My Journey and Weekly ruminations

“Has it really been that long? Did I count the days wrong?” These are two opening lines to the song “Patience” by Tame Impala, and in classic fashion, Kevin Parker seems to write songs for every emotion I feel. This song describes the passage of time and how you change as time changes. The person you were last year will not be the same person you are in the next, and is not the same person you are today. I have been in Ethiopia for almost 8 months and I can say for certain that I have changed in more ways than I ever thought I would. I have become so much more patient, I have become so much more empathetic, and quieter than I was before I came here. As time goes on, you grow, you learn, you adapt, and you begin to see things differently. It is clearer now that the world is so much bigger than I once before thought. There is so much to see and as Kevin Parker wrote in his song “Yes I’m changing”: “There’s a world out there and it’s calling my name, and it’s calling yours too.”  

Even though I am living in rural Ethiopia, I am still able to stay relatively up to date with the goings on of the rest of world. There is such a lack of respect in the world right now. I live in a developing country that is being torn at the seams politically along ethnic lines. But within my community l have three major ethnic groups living together in relative harmony. No one cares where you’re from, all they care about is that you’re doing alright. I watched one person who is a known advocate for one major ethnic group go to a counterpart of his who is of a different ethnic group and ask if he could help him carry water to his house. Imagine a known Democrat leader having this interaction with a known republican leader. You can’t, because it would never happen. The people of my community have so many bigger things to worry about than petty political issues. Everyone loves their ethnicity here but at least in my community, it’s community first. The United States is just so divided a