I've come a long way

            December 3^rd marks the start of G9’s 6^th month in Ethiopia. I feel like so much has happened yet at the same time I don’t know where the time has gone. I was able to see some PCV friends a couple days ago. We got to talking about how far we’ve come since we first stepped off the plane and walked on Ethiopian ground. Explaining my experience as an emotional rollercoaster is an understatement. Instead, I would describe it as a 10 hour Ethiopian minibus ride (meaning it’s packed with at least 6 more people than it can hold) on an unpaved road, on top of a rollercoaster. Nevertheless, with all that’s happened all of us could agree that we feel much better today than when we first arrived. It now feels like we’re actually living in Ethiopia. I feel so much better today than I did when I first moved into my house. I feel comfortable with my 2 rooms. I’ve made it my own and it feels like home. I have everything I need. It may not be much but I’ve adapted to living without plumbing, for instance, and not having it doesn’t bother me anymore. Now I don’t think twice about using the shint bet either and I’ve finally got a process down for taking a bucket bath that makes showering more feasible. Still not the best, but I’m not complaining. I’ve learned to live without many of the pleasures back home and I’m okay.

I’m also no longer scared to walk in the middle of town on my own. I still have some days when I’d rather not deal with all the shouting when I walk down the street, but I have fewer of them. I buy my supplies with no problems now. I feel comfortable walking around to the different shops asking if they have any flower, or going to the butcher shop on the street to buy some meat. Successfully buying meat on my own last week for my Thanksgiving meal with the girls was a proud moment for me. It may not seem like a lot, but it’s showing me that I am capable of doing this. I had always imagined the worse when I walked out of compound and nothing ever happened. My fears about Ethiopia are going away.

My first night in my house I cried myself to sleep and thought there was no way I could do this for another 2 years. I was so scared. I still have moments where I have doubts, but they don’t come as often and now I love my home. I’m learning how to deal with my many emotions, like when I start to get sad or bored, I know to get out of my house and go see my neighbors or pay my host family a visit. Seeing them always cheers me up. When I get frustrated at a teacher at my school, I know to go home to calm myself down. If I have any advice for future volunteers it’s to be patient. You have to wait it out. It does get better as these 5 months have proven. I didn’t think it would, but it does. My friends and I have realized that we have started a life here and it feels really good to finally be able to say that because there in the beginning I wasn’t so sure. Ethiopia feels more like home every day.