Ballots, Bananas and Buna Season

I voted today! It was a weird experience, walking the dirt path to my little post office to participate in American democracy. I sat in a chair and filled in the little bubbles, then sealed it in three different envelopes and handed it over to a smiling Ethiopian postal worker. That’s it. One small gesture, and I felt American again. (Also, I noticed my uncle’s name under re-election for County Commissioner. Go Uncle Robert (Bob) Olean!)

The rest of my day was very much Ethiopian. I went to market. On the way, I passed the school. Passing the school is like setting off an alarm system. “You, you, you! Katie! Farenj!” The kids all yell. Anyone within a kilometer radius can tell when I’m coming, so I stop several times for greetings. And twice for coffee.

At the market, I found carrots, ginger, tomatoes and a few friendly faces I hadn’t seen in a while. “Tefash!” they say. You’ve been lost. “Allow,” I tell them. I’m here.

I walk back home, stopping for bananas along the way. “You!” a man says. “Give me one banana.” His broken English makes the request sound demanding. “You!” I reply back. “Buy one yourself.” And I laugh, because if you don’t laugh sometimes, it just feels irritating.

At home, our compound guard is laying the big tarp out for drying coffee. The green berries are just starting to turn red on the trees, which means it’s almost time for buna season. People will soon flock from all over the rural areas to make money picking coffee. The town fills with people heavy in the pockets with birr. Prices for everything go up and transportation gets crowded. Such is life in a cash-crop area.

 

A Letter Home

Tefash! I know, you lost me. I probably warned you, I’m pretty bad at keeping a blog. I’m good at writing letters though! Which is why I’ve decided to forgo the posta bet and post my latest letter home. (Mom, Dad, Cassie.. this was to you.) It’s the best update I can give you with limited time. I hope to have better internet access in November. Until then, please write! I have my very own P.O. Box (listed on the side) and I promise, I always write back.

Hi guys!
I’m sort of cheating on this letter and addressing it to all of you, since I find myself repeating a lot of stuff… or forgetting who I told what to. So… how is life? Fill me in. Please🙂

I’m still living and breathing here in Agaro, 8 degrees latitude and 37 degrees longitude. The most recent of news is that my Muslim family opened their brand new cafe. They now have two, but the new one is in the tall, modern building in town and serves food with a menu! It’s hard to paint an accurate picture of this without some sort of background to compare it to, but this is pretty novel for Agaro. Jafar, the brother, mainly runs it and I’m so proud of him. Plus, they treat me like family, so it’s fun to be a part of it all.

It’s been rainy here today, which means bizu ch’ika (a lot of mud). I get my big Keen kickers on and am grateful for them everyday. Actually, there’s a lot of gratitude going on here. For instance, for my bug net. Have I mentioned yet how grateful I am to have this beautiful white-netted aura protecting me from all things creepy and crawly? That goes in hand with my fly swatter, which allows me to conduct bug combat at a safe distance from leaping retaliation. Then of course there’s the third tier of my battle: roach spray. I’m pretty sure I’m subjecting myself to cancer with this stuff, but it’s keeping me sane. At least, mostly sane. I see moving things in the corner of my eyes now that I’ll chalk up to bug paranoia.

And from bug killing we move on to beg killing. (That’s sheep in Amharic.) A few mornings ago we got a sheep. I’ve been around long enough to know that sheep here are not pets. The question was really, when. I got my answer when I stepped out my door to no less than 11 vultures, hovering on the roof and chilling in our yard. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen a vulture, but they’re the size of a small child. Maybe even a large child. At first I was confused, thinking maybe they came for the dog who is quite literally on his last leg. Then I turned the corner and saw our skinless sheep hanging upside-down from the tree. (Dad, I’ll take your deer in the garage for that, any day.) But no worries, we’ve already got another bleating sheep to replace it, sitting on death row. I’m really glad I’m not a sheep in this world. (And there is another bit of gratitude for you.)

Something a little less Africa here, I’ve got five seasons of How I Met Your Mother on hard drive. Man that show is funny. It brings me back home for 20 minutes at a time. Except, have you ever noticed how much food they have on that show? I swear, Robin is eating ice cream every other episode. I hate her. Also Cass, I have a few seasons of Mad Men. I haven’t started them yet, but I’ll let you know when I do. To be honest, I read a lot more than anything. I’m getting through a lot of good books. Which reminds me, if you have any old magazines you want to send, I’d love to read them. I guarantee they’ll be news to me.

Alright, well that’s all I’ve got for now! I’m off to meet some friends for coffee. Love and miss you all!

XOXO Katie

The List

As I fervently try to pack for this two-year adventure, I’ve become obsessed with packing lists. What did other volunteers bring? What did they not bring? What do they wish they’d have brought?

For the sake of everyone else who struggles, and those who are curious what I’ll be living with for the next two years, here’s what I’ve got:

Luggage:
North Face Base Camp Duffel (Large)
Kelty Coyote hiking backpack (4500 cu)
Jansport Backpack

Sleep:
Mountain Hardware Switch 20 sleeping bag
Pillow
Earplugs
Unisom
Melatonin

Kitchen:
GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Frypan–8in
Plastic Spatula
Measuring cups/spoons
Peeler
Can opener
Kitchen knife
Oven Mitt/Pot holder
Water bottle

Food:
Herbs&Spices
-Basil
-Black Pepper
-Oregano
-Thyme
-Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-Stirfry seasoning
-Teriyaki seasoning
-Brown Mustard
Crystal Light flavor packets
Tuna packets
Nature Valley Granola bars
Godiva Dark Chocolate Squares
Stride Sweetmint gum (12packs)

Useful stuff:
Leatherman  knife
Index cards
Duct tape
Brunton Solo Battery Pack (charger) and batteries
Petzl Tikkina 2 Headlamp
Mini-mag Flashlight and bulbs
Scissors

Technology/media:
Dell Inspiron mini netbook
External hard drive (with movies)
Olympus digital camera
8G iPod Nano/armband
Earbuds (4)
Portable Speakers
Currency Converter (220/110v)

Pest Control:
Cat treats
Fly swatter

Health:
Eye drops
Resistance bands
Yoga mat
Enteric-coated peppermint oil

Hygiene:
Sea To Summit Tek Towel-Large (quick dry)
Venus razor/refill cartridges
Shampoo/Conditioner
Hair ties
 Face wash wipes (120) /SPF Face lotion
Deodorant (4)
Bath and Body Works body spray
Pumice/foot scrubber
Nail clippers
Tweezers
Floss/toothpaste/toothbrush
Q-tips/Cotton balls
Wet wipes
Tampons

Host family gifts:
Post cards
Fabric wall flags (2)
America Playing Cards
Suckers
Balloons
Deflated soccer ball

Entertainment:
Notebooks
Pens/Pencils
Crayons
Frisbee
Playing cards
Books
Seeds

Clothing:
Skirts (2)
Dress/Skirt convertible
Dress (hand sewn by my very dear friend)
Dress for staging/swearing-in
Fitted shirts (4)
T-shirts (3)
Linen Pants
Dry-wick Pants
Jeans
Yoga Capris (2)
Long-sleeve zip up (2)
Carhart Zip Hoodie
Underwear (14)
Socks (12)
Bras (2)
Sportsbra (3)

Rainwear:
North Face Resolve Waterproof Jacket
Umbrella

Footwear:
Chacos (ZX/2 Vibram Unaweep)
Chacos (Flip Ecotread)
Keen Pyronese waterproof hiking boots
Trail running shoes
Ballet flat dress shoes

Now.. I haven’t tried to actually pack all of this yet. I’ve got an 80-pound limit here. Some of the food may have to wait, and the kitchen stuff may need to be sent separate, but I’m hoping to spare the $45 mailing fee. Wish me luck!

Let’s Talk

I got a message from the Peace Corps office today, making this adventure all the more real. In addition to training information, there’s a section they wrote up especially for you. Here’s the gist of it:

Letters
The mail service in Ethiopia is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service.  It can take 3-4 weeks for letters from Ethiopia to get to the States.  And if I’m assigned to a small faraway village, it could take 1-2 months to reach you. If you date your letters to me (and number them) I can let you know how long it takes for me to get them.

Packages
These are not guaranteed to reach me, but current volunteers have said they haven’t had a problem. Don’t send anything too expensive. Electronics have extremely high custom taxes, so please don’t send any. Padded envelopes are often taxed less than boxes, if you can opt for those. Care packages will probably be a little piece of heaven, so thanks ahead of time. Here’s the address again:

Katie Olean, PCV
U.S. Peace Corps
P.O. Box 7788
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Also they said cash and checks are not recommended through the mail. (bummer.) If you send a postcard, please put it in an envelope. If you don’t, some postal worker will likely have a new picture for their wall. 

Phone Calls
To get some actual voice conversations, it’s possible to call my cell phone (number to come). However, there’s a part about how difficult it is to get through and you may need to call 5-10 times in a row, even if it says I’m “out of the service area.” There’s always Skype… although I haven’t given it a practice run yet. And who knows how internet will be.

The Fun Stuff
Then there was a little section on my possible “war stories,” by which they mean illness , lack of good food, isolation, etc. They assure you it’s never as bad as it sounds, and we have a doctor and physician’s assistant on staff in Addis Ababa. If it’s really bad, we’ll be medically evacuated to Kenya, South Africa or the United States. (Let’s not hope for that.)

So that’s about it. I love you all forever for reading this and sending me letters when I get there. I promise, I’ll write you all back. Two weeks to go!