Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday! Happy New Year!

Brownies and ice cream with Pam and Shauntea

Typically the week(ish) of December 24th-January 1st is my absolute favorite time of the year.  During what other time can 3 awesome holidays be celebrated in just one week?  Christmas, my birthday (yes, I am referring to my birthday as a holiday), and New Year’s- 3 great holidays- 3 great parties!  This year, however, my favorite week of the year filled me with dread for most of December.  I knew coming into this whole Peace Corps gig that this week would be extremely difficult for me.  I originally considered going home for a vacation during this time, but eventually decided against it figuring that if I can only afford to come home once during these 27 months, I would much rather it be at the half-way point than so early on.

 If you follow my blog regularly and commit my every word to memory, as I’m sure you do, you will recall that Ethiopia runs on a different calendar than most of the rest of the world.  We are about 7 years and 8 months behind the ferengi (foreign) calendar.  So December 25th is not Christmas in Ethiopia, and January 1st is not the New Year.  Ethiopian Christmas falls on January 7th, and we rang in 2005 back in September.  Being away from family and friends during the holiday season is hard enough, but being away in a strange land where there are no familiar, comforting holiday traditions and nobody even knows that it’s Christmas basically blows!  I do have to say that there were a few things that I did NOT miss this Christmas.  I didn’t miss the stress of trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on my list.  (Simple- no gifts for anyone from me this year!)  I didn’t miss the traffic and the lines at the mall.  (My biggest traffic issues are crazy bajaj drivers, herds of sheep, and stampeding donkeys.)  I didn’t miss being completely broke come Christmas Eve.  (Ha! I’m completely broke all the time.)  I didn’t miss the incessant and annoying Christmas music that is inescapable in every public place.  (I chose to listen to the 1 Christmas album on my iPod when I wanted to hear it.)  I did however miss many other Christmas traditions.  I missed my annual family Christmas Eve celebration.  I missed my mom’s sour cream coffee cake on Christmas morning.  I missed the lights, trees, snow, and stockings hung by the chimney with care.  I missed the overall spirit of Christmas.  Those are just the things I missed, and that’s nothing compared to missing family and friends!

Fortunately I have 2 lovely new Peace Corps site mates who moved to my town just in time for Christmas.  They are a married couple from Minnesota, and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them over the past few weeks.  We decided to celebrate Christmas together by cooking some great food and delivering some Christmas gifts to our workplaces and to some of the people we know around town.  The Christmas gift thing was not my idea, and the Scrooge inside me didn’t really want to do it (my original plan for Christmas was to stay in bed and cry all day), but I went along with it anyway.  I am so, so glad that my site mates had this great idea and that they were kind enough to include me in it.  We walked all over Ambo bringing little packages of kolo (a local snack of roasted grains and peanuts), gum, and candy canes tied together with a cute, hand-made Christmas cards.  After we abated the looks of confusion on the faces of our co-workers and friends by explaining that the day was ferengi Christmas, they all seemed very happy and pleased to receive our gifts.  We ended the day with the most delicious meal that I have ever consumed in Ambo- tacos with made-from-scratch tortillas, guacamole, sangria and real taco seasoning on the meat!  So, I have to say that I learned my Christmas lesson- if you spend your day sulking over something you think you’re missing, you’re bound to miss something amazing.

Don't worry, I gave her a big tip for being a good sport!

In case you don’t already know, I am a birthday brat!  I LOVE my birthday.  I mean, really, what’s not to love about a day that’s all about me?  You would think that my enthusiasm for my birthday would wane as the years go on, but that’s not the case.  It only grows stronger with every passing year, and this year, the birthday of all birthdays- my golden birthday!  I turned 30 on December 30!  A few years ago, I could never have imagined that I’d be celebrating the big 3-0 in Ethiopia.  I’d been secretly planning my 30th birthday for at least the past 5 years, and let’s just say that Ethiopia was not a factor in this particular equation.  While my birthday wasn’t quite like the one I’d planned in my mind, it was a really fantastic time.  I met two of my Peace Corps friends in Addis Ababa for the weekend.  We filled up on ferengi food- pizza, cheeseburgers, ice cream, cupcakes, oh my!  We also enjoyed hot showers, clean toilets, free wi-fi, television, and a trip to the spa.  Yes, that’s right I said spa!  There is a wonderful oasis in Addis called Boston Day Spa.  This spa is absolutely gorgeous, and I almost forgot that I was even in Ethiopia that is until the power went out during my pedicure.  Not to worry, the power returned after a few minutes, and I was able to continue enjoying getting my hair done, eyebrows waxed, manicure, and pedicure.  It was a truly wonderful weekend spent with my friends- probably pretty close to how I would have celebrated my birthday at home actually.  It’s easy to forget how nice it is to feel like a girl again, to wear make-up, have clean feet and pretty toenails, and wear clothes that don’t make me look like an Amish grandma , even if it’s just for a little while.

Yay for birthday cupcakes!

In terms of great parties, New Year’s Eve is usually at the top of my list.  I’ve thrown and attended some wicked fun ones, but there have also been a few duds (not thrown by me, obviously!).  I think I can safely say that this New Year’s Eve will be a dud.  I am pretty tired from my birthday weekend, and am planning to go bed early tonight.  I don’t really feel like I’m missing much on this holiday, especially since it’s currently the 4th month of 2005 here.  I can’t say that I’ll miss the anti-climatic ball drop in Times Square.  I do love the New Year for the possibility it brings- a chance to reflect back on the past year and the hope and optimism of a new year.  I feel like I was in a bit of a slump for most of December.  I had Peace Corps In-Service Training mid-November, and I found it difficult to get back into the swing of things when I returned to my school afterwards.  Plus I let my negative attitude about being away from home during the holiday season get the better of me.  I have never been so happy to see December go!  Now that ChristmasBirthdayNewYear is behind me, I feel excited and invigorated to begin new programs for students in a few of my schools and to continue with the work that I have already begun.  

May you all have a happy and healthy New Year!

Yummy drinks

Stranger in a Strange Land

Traditional dress

After living here in Ethiopia for 6 months, I am still awed daily by the onslaught of cultural differences between life in the U.S. and my life here.  I think I’m pretty well adjusted to the food- I’ve just about mastered the art of eating with my hands, and I actually enjoy injera and most Ethiopian foods.  I’ve grown accustomed to the bathroom situation- I still pee on my feet 90% of the time, but that’s ok, I just wipe them off.  I’ve embraced only bathing and washing my hair twice a week- I’m dirty and my hair is a hot mess most of the time, and I don’t even care!  These physical differences between my former “normal” life and my current Ethiopian life are the things that you may think it would be difficult to adjust to, but I have found them relatively easy.  What I have found most difficult is adjusting to the attitudes and different social norms that I experience in Ethiopia.  It is amazing to consider how ingrained my American-ness is, and how my American brain interprets everything I see and hear using the cultural standards that I’ve lived by for my entire life.  I would consider myself pretty well-traveled for a 29 year old (yep, that’s right, I’ve got 18 days left of my 20s and I’m going to enjoy my remaining youth!).  I’ve been to several countries outside of the U.S., experienced, to some extent, life and culture there, so I imagined myself to be fairly well-prepared for life in Ethiopia.  However, I am constantly reminded that I am still just a stranger in a strange land.  Here are a few situations that still have me shaking my head.  These circumstances all occur on any given day.  On a good day when I am experiencing Zen-like inner peace they are simply humorous.  On a day when I am frustrated, annoyed, tired, sad, or not feeling well, they are completely maddening.

“Ferengi, ferengi!” “You, you, you!”  These phrases are regularly called out to me as I walk down the main road of my town.  Mostly by children, which can be forgiven because it can be assumed that they just don’t know better, but when it is done by an adult, it generally infuriates me and makes me want to push the ignorant individual into on-coming traffic.  The person yelling, will generally continue to shout until either I acknowledge them or until I get far enough away from them.  Why people feel the need to point out that I am a ferengi (foreigner) is beyond me, but they do.  They even alert their friends that they have spotted me.  I like to pretend that they are saying “The ferengi is coming! The ferengi is coming!” because that makes me feel like Paul Revere, although I suppose that in this scenario that would make me the British, and that’s not the side I want to be on.  Anyway, I often wonder what exactly they expect my response to their shouting to be?   Do they really expect me to yell back across the street to them?  That’s definitely not going to happen.  I don’t typically enjoy yelling, and I’m certainly not going to draw any more attention to myself by doing so.  Actually, I should mention that the calling out is typically done by young men and children.  Clearly the women here are far more civilized.  I would also like to point out that everyone here answers their phone by saying “hello”.   Is it really too much to ask that if someone wants to get my attention, they should just say hello?  I think not.

Everybody’s all up in my grill!  Everywhere I go, everything I do, everybody is watching me and taking note.  People will literally stop what they are doing to watch me walk by.  Complete strangers find it appropriate to ask personal questions.  For example, I met a guy on the road a couple days ago.  He first asked me my name, he then asked what my religion was.  Now that’s cutting to the chase!  People also think nothing of commenting on your appearance from the shade of a person’s skin, to a person’s weight.  I’ve been called fat more times than I can count.  It’s getting easier not to cry when that happens.  I’ve had people ask about my freckles and point out pimples.  It’s so much nicer in America where people make these kinds of observations behind your back!  Every day I am peppered with questions and receive unsolicited advice.  Here are a few examples “Alicia, don’t sit there.  Sit here.”  “Alicia, why aren’t you drinking tea?”  “Alicia, you look fat when you wear a skirt. You should only wear trousers.”  “Alicia, talk, play.”  “Alicia, why are you sweating?”  “Alicia, are you sad because it’s almost Christmas?”  “Why aren’t you married?”  “Alicia, I want you to marry my brother.”  Now some of these questions seem harmless enough, but they are incredibly annoying when I am asked them CONSTANTLY!

I’m about to drop a ‘bow on this dude!  There is no such thing as personal space in Ethiopia.  There is no such thing as a nice orderly line at the bank or post office or anywhere else.  Everyone just shoves their way to the front without worrying about who was there first.  I can be at a shop talking with the shopkeeper, asking for the things I need to buy, and somebody else will just come right up to the window and start asking for the things they want to buy.  I’ve gotten into the habit of putting my elbows out and trying to block the whole window when I’m doing my banking or at the front of the line at the bank.  The worst is getting onto a line taxi in Addis Ababa.  Line taxis are little mini busses that run on certain routes throughout the city.  There are often many people trying to get just a couple open spots on the taxi.  People will run, push, and shove you out of their way.  You have to be very aggressive to get a seat.  Luckily since Addis is not my town, I don’t really feel the need to be nice to people! 

Now the question is- are these behaviors rude?  My American brain says, yes.  If I was in the U.S. and somebody cut me in line at the bank, you’d better believe I would make sure that person knew how rude I

Ambo sunset

thought they were!  If someone called me fat, they would absolutely get an equally insulting comment back and the dirtiest look I could muster up.  Here in Ethiopia though, these behaviors are just a part of daily life.  In most cases people are not intending to be rude.  It takes a huge change in mindset to not get offended or upset, however that is easier said than done.

I don’t want to give Ethiopia a bad rap.  There are things that are a wonderful change from American culture.  Many people here are very kind and generous.  One teacher from my school invites me to her house for lunch at least once or twice a week.   Even people who do not have a lot are willing to share what they do have.  There is an amazing sense of community among neighbors.  Everybody knows each other.  They celebrate together in good times and grieve together in bad times.  I have to keep these things in mind when the annoyances creep in. 

School assembly for Ethiopian Culture and Diversity Day

This student made a remote control car- betam gobez!

*The photos on this blog post don’t really have anything to do with the subject of the blog, but

An academic competition for 8th graders

what fun is reading anything without pictures??