American Christmas- Best gift in the world

 

This is a little out of order- should have been posted before the previous post.  None the less..Three weeks ago, I woke up with the biggest smile on my face.  I can’t begin to explain the excitement I felt the morning before leaving site to pick up Lauren.  I trotted around town, beaming and telling everyone in site that “my sister is coming to Ethiopia.”  That’s right, MY sister from America, who I have not seen nor spoken much with for seven months, is up in the sky coming towards the little town of Adet.  It seemed like such an unbelievable concept.  The merging of two very different worlds.  In America, my sister knows the depths of my soul.  She can read my mind before words intersect with emotions, link the present moment to my life history of experiences.  In Ethiopia, I have been an ambiguous, celebrity icon amongst a community that knows everything I do, everything I say, but not how I think.  Ethiopia has been an enormous life project.  This world has been my personal challenge- sometimes it feeling like I’m living ina puzzle that can create isolating moments of confusion and discomfort. 

The morning before she arrived I was a nervous wreck.  What if she didn’t make it safely?  What if the terminals in Addis Ababa were confusing?  Will she be overwhelmed when she arrives?  What will this experience be like for her?  All these questions were flooding my subconscious as I found things to keep me busy throughout the early afternoon.  Finally the moment arrived!  I offered someone money for a ride to the airport and we took off to retrieve my sister.  At the airport, everyone knew I was there for a blond girl named Lauren.  : )  Finally, pillow in hand, there she was.  She made it!  I was so happy. 

Immediately it felt like Ethiopia was no longer filled with mysterious challenges it once seemed to have.  For the first time in 7 months I felt connected to myself, able to see Ethiopia as just another place on earth where I am living and enjoying.  In my mind, I was no longer on the other side of the world trying to make sense of everything. 

First night Lauren was in town we went for a coffee, met up with a few friends, and enjoyed an evening at a local cultural bar, or, “asmati bet.”  These bars are typically little hot hole-in-the-wall joints filled people sitting on overturned crates, drinking beer, and enjoying the performance of live music, singing and dancing.  By music I mean, there is usually a loud horn and a one stringed instrument and by singing I mean a woman is yelling/singing and poking fun at people in the room..often making the crowd laugh.  The dancers are phenomenal!  Often the performers will act out a skit in the middle of the room, and when is not a skit they approach people in the bar by dancing up to them as an invitation to join.   Everyone can move their bodies that continues to amaze me, but the people working the bar in particular can move their shoulders faster than the eye can follow.  It was fun to share this incredible part of Ethiopian culture with Lauren.  And, of course, being ferenji..you can never go to an azmati bar without being summoned to dance.  It was a blast.

The next morning began my mission to introduce Lauren to every Ethiopian food available.  We started with a fresh squeezed juice followed by doto wat, chichibsa and something called “chekela t’ibs”.  I have a membership at a resort in Bahir Dar, so we enjoyed some quality relaxing time at the poolside. After a day or 2 in the city we packed up and headed for my sweet little town of Adet.  We braved the bus yard, (2 ferenji sisters can attract a lot of unwanted attention) boarded what seemed like a trusty bus, got front seats, and set off on the bumpy journey to my town.  With dust and hot sunrays pouring in the window, the smell of gasoline coming up from the engine and being an attraction for nearly everyone on the overcrowded bus, all of this seemed to be superfluous as Lauren and I got lost in conversation.  What a different experience life is like when you are with someone you love!  Before long, however, our engine unfortunately gave out and we found ourselves avoiding spraying gasoline before catching another ride to get to Adet.

Being at site with Lauren was the best and also most exhausting time in Ethiopia to date.  It was exhausting simply because everyone and their mother (literally) was eager to invite Lauren to their home, get coffee, spend time with her.  She was the talk of the town!  My phone was ringing off the hook as people called to invite for activities.  There is a mountain in Adet called Avola.  A gorgeous peak- somewhere I have been dreaming of getting to the top of since the day I moved to site.  One day Lauren was here we spent the day climbing to the top.  It was a trek with a beautiful reward.  From the top we could see forever.  If it had been a clear day we could have seen Gondar and Lake Tana.  Now, everyday at site I look at mount Avola and remember sitting on the top, feeling so close to the sun and feeling so grateful to share this world with Lauren.  She had the opportunity to visit a number of people’s houses, enjoyed a lot of food, visited the river, my office, the market, coffee ceremonies, and of course, my house.  I still can’t believe she was here with me. 

From Bahir Dar we ventured to the mouth of Blue Nile.Just ~40 km From Bahir Dar, the closest large city to Adet, sits a place called “t’is abay” where you can see the enormous crashing waterfall that feeds the Blue Nile.  Lauren and I hopped on a bus with a friend of mine and traveled to the site.  Here you hike under blazing sun among fields upon fields of sugar cane and under watered chat until you come across an EnoRmOus waterfall.  We had a good time and enjoyed a fun swim in the refreshing water.  

After another stint at site, Lauren and I met with a group of fellow peace corps volunteers in the historic town of Gondor, located ~3 hours north of Bahir Dar by minibus.  From here we headed east towards the spectacular Simian Mountains.  For the trip, we hired a “scout” (man with a gun who was incredibly sweet, grew up in the mountains, and took good care of us) a fabulous cook and three mule handlers.  The mountain ranges were massive- feeling almost like we were on the ocean floor, observing structures that seemed to be endless, rolling and ancient.  We trekked for 5 days and 4 nights.  I have to say, I have probably never been so continuously dirty and exhausted like that in my life.  The days were beautiful, sunny and hot as we hiked for hours at an elevation of over 11,000 feet.  It felt so good to sweat and work hard while totally in awe of the natural beauty around us.  The nights, however, were COLD.  Oh mygoodness…  We didn’t bring enough warm clothes or padding to protect us from the chilly earth once the sun went down.  By the end of the trip I was sleeping on my backpack to try andstay warm.  HA it was so worth it though.  We saw Gilada baboons- which are, INCREDIBLE.  Such little human-like creatures that are friendly rock-dwelling baboons who travel in packs and only live in the Simians.  It seemed they spend most of their life grooming one another.  The trip was fantastic!  It was such a neat way to celebrate Christmas with Lauren.  I am certainly itching to go back and climb the largest mountain in Ethiopia located within the Simians- Ras Dashen.  Maybe this will have to wait until next Christmas!

 

Saying good-bye to Lauren was the hardest day of my time here, hands down.  I am proud to say, it was the first time I have cried while in country.  (Believe me, there have been some close calls though..)  It felt so good to finally be around family and feel connected to life back home.  When Lauren left, it felt like the joy and excitement for life was being sucked out of me.  I think this was the first time I felt truly homesick..wondering why I am choosing to be so far away from a world where I am surrounded with love, support, and connection to those who I am close to.  Though it was difficult to say good-bye, I think having Lauren visit positively changed my Peace Corps experience forever.  Since her visit I have a different, more positive relationship with my community.  I feel closer to home even though I am still on the other side of the world.  The merging of my two worlds- Ethiopia and family- has demystified my life here even within my own mind.  There is not a day that goes by in site where someone does not ask “How is Lauren?”  “Did she return safe?”  I feel so fortunate that we had the opportunity to share these experiences together.