Site Visit Success

I just got back from spending a few days in Adwa, where I will be living and working for the next 2 years. My visit started off a little rocky with some differences in personalities with my counter part, but thanks to Peace Corps and their help, I was able to have a successful and happy visit and I also have a new community liaison who is helpful and awesome.

I am lucky and get to fly to my site, so I flew to Aksum with Leroy, Aly, Jessie, and Colin who are also in the Western part of Tigray and then bused with Aly and her counter part to Adwa where they continued on their journey and I met my site mate Lauren. My days consisted of meeting people around town, setting things up like my bank account, and just getting to know the town.

Lauren was a great guide because she was able to introduce me to her friends and people she knows, so that I was able to get a sense of who I should associate and hang around with when I get back to site in a month.

I did not set up my post office box, because I am going to take Lauren’s over when she leaves soon. However, you all can start sending me mail and it will be picked up by her if it gets there before I do. 

For the next few months send it like this (because it is still her post office box):

Lauren Troxtel

C/O Kelsey Hill

PO Box 39, Adwa

Tigray, Ethiopia

My new address for the next 2 years (which you can use in a few months) is:

Kelsey Hill

PO Box 39, Adwa

Tigray, Ethiopia

I know people want to start sending me care packages, so my next blog post will consist of a “wish list” that I have been writing down, but I didn’t want to put it in this one J

My community liaison Gebre was fantastic as well. He is a teacher in the 12^th grade and he owns his own language center, which Lauren helps out with and teaches classes there. He was able to show me around the school and introduce me to the school director who also seems very nice and welcoming. My school compound is huge because it has both the secondary, preparatory, and a technical college campus on it. It’s also where their former prime minister went to school, so that is a big source of pride for them.

I ate some really good food, including a dish called special fool. It’s made of spices, beans, eggs, and yogurt that you mix together and eat with bread. Trust me, it doesn’t sound good, but it is great and super filling.

My house is gorgeous. Although I did not get to meet my land lady because she was visiting her children in Germany, I met her sister and she seems sweet. My compound is like a compound inside of a compound, so I have a lot of neighbors if you consider the bigger compound. My land lady is the librarian at my school, so I am excited to connect with her and see if we can do projects and things at the school.

My room is very nice. Right now it is furnished. I know I get to keep the armoir, however I am not sure about the bed that is currently in there. However, it is furniture that is nicer than I have at home. I am also super excited about the idea of having a western toilet and hot water/shower in my bathroom that is connected to my room. I am definitely living the “Posh Corps” as we jokingly call it here.

My site mate (who is a G8 and will be COSing in a few months) has an internet stick that she uses with her computer and she gets internet in her house. I will be buying one of those when I go to site, so I should be able to get internet at least for a short time every day. Even if I cannot get internet in my house, there are internet café’s close to my house. I am extremely lucky to be so close to amenities like that.

I left Adwa reluctantly on Friday and met up with my fellow trainee’s, a few G8’s, and some G10’s in Aksum for the afternoon/evening. We explored a bit, and it is a much more touristy town than I have seen (besides Addis). Our hotel was fantastic because we had wifi and the best shower I have had since being in Ethiopia! It is a beautiful place, although not as big as I was expecting it to be from pictures and the things I had heard.

I am now back in Butajira after stuffing my face with firenji pizza in Addis and getting a Snickers bar from the grocery next to the hotel. We continue training tomorrow for a few more weeks with our days consisting of mostly language and more teacher training, with a few administrative and health/safety things thrown in there. I am glad to be back together with my fellow trainee’s for a few more weeks. I was only gone from them for a week and I didn’t realize how much I rely on them. But, I am very close to a few of them, so that will be a good.

Over and out.