in your veins”. That’s pretty much
a direct quote. My other favorite,
“which one is better? Here or America? Then there is the “What did you study”
question. I say Political Science and immediately regret it. The possibility of
light conversation goes out the window with these little numbers: “So, how do
you feel about Syria? Do you agree with how Americans take advantage of 3rd
world countries like Ethiopia?” They are shamelessly not objective, which I surprisingly
found refreshing. Instead of mulling over all the possible perspectives of each
individual in the room and carefully treading lightly over potential shattered
hearts, they say what they feel with such a strong conviction that you can’t
help but to admire their confidence regardless of whether or not you agree with
their political views. Something I’ve
noticed was the pride they have in where they come from. Many times I have
heard versions of “We don’t have much,
but we have everything.” Teachers come from all over to work with kids, who
have traveled from distances just as far, to love and educate, which I’ve come
to learn is really the same thing. It’s an investment in someone’s future,
because you care and you want the best for them. It’s beautiful!
Hmm…other things. I went to my
first Ethiopian dance class. What? It was intense. They are all so good! For
those of you who do not know what it is, YOUTUBE! It’s essentially an intense
shaking of the shoulders and a lot of neck work. This is probably among the top
5 worst descriptions of the dance, so I urge you to look it up it you are able.
It’s pretty fantastic.
I see donkey. Everywhere. The
novelty of it has not yet dissipated and I doubt it ever will. I mean they are
DONKEY. In the middle of the road. Like cars swerve around them. WHAT? There
are also children herding goat as well and can I just say dogsondogsondogs. Who
let the dogs out? Throwback! Sorry I had to. There are an insane amount of dogs
here and they all look so pet-able, but I did not get the rabies shot so no
touchie for me. There are sounds in the middle of the night that I have yet to
make out (aside from Usher blasting all night for reasons I have yet to
comprehend. I can clearly hear that). I’m really hoping they are cheetah or
something, but I don’t think I’m in the right part of town for that. There are
plenty of birds here, though. Seriously, like 900 species or something. Tear
jerker alert: I was playing foosball (which I learned is German: foos means
foot and ball meaning…well duhhh) after lunch one day and I saw a dead bird out
of the corner of my eye. I buried it and made Erin, my partner, hold a little
ceremony with me for our ex-fluttering friend. Other than that, it rains a lot
here and power outages are no longer a cause for panic, but a multi-weekly
occurrence. It’s kind of exciting actually and when paired with the rain
hitting our tin roofs, a little candlelight, and some Ella Fitzgerald or Norah
Jones, it can be quite cozy. Everything
is green and luscious and just stunning. I’m just loving the motherland.
Running water just stops. You learn to cope and discover there are lots of
things you could live without.
The scoop on my roommates: As of
last post, I did not know them, but now I am happy to introduce to you Ellen
and Daniela, my Austrian roommates and Ich Liebe Dich, which means I love them.
Yup, I’m learning German as well. We are constantly surrounded by many
different languages. Depending on the
day it can be either beautifully soothing or very excluding. I say this often,
but if I could have one super power, it would be to know how to speak every
language. While I do enjoy struggling through words and the feeling of
satisfaction once you’ve mastered even the shortest of phrases, I often times
long for the ability to just SPEAK! I’ m already excited to see where my
German, Spanish, Italian, and written Amharic is in a year from now. Anyway,
they are great. Dani is teaching us guitar, another short list goal as well as
being able to whistle with my fingers and beast table tennis. We stumbled upon
a whole stash of movies to add to the plethora of ones we’ve each brought with
us from our homes. My SLMs and dear friends at home know that in my assortment
of movies is the one and only LIVE FROM MADISON SQUARE GARDEN NSYNC’S NO
STRINGS ATTACHED CONCERT! I’m hesitant to show my new friends the DVD because I
want them to love me for who I am and not because I brought DVD gold with me.
It may be too soon to introduce them to this magic just yet. I know the effect
it has on people.
Speaking of boy bands, I have the
ultimate confession. I really like One Direction. I don’t know how it happened,
why it happened, where it happened, but I like them, as in I know the words to all
of their songs. My biggest regret is that I didn’t watch the movie before
coming out here. I never thought they’d get to me, but it happened. But really,
it’s not such a stretch. I love all boy bands. Like a disease, they’re contagious.
Like the malaria I thought I contracted. I’m sick, but it’s not malaria. It’s
just a cold I think…ooh shout out to Erick Bozeman. I read your card and your
picture has now made it on my wall J ***Quick explanation,
my friends put together a collection of letters each stuffed into a separate
envelop telling me to “open when” for a particular occasion. Erick had written
one for me to open when I’m sick and I have to say it’s a large reason for why
I’m still alive and kicking today. Thanks Boze.
Some highlights before I close: WE
FOUND NUTELLA! It’s called “HAI” here, but if it walks like a duck and quacks
like a duck, it’s nutella. I also had a Snickers! You give a girl a Snickers
and she eat for a day, but you show her where to buy them in town, and she eats
one a day every day she’s in Ethiopia.
There is so much going on here
constantly, it would be impossible to type it all out and I’m sure for those of
you who have made it this far, probably out of stubbornness to finish something
you’ve started especially if you’ve come all this way, are urging me to finish
this already even if it means cutting off my senten…
Kidding once again. Almost
done. I was thinking about how many of
my loved ones seem to be spread all over the world. I catch myself in complete
disbelief when I point to pictures on my bedroom wall and say almost
nonchalantly, “oh, that’s my friend. She’s in New Zealand. (S)He’s in India,
South Sudan, Bolivia, Cambodia, China, Micronesia, Armenia, Jerusalem, Mongolia…”
The list goes on. Whether you’re studying abroad, working, on mission, or just
trying to expand your horizons, I truly commend you simply for the fact that
you’re doing it. You’re there! So to family and friends, please pray, send good
juju, positive vibes, whatever you can spare, in every direction. I think I can
speak for all of us adventure seekers when I say we are involved in some
incredible activities, but home, more importantly the people who make whatever
we consider home, home, are what we miss and when it gets hard; we crave their
comfort. I am blessed to have such a beautiful support system; people who
remember to tell me I’m valued, missed, respected, and loved. While we all deserve that, please send a
little something extra to those away from home fulfilling or attempting to find
their purpose and/or trying to make a difference to someone somewhere. You have
no idea how much ease words bring especially in times of need.
To sum things up, the amount I’ve
learned in a little over a week, the love I’ve experienced, the tribulations,
the second guesses, the faith, the community, the purpose, they are all things
that I could’ve never generated mentally or physically from the pages of textbooks
or the stories of others’ experiences. It is absolutely unique to who and where
I am at this particular time and to express in words how I feel would be an
injustice to all that is culminating inside of me. I will say my goals are
unwavering: I’m determined to stay present, open my heart to new experiences,
revel in my vulnerability, love beyond reason, and laugh uncontrollably because
liberation resides in true unadulterated happiness.
Count your blessings by doing something for someone else,
Sem
p.s. yea, there’s
more. Here’s an email I received from my Dad. The laugh I enjoyed was too great
not to share. Cheers to a man with a good sense of humor. My padre <3
“Hi Sem,
It seems that you are having
fun and enjoying the country and I m very happy for you.
Just to help you assimilate
with the culture, I want to give you few pointers.
The donkey you are referring
to is our high transportation system equivalent to a limo in the US. As a
matter of fact, when I married your mother that is how I went to pick up my
beautiful bride
from her parent’s house to take
her to our honeymoon suite under a big African acacia tree. I was so proud to
have a fleet of 7 donkeys for my grooms. If you do not believe me, I have
pictures to prove it. If others tell you otherwise (like your mother , Aunties
or uncles) they are lying to you.
So respect my limo!!!
Next lesson will be regarding
the goats, which I will send you next time.
So go explore and have fun.
Love you
Padre”
