J-Before we were assigned to our permanent sites, our director told us that “90% of PCVs think that they have the best site in their country.” I honestly believe that we do. Back before they had our sites assigned, we were asked what we were looking for in a site. Our specs were: 1) Cold if that’s possible, 2) Green, 3) Rainy, 4) Clean air, 5) Strong enough internet connection that we can access at least once every week or two, 6) Not too big, not too small. Boy, did they ever deliver!
Fiche is perfect for us climate wise. It really reminds me of Oregon in terms of that, though as a general rule when it rains here it tends to be for part of the day instead of for days on end. We also get a decent amount of thunderstorms, our favorite type of stay-home weather. Unlike a few of the other places I’ve been in country, the air smells so fresh and clean that you enjoy every breath of it. Granted, the air’s a little thin this high up, but we tend to be fully adjusted to it within a day or two of getting here.
It’s green, green, green as far as the eye can see here. When you take the 2-ish hour drive up from Addis, part of you would swear that you’re driving through the shire, except that you see little clusters of grass huts instead of Tolkienian hill houses. There are rolling fields, plenty of pasture land for the abundant sheep, goats, and cows to graze on, and the town is surrounded by tall hills. So far, our favorite geographic feature is the massive gorge that surrounds our town. We haven’t managed to get a picture that does it justice yet, but I promise we will post one as soon as we do. It actually looks quite similar to the Grand Canyon, only it’s green instead of red. Beautiful.
I cannot wait to start teaching classes! I will be teaching 3 classes a day at the Prep School in my town. All of my 3 classes are going to be 11th grade, and I will meet with them 5 days a week. I’m hoping that means I will be able to see them improving and growing over the year I teach them. Class sizes are supposed to be around 45 which is actually pretty small here. Some of my friends who I was training with were told that they would probably have classes of about 90. The school itself is lovely. It’s covered in trees, which of course makes the Oregonian in me feel right at home. The classrooms are relatively modern; they even have plasma-screen TVs in them. Now, how exactly those TVs get used in my classes could be a slight point of contention in the coming months, but I’m really hoping that I can use them to incorporate PowerPoint into my classes.
From a technology and electricity standpoint, this place is pretty darn good. The power only went out 1 time during our site visit, which is impressive considering what we’ve experienced elsewhere. On our street alone there are 4 internet cafes with a good connection and fair prices. That means that, in addition to Facebook stalking all my friends here and abroad, I will be able to keep the blog relatively well updated. This is turn means fewer mass-postings and better updated information. Maybe it even means that my blog could be a contender for the PC blog contest that would get me sent home for a few weeks to see friends and family (more on that later when the voting opens up)!
Last but not least, we have a lovely home. Unlike a lot of PCVs, we get a two room house. That might sound small to people reading back home, but it’s more than enough room for us. We’ve already ordered a bed, 3 chairs, a table, and a counter for it that should be ready around the time we move in. We even got a little front porch. The compound is grassy and green (again), and I’m hoping that my landlord will let me dig some of it up to plant a little veggie/spice garden in. The epitome of awesome comes in the form of our detached bathroom. We have a western style toilet. I’ll say that again, we have a throne toilet and will not be spending the next 2 years squatting over a hole. I can’t really put words to how disproportionately happy that makes me. Granted, it’s tankless and that means that you have to bring a bucket of water in to flush it, but I really don’t care about that detail. The only downside is that our “shower” is a faucet head that spews water so icey-cold that it makes the one back in Butajira feel like a spa. All that means is that we’re going to buy a couple of buckets and an instant water boiler and take bucket baths for the next 2 years.
All in all, I think you can tell how happy I am with this site placement. :-D
hey its Ashley, from G11.. and wtf how did yall get the hook up like this! lol Im reading about your 2 bedroom house, the clean air and all the greenery and i almost just cried to myself in a corner lol jk, my site is cool but im happy you're enjoying yours so much!
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