Adjectives and Self Esteem

11.25.15

              If there is anything I am sure about here in Ethiopia, it is that I am not sure of anything! I flounder through my days with no expectations whatsoever. Even for someone who is working within a school with a set schedule, anything can happen. For example…

àI think my classes are going to start at the time they’ve always started because that seems safe, right? Surprise! My class started 10 minutes ago, my students are waiting on me, and the teacher I’ve been chatting with didn’t mention the schedule changed for the day.

àMaybe I’ll walk home really quickly in order to clean and get some work done…Not today! On my walk home I have to stop and greet everyone I am in the slightest bit acquainted with. Oh, and one of my friends sees me and invites me to a coffee ceremony. I have to accept the 1.5 hour diversion because you just don’t say ‘no’ to invitations.

àI’m just going to go to the bus station and go home…Boy, howdy, was I wrong! The bus that is always there isn’t there, and a stranger has developed a moral obligation to make sure I get home. She grabs my hand and we frolic to numerous buses trying to find the one most suitable. She pushes me through narrow doors and yells at the bus drivers for me with all the love in her heart. (If my life here was like the movie, Titanic- which I often like to think it is considering my theatrical daydreaming and the copious amounts of Celine Dion I grace myself with- there would be so many people ensuring I get on the life boat…I’d definitely make it.)

Today was yet another day where I was…caught off guard. Every week, I have a club at the primary school for about 28 students from grades 5-8. Naturally, I planned an activity perfectly fit for my group size. It involved scissors, markers and tape which was pretty audacious in and of itself. I knew language barriers and the excitement of the students would make this a slight challenge. As I enter the school and wait on someone to open the classroom, there are about double the amount of students stoked to start the lesson. The director, unannounced, decided to tack on 30 extra students from grades 1-4. This presented a lot of doubt for me. I didn’t have enough materials, I thought the lesson would be way over their head, and kids at that young age would surely make this activity especially hard to tackle. I tried to express my concern to another teacher. He told me to just start teaching and he would go talk to the school director for me…He never returned.

What happened next blew my mind. All of the students participated in impressive self-introductions. The topic for the day was adjectives, and their prior knowledge surpassed that of my high school students. Hands, big and small, shot up in order to answer my priming questions. I gave them synonyms for common adjectives like happy, clever, pretty, etc.

It is known that many students, especially females, lack confidence in themselves. I used this as an outlet to bring up the topic of self-esteem and what it means to feel good about yourself. They picked three new words to describe themselves and made “flowers” with their hand prints. They eagerly dove into the center of the table to use the colored pencils and markers. It was hilarious!. To my surprise, only one marker casualty! They seized the opportunity to be artistically creative (thanks for the supplies, Kari!!). To my surprise, silence blanketed the group as they decorated their creations. “Crayola” doesn’t exist here, and with 100 students in each class, art isn’t feasible. Students from all grade levels proudly read me their sentences with huge smiles on their faces. For example, “I am bright, I am good looking, I am happy.”  They lined up to ask me to take their picture. They even included sentences like “I love you, teacher!” and “My lovely teacher.” The turnout was absolutely phenomenal. I love my students and my job. I was glowing the entire time. Check it out!

"I am beautiful, I am lovely, I am great."

"I am great, I am content, I am happy."

"I am lovely."

"I am great, I am smart, I am happy"

Meskel 9/27/15

Sometimes I forget about how truly amazing my day-to-day life is…but today I was reminded, and I am going to tell you about it!

I have only been in Ethiopia for three months, but I have found myself caught in a whirlwind of celebrations! It’s so rad! I definitely am going to celebrate more often back in America. I’m still new around here, so basically I live my life having no idea what’s going on around me. Usually my days are occupied by someone randomly coming to my house, unannounced, and scooping me up for an unknown adventure. This day it happened to be a 12 year old little girl who is also my best friend. The cause for celebration: Meskel.

Like most times when I leave the house, I grabbed a scarf to throw around my head and shoulders and headed out. She handed me off to her father who escorted me to the outskirts of town (about a 10 minute walk) to a large open field. Everyone starred, whispered and giggled as the foreigner joined in on their celebration. All of the women had the brightly colored net’elas around their heads. Net’elas are large, handmade cotton scarves with colourful accents at the fringes (most traditional Ethiopian clothing is white). They are worn by women for special occasions and religious purposes. I walked in on everyone singing and dancing around someone playing a large drum. The ceremony was then shifted to a different location, and people gathered around a massive structure of dried up eucalyptus leaves and branches. Everyone chanted incoherently in a language I didn’t understand for quite some time. As thrilling as this sounds, I occupied myself by making faces at the little kids who were staring at me. They would laugh, scurry, run away, and then come back. It was a fun game. 

Notice the Net'elas! Also, notice how the kids stare at me. I wasn't kidding!

Next, the drums started to pound faster. Everyone clapped in a synchronized beat and started what sounded like warrior cries. The giant structure in the middle was lit on fire and the people started moving in a circle around it. The clapping, drums and chanting all continued. Simultaneously, a giant mob of people with celebratory sticks started running and dancing faster and faster! The ceremony paraded throughout the entire town- dancing, clapping, fire, drums, sing-songy chants…It was kind of comparable to Christmas carolling except not awful and with more rhythm. I was lulled to sleep by the sounds of this holiday that carried on into the night. I was in awe the entire time.

I am so grateful to have had to opportunity to experience the vibrant energy of Meskel. Who doesn’t need an excuse to dance around a fire? I am overwhelmed by the beauty of what I experience every single day. Things are really denser out here…a lot happens in a short amount of time. In only three months I have felt so many feels and thought so many thoughts and seen so many things and met so many people and ate so many foods and danced so many dances and survived so many bacterial infections and learned so many lessons…. It’s completely awesome. My life is so cool.

-Maa-ree-yaa-naa-

The Bus Ride 9/25/15

Essentially, the only time to get food is during market days. The market comes twice a week to my town, Ali, but I was in need of some food in between time. As a result, I walked to the designated standing area in hopes of catching a bus to the neighboring town of Agarfa (which was hosting a market day).

I gazed down the endless stretch of dirt road. Beautiful rolling farmland hills splattered with trees can be seen on the outskirts of town (I can spit in any direction and hit the outskirts of my town…super small, super rural). A bus was coming! I was like- sweet that was easy, right? …Nope. As the bus came closer, the crowd of people froze and stared for a brief second. Kind of like what a dog does the moment it sees a squirrel. I could see it in their steely glares- they also knew it was market day… The ground trembled. Tensions began to rise. A fly landed on someone’s arm. Somewhere in the distance, a needle hit the ground. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of my head. Then, as if there was a signal to do so, people started sprinting wildly toward the bus. It was just like that scene in Jumanjii, right before a stampede bursts through the bookshelf. Before I processed what was happening, the man I was making small talk with grabbed my forearm and we were off! I made my way to the hoard of people pushing and nudging around the bus door as it opened. I didn’t stand a chance. Let’s face it; these folks were way more experienced than me in the art of forced entry through a narrow door. I think I’d get laughed at if I tried to explain the concept of waiting in a line…so I didn’t. Just when I think I’m not going to make it, this old man with a beard dyed red from henna emerged, godlike, above the crowd and started pushing people back with his formidable cane. Suddenly, another stranger grabbed my arm and packed me into the already crowded bus. The door slammed shut. It didn’t look like there was room for me to sit, but then, somehow, room was made and I squeezed in. Personal space isn’t a thing here… Thanks old man red beard.

I looked around. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh. Of course, I am the only white person on the bus (let alone in my entire town). There were flies everywhere, a cheesy shag carpet type thing covered the dashboard, there’s a smell…Jesus and Messi stickers made the windows aesthetically pleasing (naturally), it’s super hot, but all the windows are closed. Pothole. Pothole. Bump. Pothole…SCREEEETCH! Gotta dodge donkeys/goats/cows. Everyone is staring (story of my life) and someone was vomiting into a plastic bag. Welcome to Ethiopian transportation...We out here.

A beautiful, older Muslim woman decided to ask me about myself. Everyone was so surprised to hear me speak their language! Tensions were immediately broken, and literally the entire bus begins to smile, laugh and clap for me. After the ride, the woman I spoke to invited me into her home for a buna (coffee) ceremony. I was offered a delectable spread of snacks (cookies, bread, candy, bananas, oranges, zaytung, etc.). She proudly introduced me to her daughters who were shy, but very welcoming. Her house had thin mattresses on the floor which served double duty as couches. The walls were brightly decorated with a colorful array of traditional items. After we drank our coffee, I was invited again, on a different day, to their home for lunch.

This time the floor was covered with a copious variety of specialty Ethiopian foods as well as food specific to Muslims (sitting on the floor to eat is not abnormal- my left leg always falls asleep…I’m working on it). The flavors and spices were so good! After dinner, there was another buna ceremony, and the daughters proudly described their Muslim religion to me. I did not know much about Muslims, so I was eager to learn (turns out the diverse, swirly, culture pool that is Fort Collins didn’t offer much info…). My new sisters proceeded to tie my scarf into a hijab, and we talked and laughed together for several hours.

These strangers took me into their home and almost immediately claimed me as a family member, inviting me to return at any time. They even had to audacity to thank ME when I was leaving! I don’t know if I can properly depict the amount of appreciation and love I feel for all of the people who have readily taken me in as their own. This is just one example of the many invitations I have received during the first couple weeks in my new town. People stop me on the streets (by street, I mean dirt and rock walkway) and invite me into their homes for bread and coffee and random children line up to shake my hand and practice their “how-are-you-I-am-fine-thank-you-my-name-is…” monologue. I have experienced so much hospitality and kindness, I can hardly stand it.

Day to day, I have no idea what’s going to happen, and I love every second of it.  Such an amazing adventure!

Make note of my new/permanent address in the top right corner. My closest internet is in the next town which is anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours away due to the unpredictability of local transportation. I will try to keep in touch as much as possible, but no news is good news sometimes (*cough* mom…).

Miss and love everyone! Thanks again for reading and taking interest in what’s going on out here.

Nagaattii (bye!),

M-Dog. 

Jonesin' for some fresh chicken?

Doro Wot (Chicken Stew): A sweet/spicy/savory Ethiopian dish served with injera, naturally. This dish is made exclusively for special occasions due to the tedious preparation process and the expensiveness of chicken. Yours truly got to be a part of the preparation process- here is a sneak peak…

How to prepare Doro (accompanied with the American equivalent):

-          

•       Wait for the weekly market to come around, and then buy a chicken from the market (decide you’re in the mood for chicken and dread the effort required to satisfy yourself)
• -          Find a man to sharpen the knives and slice the neck of your chicken (drive to your local grocery store)
• -          This is where the women take over- Throw a box over the chicken as it finishes doing that being alive thing. Next, put the chicken in a tub and pour boiling water over it (go to the poultry section of your store)
• -          Pluck all of the feathers off every part of the chicken (get annoyed when there isn’t an employee around to help you find the location of meat section of the store)
• -          Continue to pour boiling water on the chicken as needed to remove all feathers (on the way to the meat section of the store, you get distracted and start comparing toilet paper prices- at this moment you decide you need a super-value-double-count-extra-bonus-industrial pack….will all of this toilet paper be used before your 87^th birthday? Who knows…?)
• -          Briefly put the chicken in the fire to burn off the really small feathers (finally pick the cut of chicken you’d like)
• -          Rub chickpea flour, aka, chicken soap, in every crevice. This helps to remove very small feathers. (decide the preparation of chicken takes too long and proceed on a quest to find rotisserie chicken)
• -          Rinse off the chicken soap and remove the chicken clothes or, as some would say, the skin (spend 9 minutes deciding between garlic herb roasted chicken and honey herb roasted chicken)
• -          Cut up the chicken and separate the organs- almost every part of the chicken gets eaten (go to the check-out line and purchase your garlic herb rotisserie chicken, maybe also a pack of gum if you happen to fall victim to American marketing techniques)
• -          Aggressively wash the chicken parts in buckets of water and salt in order to remove all of the blood. (get a receipt for your chicken)
• -          Prepare the doro wot! (drive home)

One month down!

Hi! This is my blog. I am an Education Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia, and I will be here until September of 2017. I will do my best to keep you all updated as to what I am doing here in this beautiful country!

My mailing address is in the top right corner of this webpage. Mail and packages can take several weeks to arrive. If you feel so inclined to send me some snail mail, I will literally burst at the seams with excitement. I will be sure to return the favor- just send me your mailing address!

Staging (6/29/15)

This was the first step in my training process. About 65 education volunteers met in Washington D.C. to get to know each other. We played “ice breaker” games and came up with lists of ways to stay healthy, safe, happy, etc. It was alright.

Addis Ababa (7/1/15-7/10/15)

After a 13.5 hour plane ride that was anything but rejuvenating, we finally arrived in Ethiopia! It did not take long to establish my love for my volunteer group. They are a compassionate and hilarious group of individuals. I’m thankful for the support network that will be accompanying me for the next two years! Our days in Addis were packed full of training that were especially hard to get through with the jet lag. Trainings include medical, safety, cultural, technical, language and health.

Addis is considered the capital of Africa. It has the headquarters for the U.S. Embassy, the African Union and, of course, the Peace Corps. It is safe to say the bustling city of Addis Ababa is nothing like the rest of Ethiopia.

Holeta! (7/11/15- Present)

All of us volunteers were dispersed between three different towns- Holeta (my town!), Manegesha, and Addis Alem. We will all be with a host family for the remainder of our training (for the most part).

My host family!- Meeting my host family was one of the most beautifully awkward experiences I have ever encountered. I was immediately welcomed as part of the family. My host father is an agricultural researcher. He quickly disregarded my name and provided me with an Ethiopian name- Jaline (Jah-leh-nee). This is an endearing term in the language Afan Oromo meaning love. Shucks! Another nickname they’ve given me is Ambassa-meaning lion. They say it is because I am smart and tough. So cool.

My mother is incredibly caring. When (not if) I don’t wash my feet enough, she picks up my leg and starts scrubbing for me-it’s very muddy. She doesn’t really speak English, but we laugh a lot together- mostly at my cultural incompetencies. It’s fine. She keeps wanting to put butter in my hair to tame my curls...Even in Ethiopia my brillow is unacceptable (Brian and Joe- you knew all along…shut up). One evening my host mother came into my room, threw a handful of pink flower petals on the floor, put her hand on her heart, and walked away. Sometimes words don’t matter.

Greetings- Greetings are very extended and redundant. You say a lot of words meaning the same thing over and over and then you end with a good old fashioned “Thanks be to God.” (Side note- Religion is an integral part of Ethiopian culture. The predominant religion is Ethiopian Orthodox sprinkled with some Muslim and Protestant.) The physical part of the greeting includes and handshake (you support your handshaking forearm with your free hand as a sign of respect), a shoulder bump, and an ambiguous amount of cheek kisses- left, right, left, right.... Sometimes it’s 3...sometimes it’s 4, sometimes it’s 6…. There’s a 65% chance of whiplash occurring during any given greeting within a five hour time frame.

Food- I use my hands more than eating utensils, always. Injera is served every day for almost every meal. It is a spongy, thin, tortilla type thing with a sour dough taste. It is spread along a large plate with different items in the center (e.g., hunde dima (beets), dinicha (potatoes), doro wot (chicken stew), raafuu (spinach), shiiroo (chickpea flour with onions and other spices, misira (lentils), tibs/foon (goat meat), and kitifoo (raw meat)). You rip of pieces of injera and use it to grab the food served in the middle. Everything is very delicious. Burbary and hot peppers are used often. Ethiopians show indirect signs of affection. One example is called “gursha.” Gursha is a sign of affection that is depicted by feeding people with your hands. The more food the better! My family and I exchange gursha often.  

Bathroom- ManaFincanii (mah-nah-fin-cha-nee). More often than not- a hole in the ground. Bring your own toilet paper..

Shower- Not really existent...more like a designated space where you throw buckets of cold water on yourself. And by cold, I mean really cold. Recurrence: not frequent. Once a week is normal-ish. Once every two weeks is not abnormal….I am redefining my definition of normal every day.

Language- The national language of Ethiopia is Amharic. However, there are MANY different languages spoken depending on the region you are in. Because my future site will be in the Oromo region, the language I am learning is Afan Oromo (this is the second most common language of Ethiopia). I am catching on quickly! Being able to communicate with the people here in their local language is such an amazing thing. They get so excited when a firenji (foreigner) communicates and greets them in a culturally appropriate manner. They clap and cheer and touch my hair.

My schedule- Days are looooong. 7a.m.-6 p.m. I am currently in the middle of practicum. I travel to a town called Inchini and teach an amazing class of 20-30 tenth graders. At my permanent site, it will be more like 60-90 9th or 11th graders (we will not be teaching 10th grade). As many of you know, I do not have a background in English language (aside from speaking it for 22 years). Regardless, I have been receiving excellent feedback about my teaching! Someone from the Ethiopian Ministry of Education came to observe me recently. He said I was one of the better teachers he has seen and displayed so much gratitude for my work. (Thanks for being such an excellent mentor, Rodney!) Due to limited resources, I get to/have to apply a lot of creativity in the classroom. My room is small with no lights. Desks are falling apart, mud cakes the floors, sometimes birds fly in through the holes in the wall, and my materials include chalk and flipchart paper. I couldn’t be more content. I am so stoked to be there every single day. My students are adaptable and motivated, and that’s really all I could ask for. The background doesn’t matter.

7:00-8:00 a.m. Travel to my school in Inchini. (A 45 minute ride through beautiful, rural Ethiopian farmland on a shabby bus with plastic mangos and tassels hanging from the ceiling. Jesus and Bob Marley stickers are plastered on the walls.)

8:00-9:30 a.m. Teach with my partner (We each get 45 minutes)

10:00-11:00 a.m. Bus ride back to Holeta

11:00-12:30 p.m. Training session (one of the misc. topics mentioned above or a language class)

12:30-2:00 p.m. Lunch with our host families (The 30 min walk to and from our destinations are included in this time)

2:00-4:00p.m. Language class

4:30-6:00p.m. Lesson Planning

Practicum is over in two weeks, so the teaching portion will be replaced with more trainings and language classes. After 6p.m. - I walk home (which takes a while because I am constantly stopped by the people I have met and am culturally obligated to greet them- I don’t mind), do homework, spend time with my host family, eat dinner (usually in the dark because the power goes out regularly), and I am usually in bed by 9 p.m.

Weather- Currently, we are in the middle of rainy season. Every single afternoon, the clouds come parading in signaling the Armageddon downpour that is about to occur. Days are usually pretty warm. It actually gets surprisingly cold as well- maybe high 40s or 50s…I just made that up…I don’t know.. I’d say it’s pretty consistently flannel weather. All of the other months are dry season.

Time- Okay, so I’m all about being open minded and stuff, but time is super weird here. For instance, the year 2007 and there are 13 months in the year. Every month has 30 days and the 13th month is all of the extra days...it is only 5-6 days long. The new year is in September. Additionally, the time of day is 6 hours behind what it would be in America. When it is 8:00 a.m. based on my watch, it is actually 2:00 a.m. based on Ethiopia time. In America, our day starts at 12:00 a.m., in the middle of the night. In Ethiopia, they believe the day should start when the sun comes up….I’m still kind of confused by it. Additionally, Ethiopians are very lackadaisical about time/schedules. Showing up “sharp” isn’t a thing. There are even two built in shayii/buna (tea/coffee) breaks built in to every day. During these breaks you just hang out and enjoy people’s company and eat snacks. I love snacks.

Buna Ceremony- Buna = Coffee. Buna is a sacred part of Ethiopian culture. It is typically done daily or multiple times a day. Only women preform the ceremony. The coffee beans are roasted fresh, and then the aroma from the beans in the pot is wafted for all to smell. Once the beans are uniformly brown, they are crushed and then the coffee steeps in a traditional jebana (coffee pot). There are typically three cups of coffee drank during the ceremony. Needless to say, coffee here is delicious!

Sometimes I get urges to do things like eat hydrogenated oils or walk through a Bed, Bath and Beyond and squeeze the pillows…I’m fairly certain that is the peak of my distress, so things are going quite well! I’m kind of like a baby here...my sentences are not fluid, I sleep and eat a lot,  people clap and cheer if I use my limbs correctly or wash my clothes the right way or hiccup.....and I need help doing daily tasks. I am loving every bit of it! It is a very humbling experience. Contrary to popular belief, just because I am white and from America, does not mean I know what’s best. I look at things differently every single day.

I can’t give enough gratitude for all of the support and love I have received and am still receiving from all of you back in the states. It keeps me going!

Galatomaa! Isin bayyee gaarii dha! (Thank you! You all are very great!)  

…I don’t know if it is proper blog etiquette to sign your name?

Cheers,

Marianna

E-mail: marianna.maurello@gmail.com

Phone #: 00251-947-939-777

P.S. Yes, I have had corn rows covering my entire scalp. My host sister did it for me. I looked good.