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.