Celebrating International Peace Corps Week

This week is international Peace Corps Week, and in honor of it I’d like to revive the blog I’ve neglected for the past few months by talking a bit about the people of Peace Corps who’ve changed my life and service for the better: my fellow group 6 Peace Corps volunteers. This blog will forever serve as an ode to those fellow Americans of mine who, like me, didn’t know what they were getting into but managed to overcome anyway. These people are near and dear to my heart, and it’s about time I told you a little about them. I’m not much of a poet, but I felt particularly inspired about this idea and I hope you enjoy it.

Fly Like a G6

It all started in the great town that some might know as Philly,

Where founding fathers once stood tall, now young people get silly,

For staging we all gathered here, though no stage was in sight,

Yes here began my great journey, yes here began the fright.

As I stood in my white-washed room, lost, dazed, without a clue,

A young man did enter right then, with red hair and eyes all blue.

He came from Colorado Springs but hated milk I learned,

And that began the awesome pair of Benji and Ato Burns

We went downstairs together then and joined a group of twenty,

Men and women, old and young, new friends we had a plenty.

First on our list to meet at once, two girls that were quite hot,

Both came from my own Texas state, one I knew, the other not,

The Swedish model I made known, was my good ole friend Ingers,

She had corn silk hair, moon white teeth, and really, soft white fingers,

Ms. Katheryn, we soon found out, was a truly Texas gal,

With her awesome smile and southern charm, I knew she’d be my pal.

We heard the boisterous laugh of the charmed young Breanna then,

Whose dazzling smile and lovely skin surprised all us young men.

Not quite to be outdone at all, came next the beauty Bridget,

Whose other earthly qualities, were her great smart and wit.

Our three ole grandpas then came next, with all their wisdom and age,

Dexter was from great California, he’s a chiropractic sage

Rashad ole boy, was a playa, North Carolina born and raised,

And our dear young Pappy Andrew had an old soul twice repaid.

Next on the list came side by side, two very special ladies,

I think of them, like all the rest, as two of my dear maties,

Nichole’s a doll whose done Peace Corps, Ethiopia makes twice

And Carla hails from the cold north, but really she’s quite nice.

Repeated names we searched for next, and Ryans we found galore

Though if they all, are this awesome, then we could use two more

Sir Ryan K. goes by google, all the facts he seems to know.

And Ryan P. looks Neeson-like, a fact he abhors so.

Kenya and Becca are too cool, they’re very awesome chicks

More awesomeness you couldn’t find, in two such good ole picks

Becca’s hoola hoopin skills are said to be crazy off the chain

And Kenya’s not to be trifled with, she’s got quite the amazing brain.

Orion and Theresa are our resident lovebirds

Such a loving pair you can not find, or describe in mortal words.

Frank is a pretty chill young guy, whose really quite quiet.

Though I hear if you get him going, he’s a hoot and a riot.

That leaves us with two warriors, who go by Jess and Wayne

These two have done feats of wonder, and never feel the pain.

Wayne’s hiked quite far, through hot and cold, along the whole Pacific coast.

And Jess does run, oh does she run, 20 miles a day she boasts.

These people are my family, through the thick and the thin.

I could never do a thing so hard, without this loving kin.

I appreciate them every day, in the highs and in the lows,

For G6 is the best group made, this fact everyone knows!

Love you group six! Congratulations on 9 months left and let’s do it big!

Are Chickens Carnivorous?

When talking about third world countries, we as Westerners used to use words like “backwards” and “uncivilized” to describe the conditions we’d find there. Ethiopia is neither uncivilized nor backwards, and I am grateful that these derogatory terms are no longer politically correct nor used to describe countries as majestic and noble as Ethiopia. However, Ethiopian culture is still very different than our own, and in two cultures so different, there are bound to be instances where our two cultures have almost opposing customs, viewpoints, or traditions that probably spurred the whole faulty notion of “backwards” in the first place. Here are some of my favorite of those instances.

"Finger Food"

In America, we have a very dignified table presence. We eat with utensils, have appropriate dinner conversation topics, protect our plate from the intrusion of others, frown upon those who don’t have their elbows in the right spot, and are mortified if you happen to need to say something important while your mouth is full. One of my favorite things about Ethiopia is that most of that is thrown out! You eat almost exclusively with your hands, are expected to share your food with anyone who walks by (even strangers), can keep your elbows wherever you like, and say what comes to your mind whether your mouth is empty or so full of injera that all that comes out is a muffled “ghdsfalufdsaufhierwiaofji”. Ironically, one of the only table manners we have in common is that it’s still rude to lick your fingers, even though in this country you always eat with them. While I do like this style of eating, partially because I already dislike most table manners in the states, it’s mostly the intimacy this eating style brings you that makes me so happy. Sharing food is a pretty awesome way of both getting to know someone and showing those you know how much you care about them. A piece of food to the face every once in a while is a pretty small price to pay for that bond.

“Hey bro. Wanna go play soccer and then listen to some Celine Dion?”

Another interesting and sometimes hilarious difference between our cultures is the differences in gender roles. America has a pretty descriptive picture of the ideal man. He’s tall, handsome, strong, excels at sport, and has wicked charm to match. Every guy strives to fit this image for at least some period in their life (I gave up once I realized the only one I’d be was tall and handsome), and most fail because these qualities are generally out of our control. But we do adhere strongly to those behavioral things that make us more “manly” and scorn those that do not, especially when it comes to music. Here in Ethiopia, no such scorn exists when it comes to music. Ask any guy who their favorite singers are, and they will tell you Celine Dion, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and numerous other artists that most guys in the states wouldn’t be caught dead jammin out to. There’s nothing quite so entertaining as a group of grown Ethiopian men singing “I Will Always Love You” as they’re walking down the street.

"Women of Steel"

On a closely related note, guys aren’t the only ones with some gender role differences. While I was growing up, I was taught to always treat a woman like a lady. We are to hold the door open for them, walk closer to the street, and always carry the heavy stuff. I won’t get into the debate about whether this is chivalry or chauvinism, but either way the expectation often exists. Here, it doesn’t. The women do just as much of the heavy lifting as the guys, walk wherever they want, and the concept of door holding does not exist. I’ve met some tough old women here who will offer to help me carry my stuff whether they are 5 or 80, and it’s pretty cool.

"The Chicken vs. The Cat"

Even the animals get in on the action! The other day I walked out of my house to see why our cat was mewing so pitifully. There he was in the middle of the compound crying pitifully watching one of the chickens. Upon further inspection, I was surprised to find that the chicken had somehow stolen a large bone the cat had been eating meat off of… And he was eating it instead! Honestly, I don’t blame the cat too much for being scared. The chickens on my compound are some crazy crossbreed between the local scrawny domestic chicken and a wild prairie hen and those things are beasts!

Those are just a few differences between our two worlds, but they’re enough to make me love this place so much I’m sticking it out for these two long years. Who knows what other cultural differences I’ll keep discovering!

Please sir, I want some Wings N' More..

I’d like to start off by saying Happy New Year! According to the Ethiopian calendar, it is now the first month of 2005. In our year it’s now September, which means I’ve been keeping this blog for almost an entire year (WHOOP! for surviving almost a year in country). In that time I’ve tried my best to follow the Peace Corps recommendations for my blog and keep it about Goal 3: Sharing Ethiopian culture with Americans. We’ve talked about Ethiopian food, transportation, holidays, what I’ve learned, and my overall adaptation to this amazingly beautiful country. But today, we’re going off the books and talking about one of my absolute favorite subjects: hot wings.

Coming to Ethiopia, I knew I was going to be making a lot of sacrifices. I was going to give up being able to see and talk to my family, hang out with my friends, watch TV, and take hot showers. But for the most part, I knew I’d be able to adjust. I’d been away from my family for a long time before, I’d make new friends in Ethiopia and be able to reconnect with my old friends when I got back, I could bring TV with me on a hard drive, and hot showers I figured were overrated anyway (they’re most definitely not). The one thing I worried about, and rightly so, was if I would ever be able to live without hot wings. The answer, ladies and gentlemen, is not very well.

My love affair with hot wings began one fateful day somewhere around the age of 11 or 12, a couple years before the years of teen angst started (I didn’t have teenage angst, but a friend of mine did). Up until that time, my favorite food had been spaghetti for as long as I could remember. Then one Saturday, my dad came home with a curious paper bag. The bag was hot and the bottom greasy, and on the side was a curious logo; “Wing Stop” the bag proclaimed. I’d never heard of this Wing Stop before… What were hot wings? And why were they stopping? My initial reaction was suspicion, but as soon as my dad opened that bag and the smell hit me my mouth began to water and my heart began to sing. Somehow in that moment, a tradition that was both lovely and monstrous was born.

You see, that meal was such a success that my family decided to make a tradition out of it. Every Saturday since, Saturday has been “Hot Wing” day for my family. Most Saturdays would go like this:

1.       Wake up by 9am - Dad never liked us to waste daylight, even on a weekend.

2.       Commence yard work - Lots of it. Cutting grass, picking weeds, edging, trimming, raking, you name it, we did it. Dad had us believe that this manual labor was good for us. It would make us strong. Well I’m 23 and still thinner than most toothpicks, so I think there were ulterior motives.

3.       Keep doing more yard work – It may be good to stop for a short lunch, but once you’ve filled your belly and cooled down, head back into the jungle.

4.       Pretend to be done, but do more yard work - Around 2 or 3 when we thought we were done, my parents usually remembered at least six more things we could do that day.

5.       Make and eat hot wings while watching a movie - When the yard work was finally done, we’d all pitch in to make (or buy) delicious hot wings, which we’d sit down and eat together while watching a movie.

6.       Go to bed - Usually around 10pm. Wouldn’t want to fall asleep in church the next day.

I don’t know why my parents decided to put the best and worst parts of my week in the same day, but that’s pretty much how an average Saturday would go. I think it was my parents’ trying to experiment with subliminal messaging. Well it worked. To this day, I still can’t see grass clippings without my mouth watering a little in expectation of the hot wings that were sure to follow. Once I left for college, my family continued the tradition, though I was only there on the occasions when I came home for the weekend. My first few years saw a decrease in my hot wing consumption, but once the drive thru Wings N’ More opened only 5 minutes from my apartment senior year, consumption level returned to normal. My roommates can definitely confirm this.

And now here I sit in Ethiopia, not having had hot wings in almost a year and not sure I can make it another year without. If I think about them, my friends talk about them, or I even see the words “hot wings” in print, my mouth starts to water. As a practical joke, one of my good friends sent me a key chain shaped like a hot wing that looks eerily realistic. I was so unprepared that I actually nibbled it in a moment of weakness to see if it might be real. Yes, I admit it: I tried to eat the hot wing key chain. And I am not ashamed. I’d do it again. And have. Almost once a week ever since.

Now, some of you may be asking, “Bernard! We get it! You like hot wings. But did you seriously just spend an hour writing an entire blog post about them? What about your family and friends? Why not write about them instead?” First off, I do not merely like hot wings. I love them. And secondly, yes I did. Because for me hot wings are more than just about food. I’ve eaten hot wings so many times in my life, that for me many of my fondest memories and best moments occurred with a wing in my hand and hot sauce on my cheek. I’ve eaten them with my family while watching movies and while on road trips all over. I’ve eaten them with friends at Buffalo Wild Wings on fun nights out, and while being lazy in the apartment with the roommates. I’ve shared them with my dog who I love to give scraps to, and my toilet when I’ve had a few too many. I’ve even talked about them with people here in Ethiopia, who have no idea what I’m talking about but are enthusiastic to learn all the same.

For me, hot wings represent everything I love and miss most about America. For me, hot wings are a way I can dedicate a whole blog to the things I love the most and actually be able to finish without descending into incoherent blubbering. For me, hot wings are a way to reflect on how I’ve grown into the person I am today. When it comes down to it, for me, hot wings are a simple way to say “I love you.”

A Time of Transition

Dehana Dikum?!?

So it’s been a slow past couple of weeks. A lot has happened to be honest, but I’ve just been lazy in trying to keep my blog up to date. I’ve been lazy with a lot of things lately. I should work on that…

At any rate, the saddest news out of Ethiopia right now was the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi a couple weeks ago. The news left us all here in shock: I don’t think a single person in this expected this to happen, Ethiopians and foreigners alike. It’s been a terribly sad time for us all here. Meles was a great leader who did a lot for his country, and we were all sad to see him go. It seems the entire country has been in mourning the past few weeks, and people are only just now beginning to recover from their loss. The good things Meles did for this country will forever be remembered by the people who loved him. Ethiopians are a great and determined people, however, and, while this was a great loss, will continue to strive to become a country of excellence even as they did under their leader. RIP Meles.

There was one more, smaller good-bye this week in the form of the VSO volunteer Mike. Michael Bobei was a VSO volunteer in this town for 3 years, and this week he finally put the finishing touches on his project and left Maychew. He’s spent the past few years building a state of the art network for the technical college he worked at, and now Maychew technical college is the first college (outside of universities) to have a campus wide network in all of Tigray. It’s a huge accomplishment, and Mike deserves major props for all the difficulties he had to go through to get it done. Very few volunteers get such a massive project done before they finish their service, and Mike will forever go in the hall of fame for his sacrifice. Maychew will miss you Mike! Come back soon!

Other than that, I’ve just been hangin out in Maychew for the most part. School will start soon, so one of my good friends Inge and I have been working hard to put together an “Environmental Club Manual” that has activities, information, and advice for running environmental clubs in Ethiopia. The manual is well underway, and we hope to have it finished in the next month or so. In addition, my good friend Getachew came back to visit!!! I missed him a lot, and it was really nice to get to see and hang out with him for a while again.

That’s about all the exciting things that have happened recently. I recently decided to rejoin twitter as well, so look me up there @nardosmalls too! I know this blog was a bit short and somber, but the next blog post will be pretty entertaining (hopefully), so stay tuned!

You Simply Can't Rhyme With Purple

Dehan doe Wiilkum?!?

I say good afternoon because that’s what time it is in the US, even though it’s almost ten o clock at night here in Ethiopia. Another day has come and gone here in the land with Thirteen Months of Sunshine, and again I look back on the day and wonder how it took so long when it’s already over… Every day seems to inch by at a snail’s pace, but every night when I look back on the day I never seem to know where the time has gone. Proof in point? I have no idea how, but I have already been here in Ethiopia for almost 11 months!

At any rate, you didn’t come to read about my lack of understanding of how time works in this country. You want to know what’s new, and for me that has been summer camp. Over the past six months or so, PCV’s all over have been working hard, preparing and setting up all different kinds of summer camps in various regions. Some of them were environmental camps, some were designed mostly for girls, and others tried to focus on HIV/AIDS and health. From July 29^th through August 5^th, I was lucky enough to get to help out with the Tigray summer camp, a health based camp held in Wukro, about 45 minutes north of Mekele. It was one of the best, most exhausting weeks of my life.

These summer camps are special and interesting for a number of reasons. You see, summer camps are a foreign concept in Ethiopia. No one has them here. So setting it up and recruiting campers can be tough, because Ethiopians don’t really understand what they’re signing up for. Nevertheless, 34 campers trusted in their respective volunteers and came to see what a summer camp was all about. We wanted to really give them something to take home, so every day we had a “theme” that we talked and taught them about. The topics included leadership, HIV/AIDS, the environment, gender roles, nutrition/cleanliness, and more. The sessions were informative but interactive, and the campers really seemed to learn a lot from them. I had the privilege of leading leadership day and several of the cross culture sessions, where we shared about Ethiopian and American cultures, and it was great to see how much the campers really understood and liked what they were learning.

In addition to all that, we had the opportunity to expand the horizons on another important theme: FUN. Simple games that we grew up with, like connect four and puzzles, excited them beyond belief. We couldn’t keep them off of the arts and crafts table, where they had the opportunity to express themselves creatively in ways their schools just don’t allow for. Sports like soccer and basketball they knew, but baseball they’d never even heard of! Our last day was the ultimate lesson in summer camp. We had split the campers into color groups the very first day (I got to lead the color group purple seen on the left, hence the name of the blog), and so our last full day we decided to have a field day complete with sack races, dizzy bat, eating competitions and more. The competition was fierce, but in the end everyone had a lot of fun. Later, we had an American style dinner of tacos and sloppy joes, followed by s’mores around the campfire for dessert.

It was one of the best weeks of my life, and I believe it was so for many of the campers too. On the last day there wasn’t a single bus that pulled away without crying campers. To be honest, I had a hard time not tearing up myself. The excitement of teaching all those kids so many new things… there’s nothing like it. I often felt like I was Aladdin opening up a whole new world to Jasmine, what with the way many of the campers gave me blank stares as I tried to show them what a s’more was or how to hold the baseball bat correctly. And to already hear stories of those campers going out into the community and applying what they learned at camp? Why, there’s no better feeling in the world.

One Step at a Time...

Dehana dikum?!?

So its been forever since my last blog post and for that I apologize. There’s been a lot going on over here in Ethiopia, and I’ve finally now had a chance to catch my breath and catch up on things I’ve been neglecting.

Since my last blog post, I feel like I’ve been around the world and back again. I spent the first two weeks of June in Hawassa, Addis, and Wukro working on stuff for Peer Support Network, a committee I’m on that supports Peace Corps volunteers in country emotionally, and for the regional summer camp I’ll be participating in next week. After that, I took a brief vacation in Germany and Italy, visiting my family and best friend respectively. It was a great vacation, full of surprises (my mom and grandma had no idea I was coming), fun, and quality time with people who meant a lot to me. I got back 2 weeks ago, and since then I finished up a project I started before I left (a tree planting with two schools that planted over 600 trees!) and, of course, fought off a welcome back sickness (thanks Ethiopia).

So even though I’ve had such an amazing past month and a half, why is it that I’ve kinda been in a slump the past few days? I think it’s a combination of a lot of things. I was kinda hesitant about going on the vacation, because I was worried about how it would affect my return. Unfortunately, it has bummed me out a bit. I really, really miss my family, friends, and home countries (America and Germany) a lot, and while the vacation gave me a rare chance to see them again, it really reaffirmed what I missed about them too. I tried not to get to comfortable while vacationing, but despite my best efforts I got used to it again only too readily. Coming back to Ethiopia wasn’t difficult, but knowing I’m still going to be here for another year and a half is.

You see, I’m one of those people who’ve always wanted to see and do a lot. Ever since I first discovered there was a world bigger than my backyard in Texas I’ve wanted to see it, and my to-do list only gets bigger with time. I want to see and do everything! I want to go back to Germany for several years to perfect my language skills. I want to get lost in the wilds of Alaska. I want to run with the wolves in Minnesota… spend a cold, rainy afternoon in Seattle… track the elusive jaguar in the heart of the Amazon…. Australia, Costa Rica, London, Botswana, Nepal, New York, Barcelona… The list of places I want to see and/or live in goes on for a while.

You see, traveling is one of my favorite things to do in the world, but every time I travel I simply get more and more excited for what I will do next. I’m like a kid in the candy store, who, when he finally gets those skittles he’s been waiting for all week (since he’s been a good boy), is already thinking about the snickers he will ask for next week! Normally, the skittles I’m eating at the time are so good I only think about the snickers occasionally and spend most of my time enjoying the rainbow. But alas, I am struggling to do that right now. The pace of life here in Ethiopia is so much slower with so much free time, that I spend a lot more time anticipating what I want to do in the future.

But wait, didn’t you post a blog a few months ago saying you love the slow pace of life and have learned to live in the moment? Indeed I did, and yes I do regress at times (this being one of those times). For those of you who know me, you know that I am a busybody. It doesn’t matter how well I adapt to this slower pace of life, I will always crave the hustle and bustle of a busy, crazy lifestyle. And I am realizing that there’s nothing wrong with that. Even if I do get frustrated with the pace at times here and worry that I won’t be able to do everything I want to in life, I’m still enjoying every moment of it in the end. Because every time I try to get angry at this place, it gives me something to smile about again. I’ve been working on this post over the past two days. At the start of the post I was angry and bored. Since then I’ve shared beles (a delicious cactus fruit) with friends, watched a movie with my family, and butchered my way through a Tigrena conversation with at least 5 people I didn’t even know. For all my griping and complaining and teen angst (for you Taylor, though you never read these), I will miss the crap out of this place when I leave. I love Ethiopia, so for now I enjoy the great moments, ride out the bad, and look forward with great anticipation on everything to come.

Parting is such sweet sorrow...

It really is. I know it’s a cheesy, overused line from one of the greatest love stories ever told (at least in some people’s opinions… or maybe just in mine), but the line is used so much because of the truth it has to it. This past week I had to part with two very good friends, and though I was incredibly sad to see them go (and losing them both in the same week REALLY sucked), I couldn’t help but reflect on the time we had together and be grateful. Today I want to dedicate this post to these two outstanding individuals and the difference they have made to my Peace Corps experience.

Last Monday, I had to say good-bye to my best friend and tutor, Getachew. I met Getachew during site visit way back in October. He was already best friends with Mike, the awesome Canadian VSO volunteer in town, and it was only natural that Mike would introduce us. I liked Getachew from the start: he was smart, kind, and just as excited to have me in Maichew as I was to be there. Of all the Ethiopians I’d met in country, he was the first one I automatically hit it off with. Ethiopian culture is so different than our own, that it makes it difficult to make great friends. The obvious language barrier combined with the overfriendliness, lack of similar interests, and completely different sense of humor (Ethiopians really do laugh at the strangest things) makes Ethiopians fun to hang out with, but only for a little while before things get awkward. Getachew was different, partially because he has met and befriended many foreigners in his life but mostly because he’s just so dang awesome. He’s funny, smart and hard-working, understands that foreigners are not that touchy-feely, and knows that when we politely decline kolo (a delicious snack of roasted grains) it’s because we really don’t want any and asking 568 more times will not change our mind.

Once I moved to site for good, Getachew was instrumental in my acclimation to Maichew. He helped me out so much in the beginning, going to market with me, teaching me Tigrena, introducing me to people, and just showing me around in general. We hung out so much over the past few months, and really got to be close friends. What impressed me so much about Getachew was his kindness: he would drop whatever he was doing and help me whenever I needed it. An English teacher at the local preparatory school, he even invited me to class to help out, an activity I enjoyed tremendously. So when Getachew told me he wanted to apply to be an LCF (language and culture facilitator, the people who taught us PCV's the language and culture during our first three months of training) and that he wanted me to write him a recommendation letter, I was only more than happy to. When Getachew got the job about a month later, I was ecstatic! I was sad because this meant he would move and I would lose a good friend, but I was more happy than anything that this kind and clever friend of mine was finally getting the opportunity to see new places and do something great. He was a hard worker, and deserved this amazing opportunity he got.

Christina I met about a month after I’d been living in Maichew, during the Tigray Olympics. She was a young, 19 year old German who just finished school and wanted to do something amazing before starting college. Through connections her godfather had in the Catholic church, she came here in October (eerily, only a day before we arrived) to be an English teacher at the local Catholic primary school. Over the last 8 months, she’s been teaching English and helping out with other projects in the community, volunteering her time and money to help out. It’s quite amazing some of the projects she’s been able to help with (including a seed distribution project in the community), and even more amazing how well she incorporated into the community. Christina loves kids, and was so awesome with them even though some of these kids are nasty. I’m sorry but it’s true (the 5 year old in my compound has blown snot rockets bigger than I ever could). Yet Christina would always shake their hands and play with them, no matter how dirty they were. She knew so many people in Maichew, and was another instrumental person in helping me meet and incorporate into my community.

And, of course, she was also a great friend. Since we became friends we hung out almost every day. Life in Ethiopia is rough (remember the emotional roller coaster?), and it was great to be able to have someone to talk, joke, and just relax with when things weren’t going great. It was such a relief to have a good friend in town who understood the frustrations of living in a culture so unlike your own. And she was just cool in general. We spent a lot of time together hanging out, talking about the future, practicing my German, and discussing what was going to happen next on One Tree Hill… Not that we watched it every Monday thru Friday when it came on at 5:30pm on FoxMovies. I mean she would, but I would go outside and do push-ups (which is why I did so well in the push-up competition). She left Friday morning, and I was definitely very sad to see her go.

Sometimes I feel like life is just a series of good-byes. You meet someone, you become friends, and before you know it you’re saying good-bye to them, whether it be temporary or for an unknown length of time. It has especially felt that way to me lately, what with how much I moved as a kid, then leaving for college, and then four years later leaving for here. Every time I meet someone really awesome, it seems our time is up before we really even started being friends. This really bothered me at first, but then I came to realize the blessing it was because of an important revelation I had. Though I’ve said a lot of goodbyes, I’ve also been able to meet and learn a lot from quite a variety of people. Meeting all these different people from different cultures has really made me better as a person, because it was what taught me how important it is to look at the world through a different pair of eyes other than your own. I’m grateful for everyone that’s been in my life, no matter how short, because all of them taught me or gave me something important. Getachew showed me the best part of Ethiopian culture, which is its kindness. During my hardest, most frustrating moments when I’m sick of Ethiopia and annoyed with every person here, I reflect on the overabundant kindness and genuine love those like Getachew have shown me and remember how good these people ultimately are. Christina was what helped keep me sane: she was that person I could have fun with, vent to every once in a while, and talk with about life outside of the Peace Corps when you just need a break. And even more, her love and helping attitude was a constant reaffirmation of my own goal here, which was to help others and be a part of something bigger than yourself.

It sucks to see people go, but in the end you have to be grateful for the time you were given. Christina and Getachew made my first few months here in Ethiopia easier and more fun than I could have ever imagined. I love them both for it, and will miss them every day they’re out exploring and making the world a better place to live.