Demystified

 

This past weekend the Peace Corps sent us out on what they call “Demystification Weekend”.  The 70 of us new trainees were split into small groups and assigned to a currently serving volunteer to visit their sites for the weekend.  We set off on Saturday afternoon, and traveled about 3 ½ hours by bus from Addis Ababa to Hossaina.  Our guide and host for the weekend was an education volunteer named Christina.  She lives on a family compound, and has her own 2 room cement house.  The accommodations were pretty nice, considering.  She has regular electricity, no running water, and shares a toilet A.K.A shint bet A.K.A hole in the ground and shower A.K.A bucket bath room with the rest of the compound. 

We spent all day Sunday performing an all important Peace Corps Volunteer activity- killing time.  It seems as though I will have a great deal of free time, especially in the beginning of service.  We basically wandered around town, stopping at different cafés and loitering.  Oh yeah, and we played with monkeys- totally normal!  We were quite a sight, 6 American girls walking around, and we attracted plenty of stares, laughter, and comments of “feringi” (foreigner).  Being the one who obviously does not belong and sticking out will be something I’m not sure I’ll get used to anytime soon.

On Monday we were able to visit 3 primary schools in town.  Primary schools run from 1^st to 8^th grade, and there can be a broad range of ages in students in any given grade.  The schools were about what I expected.  We were able to visit a newly built, very small school for 1^st-3^rd grades.  It was in a more rural part of town, and I just loved it.  The kids were absolutely adorable and the teachers and school director seemed very nice.  On our 2 mile walk to this school, we attracted a mob of probably about 40 kids following us.  They were cute at first until they started screaming “money” at us.  It was a little disheartening to hear these kids asking us for money.  It was sad to me that they thought that was an appropriate behavior.  Whether the kids really knew what they were doing or not is debatable.  They may have just wanted our acknowledgement.  They were certainly curious about us, but probably didn’t have the English capacity to communicate.  Regardless, on the walk back through town, I really couldn’t take a repeat of the “money, money, money” screaming at the top of their lungs, so I started what I’m going to call a game with the kids.  It began with the little boy who was walking next to me just looking at me.  I turned to him and gave him a funny look bugging my eyes out.  The kid was so scared he just about fell over.  I, and all the other kids, of course thought this was hilarious.  I turned away and kept walking, a few seconds later, he was back at my side just staring at me again.  I turned to him and reached to grab him.  He ran away with a look of terror on his face.  I almost doubled over laughing so hard.  This turned into a game of me chasing about 20 kids on a dirt road, in a long skirt and dress flats, on a sunny, hot afternoon with lots of laughter.

All in all, I found “Demystification Weekend” to be just that- demystifying.  I definitely feel as though I have a clearer picture of what Peace Corps life is all about.  I feel reassured about the living conditions most volunteers have.  I am more aware of the challenges I will face as a “feringi”, as a teacher, as an American who is used to seeing immediate results.  I understand just how important learning the language and assimilating into my community will be and how those things will impact my overall effectiveness.  To sum it up- here are the top 5 things I learned while being demystified- in no particular order…

1.    Avocado and mango juice mixed together is delicious!
2.   I will have A LOT of downtime, especially in the beginning.  Plenty of    time to catch up on my reading!
3.  You’re not an official Peace Corps Volunteer in Africa until you poop your pants. (So far,   I’m not official!)
4. I have to be ready to accept the possibility that my work may have very little impact in my community, and I might face resistance to new ideas or even just to my presence.
5. I would rather have internet than running water.

Day 1 is done!

So today began with the first step of what is sure to be a long journey.  I flew from Boston to Washington D.C. for my Peace Corps orientation (or as it is called in Peace Corps lingo- staging).  I met my first fellow trainee in the boarding line at Logan airport.  She tapped me on the shoulder when she saw me carrying my blue Peace Corps folder containing all my important paperwork.  I am sure I made a great first impression, as I had uncontrollable tears and snot running down my face.  I promised her that I would compose myself on the plane ride and catch up with her in D.C.  And so I did, by using my tried and true best method of stress relief- I went to sleep!

The Staging event took place at a hotel in Washington D.C. from noon-7pm.  It was actually not as stressful as I had imagined.  We weren't too overloaded with information.  (Not today at least, but I am sure that day is to come!)  It was really great to meet most of my fellow trainees.  There are 70 of us from all across the U.S.  We will all be Education Volunteers in Ethiopia.  Some people seem to have lots of experience living abroad and some significantly less.  We did several group activities, and it was so reassuring to realize that we all have the same fears and anxieties.  We are all nervous about learning a new language and not being about to communicate.  Luckily, I am not the only one who has barely studied my Amharic.  We are all worried about fitting in and wondering "what if nobody likes me?".  We also all have the same hopes and aspirations for our Peace Corps service.  We all care about promoting peace and friendship.  We all want to be effective volunteers and teachers while also learning and assimilating into a new culture.  It was such an encouragement to be in a room full of people who can completely relate to my experiences and every emotion I've had along the way for the past several months.

The past few weeks have been so difficult saying goodbye to family and friends- everyone I love, packing for 2 years in just 2 suitcases, wondering if I've made the right decision to go to Africa.  I know that things are about to get a whole lot harder before they get better, but I am happy.  I am finally getting to do what I've been working towards for the past 15 months!  I feel confident (for the moment) and excited and ready to take on the challenges that lay ahead. Is it lay ahead or lie ahead?? I can't wait to be an English teacher! I'm gonna learn 'em kids some real good English! Watch out Ethiopia!