Watachtiyu

Watachtiyu or 'Good morning' in Agau! Today I woke up in my nice hotel in Bahir Dar to birds chirping, this swimming pool, and a full schedule of things to do.

Did you hear me? I have THINGS TO DO! As I have mentioned in personal messages to people, it seems like overnight I have become very busy with my work here, and it's a wonderful feeling. 

Part of my busy-ness has stemmed from my position in the Volunteer Advisory Council (VAC) in Ethiopia. Each G or Group of volunteers gets two VAC reps to talk over policies with Peace Corps staff. I am the G12 Health VAC rep and just had a meeting in Addis with the Country Director, Director of Management and Operations, and Director of Programming to go over necessary policy and programming changes and PCV tendencies. The highlights are: I wrote a paper and wore a tie. It has been a long time since I have done either of those things, so they are certainly highlights for me.

This is me playing dress-up in my room. Not my best double-Windsor, but hey, you gotta shake off the rust somehow. Ties were not necessary for the meeting, but I wore one anyways, because SWAG!

A barrel full of DDT? What are you doing here? I think all volunteers say they run into obstacles they never expected to. My new Operation Room is being blocked by this barrel of DDT, which people in Azena are terrified about. Ben! What do I do?! Luckily some Ag/Environment volunteers told me about burying it and making sure the container is in tact. But man where is Rachel Carson when you need her. 

Food is a great way to stay alive. You could certainly add air and water to the list, but I'ma go ahead and say food is my favorite topic. Recently I found a lady at my market who sells what I like to refer to as "Goliath Garlic". These monstrosities provide for delicious everything! I am getting to be a pretty mean cook over a charcoal stove. Creative as always, never or rarely making the same thing twice. 

In many ways, I believe I am eating better here in Ethiopia than I did in America, largely due to the availability of fresh, inexpensive fruits and vegetables in my village. I also have time to make well thought out meals and enjoy it greatly. Case in point: The Chocolate Pancakes with Fresh Flipping Honey and Bananas (see below).

My cooking unknowingly provided me a great avenue to reach out to the people in my health center's catchment area. One day I brought my skillet into the Health Center, along with ingredients and supplies to make eggy potatoes. I had no intention to make it a cooking demonstration or a nutritional info-session. I simply wanted to make my friends at the Health Center a good breakfast.

Cultural note: Ethiopians never eat the skins of potatoes. Even after boiling, they suspect the potato skins to be contaminated. My eggy potatoes had skins and THEY ATE THEM! Which led to a conversation about the nutritional components of potatoes and the fiber content of the skin. The education system is very limited here and many people only know foods as one thing, living in only one box of nutritional value. 

Examples: People know oranges are a Vitamin C food, but don't know they also contain Vitamin A. People know potatoes as a Carbohydrate food, but don't know they also contain Potassium and Vitamin C. 

This "cooking demonstration" has led to many more formal nutritional sessions and cooking demonstrations with mothers at the health posts. Save the Children provides the Health Center staff with instructional manuals for things like enriched porridge for supplementary feeding. 

The Health Center staff does basically all the work, and I just attend. My attendance is made useful when, for example, the enriched porridge calls for tomatoes, but the area has no tomatoes. Many Ethiopians in my area don't know how to deviate from a curriculum. 

I ask, "Why are tomatoes important?" To which they respond, "Because it's in the manual." And I have to prod, "Is there a specific nutritional value that tomatoes have, which are important for infants?" We eventually arrive at the point that tomatoes are important, not just because the manual says so, but because Vitamin A is very important for eye health and development.

"So what else has Vitamin A, that we could use as a substitute for tomatoes?" Carrots, pumpkins, basically anything orange, red, or dark green has vitamin A and this took some time to communicate. Carrots and duba (pumpkins) abound, we had ourselves a very suitable replacement. Moments like these are making me glad I have developed relationships with staff first, so they don't see me as condescending, simply a friend who knows some things. This has led to an exponentially more meaningful service for me, and I am looking forward to the prospects for the future.

Bunna (boo-na!) or coffee if you haven't already learned this, is so important in Ethiopia. It may be a determinant for iron deficiency in Ethiopia, but you gotta pick your battles. I have recently gotten into washing, roasting, and crushing my own bunna. I call it Forenj Roast. It's a lot of fun and a great way to spend a Saturday. I certainly appreciate a coffee grinder for it's efficiency and ease, but man crushing your own beans is somehow very satisfying. Don't take that the wrong way.

Be on the lookout for Forenj Roast Cafe in the Boston area come 2017! Thanks for reading y'all!

Tis Abay or the Blue Nile Falls