[After passing a mob of Ethiopians trying to buy oil and sugar from the government store…] MH: “Jaret says there’s oil” SD: “Judging by the crowd we just passed, oil has returned.” ———— [After hearing that I read online that to stop a cat from going into heat, you can ‘stimulate’ her by poking her [...]
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SK: “Power came back… It’s an emotionally charged experience!” AW: “Whoa! Unexpected. Mine returned an hour or so ago. RC came by to say she lost her phone at a whore house today. Not unexpected.” ————- AW: “Alissa to shopkeeper — “I’ll take 6 candles, please.” Shopkeeper – “For what?” Alissa – I like to [...]
SK: “Hey Alissa, I plan to visit Gore tomorrow – mind if I stop by? I plan to just be in town for the day, taking a bus back in the afternoon if possible.” AW: “Sure, I’ll be around. Got kissed by 2 creeps today so I will be spending time in the safety of [...]
AW2 (not the blog author): “Things went pretty well in Addis minus being groped on the street and stepping in sewage. Fun fun!” LC: “A donkey keeps walking onto my compound. What an ass!” Ethiopian friend: “Hi i miss u” CA: “My January living allowance still hasn’t arrived. Spent an hour and a half being [...]
So, on my way back from Addis, I overnighted in Jimma. At night, while brushing my teeth, I decided to rest my cell phone in the cup holder, by the sink. I dropped my phone in the cup, and finished brushing my teeth. Unfortunately, I failed to notice that the cup was full of water [...]
Mystery Stalker: “You may define this word in many ways but I love you… your peace is my joy.” JB: “Found a pasta noodle in my bed. Strange day.” NT: “A kid in my town just looked at my friendship bracelet and told me she saw a farenji making them on a bus once.” NT: [...]
Subject: Had my portrait done Alissa to Marty By my stalker. Without my knowledge/permission… while I was eating lunch today! (click on link below to see photo) http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32209756&l=b23c78c046&id=14100017 ——– Marty to Alissa Hey Dearest Alissa The world is watching and so interested in your beauty….may he keep his distance. I stay stressed and doing yard [...]
JE: “Oh and I hate to keep sending you pointless texts, but I used the ‘anchi nefas nesh’ on the woman I’m dating today and she was not down with it.” [‘anchi nefas nesh’ translates to, ‘you are the wind’… which is an expression similar to, “you’re full of sh*t” in Amharic… the Patrick Swayze [...]
JE [forwarding from a language teacher]: “Yes I am. I and my jalalle kick hayna eaters with it, when they came at night.” ——— NT: “I think I just remembered the name of the dog with the three heads…Cerebus” —————- AW: “I called my host family 2 nights ago to tell them I was passing [...]
LC: “I feel like i’m at a karaoke bar, but im just at an English school graduation ceremony… I’ve already heard numbers by Michael Jackson, Shania Twain, a number from Mama Mia… now they have moved onto a drama… I should introduce them to pomp and circumstance and call it a day.. hopefully it will [...]
NT: “I got pelted with stones by the crazy man today…have a large welt on my hip. Happened just after someone asked me if my skin was diseased and if i’d take him out for tea. Not a good day.” AW: “That man needs to be locked up. Being crazy shouldn’t exclude physical violence. Ay [...]
Just a heads up for everyone that I’ll be home from Oct 2-25! I’ll be in Baltimore / DC from Oct 8-13. I will be spending approximately 3 full days in Target, so really, I’ll only be available for about 21 days, give or take. Note: Lately, I have been receiving partial text-messages, probably thanks [...]
[an apology from an Ethiopian friend for convincing me that I could get a bus back to Gore as late as 6pm]: “Are you safely landed? Cool. But sorry 4 that I let you be late. Well, as soon as I came back I’ll talk 2 you. Right. & I’m really happy 4 the time [...]
AW: “Thank you for the Bedele Beer Tour recommendation. We just finished our first FREE 3-liter beaker of beer, filled straight from the vat of unpasteurized freshness. They’re bringing out the second giant beaker now… I love this place!” PB: “Are you in the lab!?! Isn’t the lab manager amazing? Did he show you his [...]
Sender AW: “ Just had to use the Ethiopian distress call for the first time and it saved my life. Took the Israeli visitors on an evening hike on the outskirts of town. Got completely trapped in thick, thorny vines on a muddy cliff on the way down. Did distress call for 30 minutes until [...]
Sender BM: “Sounds like your night was really successful! Minus everything you just mentioned…” Sender TE: “I know you were disappointed I didn’t go clubbing but I fell in a drainage ditch slightly after you passed me in the bajaj… so my night is done!” Sender KC: “This will make your day…whenever I walk down [...]
I traveled 3 days to Awassa, the capital of the Southern Nations region, to participate in a 7km race with several other Peace Corps Volunteers. Proceeds will help support the “every one” campaign – which supports newborn, child and maternal health supported in Ethiopia by a wide alliance of government health ministries and development partners. The event [...]
I’ve received a few complaints about my lack of e-mail updates. My mass emails came to a screeching halt when I arrived in Gore (and lost regular access to ‘broadband’ (there is no way that it was actually broadband) internet. My apologies. So, what has been going on in Gore? I have been in Ethiopia [...]
Sender AW: “Just returned from my friend’s martial arts awards ceremony slash exhibition (he is a Sensai or however you spell that, no big deal). There were also boxing matches between children and what looked like a group jazzersize performance. During the tumbling segment, some pre-pubescent boy did a back flip into the wall. [...]
Sender KB:
[insert text-message style picture of a cross]
Have u ever realized how god is the lord? Look at the Cross; it’s a plus sign. He always wants to add blessings in ur life. Happy Ester! — THIS woke me up this morning and I wanted you to share the blessing.
“Hate how much meat I have [...]
Preface: Ethiopian Orthodox Christians fast for the 55 days leading up to Easter (“Fasika”). So, Easter celebration basically revolves around consuming massive amounts of animals… mostly doro wat (chicken) and lamb. Lots of dulet (tripe!), also. I was fortunate enough to be able to visit my host family in Dhera for the holiday, and my [...]
- Magazines, books, newspapers, any reading materials
-Stationary, envelopes
-soups, and sauce mixes -sauce
- salad dressing packets
-snacks (trail mix, granola, beef jerkey, cookies, candy etc.)
-Protein and granola bars
-Candles of any type
- babybell or laughing cow cheese
EM: “Are you the one who posts blogs about fun/inappropriate texts? If so, I have a rather good one, from a doctor I should have never given my number to..”
KB: “My landlord’s kid likes to play in the early morning jerry can and mount donkeys taht are not his.. fun to watch.”
Sender A: “I just [...]
Sender SH: “Washed my sheets yesterday then hung them out to dry. Laid down last nite and realized I was laying in a streak of F’ing dried bird shit.”
Sender AW: “Back on a bus, two hours outside of Jimma… the girl sitting next to me vomitted injeera and god knows waht else all over herself [...]
Sender TE: “I AM NOT AN ANIMAL” [defending her "elephant woman" swollen foot]
Sender AW: “There was a chunk in my milk.”
Sender A: “Also let us know if you need anything like refills.”
Sender B: “Sure. Anti-histamines, prescription strength anti-itch cream, and bug spray. Also, gauze, bacetracine, and butterfly bandages. I fall a lot.”
——
Sender A: ”Sadness… our bus is pulling away from Wolkite, after paying 6 freaking birr for a machiatto that paled in comparison to the cheap [...]
Yippee! I am leaving for IST (in-service-training) tomorrow morning, where the PCV’s will be presenting their community-needs-assessments, and we all get to reunite after 3 long months of semi-isolation. Nikki and I have dentist appointments before the training, so we are headed North a couple of days early. IST is being held in Sodere, [...]
“I was walking home after my lunch date when it started to downpour. An Ethiopian construction worker that I’m friendly with convinced his Chinese supervisor to offer me a ride home in his enormous tractor/back-hoe. He was comletely serious. I don’t know why I politely refused. Biggest mistake I’ve made this week!”
“Got [...]
Sender: NT
“Reason number 73 to ET: one of my toenails fell off and I’m not sure how, when, or why”
Sender: AW
“The creepy 60-something year old Greek man that has lived in my town for 40 years, that I have been avoiding since he asked for my phone number on Tuesday, just sent an Ethiopian to [...]
In this post, I will be exploring a new format for this blog… by documenting texts sent by and received from Ethiopia PCV’s, because I often find myself alone, in the dark (power is usually out), laughing out loud at text messages. I’d like to dedicate this post to ETC (Ethiopia Telecommunications Company):
Sender: NT
“I [...]
I was having a really awful day yesterday… I got up early to run, and wiped out – landing hard on my knees/stomach/hands, on the rocky ground – only a minute and 30 seconds into my run. Luckily, it was still dark (part of the reason for the fall) and no one was really out [...]
Let me preface this blogpost by stating that my land-line has finally been installed! It took 3 separate visits from the telecommunications office, and 3 days of them saying they’d come, me sitting home all day waiting for them, and them never showing up. I was a little peeved, but my counterpart laid down the [...]
I’m in Addis for a couple of days to have a night guard made at the Dentist’s office. My American dentists (both in Virginia and Massachusetts) warned me that I was grinding my teeth, but at the time, it didn’t seem that bad – at least, not bad enough to warrant spending $350 having a mold [...]
Happy New Year! To Americans – not to Ethiopians. They have their own unique calendar with 13 months and the new year falling around our September, so I celebrated new years eve by candlelight (the power was out) with a book. Jealous? We aren’t allowed to travel overnight anywhere for our first 3 months at [...]
Less than a week until swearing in ceremony! On Saturday we will be having a host-family appreciation day, complete with a buffet lunch (mmm freshly slaughtered goat with carrots in place of its eyes). We’re each allowed to bring 2 members of our host family to the festivities. I am a little worried abot the [...]
Akkam Naga? Fayada? Fayada? Naga?
Greetings from Ethiopia. Wish I had the time/internet to post sooner! I’m in Addis Ababa today, having just completed my site visit. I have completed 5 weeks of training and have 5 more to go. I recently switched from Amharic (Arominia) to Oromifa (Affan Oromo) language — the local language that [...]
My mailing address during in-service training (first 3 months in Ethiopia) will be:
Your address during training will be:
Your Name/PCT
US Peace Corps/Ethiopia
P.O. Box 7788
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Alissa Wantman/PCT
US Peace Corps/Ethiopia
P.O. Box 7788
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
From what I understand, it takes about 2-4 months for letters and packages to arrive.
Last month, I accepted an invitation to serve as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia. I will be working as a “Community HIV/AIDS Advisor”, which will likely entail organizing outreach and awareness activities, distributing condoms, preaching the importance of safe sex, and expanding the capacity of existing community health centers.
I will fly to Philadelphia on [...]
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