Baking and Plumbers

It’s about Christmastime… Two weeks, right? You could have fooled me. (Where does the time go?!) In my bright and sunny Muslim town, very few things say “Christmas” around here. I do have a little tree that helps, and some occasional iPod jams to invoke the spirit. I also made a grand attempt at baking yesterday. Mind you, we have no ovens. This endeavor was dutch oven-esque, using a big pot, some rocks and a smaller pot. I’m happy to say the event was a success. The best part was giving it away. Common as it may seem, banana bread is a novel treat here.

And speaking of cooking endeavors, I also made my first burgers yesterday. This is big for me. I’m not really a meat person in general, and especially not when you have to see the hanging carcass as you buy it. But I did it. And I’m not going to lie, it was an experiment. But I think they were OK. Peace Corps goal #3 is sharing American culture with Ethiopia, so I invited a habesha friend over to try them. And… he may or may not have eaten them to appease me.

The other fun news going on here is that I moved to a new house. Still in Agaro, just down the hill. The place is cute and cozy and I love it. Except for the plumbing. I was really excited to get an actual bathroom with a toilet, but I’ve learned to be careful what I wish for. After five appointments with the plumber (a term I use loosely), my toilet is still quite broken. The original problem was flushing… the new problem is leaking. A constant drip fills buckets on the hour. Guess I can’t complain about no water.

Connected!

This past weekend my former site mate finished his service, leaving me all alone in Agaro.. along with his CDMA internet device. So I’m online! I can’t promise this will mean more updates, but I’ll try. Thanks to everyone who has written so far. You’ve brightened my days, and insured a strong friendship with Agaro’s postal workers.

It’s been three months since I came to site. Hard to believe, it goes by so fast. Then again.. there were 2 weeks in there that involved no water. That time went by a little slower. But I’ve had a great time exploring the town and getting to know people. “You!” and “Farenji!” are starting to morph into various forms of my name. Kachi.. Kari.. Kateem. I enjoy their efforts. To be honest, the best thing about this town are the people. I can sit down at any one of a hundred coffee stands here and find interesting conversation. Most people are generous in their welcome and have given me a lot of insight. After only a few months, my perceptions continuously change, and I expect they’ll continue as I make myself at home.

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

A Busy Trainee

For lack of ability to describe these past few days, (or the ability to even remember what day it actually is) I’ll try to breifly update. Staging in Atlanta was fun and informative. Meeting all of the volunteers could not have been more exciting. All 69 of us have blended to form connections and despite a spread of assignments and locations to come, I have no doubt we’ll remain close. The flight itself proved an exhausting process, each of us lugging our 80 lbs from bus to airport to hotel, jet-lagged on minimal sleep. But we’ve arrived in the city and have completed our first day of training. We got an allowance of some local currency and a cell phone number. We also got started on our malaria meds.
After class, some of us ventured around the block and experienced the surface of our new country. It’s hard to really believe we’re in Africa, and this is where we will be for the next two years.

The Sentimental Stuff

Today I say goodbye. I’m awful at goodbye. Leaving won’t really hit until I step of the plane in Ethiopia. (Or maybe even a week or two after.) But I immensely enjoyed visiting with my family and friends. I love you all.

I also want to give the sincerest thanks to everyone who has been a part of this with me. We all know what it took to get here! I appreciate so much the love, support and tokens of farewell you’ve given me. (Okay… to my parents, it may have been a little more than a few tokens.) Thank you!!  My gratitude goes beyond words.

And that’s all for the sentimental stuff. It’s time to take one of my limited number of hot showers and catch my plane to Atlanta. I can’t wait to meet all the volunteers!