May 26, 2011

Wanted to let you know I made it in to Addis alright and am checked into my hotel. The peace corps has taken care of us very well. All meals are in the hotel so I haven’t had to pay for one yet.

Today we got our walk around money about 1600 Birr. None of which I have used.  Tomorrow I will be getting a cell phone. They are having someone come to the hotel to sell phone cards and then also a phone. So I will hopefully get you all that information soon. We are also getting the rest of our immunizations tomorrow including our anti-malaria meds.

The group is pretty much cooped up in the hotel because they don’t want us going out yet even in small groups. It for our own safety. Not sure we will get out much for the next couple of days because they want to give us all of the safety and security information before venture out into their world. As the Medical Advisor said we are “fragile.”

Today was mostly orientations… Jet lag is killer when trying to listen to speakers. Because our group is so big they are having us stay in the capital for 10 days more than any other group. My satellite site Huerta Ethiopia. It sounds like it’s a good sized city… however there are no paved roads so its dusty. There is a health center there and it is only 23km from Assela. 10 of us are going to that particular satellite site.  

May 26, 2011
I was having internet troubles but I got it fixed. I am e-mailing in the lobby of the hotel. It is called Kings Hotel. It is probably super nice for here. But is more like a motel back in the states. It sounds like e-mail is going to be the cheapest way for us to communicate. I can call you but it does get expensive. The exchange rate hear is so nice. I haven't really had to assimilate much yet because I am around a bunch of americans and this hotel is one of the nicer ones in the city.


I will try and e-mail you my phone number tomorrow when I get it. I'm not sure internet will be as accessible as this in my satellite site.


Take care
Love Sham


June 4, 2011
Hello to everyone back in the States,

I finally got information on my host family today. Here was the description I received.
Site: Huruta, Ethiopia
Family: Aregu (age60), and his wife Meaza (age 49), are teachers. They have a daughter Feven (19) who is a student. Almaz (14) who is a housemaid.
House: Big compound with different trees, lantrine toilet, room inside the main house, no shower but a privet room to take a bucked shower; there are hens in the compound.
Wednesday and Saturday are market days in the town; there are public transportations like minibus, bus and cart.

I am very thankful for the fact that there is not many children living in the home as I come from a small family anyway. I am also thankful for the fact that both of my host parents are teachers and employed. In this culture this tells me that they think more modernly than a traditional family unit. The family also values education as my host sister at the age of 19 is still in school which is very uncommon here as women could be married off at the age of 12. I wonder if my host sister speaks English as I am finding that the more education an individual has the more likely they speak English.

From now on I’m not sure how often I will have access to the internet. It may only be once a month until I make it through Peace Corps Training (3months). At that point in time I will get a per diem/stipend to buy an internet card that will give me much more internet access on my personal computer. It works similarly to cell phones having internet in the states. I also found out talking to current Peace Corps Volunteers (PCV) in country that I will have electricity daily because I have a cell phone and I have to be able to charge it because the Peace Corps must be able to get a hold of me. This is a safety precaution. So those of you who thought I might be with out electricity are incorrect. But it does take a load off my mind as well.


On a much more enjoyable note… The owner of the hotel owns a second hotel about a ½ hour from my original hotel and he decided we needed to all go and have pizza. So he arranged for all 70 of us PCVs to go and have melted cheese! I was a VERY HAPPY CAMPER! I have a feeling I’m going through cheese with drawls. Because it takes a lot of electricity to run a refridge here there is no cheese because it must be refrigerated.   He also arranged to have traditional music and dance played there as well. It was fun to not only get out of our hotel but see what there music and dance was like. Overall, I have not really been too deprived when it comes to food. At one point in time Ethiopia was infiltrated by the Italians so many of their food items came over and stayed here in Ethiopia. So it is very common to see pastas, marinara, meatball and other Italian items. Don’t worry dad I still haven’t tasted a better marinara than the one I make.


I can not wait to get out of Addis an not only meet my host family but hopefully my boogers will stop being black. There is a lot of smog here as there is in large cities in America.
Hope everyone is doing well,

--
Sham
"Life is tough wear a helmet"

June 16, 2011
To everyone back in the States,
So I’m back in Addis Ababa (the capital of Ethiopia) and I have internet. Thought I would drop everyone a line. I have spent the last week and a half in the rural town of Huruta. Dirt & Bugs are awesome! Oh by the way I’m in Addis on some sort of counter part workshop.
Just recently I got my site assignment for my 2 year tour with the Peace Corps. I will be in the Tigri Region of Ethiopia (North/Central Ethiopia). I’m about 20 min north of the capital of Tigri. There is 8,000 people in Augidum and I will be working with a health center there. I am about a 3 day trip from the capital of Ethiopia (Addis). Due to the fact that I will be in Tigri I am now learning the Tirgrinian language. This is language number 3 for Sham. Ahh!!! To much information at once. I’m going to spend the next week in Tigri at my site wish me luck on my 3 day bus journey. We would normally fly however there was a volcano that erupted north of Ethiopia and the ash cloud has made all airlines in the north shut down.

My host family in Huruta is awesome! I have a beautiful compound that contains avocado, mango, & papaya trees. There is also several coffee bushes. So I get freshly made coffee that is so much smoother than the stuff we get in the states. I have my own room which is fly free. There are also 60 chickens that live with in my compound, eggs are readily available. The chickens live in there own chicken coop and are well taken care of. 

Just a little side note coffee in Ethiopia is a 2 hour ceremony (process) here. Not only do we do this once a day but twice a day. Time is irrelevant!!! As my host mother put it “Time is Gold in America.” The pace of life here is so much slower and when you have 2 hour coffee ceremonies it really doesn’t matter.

Ok…back to Huruta… I do live in a Mud house but it is not a hut. In my mud house there is a decent sized living room with lots of over sized 1980s furniture. Ethiopia is where all 1980s furniture goes. Then there is 3 smaller rooms, one is my room, the other is my host parents room, and the 3rd is a room where they prepare food. Also located with in the compound is 2 other mud houses my host parents own. One of the houses holds my brother, sister, & house maid and the other mud house is a chicken coop, Lantrine (hole in the ground or in Amharic a Shint Bet), & a very very cold shower.

There are 7 of us women in Huruta and there was definitely some questions about how to use the shint bet. So the only Female Language Teacher in Huruta had to take all 7 of us women on a field trip to the Shint Bet to explain how to use it. Needless to say she was rolling around on the ground laughing at all our questions. She has no idea how much she changed those frengi (foreigners) lives.
Questions included: Which way do we face?, how far do you pull your pants down, and where does the toilet paper go? Why do I keep peeing on my shoes? There was many more but that just gives you an idea as to really how clue less we were.

Check out this link on You tube:    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koUWaAr-itY

During our language training breaks there is something amazing here called a Juice Bet(house). In which we go get freshly puréed avocados, mangos, papayas, and pine apple juice. It was like a little bit of heaven in my mouth. You can get these flavors layered or just one at a time.
Last weekend I tried to wash laundry by hand and my host brother and maid were again rolling around on the ground laughing. They did eventually show me how to do it properly but of course they had to get a good laugh in first. If I were them I would have done the same thing. I’m not going to lye it was really hard work!!! To my mother, my shirts came out super white. So I feel like it was an accomplishment.
Finally before I say goodnight…I’m having an amazing time here in Ethiopia and I love being in the Peace Corps. The people are awesome and the staff of Peace Corp Ethiopia have really taken care of us all. Since I have been in Addis which is only one night now I have been able to have a cheese steak, pizza, and chocolate, all amazing little pieces of heaven I can NOT get in Huruta.

To my parents I love you and I am still alive. You can always call me it just might take a few tries before you get through.

--
Sham
"Life is tough wear a helmet"

June 17, 2011
Mom,

I think I am ready for you to send me a box hopefully you can. This
might be the biggest box you ever send me because I want you to put in
it a gift for my host mother.

Can you please send...
My contacts...They are in my bathroom behind my mirror middle shelf
left hand side.
The sanitation here is good enough that I can use them and won't have
a problem. I can drink the water in Huruta.
and a bottle of saline solution & a contact case... PLEASE!!!

I can get saline solution in Addis but one to start off would be awesome.

So my host mother loved my head lamp and was wondering if you could
get her one. I think it would be super practical for her. Because they
cook dinner in the dark.

Hand wipes (wet wipes)
Fake flowers that you would get at Micheals. They love that type of
thing here. Funny I know but its the truth.

Mad Gab if possible

Oooo & some packages of tea... that I left in my room

That will be all for now. You can send it to the P.O Box number in the
information I left you. I believe that information is in one of the
tabs at the back.


Thank you so much
Sham
"Life is tough wear a helmet"


June 16, 2011
Mom,
Just so you are not to concerned about my health. I have the one and only PA (physicians Assistant) at my satellite site in Huruta and she is going to follow me up to Tigray (This is how you actually spell it) for my 2 year service (shes about 25 minutes from me). She is 25 years old and very with it. I love her and she has become our care taker if we have had any medical issues in Huruta. She is at least a good go to person if you have any questions. I know she brought all needed essential medical supplies with her. So don't worry about me.

She is also in my language group so her and I are spending some quality time together.

On a very comical note in Peace Corps it is very socially acceptable to talk about all bowel movements, puking and any gas related issues any time or anywhere. hahahaha!!! 

But the medical staff here in Ethiopia is very good and very westernized. We have gotten most of our imunizations and we have had personal one on one interviews with the head doctor on staff. Not to mention a 24 hour 7 days a week  phone number that we are to call  if we have any issues. 

--
Sham
"Life is tough wear a helmet"


June 17, 2011
Subject: Happy Early Fathers Day

So I'm shooting you an Early Happy Fathers Day e-mail because I will
be on the road for fathers day and I really don't know what day or
time it is.

Here in Ethiopia it is the year 2003 & June 10th. It is a totally
different calendar.

I should also let you know that 6:00am American time would be
considered 1:00am Ethiopian time. There time schedule is very
different.

So anyway I'm sorry for not being there on Fathers day. But I hope you
have a good one.

Take care,
& your right you guys don't need to call me every week.

Sham
"Life is tough wear a helmet"