Greetings from Butajira!

My internet has been non-existent since being here, and so I am sitting in a hotel bar right now. 

Over all it’s definitely been amazing so far, but there are things I still have to get used to. The biggest thing that’s been an adjustment is realizing that I am in a developing country. That sounds weird since I was in Addis for a few weeks, but in that city, I stayed mainly at the hotel, and it is a big city (the capital), so there are lots of things happening there that make it seem like a wealthier place.

Here in Butajira there is a mixture of “big city” with a village type setting—think of it like downtown versus suburbs. I like in Kebele (neighborhood) 1, which is part of the “suburbs”—although it’s nothing like the suburbs in the US. There are about 20 other PC volunteers in my neighborhood, so pretty much every house has one around me, which has been great.

The streets are dirt and mud (during the rainy season), and there are a massive amount of goats, donkeys, chickens, and horses just chilling around. There are lots of baby goats, who are adorable. There are also lots of children who love to fist pound us and will literally run across a neighborhood to reach a group of us and say “hello!” Some ask for money or call us firenjis, but so far I haven’t had any issues with them.

The coolest part of this is that my neighborhood is right next to a giant gorge, which is beyond beautiful. I walked a little bit in the first day I was here with my host dad, and it is breathtaking. There are lots of monkeys here that then climb on the roofs at night, to get the fruit trees in the yards. We went out a couple of nights ago to look at the hyenas (across the gorge) at dusk. We didn’t see too many, and they were far away. But really, who gets to say they have seen hyenas and monkeys in their backyard?

To my host family: They are so sweet and kind. We got a paper saying information about our family and I was disappointed to see their children were 16 and 18 because I wanted little kids, but they have been great. My host father used to be an English teacher and now works for the Department of Education, so he speaks English pretty well. My host mom speaks almost no English, but she speaks Tigrina, which is what I am learning, so that’s been helpful. My host sister who is the 18 year old, speaks English fairly well, but I haven’t talked to my host brother much.

They have all been so welcoming and helpful in this whole process. I have actually eaten more here than I ever did at home. I am learning to say “done” more, because I felt bad the first few days saying “I’m full”.

The biggest adjustment for me has been language. Today was our first day of double language class, which is 4 hours of language. The Fidel (their alphabet) is really difficult to learn. But our LCF’s are so patient, and my language group has been great so far.

I fall asleep every night to prayers from the Mosque, monkeys on the roof, a dog that whines next door, and occasionally rain. I am definitely getting used to blocking out sounds, or maybe I am just too exhausted to really listen to them. Whatever it is, it’s quickly becoming my lullaby to sleep.

Until next time,

Over and Out.

P.S. I got my first letter this week—From Pat Farnsworth! She sent it before I left. Some people have gotten mail from people that sent it a week ago, and others still haven’t gotten things that were sent before they left. I will let you know when I receive other letters and packages, but so far that’s the only one. If you send letters, try to number them, so I know when I receive which ones.