Been a while

5/18

Finally at site!  We finally got the OK to leave Addis.  Last Tuesday most of the new volunteers headed out to site.  There was a lot of confusion and work to figure out how we were getting there, thankfully though I was one of the lucky volunteers who got to ride in the PC vehicles to get there.  We dropped of the first person that Tuesday, then spent the night at a hotel in one of the larger cities on the way.  On Wednesday the other two people got dropped off.  The driver was really nice with me and took me to a city a little out of the way were I picked up some things from a volunteer who is about to complete her service.  I was able to get some kitchen stuff, a bed, and table.  Then it was on to my site to drop me off.  He made the drive in nearly half the time it takes the big busses and it was so much more comfortable.  I arrived at site, went into the compound, and found that my room had been turned into a tea house.  My landlord cleared out quickly and it was no problem, she did give me a chair after also so I have a desk set up in my room.  Finally the driver and I went out to lunch, he absolutely refused to let me pay even after all his help though.  That is just the Ethiopian mentality though, even when they are doing you a favor they still think they are the ones that need to be generous.  Even though we got to site pretty early I still decided to spend the rest of the afternoon setting up my room, reading, and watching movies and just enjoyed a lazy day.  The next day was my first day of "work".  The cell network here is terrible and I wasn't able to call my counter part so when I just showed up to work they were a bit surprised.  Still they let me go out in the field to work on a survey they were doing.  On the way I got to see the results of my counterparts permagarden training, even for him it is difficult to get people to understand the benefit of doing a small sustainable garden, he was able to find some people who had taken to the practice though so that was very encouraging.  After we finished we went back to town and had lunch to finish the work day off (there had been a chemical spill in the office so we couldn't work in the office that day).  Finally on Friday I went in for half of the day, they were having a meeting and invited me to attend.  I wasn't really able to input anything, but it was still interesting to see how the office operates.  About half way through the meeting someone came in and interrupted to tell me I had received "supplies", after a few minutes I figured out that I had a package at the post office.  I assumed that this person worked at the post office since he was walking me there.  Halfway there I found out he actually worked at the AG office and was just being nice and walking me to the post office.  I doubt I will ever find out how they knew to contact me at the office, or how that particular person knew I had a box, but it was really nice of them to make sure I knew as soon as it got in (also they did not charge me a customs fee even though they are supposed to). 

So far the people have been very nice and the harassment has been very minimal.  I really hope that I can keep it that way for whoever comes to Gasera next and they will be pleasantly surprised

5/22

Well first of all as I expected the network here has been horrible.  So for those of you trying to call me I am sorry but I don't expect it to get better any time soon.  On the bright side apparently there is a plan to build up the infrastructure in town...starting in a year and a half.  So maybe a month or two before I leave it will get better!   I know that I also haven't been online to chat with anyone.  Please remember though that I have not even been here two whole weeks yet so I haven't had much opportunity.  I was able to go into town today to pick up some supplies.  Sadly though the internet was not working while I was there so no way to get up with everyone.  Suffice it to say I am fine.  I have been sick once again but it seems to be self limiting and I am feeling better after only a day of being out.  I will say this country seems to be fighting with me and I only hope my immune system gets it's second wind soon. 

Well before the call got dropped my mom was asking me how things are going and what I have been doing.  Honestly, the answer is not very much.  As per PC tradition/recommendation the first month or two is used to build relationships in the community.  The best way usually is sticking with a counter part (or if you have one a site mate), and meeting the people they know.  For me this involves long walks to and from the Ag office for various reasons and stopping every few feet to say hi to more people.  In the Ag office I have been trying (maybe not as much as I should) to communicate with people using Amharic or Oromifa.  The office staff are very nice and maybe too eager for me to start working.  They have been having me read manuals, attend meetings, and (on the once instance) go out for field work.  They even tried to pay me per diem for the field visit which PC forbids me from accepting.  I admit to being a bit overwhelmed.  They are in the data collection and analysis phase of the yearly training needs assessment.  The things they are bringing up are far out of my experience field and I am not ever sure how I would go about gaining sufficient knowledge on them.  I think that is probably often a concern of new volunteers but that doesn't make me feel any better.  I have realized that a lot of what they seem interested in me doing is out of my reach though, and I have been working on some plans to get other things equally useful and more attainable going.  First I am very interested in bee keeping training programs.  Currently the most widely used method of bee keeping is the traditional hive.  Basically the keeper captures a colony, places it in a hollowed out log, then at the end of the season harvest the honey.  I would like to start teaching on the transitional hive where the hive is monitored, cared for, and altered as needed.  It seems like a simple thing, but really to get the full benefit out of bee keeping it is imperative to properly care for the hive.  This can then lead to the next step of the more expensive, but higher yielding, modern hive.  This may sound like an easy task, but as we see in America, it is difficult to get people to see that there are better ways of doing things then the way they have always done them.  I hope to just change the mentalities of a few people, and maybe just maybe start a chain reaction of people seeing the benefit and making the effort to change.

The second thing I am working on is school clubs.  Currently all schools in Ethiopia are required to have certain clubs, these include English clubs, and Environmental clubs.  I have gone to two schools as well as the woreda education office and requested to be allowed to participate and help direct the clubs that are already in existence.  In addition my counterpart is very interested in also working with the gender equality clubs, and having access to some very good material I am happy to help with this as well.  I have spoken to the director at one school and he was very excited to have me, I also have a meeting set up with the director at another school, and I do not expect any resistance.  The education board seems extremely excited to have me as well, although they are requiring me to submit a proposal for the project.  If I do get the final approval, that would put me at six clubs in two different school each meeting at least once throughout the week.  It is going to be a heck of a lot to juggle along with any other projects that I get into.  Not to mention having to find at least one more counter part that is willing to help me with the clubs.  All in all I know that sounds like a lot, but I assure you, it was enough work to MAYBE fill a day and a half, all drug out over a week and a half. 

Otherwise it has just been getting my house as in order as I can, I made it to the market yesterday; after getting caught in a torrential rain storm for about twenty minutes I managed to make my purchases (only slightly getting ripped off), and get home in the rain without getting too wet.  I was able to make my first real meal at home after that.  I have not had power except for a half day since the day after I got to site, so I made a simple salad out of habesha cabbage, and a few toppings, my landlord also gave me some bread that went pretty well with it.  It is a simple thing, but having something that is at least a little forenji went a long way to feeling more at home.  Today as I said I was in my hub town.  I went to a COSing volunteers house and bought a bunch of things from her as well as getting a bunch of donations from the volunteers there.  It was a nightmare getting to and from town today because it was the big market day, but I finally made it home to make my first REAL meal and it was FANTASTIC!  Tomorrow it will be back to the usual.  I will go to the office, sit around and read some manual or another.  If I get a free second maybe read my language manual some more, then home for leftovers before they spoils since I will likely not own a fridge while I am in this country. 

As soon as I get a chance to upload this I will get online and hopefully be able to check email and FB.  For those of you who may have tried to reach me please know I am not ignoring you, I will do my best to check as often as possible, just be patient.

Side note, I just got a small taste of how the soon to come rainy season might be like.  It started raining and within minutes got so loud that with just the rain, no thunder or anything, I could not hear the movie I was playing even with headphones on.  When the rainy season gets here it will likely be like that, but for much longer, and every day.  It will be an interesting experience, and I REALLY hope I get my rain boots in the mail before it hits!

Love, Trey

5/30

Not much has happened in the last week.  I have been cooking for myself which has been great.  I have a lot of spices and things from the volunteer who just left so it has been really nice.  On Wednesday I went to the market to buy charcoal for my garden and there was none there, then I walked to the office.  Now to put this in perspective, my town is not very large, my house is more or less in the middle but the market is one one end about a 15 minute walk, then my office is on the other end, another 15 minute from my house.  So from the market to the office it is about a 30 minute walk.   When I got to the office I found out it was a holiday and it was closed.  But the people there told me the charcoal was definitely at the market so I decided with my free day I would walk back and double check.  Sure enough it was not there.  I asked a kid who had walked back with me about it and he said I could get some at the edge of town so we walked the extra 5 minutes and waited there...no luck.  So I walked home and proceeded to read all day.  Other than a short walk to a cafe' I literally read all day.  I finished half of one book, a document, and half of another book.  So minus the walking that is pretty much how I spend any weekend, day off, or holiday.  Glad I brought a lot of books because by the time I am finished here I will be VERY well read.  So basically I did not do anything this week, I couldn't garden because I am still trying to get the material.  Most of my coworkers have been in the field all week, and they have said I DON'T want to join them.  On top of that the power has been off except for a few short bursts all week, the network has been practically inoperable, and the water has been sporadic at best.  Honestly though, I don't mind any of the utility outages, I would just honestly like to have a working cell network.  But tomorrow I am going into town for my first Ethiopian wedding, at least one that I have officially been invited to (I may have crashed one already), and hopefully the internet will be working while I am in town.  Today I found out not only that I may be able to get a land line installed for free, but also that within a few months we may be getting some form of internet in town.  Honestly though I will believe it when I see it. 

Next week sounds promising though.  I have been recruited to participate in a training with USAID, and also to go into the rural area in the gorge to look into some projects.  In the gorge they not only have a high fruit tree production, but a high number of bee keepers that I might be able to meet.  It is going to be a hard walk though since I am not allowed to ride motorcycles.  Anyway here's hoping that I am able to get internet in Robe.  (The first time in 3 weeks)