A Day in the Thoughts & Emotions of an Education PCV in Ethiopia
Peace Corps service is, if nothing else, an emotional roller coaster. Most times I can look back over the day and just laugh at the vast high's and low's I experienced in just a few hours' time. I'd like to say that the following hourly marker for thoughts and emotions of a typical day here as a PCV is exaggerated. But...it's not. Fun fact: I get to experience a rainbow of emotions Every. Single. Day. Never have I felt so ridiculously human as I have in Ethiopia.
7:30am: Give up on the fight for sleep. Really, the mosque beat you at 5am. But the rooster or cow or neighbor yelling into their phone really did the trick.
7:45am: Grunt and grumble as you make your way to the shint bet in the drizzly, cold morning.
8:00am: Breakfast! What to eat? Oh, right. Oatmeal. Again. 78th day in a row.
8:02am: Just kidding, the power's out.
8:45am: Might as well get ready for class. Yep, wearing the same outfit I have worn this entire week. I'm going to be SUCH a weirdo back in the States.
9:00am: Power's back! Mad dash to the stove to boil water.
9:22am: Lock up the house, leave for school.
9:24am: Bell rings, time for class! Pick up the pace, arrive at the classroom door just as the previous teacher is exiting.
9:55am: See your students' gears turning; They get it!
10:06am: Class ends. Feeling elated from a successful grammar lesson.
10:15am: A co-teachers sits next to you and asks, “Do you eat injera?” You think, “Really? I've lived here for 2 years. Do you really think it's possible that I HAVEN'T eaten injera?” But instead say, “Yes, I love injera.”
11:03am: Time to teach those little devils in Section N. Let's do this!
11:21am: Bang head against chalk board because the incessant hum/murmuring coming from your 97 students keeps. Getting. Louder.
11:43: Desperately open the door 2 minutes early to escape the classroom before yelling/crying out in frustration.
11:50am: Walk home with your eyes glued to the ground to avoid running into someone you know.
12:15pm: Back in your sanctuary. But you don't want rice for lunch. Or pasta. Or any form of potato. Might as well go into town and grab some lunch.
12:28pm: Leave the compound and run into your favorite shopkeeper. She says, “TEFASH!” (You disappeared). You laugh politely and say “Ishi ishi,” (okay, okay), but what you're really thinking is: “Dude, I just saw you yesterday.”
12:30-12:37pm: Shake hands with, wave to, fist pump friends, kids and neighbors on the way into town. Beam at the fact that every person you passed gave you a smile or called you by your name.
12:38pm: A man waits for you to pass him before he gets the courage to yell out CHINA CHINA CHINA!!! When you turn to glare at him, he yells in your face, “ANCHI FERNEJ!” (You are foreign/you are white/you are different—take your pick). You mutter, “Wow, gobez.” (Clever.) And keep walking.
12:45pm: Your friend sees you sitting alone at a table at the cafe. He comes over and offers to buy you lunch. Innibila! (Let's eat!) You gladly accept.
1:10pm: As you are chewing a mouthful of injera, your friend says, “BI BI BI!” (Eat, eat, eat). You think, “What do you think I'm doing??”
2:00pm: Return home, change into house clothes. Pick up a pen and paper and write a letter home, saying how hard it will be to say goodbye to your friends and this simplistic life. Tearing up because you're not ready for this experience to be over in just 3.5 months.
5:30pm: Stomach is gurgling. Body is aching. Oh no, it's a parasite. ETHIOPIA HATES ME! Get me the hell out of this country!!!! How am I going to survive another 3.5 months!??
8:30pm: Feel soothed by the light rain on your tin roof. I'm sure going to miss this.
8:45pm: Ugh, it's getting late. Need to start planning for tomorrow's lesson.
8:48pm: Power's out again. OF COURSE IT IS. Finish the lesson plan by candlelight.
8:50-9:30ish pm: Daydream of America: Land of Electricity.
9:40pm: Start a new book on your kindle. I love having so much time to read; I'm going to hate going back to an 8-5 work day where I won't have time or the energy to read as much.
10:20-something pm: Drift off to sleep because you're bored. And really, the day just did you in.