For My Love Of Reading

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one”- George RR Martin

I grew up reading and living many lives. My parents provided me with more books than I knew what to do with and thanks to my parents and my teachers who promoted a love of literacy and learning from an early age, I have always felt drawn to books. From an early age I would stare at the pictures before words and then once I was able to read more easily, the words on pages. I became enthralled and couldn’t understand when my classmates throughout my school years didn’t get as excited as me when we were assigned reading. My ideal day would be to spend hours wandering through the aisles of libraries and bookstores, staring at the spines and covers of books, picking them up to read the book jackets, and occasionally flipping through the pages to glance at the words decorating them.  I’m addicted to that new book smell and my hands crave the feeling of a book and the turning of a page. When most girls are asked what they want in life, they might answer a big closet or a handsome man, I just want a library full of books in my house.

When asked what my favorite thing to do is, I answer, “to curl up in a blanket and read with hot tea or coffee”. Although I have always loved reading, life would get in the way and many times in high school and college my time had to be prioritized elsewhere. I would still pick up a book when it was possible, but I rarely had time. And often my reading would then consist of scholarly articles, or books I did not particularly want to read. My life was full of “real people” and I was very grateful for the life I was living, but I always wished I had more time to delve into other worlds, the worlds that were inhabited by characters and situations just as rich, but very different from my own.

When I got to Ethiopia I discovered my love of literature again, as I seemed to gain back the time I had lost in high school and college. Suddenly I found myself with more than enough time to read and explore those worlds I thought I had lost. Although I will always love actual copies of books, technology is helpful when it comes to access I would not have had otherwise. Technology gave me the ability to read and share books with other volunteers, and to read in places like buses that I would not have been able to do with an actual book.

I have always loved fiction books, but with access to a large library of digital books and with more than enough time on my hands, I have been able to expand my love of literature to different genres I would otherwise have not explored. Although my reading habit has grown here, I don’t know if it did much for my social life and integration during my Peace Corps service. I very well could have been off exploring my site, talking with locals, or spending time at school. Instead, many times I preferred to reach into my books as a retreat. I am not sure whether that is a positive coping mechanism, but it worked for me.

While serving in Ethiopia (well, to date at least—and I have 87 more days in country as of this writing) I have read 153 books. They have ranged from “Freakonomics” to “Harry Potter”, “A Long Walk To Freedom” to “Anna Karenina”, “No Country For Old Men” to “The Little Prince”. Some I have reread although I have read them before- such as “Harry Potter”, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, and “Lord of the Flies”. Some I read because they are considered classics, and I thought I should read them to see what all the fuss was about- such as “Schindler’s List”, “Anna Karenina”, and “Moby Dick”. I have read a lot of books by the same author- such as Maya Angelou, the Anne of Green Gables series, Ernest Hemingway, and Jane Austen. I have read nonfiction books about other parts of the world- such as “The Village of Waiting”, “Emma’s War”, and “Dead Aid”. Those books are just the beginning.

I never realized how grateful I was to not only grow-up with a love of reading, but also with the ability to read and to access books. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I’m aware that the literacy rate in America is low and in Ethiopia is even lower. Many children due to lack of good education and a lack of resources are not able to enjoy the simple pleasure of sitting down with an entertaining book and being able to delve into the richness of the story.

I have come to fall in love with characters and settings. I have come to despise characters and situations. I have traveled along with and lived side-by-side famous heroes and heroines. I have developed a mind that pictures what is happening like a movie as my eyes are reading the words on the page. I am that person that won’t put a book down no matter how tired I might be if I’m so entranced I forget what is going on around me. I draw parallels in my life to those that I read. Although Hollywood is getting better with providing strong female characters for girls to look up to, I have found that there are many more heroines for girls to imagine themselves being in books. Literature is a great resource for female empowerment.

“I live in 2 worlds. One is a world of books. I have been a resident of Faulkner’s Yauknapatafa county, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignacious J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down swan’s way. It’s a rewarding world. But my second one is by far superior. My second one is populated with characters slightly less eccentric but supremely real. Made of flesh and bone, full of love, who are my ultimate inspiration for everything. Richard and Emily Gilmore are kind, decent, unfailingly generous people. They are my twin pillars without whom I could not stand. I am proud to be their grandchild. But my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life’s blood, Lorelai Gilmore. My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music, unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Jane Austen to Eudora Weltey to Patti Smith. As she guided me through these incredible 18 years I don’t know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her.”—Gilmore Girls

The above words were spoken by Rory Gilmore during her valedictorian speech in “Gilmore Girls”. She is a character not unlike myself who finds joy in fictional characters and loves to delve into different worlds. If you take out the names she provides and put in my grandparents and parents names, this speech very much mirrors my own thoughts. My grandparents and parents provided me with role models in music, movies, and books. However, the people that inspire me the most are them. My life outside of the pages of books is much more rewarding- however I like the escape of words and images that are not applicable to my own life.

My life might be lived to the fullest, but books only help me live it more. I am lucky that I have always been able to retreat into the pages of books. I am lucky that I have learned life lessons through words both read and heard. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to grow up with that love. I am lucky that I have been given the opportunity to spread that love to other children in the classroom. And I am lucky to know children and adults just as committed to books and literature as I am.

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”- Dr Seuss

I know that reading might be difficult for you. Maybe you have never loved reading like I have. Maybe you don’t have access to many books. Or maybe you just prioritize your time differently, you never seem to have enough of it, and when you lay down at the end of the day you always seem to crash before you get more than a sentence in. Life happens and circumstances can be difficult, I understand. But I give you a challenge: Search for a book you think you will enjoy and actually take the time to read it. It might take you awhile to find that perfect book or author, it might take you awhile to get through it, and you might feel stressed if you give yourself a deadline. But I bet that once you finish that book you will feel accomplished and happy and hopefully you will feel rewarded. Reading is a way to escape your current life. It’s a gift given to us that helps us learn and grow as humans, so take that gift and use it. Dr. Seuss says it perfectly. Read to explore and learn, live another life and explore new worlds—I bet it will be worth it.

Let's Talk About Malaria!

DID YOU KNOW?

-       3.3 billion people (half the world’s population) live in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 109 countries and territories

-       35 countries (30 in sub-Saharan Africa and 5 in Asia) account for 98% of global malaria deaths

-       89% of the malaria deaths worldwide occur in Africa

-       The World Health Organization estimates that in 2008 malaria caused 190-311 million clinical episodes and 708,000-1,003,000 deaths

-       Malaria is the 5^th cause of death from infectious diseases worldwide (after respiratory infections, HIV/AIDS, diarrheal disease, and tuberculosis)

-       Malaria is the 2^nd leading cause of death from infectious diseases in Africa, after HIV/AIDS

-       There are over 5 million clinical malaria cases in Ethiopia each year

-       In Ethiopia, malaria is the leading cause for outpatient consultations, hospital admissions, and hospital deaths

-       There is malaria in 75% of the total country of Ethiopia, with 68% of the population at risk

-       Transmission in Ethiopia occurs mostly from September to December

(Source: Stomp Out Malaria Tool Kit- Peace Corps Ethiopia)

10 FACTS ABOUT MALARIA:

-       Malaria is a life-threatening disease

-       Malaria is spread from person to person by the Anopheles mosquito, which bites at night time

-       Anyone can get malaria—boys and girls, adults, children, and babies

-       Malaria is preventable

-       Sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net every night is the best way to protect yourself from malaria

-       Symptoms of malaria include: fever, chills, sweats, headaches, loss of appetite, pain in the joints, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and convulsions

-       You can find out if you have malaria with a 20 minute RDT (Rapid Diagnostic Test)

-       Malaria is curable. A medicine called ACT can be taken to treat and cure malaria

-       Seek medical attention at the first sign of malaria for testing and treatment

-       Malaria can be eliminated. Other parts of the world have already eliminated malaria

(Source: NightWatch Malaria Curriculum)

As you can see above, malaria is a major problem in many countries around the world, although it doesn’t cross many people’s minds in America. In all honesty, I didn’t think much about it either until I came here and realized just how damaging it can be, yet how simple it is to prevent, detect, and treat.

Every year in April, World Malaria Month is celebrated, with Peace Corps giving us many resources to help spread awareness around our communities. In Peace Corps Ethiopia we have a STOMP committee made up of volunteers who assist in malaria prevention and awareness activities throughout the year, but then really take charge during April. It falls upon us volunteers though to do programs, activities, and lessons in our own communities.

Last year I did one malaria activity in my classes, but this year I wanted to do more. I conducted 2 activities in my classes as a game and competition. I have been doing mostly National Exam revision with my students, as their exam is the end of May. I also just finished giving them the pilot program of the new PELLE skills assessment from our Education team that took a week, so I thought this would be a fun break from the revision of grammar and reading they have become so used to, and I was right.

The first day I did true and false malaria facts where my students had to tell me whether the sentence was true or false by giving me a thumbs up or thumbs down (in my attempt to keep them quiet… Doesn’t work that well). Then I did matching vocabulary with their definitions. Both are activities they have done before with me, so we finished that fairly quickly. I then drew a Jeopardy board on the chalkboard with categories of General, Transmission, Prevention, Testing, and Treatment in points of 100-500. I split my students up into 3 groups (with my class sizes that is about 15-20 kids depending on how many students come to class on a day). I had each team pick a name and then we began. I would read out a question and multiple choice answers and they had to give me the correct answer to get the points. Because the groups are so big and only a few kids understand and pay attention, it really fell to the front few students to pick the questions and answer. However, I was pleasantly surprised with how many of my students who have taken to goofing off were paying attention and trying.

The second day I did a listening activity with statistics about malaria worldwide and in Ethiopia. Listening activities can be difficult with such large classes, so I wasn’t sure how it would work. I hung up statistics (written previously on chart paper) on the board and passed out numbers and percentages to students who were sitting quietly. I then told each class I would time them and whichever class could finish the activity quickest would get lollipops the next day. I would read out a sentence however many times it took for the student with the number to connect they had that, and then the challenge of which sentence to put it on (I read them out of order). A few of my classes had a hard time with this activity, but a few had students who took it upon themselves to make sure the students with the numbers were paying attention and getting them to complete the facts as fast as they could. I try to encourage participation and teamwork as well as leadership as much as possible, and I think this activity succeeded in that, as well as building their listening ability, which is one of the 4 core skills I am supposed to be teaching.

I gave a malaria quiz for my students as part of their continuous assessment grade. I normally give quizzes that are 10 questions and 2 extra-credit questions, however this was 15 questions- with no extra credit. I used the final test from the Night Watch curriculum that Peace Corps gave us, with the questions being very similar to the Jeopardy questions I used in my class activity previously. Although many of my students cheated, it was interesting to see which classes got the most points and which ones the classes got wrong most often. The 2 questions they got wrong often were:

“How many times does a mosquito carrying the malaria parasite have to bite you before you become infected with the disease?

A. 50 times                         B. 10 times                        C. At least 3 times                        D. Just once”

and

“When should you sleep under a mosquito net?

A.   During rainy season

B.    At night, all year round

C.    When there are enough mosquitos out

D.   Every other night”

Can you answer those correctly?

(FYI, Answer #1 is D and Answer #2 is B)

Conducting clubs here can be difficult, with there not being much time, students coming from far away, and just the difference in how learning is approached. Normally Saturday and Sunday mornings are reserved for tutorials, so if you want to conduct a club, that’s the best time to do it, because students are already at school. I made an announcement in my shift at flag ceremony that we would have English/malaria club Sunday morning after tutorials and that they would have a chance to win a free bed net. I was not able to make an announcement in the opposite shift because of power outages and it being Friday. I went to school on Sunday, dropped the mosquito nets off (Peace Corps gives them to us for us to distribute them) and went to breakfast. I came back to find the door locked, with no key. There were also no students that came to my club, because they all left after their tutorials were done, and they finished earlier than normal.

My malaria distribution was a bit of a mess at first, but it worked out. I ended up creating a sign up sheet for students who wanted a bed net, hung it up on the administration building where students hang out during break, and had a fellow teacher announce it during flag ceremony in Tigrinya. I kept the sign up sheet up for the day and had 40 students sign up, however I only had 15 to give away. I went home and wrote out their names on slips of paper. The next day at flag ceremony I announced a few kids names, but they were not there, or too shy to come up so I decided to just draw their names and then go and give them out in class. I went around to the classes to give the kids bed nets who “won the lottery,” but a lot were absent so I would draw another name. I also gave 3 to the kids who read the public service announcements. Quite a few of the kids who received them were in my classes, and only a few were in 9^th grade, but that was due to the proportion of them who signed up.

My biggest undertaking was trying to make a video with my students. I teach 4 sections of 10^th graders. They love having their pictures taken sometimes, but other times they are super camera shy. I wanted to record some of them reading malaria facts and take pictures of them holding statistics, however this proved difficult. I knew they would be shy if I asked them to record in front of their classes, so I found random students during their break time (hence, why if you watch the video you can hear lots of noise in the background). My camera isn’t the best quality and my students are complete goofballs. I am sure if I had tried and really rehearsed I could have gotten some much better videos, but I decided I like what I have because it shows Ethiopian teenagers with their true personalities, good and bad. I ended up putting together a video with a student reading a malaria “fact”, a slide of the fact that was read, a picture of a student holding a malaria statistic, a slide of the sentence that was in the picture, and then a repeat with the others. I showed them the video when it was done, and like all videos in class it was challenging with so many of them and my computer screen and speakers being little, but they really enjoyed listening to/watching their classmates and themselves.

The last thing I did for malaria month was “public service announcements” with my students reading a few little sentences each day about malaria at the flag ceremony. What it is, how to prevent it, how to test for it, and then how to cure it. I approached some of my students I knew would be able to read them, but when they learned I wanted them to read it in front of their shift they got very nervous and many declined (A shift has about 670 students). Only a few of my students were willing to read them and it was difficult to find a day at flag ceremony where there were no other announcements or programs. Wednesday was the day! 3 of my 4 students read their paragraphs for their shift, and did an amazing job. They read well, smoothly, clearly, and their tone was just right. I’m so proud of them!

Every volunteer is different in how they approach these International days and months. There seems to be one for everything, from gender equality, to lots of health and environment things. I did a program for International Day of the Girl, but haven’t done much since then. Many of my fellow volunteers really enjoy running programs and are able to conduct them with the help of counterparts, their schools, or their communities. I have had a more difficult time getting things going, but this was an easy enough subject to incorporate into my own classroom and conduct programs on my own, without a lot of outside help and motivation.

Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing much over here, like I’m a bit of a fail, especially when I hear/see what my fellow volunteers are doing in Ethiopia and around the world. But then I have the success of one little classroom competition, or having teachers asking me for bed nets to take home, and something like World Malaria Month takes on more for me than just educating about malaria and everything that comes with that, it becomes about community development and involvement, leadership, integration, and education.

Why Sweat The Small Stuff?

My life this past week has been a stressful one. I tend to over think and worry about things a little too much, and in my head every scenario ends up in the worst possible case, even though that’s never actually happened in my life. My Peace Corps group was able to sign up for our COS date (aka, when we officially become a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer and peace out of Ethiopia), which caused a flurry of choosing the first spots to get back to America for various reasons. This also prompted my 24-hour meltdown in which I realized I still have a lot of unknowns in my future.

            Up until this point in my service my group has talked about life after PC with a sense of fantasy, like it’s something so far away it’s not real. Well, with the release of that email and grad school and job acceptances for myself and others, it’s becoming a much more realistic and slightly terrifying reality. I had a few close to breaking moments as I was beginning to realize I am still playing the waiting game and there are still many uncertainties after 5 months. I like having a plan, I have a to-do list every day, and I have always known what I wanted to do next. I think this is why the past few days have been so stressful for me. Not because what I’m dealing with is this stressful, but because I don’t handle the unknown in a very calm way.

            To add to that, site has been a bit of a struggle with my students hitting their “senioritis” a bit early (they have about 2 months of class until they take their National Exams), verbal harassment from kids having gone up with the arrival of 2 new Korean volunteers and a large group of Chinese construction workers, and the all-important arrival of hot season, which makes any day between the hours of around 10am and 6pm absolutely miserable. I now understand why Ethiopian women use their umbrellas during sun and rain! The Ethiotel network has been in and out like crazy recently, so texts sometimes get sent but no one has been able to make a phone call go through in days, which makes the stress of everything worse when you can’t even call your best friends and support system in country. I’m also attempting to get back into shape, which means exercising and eating healthier, which I’m super will make me feel better soon, but for now I just want all the unhealthy food I can’t have.

            However, I am reminded every day that the struggles I face are more built up in my head than are actual problems, and that I need to be grateful for the time left that I have here.

I was walking down the street the other day when I heard a huge gasp. I turned to my right and the little toddler with Down Syndrome who is always at the firenji mart was sitting with (I think her dad…) on the front porch of a restaurant I frequent (the same family owns the store and the restaurant). She recognized me walking on the street, and when her dad put her on the ground she ran up to me, gave me a giant hug around the legs, and pulled me down to give me a kiss on the cheek. All the Ethiopians around watched in amazement, as this little girl got so excited to see me, and laughed when I got just as excited to see her. Her smile every time she sees me makes me happy and helps me remember that I’m loved, because she shows her admiration in such a way that it shows with a huge smile and twinkling eyes.

            As mentioned above, teaching has been getting difficult with my students pretty much checked out. At this point, most of their classes are review and I’m the same way with my textbook and lessons. One of my more spirited students the other day kept calling me “Mr. Kelsey.” I took that as an opportunity to teach them the difference between Mr. and Miss/Ms./Mrs. (male versus female). Since that day they have had a quiz and a group work assignment and on both papers that student has written, “set by Mr. ____________________.” The fact he took that and has started to call me Ms. Kelsey as well as call himself Mr. reminds me that even if they don’t always remember the textbook English I teach them, at least I am teaching them random little lessons that will hopefully help them in the future.

            There are a few new TV channels that are on point (in my opinion). They show music videos, but unlike some of the other channels that are constant Tigrinya (they all sound the same) or Amharic (there is more of a variety there), it’s a mixture of all Ethiopia, Indian, Western, and other countries. It can change between a Gurage (Southern Ethiopian) song, One Direction, an Indian song, and then a song from Nigeria. This has provided a lot of entertainment and prompted some serious dance parties in my teachers lounge and buna bet’s around town. It’s hilarious to watch Ethiopian adults try to dance to Ariana Grande, just as they probably find it even funnier to watch me try to move my hands and head like Southern Ethiopians do with their fast paced dance music.

            People tend to move compounds frequently here. Unlike in the US where you buy or rent a house for a long period of time, I have noticed families tend to drift between houses and compounds. My compound has quite a few families, and because of the community sense here, I’m honestly not entirely sure which of the kids I see wandering around actually lives with me, and which are just constantly over. One of the little girls who I became pretty close to moved when I was home over the summer, and even though she came to visit I was sad she left. However, she moved back to my compound this week and it’s been non-stop giggles ever since. Yesterday after I was exhausted from teaching she came into my room, but instead of demanding I do something with her, she quietly started looking at a magazine I recently got in a care package, then took out my coloring utensils and a coloring book and started coloring quietly. Soon the other compound kids discovered where she was and my calm was disturbed by them rummaging to find crayons, coloring books, and stickers. However, that was accompanied by laughter and smiles as they played with my hair, attempted to braid it, colored Disney and Pooh, and stuck stickers on my face and theirs before attempting to take selfies on my iPhone, while failing in the cutest ways.

            I was sitting in my room with the door and window open a few evenings ago to let the breeze in (when the sun goes down, the weather is perfect) and I heard a familiar sound of a child’s voice and pitter patter of feet. My compound niece and her dad dropped in for a visit and some sewa. I was invited out as well, and we sat around with sewa, laughing, and drinking. Although I never understand what’s being said at these gatherings I love feeling a part of their family and the community. Meerin (the toddler) started getting tired and fussy, so the adults started making random noises with their mouths, the tarps, and the trees around to distract her. She started joining in the fun and soon we had a symphony of ghost, lion, hyena, dog, cat, and just loud noises going on. They continued until she got too tired and fell asleep sucking her thumb nestled on her dads lap as he finished his sewa before picking her up, laying her on his shoulder, and walking home. It melts my heart to see parents caring for their children anywhere, especially when it’s a father caring for his daughter. I see women caring for their children and carrying them everyday on the street, so to see a large guy take such good care of someone so little reminds me how important parents are. Seeing sweet moments like that remind me of how precious being a parent must be, and how important that relationship is, as well as how much I miss my own.

            I have realized in the past few weeks how my best friends at site are the toddlers around town, and my land family. Back in the States I hung out with people my own age, but here it’s much easier to hang out with those older and younger. They see the world in a different light and they help me to understand humanity better. I have gotten myself all stressed out about life after here. But then I have one of those moments mentioned above, or many others in between and I have to smile to myself and remember that these are the moments I will miss the most when I leave. Time has flown by, when looking back, although regular days seem to drag on. The group before me is starting to leave country and the newest group gets sworn in, in about 3 weeks. I only have about 2 months of teaching left and about 5 months left in country. If I don’t leave early for grad school, I leave Ethiopia on August 26.

            I might be super stressed; I might have “I want to break down, Ethiopia won”, kind of days. I might want this experience to just be over now. But I’m shown constantly that I need to take in every moment and let every minute here be a blessing, because I will look back and wish I could relive some of those feelings. Jessie called me the other day (when our phones actually connected—the network has been really off this past week) to tell me there is a camel in the well in her town. Yes, you read that correctly, there is a camel in the well. I guess the owners couldn’t afford to take care of it, so they blinded it and it somehow ended up in the well. This was on Wednesday and she jokingly said, “Worst Hump Day ever,” which I found absolutely hysterical. We all have been stressed this past week, but as I’m now reminded, don’t let the “camel in the well” days get you down, the next day will be better.

One of my Chi Omega sisters Allison recently quit her job as a nurse to travel the world. I see her pictures and hear her stories and am reminded that life really is short, and that it’s YOUR life. So you can’t wait around and worry, you can’t sit and wait for something to happen. YOU have to do something about it, whether it’s book a ticket across the globe, kick kids out of class to make things easier for you and the other students, or promise to not panic about what you are doing in 5 months. So why sweat the small stuff? In a few months this will all be a memory, those people who have taught you so much will just be in your mind and pictures, and the moments you took for granted now just turn into stories.

Highlighting Happiness

Every year to celebrate it’s birthday, Peace Corps has their Peace Corps week where they celebrate all things Peace Corps with a theme. This year the theme is “Highlighting Happiness: What Does Joy Look Like in My Peace Corps Country?” I was going to write a blog about my own happiness here, and I might do that later in the week. But today my blog has a special focus on happiness from the perspective of my students.

I gave a quiz last week to review the Unit we just finished in the textbook. Normally when I give quizzes it is 10 multiple choice questions and then 2 bonus questions, with each one being a multiple choice question worth half a point. However, this week one of my bonus questions was “When are you happiest?” with the sentence prompt, “I am happy when ________________.” I even gave an example of “I am happy when I am drinking buna with my family.”

When I collected the papers and read the sentences later it showed both the creativity of some of my students, and yet how prevalent cheating is. There were 3 or 4 sentences in each class that were written by 1 student and then written the exact same way by about 10 of their friends and classmates. I am well aware of the cheating here, which is one of the reasons I don’t give quizzes often. It was interesting to really see which groups sit together though by that final answer. However, that’s another issue for another discussion- back to happiness.

I collected the answers from my classes and here is the list I received. I know they are happy much of the time, for many different reasons. But here are some of the times Ethiopian teenagers are happy:

I am happy when…

T-13

-       I am listening to music

-       I help my sisters

-       I am drinking tea with my family

-       I come to school

-       I make buna

-       I play football

-       I am visiting a historical place

-       I am drinking coffee

-       I go to school every day

-       I am making cloking with my sister

-       I am reading a book with my friend

-       I am playing football with my friends

-       I am making injira with my mother

-       I am with my father

-       I am with my friends

T-14

-       I play football

-       I am drinking tea with my family

-       I am drinking coffee with my friend

-       I wear a new dress

-       I am laughing with my family

-       I watch TV or a film

-       I play pool

-       I play volleyball with my friend

-       I am drinking beer with my sister

-       I get good marks

T-15

-       I listen to music

-       I dance

-       I play football

-       I pass my exam

-       I am drinking tea with my family

-       You are happy

-       I am drinking buna

-       I am drinking sewa with my brother

-       Kelsey is happy

T-16

-       I am studying English

-       I am going to school with friends

-       I am drinking tej

-       I am playing volleyball with my friend

-       I am living with my family

-       I am going to Adwa

-       I am listening to music with my friends

-       I am visiting historical places with my friend

-       I am playing football with friends

-       I am doing homework

-       I am watching a film in my home

-       I am doing homework with my friend

-       I am meeting my brother

-       I am drinking Mirinda with my father

-       I am drinking tela

-       I am eating injira

-       I am playing football with my brother

-       Studying Biology

-       Listening to music

-       I am drinking milk with my sister

-       I am drinking tea with my family

-       I am going to Axum with my father

So whether you are happy when you play sports, hang out with your family, watch TV, listen to music, drink numerous alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, or when you pass your exams you might be more similar to an Ethiopian than you think. Happiness comes in all forms and it crosses cultures, ages, backgrounds, gender, and every other divide you can think of. Happiness and joy are universal, and we would do quite well to remember that.