A night in the lobby - 6/18/2019

Tonight, me and some of my fellow PCV’s were hanging out in the hotel lobby in Addis. I am realizing that I have never been in a group of such like minded people in my entire life. We are so different, but so similar. One of the main questions I was asked by so many people “why are you doing peace corps” or “what lead you to this decision?” Honestly, I was really unable to answer that question; I mean I like helping others and I wanted to travel so I guess this was the right choice. But with these people, I don’t need to explain my motivations, worries or anxieties because we are all sort of on the same boat. I never need to explain the way I am feeling because these people are right there with me. I really can’t explain how connected I feel with this group of people. I have never fallen in love with a group of personalities more than I have than with this group.

One of my fellow PCV’s started this business type deal where she develops thought provoking questions in a book and leaves them in random places like coffee shops or something and has people answer them and engage with themselves more. Something I think we can all use; Social media too often has us engage with the perceptions others have of ourselves but not who we truly are. This idea forces people to think about who they really are. Questions like “What do you think the world needs more of?” or “what past memory still makes you cringe?” These questions highlight the humanity within us all and I think this experience as a whole is going to do the same thing for me.

I have never fallen in love with a geographical location as fast as I have fallen in love with Ethiopia. The people, by nature, are so kind and so many that I meet are so willing to speak to me both in English and in Amharic. I have so many opportunities to grow my knowledge and to grow myself.

But enough of that, let me try and explain what I did today. So today was the first day that I walked off the grounds of the hotel. We acquired a local sim card at a cell phone shop and the journey to get there was about an 8-10-minute walk. I got stared at by almost everyone I walked by and even several children came up to me and yelled “Hi!!!” and hugged me. Something about this city seems a familiar – so many people I work with seem so familiar, like I have met them before; It is an odd feeling. After we got our sim cards we walked back to the hotel and hung out for a bit and then I had my medical interview – we were going to walk to the Peace Corps headquarters but it started to rain. Oh yes, we are in the midst of rainy season so…that’s fun. Anyway, we got set up with an intense medkit, which I wish I knew beforehand as me and my mom set me up with a really good medkit of our own. Sorry mom!

I was also able to talk a lot with the education team at the headquarters and they were able to shed a lot of wisdom on so many questions I have. Everyone I have met has been so supportive and so helpful. Even the locals! There’s a guy who works at the front desk of the hotel, his name is Beruk – Any time I see him he is always so excited to see me and greets me “Marc! Salam-no!” It is so nice to see a friendly face who also lives in the area.

Some bad news for the folks back home: I probably won’t make it home for Christmas. The school year goes from September until Julyish and “winter break” is some point in early February or late January. I would theoretically be able to come home during that break but we have mid service training which means I need to be there. However! Summer, around august or so, I could definitely come home. Each day I fall more and more in love with where I am and the people I am with. I really can not wait to learn more and to know the language better and to integrate with the culture.

Every day is stressful, exciting, and terrifying all at once and I love everyday more than the next.

Peace and love!