Ethiopia PCV: January 2016

Jan 10-

So I apologize to all of you who are following this blog. I had a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays post scheduled to go up on Xmas, but for some reason the program decided it wasn't really ready to go and never posted it. However, my mother just got it up so it should be viewable now.

So I just spent a week in Addis celebrating the New Year, and getting some good internet time in. It is hard to believe that I am down to my last three months of PC service, then I will be off to India. I have been spending a lot of time researching India, and i think I am ready to go, I am really excited to get into a new and unique culture. Close of Service conference is right around the corner. I will actually be spending a lot of time in Addis this month due to New Year, COS, and the new volunteers coming in. I am also hoping that PC is going to call me in to Holeta to help teach the new volunteers about bee keeping, the last training I did with G12 went really well and was super enjoyable. All in all the last three months should be interesting, if not hectic.

I FINALLY managed to make it out to part of Bale National Park...well sort of. My fellow G10 is doing her Masters International and asked for me to be a research assistant for her. So I went out to the mountains and hiked to the camps that are set up for tourists. It is not technically a preserved area, but the government has it set up with the local people to encourage ecotourism. Because of that the people have a vested interest in preserving the forest and wildlife. Hiking up was almost straight up hill for about an hour and a half. We were lucky enough that the park provided us a car to get us to the highest accessible area by car before the rest of the hike. While in the park honestly I felt that I had left Ethiopia. We walked through the Juniper forest almost in silence just enjoying the nature and beauty of the area. After that we came to the deciduous forest with two types of trees growing prolifically that the bees love. Once you got into that part of the forest it was unmistakable. The buzz from the bees and other pollinators was unmistakable and unceasing. You would think that it would be annoying, or that you wouldn't be able to concentrate with that kind of droning, but honestly it was almost soothing to hear and you found yourself noticing its absence at night time.

Once we got to the first camp we had a look around, it was nice for even a lot of houses in Ethiopia. It was well stocked and even had a kerosene stove to cook with. While waiting for the participants in the program to show up I took a look around the area and found a beautiful rock wall that I almost couldn't resist climbing, as well as a little house that you had to stand directly in front of to even know it was there. The whole building with the only exception being the door was covered in vines. I am guessing it probably helps with insulation because of how cold it is there. Regardless it was rather beautiful, and a unique find. Along the walk I found an impressive view of the mountain side from a perch on the edge of a rock. From there I could see farmers working, cattle grazing, and among all the normal things in Ethiopia also a troop of Colubus monkeys, they however were less than happy to see me and were keeping a close eye on me the whole time I was there.

Once the participants in the survey arrived it was quite cold, so a fire was started and roasted barley was handed out as snacks. The survey itself was interested, but the most interesting response in my opinion was when they were asked what "the negative social impacts of ecotourism" were. The response for both groups of participants was that women were seeing foreigners dress styles and wanted to emulate them. They wanted to start wearing "trousers and jackets" and it was eroding their culture.

After cooking diner on the fire it was time for bed. Here I want to thank Jill and Devin, if not for their ultra warm sleeping bag, I am not sure I would have survived the cold night. As it was just washing my face with the air temperature (COLD) water was bad enough. The next day it was time for the real hike. Thirteen kilometers across the mountains, going through the scrubland forest, down back to the deciduous zone, all the way back to the juniper forest, then back up again to the scrubland. It was a pretty intense, but beautiful trek across some of the most beautiful areas of Ethiopia I have visited. All of that in only three hours might have been a record for our guide who was more than happy for the fast pace. Another group of people made the same trek in six hours the same day to put it into perspective. From there, after a cold beer to relax the survey was repeated, along with dinner and another freezing night made ok by my thick sleeping bag.

Finally it was time for the walk down. This time with the other hikers in tow it took significantly longer, but as we were in no rush it was quite alright. After a good four hour hike down the side of the mountain we were once again picked up by a car to skip walking through all the larger towns.

Getting back to my friends site might have been one of the largest culture shocks of my whole PC experience. Having spent two days away from all the typical harassment and being yelled out, and returning was a shock. It really brought to light what can be changed through a little training and exposure.

Being up in the natural forest gave me an idea of what Ethiopia could and did look like before years of over deforestation and terrible overgrazing. It reinforced the wish to be able to go back in time and see what Ethiopia really was like in as little as a hundred years ago. I hope the trend of preserving the forest for people to enjoy will be kept up in this beautiful forest, and I hope one day that it might even turn into a reforestation project that spreads across the country to bring Ethiopia back to its beautiful origins.

1/17

Travel. It feels like that is all I have been doing, well probably because it is all I have been doing. Starting with consolidations, then going to Addis for New Year, heading to the mountains, with only three days at site before heading back to Addis I have spent almost no time in site. I can't say I am super disappointed as I haven't had any work at site since September. The trend is only going to be kept up to with the coming Epiphany holiday I will be spending with my Ethiopian friends family, and the COS conference. The one thing I will say is that my bank account is taking a beating. PC will be reimbursing me for most of the travelling I have been doing, but as it takes about a month to get the money in my account it is a slow trickle instead of an actually replenishment.

New Year was spent with some of my favorite people though volunteers! I love these people and heading out it is one of the things I will miss most about returning to the States. One of the good things about being in Ethiopia is that you also get to celebrate two Christmas, the American, and the Ethiopian one. For me that meant visiting my PC friends Ethiopian friends, eating food, and drinking home brewed alcohol. Not a bad way to spend Xmas honestly. Still, nothing will replace spending Christmas with family.

It is hard to even believe that two years have already gone by, only three months left till India. Reading my friends posts and seeing his posts coming from India right now is so exciting I can hardly believe I am getting to fulfill my lifelong wish to visit India. Also, the FOOOOOOOOD! Then it is back to America for my sister’s wedding.