Communication

I know I will have internet, at least for the first 10 days, in the evenings. After that, it is really up to where I am in placed in Butajira for training, and where eventually I will be placed for the remainder of my time in Ethiopia.

That being said, I have talked to volunteers who are serving currently and those who have returned. A current volunteer said this when it comes to communication: "It helps if you have a plan of contact like using skype to call your parents or Face time or WhatsApp, something that you know will work for everyone you want to contact... In terms of snail mail sometimes packages and mail come through in a couple of weeks, and sometimes they may take a lot longer.  It is hard to tell how long a package or mail will take, so usually email is the better way to go.  Most volunteers in Ethiopia will have access to email at least once a week.  What I do with my parents is they are able to skype my Ethiopian cellphone.  That is usually the most reliable form of contact.  
It does depend on where you are in the country.  A lot of towns have something called EVDO where you can have internet access in your home through an internet stick.  Some towns will even have internet cafes.  If your town does not have internet often you will be close to a "hub city" which will have internet access--- close being within a 2-3 hour bus ride.  It is rare that a volunteer is posted something like 7 or 8 hours away from his/her hub city. However, even if you do have internet access often it will be unreliable, frustrating, and slow.  We are extremely lucky in Ethiopia that we have access to internet at all.  A lot of PC posts have much more limited access than we do.  So... celebrate!"

So, here is how to contact me:
My email is:
librababystar@gmail.com

My mailing address is:
Kelsey Hill
c/o Peace Corps Ethiopia
P.O. Box 7788, Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Airmail from the US to major cities in Ethiopia takes 2-4 weeks. Packages take 3-4 weeks.
Please number, date, and include "air mail" and "par avion" on all letters and packages you may send my way!
The address listed above will be my training address for my first 3 months in Ethiopia. I will provide my "permanent" address for my 2 years in Ethiopia as soon as I receive my placement and obtain a P.O. Box.

(Instructions taken from Amy Sage's blog post.)

Starting to prepare

I have been looking forward to serving in the Peace Corps and my impending departure from the United States as soon as I found out my placement. I was worried at first, because I didn't think that they would actually take me as soon as I put my "availability." My friends who just graduated with me have been busy getting ready for graduate school or going into jobs. Because my major was education, many of my classmates have been enjoying their summer off before they begin their "real jobs" in the school system here.
I on the other hand, have been looking up Peace Corps blogs, buying more business clothes, and answering a million questions about where I am going to be, how long I will be gone, and what I will be doing, etc. Although these questions are exciting to answer, I think I have been denying the fact that I am actually leaving (now in less than a week). I pride myself in being "a free spirit", but I also am a home body in a lot of ways, and this will be a very different, exhilarating, and terrifying experience that I'm not sure I'm ready for.
I have been procrastinating in a lot of things, including packing and saying "good bye" to people, because it doesn't feel real that I am actually leaving. I keep telling myself I have more time than I actually do.
Although all of this is true, I have found safety in numbers. I just rediscovered an email yesterday with the list of people going in the group with me to Ethiopia to teach. There are 65 of us! I also decided to do some Facebook investigations and found a group specifically for my Ethiopia Peace Corps group. Many of the members had already been exchanging notes, questions, and answers. But, what I found coming in is that everyone is having similar experiences in a lot of ways.
I get into Washington D.C. (my staging city) the evening before staging and was worried what I would do that evening. I over think everything, and I know that if I am left to sit in a hotel room by myself, that it would not do well for me. Instead, a big group of us have exchanged phone numbers and intend to grab dinner, drinks, and do some sight seeing together before we begin our crazy journey.
I am also very excited, because I have found at least 5 other women going in my group are Panhellenic women, including a fellow Chi Omega. I am always impressed with Panhellenic women, but this just goes to show me how passionate and go-getting we can be. I am very hopefully that I can make bonds with everyone in my group, but especially these lovely women, and who knows-- there might be more Greeks out there that just aren't as addicted to Facebook as others ;)

Thanks for reading my first blog post! I will continue to post as much as I can :)