The Mom who Saved Christmas!

We had such big plans for it this year.  After the last three years where we had basically not celebrated Christmas, we were going to go all out for it.  The plan had been to work very hard through the month of December, not go into Addis at all, and then celebrate big time.  We were going to go to Boston Days Spa for haircuts, go watch the new Star Wars movie, stay at our favorite hotel, and eat all the delicious foreign food that we wanted, ending in a fancy brunch at the Sheraton on Sunday that would included limitless champagne.  Granted, because of the fact that Christmas is celebrated about 2 weeks later here than it is in the rest of the world (see the post “Time, What is Time?” for an explanation), we would have to take a few days off of school for it, but we could hold a few classes to make up for missing those two days.  The point was that we really felt the need to celebrate this year, and it was going to be fantastic.

Unfortunately, due to some political issues in our region, we wound up spending the 10^th-23^rd in Addis.  Classes were cancelled during most of that time, but regardless it threw us badly off schedule.  When we were told that we could head back to site, most of the other PCVs decided to stay in Addis to celebrate the holiday together.  Still, we decided to forgo our plans and head back to Fitche, not able to stand the thought of missing even more school and putting our students even farther behind.  It was a really difficult choice, but in the end, we are really happy that we did it because…..

When I went to the post office on Christmas Eve, I was elated to find 3 care packages from my mom waiting for us, totaling about 60 pounds worth of goodies.  There were the normal foodstuffs that we have come to adore over the last year, but then there was something special in the 3^rd box; it was Christmas!  She sent us stockings, battery operated Christmas tree lights, little ornaments, and even a fabric tree that I pretty much started crying when I saw!  There were even little air-freshener sticks in the package, so now our little mud house smells like a spruce tree!

So, because of my mom, we got to have this for breakfast:

Kept up the family tradition of eating a Christmas Eve pizza:

Note: This is literally the 2^nd pizza I have made in my life, and Donovan, who normally won’t even look at a homemade pizza, declared it the best in country!

We got to decorate our home:

And we even got a bag full of mini candy canes to pass out to all our favorite students, faculty and friends here in Fitche:

It was extremely hard choosing to go back and forestall our plans, especially because we had been looking forward to them for so long.  Still, getting these things in the mail and spending our last Christmas in Ethiopia so happy and in such a festive state of mind felt like a reward for making the right decision.  I just want to say thanks again to my mom, Queen of the Care Package, for managing to mail us a box full of Christmas cheer!

~Jessie

Camp GROW: Fitche-Selalie 2015

Peace Corps summer camps are often cited as one the most rewarding things that we get to do in country.  After having done one, I have to say that I can see why!

-Jessie

First Thanksgiving since 2011

One of the biggest drawbacks of living overseas is missing American holidays. Fortunately, we were able to catch the 4^th of July during our visit home last summer to catch up on some much-needed explosions, BBQ, and microbrew. Save for this one exception, we really haven’t celebrated any Western holidays since Christmas of 2011 just before we moved to Korea.

Now, this doesn’t mean we haven’t tried. On the topic of Thanksgiving, we once went to an expat bar on the beach in Busan that advertised a Turkey dinner special for homesick Americans on Thanksgiving. Oh, how it just wasn’t the same, though. It is hard to truly take in the essence of the holiday by only eating a modest and responsible amount of Turkey while perched atop a bar stool in a crowded pub with K-pop blaring in the background. Afterwards we would go back to our apartment and wish were back home as everyone’s Facebook photos of the beloved holiday would dominate our feed for days. For four years in a row, all holidays came and went in very much the same sad fashion…Until now… :-D

In the last few years the Peace Corps has worked with the U.S. Embassy to find embassy staff that are willing to adopt poor, starving, Ethiopian…Peace Corps volunteers for Thanksgiving. Now, there are about 260 Peace Corps volunteers serving in Ethiopia, so there really aren’t enough spots for everyone, so in order to place us they basically pull names out of a hat. Last year we weren’t able to enter since volunteers are not allowed to leave their sites within the first three months of swearing in. However, this year we were allowed to enter, and you know I wouldn’t be writing this if we hadn’t won!

We were invited to join Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Self and his wife Gaia for Thanksgiving in Addis Ababa. After battling the streets of Addis Ababa with only a picture of a map that I took with my IPod Touch, we found Patrick and Gaia’s compound in a nice little neighborhood occupied by other foreign diplomats. Immediately he welcomed us in and offered us a glass of wine, which I don’t think was ever given the chance to become empty all night long. 

Also in attendance were an Italian diplomat and his wife, and a Turkish representative for NATO.  At first we were nervous at the thought of being the only PCVs in a room full of military personnel, but we quickly found out that there was no need to worry.   We all got along fine, and they seemed very interested in Peace Corps and the lifestyle that we lead (or as one of them chose to put it, “Why do you torture yourselves this way?”).  We spent a wonderful evening eating, drinking, and being merry, and being very thankful to be where we were.

In short, the food and company were both spectacular, and it was the best holiday that we have celebrated in years.  Again, we want to thank our host and hostess for the wonderful time and for their generosity in inviting two ragged and wearied PCVs into their lovely home.  It was a Thanksgiving that lived up to its name.

-Donovan