Postcards from a Peace Corps Volunteer. @postcardsfromethiopia - Tumblr Blog

Closure.

Dearest friends, family, and followers,

This blog has been a way to share parts of my Peace Corps experience and Ethiopia with you all. It has been a small window to Leku, and parts of Ethiopia through my eyes and my lens. Thank you so much for taking time to read and look at photographs of my world as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Thank you for your support, your messages, your care. Whether you have been with me from the start, or just a few days ago, it means the world to me.

I finished my service in August [2014], and after some traveling [Dubai, India, Seoul], resting, processing, and readjusting, I am able to reflect and share these last entries with you. [Still not completely readjusted though. But then again, will I ever be?]

It is absolutely true when Returned Peace Corps Volunteers [RPCVs] tell you, “you gain so much more than you ever gave.” This has been the greatest, hardest, most rewarding and humbling 2 years of my life. I will forever carry this with me, and as the years go by I am sure I will realize how much it has impacted me and changed me for the better. Needless to say, I am happy to be back, but I miss my town, I miss the people, I miss so many things I don’t know quite what to do with myself.

Even though you were not there physically with me, I hope that through my photographs and words [of Ethiopia, my town, the people that are important to me], you were able to see, feel, taste, and experience the love and beauty of this country, as well as figure out some things with me. Thank you so much again for being a part of my journey.

And from time to time, when you remember that you used to follow this blog, I hope you’ll go through the archives and revisit this world again. But if we ever meet up, I would be more than happy to tell you more about it.

Yours truly, OhnSoon. RPCV Ethiopia ‘12 - ‘14

በጣም አመሰግናለሁ : ለ ሁሉም ::

#singing out #closure #postcards from ethiopia #peace corps #peace corps ethiopia

A huge thank you again to all our amazing friends and book donors, for helping us build a mini library of 160+ English story books.

Even though my service in Ethiopia has ended, your books will be loved and used at the Leku Primary School for many years to come. Again, we cannot thank you enough, and please know that your support has made a tremendous and positive impact in the students' lives.

Lots of love, Yours truly & the Leku Primary School students.

#BetterWorldBooks #Leku Primary School #Increase literacy #Books #reading culture #Ethiopia #Peace Corps #Library project

[August 2014]

The final days in the country (@ Addis Ababa), with some of the wonderful Peace Corps Ethiopia staff and Volunteers.

#addis #ethiopia #peace corps #PCV life

[July 29th, 2014]

@ Yod Abyssinia, Addis Ababa. What better way to end your service than to enjoy some classic Ethiopian food [bayainet] and cultural dancing? So proud to have served here.

#Addis Ababa #Yod Abyssinia #Ethiopia #Peace Corps #Ethiopian food

@ Hawassa, Ethiopia.

#Hawassa #Ethiopia #SNNPR

Leku Girls Club 2014. Always.

#Leku #Ethiopia #Peace Coprs #PCV life #Girls Club

Snapshots of July.

#Leku #Ethiopia #Peace Corps #PCV life

[July 28th, 2014]

My last full day in Leku. With my sitemate Melanie, Biniyam, Hirut, and Yoftahe, we took a long walk to the outskirts of town, chatted, and took photographs together. So many emotions and thoughts.

#Leku #Ethiopia #Peace Corps #Last day in site

Before I left Ethiopia, I was able to visit my host family in Eteya (Pre-Service Training) for one last time.

I could not have asked for a more loving, thoughtful, fun, and kind host family. They're not technically VIPs of Leku, but the post and its contents apply to them 100%. They are just the best, and they deserve the world and more.

#host family love #eteya #ethiopia #peace corps #peace corps ethiopia

[The VIPs of Leku, Ethiopia]

#1: Neighbors

It was not in my control where (which country or which town) I got placed in for my Peace Corps service. But I got Ethiopia, and I got Leku, a town in the Southern Nations region. I never would have had the chance to live in this small town or cross paths with its people if it wasn't for this opportunity, and I am eternally grateful that I did, and proud to have served there.

During my 2 years in Leku, I was able to be a part of the lives of some of the most amazing people I have ever met, who have made me a better person in so many ways. It is definitely true when other Returned PCVs tell you that you gain so much more from your town, than you were able to give.

The two years felt much longer but also flew by at the same time. The last few weeks at site were difficult for various reasons, but a prominent one was due to the fact that I did not know when (if ever) I will be able to see my dearest friends and family of 2 years again.

How do you tell someone who has impacted your life in such a profound way, all the things you love about them, all the fear and pain you feel about leaving, and all the small and big ways they have helped your heart grow during the past 2 years... in a few sentences? Everything I wanted to express seemed too big, too complex for any words.

So every time I had to say goodbye to someone, I was not able to successfully express how much they matter to me, how extraordinary they are, how life-changing it was to meet and grow together, and how much I will miss them. (I still can’t articulate it well enough in English, let alone Amharic.) But I guess in a way, I could never thank them enough, or tell them enough of how much they mean to me. They loved me like their own daughter or sister, and showed me that at the end of the day, all we have (and are blessed to have) are each other.

So these next series of portraits and photographs [titled: The VIPs of Leku] are in honor of them: my community members, best friends, and incredible support network, who have been at the core of my great Peace Corps Ethiopia journey, in Leku, Ethiopia. The ones that I cannot thank enough, the ones who mean everything to me. [እወድሻለሁ]

#VIPs of Leku #Ethiopia #Peace Corps