Dehan Dikum?
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!!! How are you guys? I hope you’re doing great. It’s that time again for another update into Bernard’s crazy life in Ethiopia, and boy do I have a lot to tell you guys!
I last left you in Addis Ababa (the capitol) on the eve of our departure for our 2 year service. As a freshly birthed Peace Corps volunteer I was stock full of excitement, hope, passion, and anxiety for the start of my two year stint (but mostly just excitement). We loaded the bus on Saturday December 16, and started a loooong 2 day bus ride across Ethiopia to Tigray. The countryside was beautiful, and I got to see more of Ethiopia than I had been able to see so far. There were mountains, rivers, camels, people, savannahs, and just about everything else you could think of. We spent the night in a little town right outside of a bigger one, and it wasn’t until the next morning, Sunday that I began to feel something might be amiss. Nevertheless I brushed it off, because at 3pm that day I arrived in my site! My family welcomed me with open arms, a bunna ceremony, and plenty of cries of “Gobez!” at the Tigrena I’d been able to acquire.
But things quickly began to go south from there. Not an hour after I got here I started to feel really bad, with chills, aches, cramps, a fever, and the dreaded explosive diarrhea. Somehow, I was sick. Very sick. Tough guy that I am though, I decided to be a man about it and just go to bed and sleep it off. This strategy didn’t work very well at first. Though my fever broke sometime that first night, all the other symptoms remained. I did manage to eat a little bit the next day, but I called my doctor just to check and he recommended rest and to stay hydrated. By the next day I felt a bit better and I was beginning to think I was beating the sickness. My bowels dried up sometime that night, and when I woke up Wednesday morning I felt as great as ever! I ate, hung out with the family, showered, dithered around the house, and was excited to begin my work the next day. I called my counterpart excitedly, but my good fortunes were extremely short lived. I found out that he had found a job elsewhere and I was going to have to find a new point person to work with in town. In addition, I woke up sometime Wednesday night and had to use the restroom. Yep, turns out I hadn’t beaten it at all and the liquidy bowel movements and symptoms had returned.
It was quite a disappointing turn of events. Having had diarrhea for so long, the doctor recommended I get a stool sample done so we could see what the problem was. After an extremely embarrassing episode (in which I had to try and poop a minuscule amount on a 2x2 inch piece of paper and then carry that paper through half the hospital back to the lab through a crowd of people telling me not to worry), the diagnosis was in: I had contracted amoebas. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, my first intestinal parasites of my stay. I hope, probably vainly, that they will be my last. Nevertheless, 3 days, 12 tablets, and a very metallic tasting mouth later I am parasite free.
By the end of the week, I was definitely in need of a break. Having just endured a week of terrible health and very disappointing news in the work area, my spirits were quite low. Luckily, my favorite holiday came to the rescue! As I was feeling better, I was able to join the rest of the Peace Corps volunteers in the area and we all got together in Wukro for the holidays. I got there Saturday afternoon, and it was a day and a half of happiness, fun, and food. We cooked and ate an incredible amount of food (tacos, mashed potatoes, muffins, green beans, meatloaf, carrots, stuffing, potato latkes, and much more), played cards, charades, and other games, listened to Christmas music, and just hung out together. With the lack of presents and the sunny and warm Ethiopian weather it didn’t exactly feel like Christmas, but it was definitely a fun holiday gathering that really helped us all pass the holidays a lot easier.
So, I made it through my first week at site with some bruises, but I’m still up and running. This week has reminded me that the next two years will be a lot of hard work, but I am ready and willing. The craziest part of the whole week was when I woke up each morning longing for my bed and room… here in Maychew. This interesting little town nestled in the mountains has somehow already snatched my heart and become my home with one really bad week…. What will it be able to do with 2 years of amazingness? Only time will tell. Until then, I miss and love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a great rest of 2011 (as I will probably not post again until next year).
Dehan Hidaru!
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