This week marks the official end of PST (Pre-Service
Training). I am no longer a PCT (Peace
Corps Trainee), but can now be called a PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer). Many volunteers claim that PST is the most
difficult part of their entire service.
I can only hope that this is true for me, and that the next 2 years will
be easy in comparison. Although the past
2 ½ months have been mentally and emotionally challenging and exhausting, I have
had an overall wonderful experience. I really
enjoyed my time with my host family and with my fellow trainees. Over the past few weeks, the realization that
I will soon be all alone at my permanent site in Ambo, became all too
real. So, I really tried to embrace the
things that otherwise would have been annoyances such as a lack of personal
space or alone time. My host siblings
were really awesome, and I know that all they wanted was to spend time with me,
but I could barely get a second to myself.
I ended up “going to bed” by 8:30 or 9:00 every night just so I could have
a little time alone to read or study or write letters. My host brother, Dawit is a really sweet
kid. He came in my room the most to
check out all my stuff or play a computer game on my laptop. One time, I was just sitting on the edge of
my bed reading a magazine, and he just sat down next to me and watched me
read. Another time, I was crouching down
to look in the mirror to put on some makeup, and Dawit came in and saw me and
just held the mirror up for me. Again, it
was a really sweet gesture, but potentially annoying when you just need a
little space. In the back of my mind, I
just had to tell myself “enjoy this moment because soon enough you’ll have more
alone time than you know what to do with.”
One thing I am definitely glad to be done with (for a while
at least) is training sessions all day every day! Language training was obviously helpful and
necessary, but my brain was complete mush after Affaan Oromo for 8 hours a
day. Technical training was also
helpful, especially for those of us without real formal teaching
experience. However these sessions also
made for quite long days. Medical and
safety trainings were always entertaining.
We learned everything from how to not become an alcoholic to how to not
get AIDS, malaria, typhoid, shisto, rabies, scabies, raped, robbed, or in other
words- don’t die in Ethiopia.
Yesterday was our “Addis Day” where 67 wide-eyed ferengi
(foreigners) were let loose in Addis Ababa to purchase necessities for our
homes. Many things are easier to find
here in the capital city or are of a better quality than what we can find at
site. I ended up spending waaaay too
much money, which is typical for me in the U.S., but is a little worrisome
here. What did I spend all my birr on??
Who knows?! It will all work out, I’m
sure. The big highlight of Addis Day was
eating some good food! After 10 weeks of
eating injera with my hands, getting some familiar food and using a fork was a
welcome respite. I had a surprisingly
delicious chicken quesadilla. Mexican
food in Ethiopia, whoda thunk?!
Today we commenced our official Peace Corps service with a Swearing-In
Ceremony at the U.S. Embassy. It was a
very nice ceremony where I promised to “support and defend the constitution of
the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and that “I will
well and faithfully discharge my duties in the Peace Corps. So help me
God.” Some pretty heavy stuff… I think I can do it!
Tomorrow, I will head out to Ambo. I am excited to see my house and start
getting settled in. I want to take a
couple days to just relax and unwind, then I look forward to meeting more
people around town and in my primary school.
I am quite nervous though about being on my own. I’ve been surrounded by my amazing Peace
Corps friends and my host family for the last 2 ½ months. I’ve had the Peace Corps scheduling my every
movement during training. Whatever will
I do when I’m left to my own devices? I
guess I’ll be figuring that out very soon!
