Sunday, April 20, 2014

The Last Couple of Months

The last couple of months have been a whirl wind of adventure here in Ethiopia, full of new people, experiences and places. As always I’m happy to be back in Hawassa with sunsets by the lake, afternoon summer rains and those dreadful monkeys. 

Almost two months ago my travels began in Afar on a work related trip with the NGO and staff from our Tanzanian and Ugandan projects. This meeting was an experience share between all three projects and the steps moving forward. I was excited to be out in Afar as it is a very unique place in Ethiopia with extreme temperatures and volcanic landscapes. Much of Afar is untouched by any form of modernization and includes pastoralist and nomadic communities which are rare to see and experience in today’s world. The Ethiopian government is having a difficult time providing vaccination services to these remote and mobile communities, which is the reason for the NGOs presence in the area.
Afar landscape

Afar Landscape

An electronics shop in Ethiopia


The NGO Team having coffee at the airport in Afar

Tanzania, Ugandan & Ethiopian NGO Staff

Breakfast in Afar

Afarian Men working with Camels

Afarian (Ethiopian) Women


Almost 2 weeks after I left Hawassa I was still out in Afar working and getting eaten alive by all sorts of bugs. Little did I know that I had been exposed to a terrible case of Typhus. I work with some of the most amazing people and they quickly recognized I was a bit delusional and immediately got me on a plane headed back to Peace Corps headquarters. I spent the rest of the week in bed under the watchful eyes of our Peace Corps doctors and was on the road to recovery.  Needless to say I really only had a few days to get better as I had family coming into country and needed to play hostess.

I got well enough to begin travel with my cousin in country, and I was off again. We started our trip by first coming to Hawassa for a few nights and hiking around Wondo Genet, then we headed north to Lalibella. While the trip was wonderful and I think my cousin had a good time experiencing Ethiopian culture, I was exhausted by the end of it all.
St. Gorges Church in Lalibella

Lalibella Rock Church

Lalibella Town


Little old Ethiopian Man in Lalibella





We made it back to Addis, enjoyed one last dinner together and she got on a plane to Istambul. I decided that for the next 2 days I wasn’t going to move, as I just needed a few days to recoup from my sickness and travels.  I spent it on Jenny’s couch in Addis with a hot cup of tea and lots cheese products. Jenny is an X-pat who works for the NGO and has been a great mentor to me in the international community and lifestyle.

Next up, was All Volunteer Conference (All Vol.) in Addis, where I spent the next week in a conference with 200 other Peace Corps Volunteers from all over Ethiopia. It was good to see everyone especially the volunteers from Tigray. While I love Hawassa, I will never forget the 2 years I spent in Tigray. Finally after 4 weeks of being on the road it was time to head back to Hawassa.


Since being home I have been spending some time socializing with a whole bunch of x-pats from the UK. Learning about the differences in our language has been rather interesting, while we all speak English and for the most part understand each other there are so many different sayings and names for objects that vary a lot. Even though America was originally colonized by the British and we adopted a lot of their language, cultures and customs our countries have grown miles apart.  As always its fun talking to fresh new faces in Ethiopia, as they have so much to learn and I learn how much I have grown here.