Asham Asha - Goin' down Sawwth!

Asham asha - means 'appreciation for work' in Kaffinya, the language of Kaffe zone in SNNPR. (What is SNNPR?) Since I don't post on Facebook very often, I will put many, many photos in this blog post. Sometimes even smack dab 

  

I want to ride my bi-cy-cle! - Bahir Dar PC Office

in the middle of sentences. April or ሚያዝያ has been a whirlwind of a month. The group of volunteers I swore in with at the U.S. Embassy last April reunited in Addis Ababa for our Mid-Service Conference (MSC). Since that swear in, about 9 people went home to the U.S. most commonly for medical reasons, but also due to personal reasons. 

Snickers - A PCV's best friend

There are certainly no hard feelings between PCVs who are still serving and those who ET'd (Early Terminated). Anyone who has served knows exactly what it means to be a volunteer. So despite this blog mostly being about me, I would like to asham asha or appreciate the work of my fellow volunteers, past and present, as well as our Ethiopian friends and counterparts who have made (or broken) our services.

Yeah I knew Bay back then - good guy

MSC was a great time for reflecting and using each other as a sounding board for projects, recipes, and places to travel/work for the future. We even saw our predecessors, G10, Gong Out in the Addis office AKA they finished their service and are flying home. Above is the infamous/famous Bay Scoggin gonging out after his well-received speech to the biggest gong-out crowd yet. He will be running for a TBD political office in a TBD district or state. I will miss him being close by in Tilili for recreating. He is a great example of someone who focused on integrating well, embracing his community and language, and leaving a positive and lasting impression on Ethiopians about Americans.

Quinn "Quail Man" Lewis - "Goin' DEEP!"

Once G10 was on their way, we got down to business.

OK so this may not look like "business" to you, but trust me, the Brew Ha HA was no joke. PCVs from around the nation brought their best home brewed alcohol to compete in the 35th annual Brew Ha HA! I came in 2nd of 5 by disqualification! Oh and we may have had something of a party with shitti's (Ethiopian onesie pajamas) and dancing.

G12 Love - Gettin' an Eskimo kiss on the cheek

I couldn't wish for a better group of humans to comprise my G. Much of the week, after our scheduled sessions on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD's), collaboration with NGO's, and other more sober topics, we had much social programming to engage in. It cannot be overstated how crucial this is to our mental health. We go from very rural reaches of the country, spending time with people we have a difficult time communicating with, to being with people who TOTALLY GET IT! So maybe we go a little bizerk, but it's good for us maybe. 

Alex "Al" Buda - Gettin' all those crumbs!

I believe Ethiopia does have some pretty awesome food. One thing they don't do around here is dessert. Coming to Addis is pretty incredible for the opportunity to return to those simple pleasures like cupcakes, ice cream, menamen. Also forenji food like burgers, pizza, and pesto pasta are really refreshing.

Trevor's fish ponds

After MSC was over, a few volunteers and I travelled down south to SNNPR to visit Trevor and Jane Johanssen's site Beha in Kaffe Zone, the birthplace of coffee. We were all very impressed with how beautiful their kebele was, as well as all the incredible things they had created in their sites. Above is Trevor's aquaponics project he's working on with help from the Agriculture office. He and his local friends dug 3 fish ponds behind the elementary school, which will hopefully become an income generator for the local community. This is a great example of using grants for eliminating the barrier of startup costs (time, labor, plastic) to prove the effectiveness to the local community of aquaponics. Also partnering with a professor with Jimma University, Trevor has connected his local community with regional resources. He gets a Gobez Kilo for sure. Jane also gets a Gobez Kilo for her awesome murals and work with the students at the school, notwithstanding Dan's corrections, but I don't have photos of that. ይቅርታ Jane!

Above is Dan (the one on the left who looks like Jesus from Andover MA!), Kevin (the rock star in the middle, from New Yohhk), Trevor, and Dog. The next picture is our collaborative cooking effort.

Kevin and I performed a song about Nancy the Goat above. It was as unscripted as it was flattering. She was pregnant and we created something of an origin story. 

Next is Dog the Dog. He enjoyed many of our leftovers and hikes.

Ethiopia and America coming together

My 'Male Feminist' entry for GAD 

Let's go for a walk in the jungle - Kaffe zone

Visiting the south was a great experience. We went for a bunch of walks in the rain forest/jungle to see colobus monkeys, the original coffee tree (same genetic heritage), and GREEEEEN! Also to see how other volunteers live and have integrated gives you an appreciation for their dedication to their kebeles and service. Their village Beha was filled with some pretty awesome locals who made it feel like a really inclusive community. 

My own service in the past few months has been defined by my great counterpart Demelash and incredible students from the HIV Club we have been running at the high school. 'HIV Club' is a little misleading given the wide variety of health and gender topics this group has covered together.

Since attending the AGE Summit in Addis, my students have taken over the club for themselves. Marie, a 12th grader taught club members about the female reproductive system. Dawit and Adinew did a hilarious, yet accurate condom demonstration. And all of them have helped me do further trainings on malaria prevention as rainy season approaches, and many more to come. 

I was profoundly impressed and a little jealous of my friends in the south. However, I am overall very proud of the relationships I have made with some pretty incredible students, teachers, and community members thus far. I'm looking forward to many more buna breaks, kwas games, and holidays!

Thanks for tuning in! 

አመሰግናለሁ!