First Days in Country

Finally arrived in Ethiopia after what has felt like several days of traveling. From our staging event on July 1^st we took a bus from Philadelphia to JFK airport. Our first eight hour flight took us to Frankfurt. Once there we had a six hour layover. Our next flight stopped in Khartoum, Sudan after five hours to refuel. An hour later we were back in the air for another four hours before arriving in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Gathering fifty-eight people with two pieces of checked luggage each and a carry on was a bit hectic, but we managed to get everything together (no bags were lost surprisingly) and make it to our hotel. Even though we had gotten very little sleep over the past two days of travel, the seven hour time change and jet lag made us all pretty restless that night so the majority of us did not get much sleep.

                Next morning we were all up at 9am for our first meeting. It started off with introductions from the Peace Corps staff and then some basic information on safety and security and health issues for Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) in Ethiopia. Later that morning we walked over to the Peace Corps headquarters (about a 20 minute walk from the hotel) where we had a picnic lunch in celebration of the 4^th of July. Next steps were logistic type stuff. We went around the office to get our pictures taken for our worker ID cards, we received SIM cards for our phones, did our medical interviews with the doctors (which did not end until 9pm for some of us), received money for our first three days in country, and finally end with group discussions with the Peace Corps Ethiopia Director to introduce ourselves. Safe to say we were kept pretty busy for the 4^th of July.

                Day 2 included some shots, our first Amharic lesson, but most importantly we met the Peer Support Network (PSN). This is a group of current PCVs elected by other PCVs to provide support for volunteers. It was great getting to meet these volunteers to get a perspective on what PCV life is like. They discussed all of the highs and lows that come with living in Ethiopia as a foreigner. Overall, the Peace Corps has an amazing support network of volunteers. Each one of us was assigned a PSN leader who we can talk to about pretty much anything.

                Right before leaving for Ethiopia I wasn’t sure about how my relationships would be with other volunteers. I wasn’t sure if we would be left off on our own, how many times we’d be able to see other volunteers, and how our relationships would be with volunteers from our group (G9 Education). Meeting everyone in G9, getting to know them a little bit and seeing the relationships that current PCVs have with one another has shown me that we are not alone in our service. Each one of our experiences will be different, however we are all there for one another. This new group of people that I have met will be my community for the next two years. They are the people that I will help get through their service and the people that will help me get through mine. Learning more about PCV life has proven how challenging it will, however we are not alone. I am full of emotions for what the next 27 months has in store. I am overwhelmed with both excitement and anxiety, however I am ready to embark on this journey and see what it holds for me.