Hanging in Hawassa

11/15
So it has been an interesting week.  I finally got the bees moved, it was a much simpler task than I had imagined and the farmers son who drove us by Gari (horse cart) was very nice.  He did charge me a little more than I wanted to pay but I guess it was technically illegal for him to be using the Gari after six pm so he was worried about getting a ticket.  It is ironic that it is illegal for him to do that, but it is also illegal for me to mess with the bees at all before seven pm, so there is technically no legal way for me to move the bees without contracting a car.  Anyway, I got my first visitors on Monday, they helped me transfer the bees from the traditional hives they were originally in, over to my modern and transitional hives.  It was their first time transfering bees, and for one of them it was the first time ever working with bees.  The transfer went very smoothly and I am happy to report the bees seem to be very happy in their new home.  I will hopefully be doing an inspection on them early next week so I will be able to tell more then.  Otherwise I have continued to be very busy, I had my first boys and girls development clubs on Wednesday.  Sadly they went pretty badly and I hope I can recover from the flop of a first class.
As far as that goes it has just been one misscommunication after another.  First they administration was hesitant and being difficult about setting up those clubs at all so I went to the prep school.  I had everything ready for starting there, but at the last minute the administration said it wasn't a good idea to do it there so I went back to the high school.  The second time around they were very quick about getting it going so I was encouraged.  But I had problems with communication and language barriers so the clubs were set for the wrong times.  So I tried to change it and the times were messed up again.  The third time I tried I just decided to live with the improper times.  But, that meant that the counterpart I had lined up for the boys club couldn't help me.  So I decided to just try it with the teacher in charge of the club.  So I get there and start the class.  But, the teacher had a hard time understanding and translating so the activity didn't work.  Then I tried to explain the point of the activity and the lesson from the meeting and he couldn't get the point so the whole club meeting finished without getting the idea to the students.  Then the girls club met in the afternoon.  The student showed up on time, but there was no teacher to help me with it.  Thankfully the matieral is in fidel (the written form of Amharic, Ethioipia, but not my zones, language), but the problem then arose that most of the students didn't read fidel, and the ones that did were too nervous to read out loud.  So, after a while one of the teachers comes to help me and explains what is up...then half the students stand up and leave...still noone would read so I start to pack up to leave.  One of the girls finally volunteers to read for me, a little after that the teacher for the club comes and says that she thought the club was Thursday (even though she is the one that told the students to come Wednesday, I guess she just forgot).  The end of the club went ok though so hopefully some of the girls will show up next week.  After all that I decided I needed to have a talk with the principle and we worked it out where I from now on am supposed to have an English teacher there to translate for me at all times.
Wendesday afternoon I had my English club at the preperatory school, we learned about Haikus and then I had the students write some of their own.  It went really well, and I think everyone had a great time!  I am really glad the students there are starting to open up, I had kids yelling across the room to come over and read their poems and to help them correct it.  There were even one or two that were really very good.
I found out today that my site is in fact being considered for a health site mate.  The staff will be visiting some time to acess my site and then I will find out for sure.  I just hope if I do get one that they are a cool, and motivated volunteer.  I already have a health worker in town wanting me to get a program started to teach nutrition and health to people living with HIV.    I am also considering teaching a health and nutrition class for women and infants.  I also just had an idea on the ride over here that I should check out the ambulance staff.  I found out that the health center doesn't even have a doctor on staff, so I wonder if the ambulance staff has proper first aid/CPR training.  If they don't that is something I could easily teach.
So anyway, if my plans work out today I will spend sitting by the pool on wifi to enjoy the weekend and my first day officially off from site!
11/7
Another week another experience.  As recently it has been a week of great accomplishments, and annoying set backs.  Sometimes it is cultural differences, sometimes language barriers, but always it is something that I have to learn to not let frustrate me.  I will start with the schools.  So far I have had two meetings with the preperatory school, and three with the High School English clubs.  At each meeting I learn better ways of communicating, and ways of helping them understand.  I never pictured myself a teacher, but I have to admit I kind of enjoy teaching these guys.  I think it is different than from the states though, because these kids honestly want to learn from me.  They are there voluntarily, and they come on time (mostly) because I asked them to, not because they are forced to.  But, sometimes it is frustrating too.  On Wednesday I ws teaching at the prep school, I was about forty-five minutes into an hour long lesson, and half of my students showed up.  I spoke to the principle after and he said he would talk to them about it, but the students that showed up on time I truly think got something from the lesson, and they were very attentive, even starting to open up and participate with me.  The next day at the high school the teacher in the room ahead of me went fifteen minutes into my time and made me cut my class short.  Still, the teacher helping me in that class thinks I am doing a good job, even though at the High school I feel like they are having a hard time with my club, and he encouraged me to continue how I am.  But, between the good and bad of those clubs, I have to say so far I am glad I started them, and I hope it continues well.  The real frustration was because of the language barrier.  Last week I finally managed to get the boys and girls gender and development clubs scheduled.  The teachers told the students when to come, and everything was in order.  So I get there when I am scheduled to do the girls clubs and the fascilitator, and the students are not there.  So I talk to the principle of the school and go home.  That afternoon I went back to speak with the fascilitator and see what went wrong, turns out that he had scheduled the class a half hour after we discussed, I guess he actually thought that was when we agreed on, but as we talked about it I wrote it in my schedule so I know it wasn't.  Then I stick around and wait to start the boys club that is scheduled for the afternoon.  The fascilitator for that class finally shows up about an hour after it is supposed to start and says that the girls club is scheduled and not for another hour, which happens to be when my English club is scheduled at the other school.  So I discuss it with them, show them my schedule and try to get it going properly for the next week.  Still, I know there was still miscomunication, hopefully it works itself out though.
In other areas I was scheduled to have the bees I am buying transported to the farmer training center on Monday.  I look for my counterpart in the afternoon so we can go over to the farmers house who is selling me the bees, and I can't find him anywhere.  Since the farmer speaks zero english there was no reason to even try to go by myself so it was a wash.  Tuesday I find him and he says he had to go out of town for the afternoon.  We go that afternoon and the farmer tells us to come back on Thursday and we will move them.  So yesterday we go and the farmer says he is tired from walking all day and wants to go do "stuff", and we should come back tomorrow.  So today we are going back again, if he comes up with another reason I am just going to tell him to forget transporting them, that I will do it myself and just pay him less.  Hopefully it doesn't come to that, but I am really anxious to get them moved so I can start working with them.
But, regardless of all the frustrations I have to say that being this busy really helps a lot.  The frustration and boredom have been offset with having things to do and it makes it easier to deal with the monotony.  I have a couple more things in the works that I hope will pan out and give me even more things to stay occupied with soon.