Water, water everywhere.....

.....and nary a drop to drink. Does anyone recall the "Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner"? Each week when I "make" water this phrase comes to mind. The town in which I live has plenty of water, however, none of it is safe for us to drink. Our medical officer, Burdett, loves to inform us about all of the wonderful things that we can acquire through the water - typhoid, cholera, giardia, schistosomiasis, etc. Trust me, I'm doing everything in my power to ensure that the water I consume is clean! Unfortunately, Ethiopians aren't' immune to these diseases either. We learned this week that contaminated water is one of the leading causes of childhood mortality in Ethiopia.

How do I purify water?? We have been given packets of PUR, which is an additive that disinfects as well as binds to the large particles. My routine consists of filling a 20-liter container from my family's well, adding PUR, stirring vigorously for 5 minutes, and letting it then sit for 20 minutes. When I return, there is a brown sludge in the bottom of the container, which I strain out using a cheesecloth type material. It then must sit for another 20 minutes before it is safe to consume. Fortunately, the water tastes fine despite the chemical process it must first undergo. Generally, one 20-liter container will last me 4-5 days. This water serves as my drinking water, teeth-brushing water, and food preparation water. For showering and hand washing the local water is fine to use.

So...each time you turn on the tap and take a drink consider how blessed you really are!

Igzeeabheir Yimesgen. Tines Talign.

Greetings from Ethiopia!

As Kristin is having difficulty posting to her blog from Ethiopia, I will be posting for her....so blame any typos on me! She is trying to figure out how to attach pictures but until then we'll have to use our imaginations! -Kim

I have arrived safe and sound and as you can see by the title of my post I am already learning the language. Amharic (the national language of Ethiopia) does not use the Roman alphabet, which has made language training very difficult. Instead of learning all 231 characters, they are choosing to teach us the language phonetically. This was very frustrating until we realized it didn't really matter how we spelled a word or phrase, just as long as we knew how to pronounce it. Each morning, 4 of my fellow PCVs and I gather in my front yard where we hold class from 8:30 am to Noon each day. Our teacher, Esey, has been extremely patient with us as we try to grasp the complexities of this language. Despite our limited resources (i.e. no textbook or English/Amharic dictionary) we seem to be learning something. After class, I often practice my new words with my neighborhood children as they are very forgiving of my many mispronunciations!

My host family has been fabulous. Although they don't speak any English, we are getting along just fine. I do a lot of pointing and shrugging of the shoulders when I haven't a clue what they are talking about, but somehow it seems to work. When all else fails, I simply smile. My enat(Mom) is 55 and widowed, my uhut (sister) is 23 and a college student, and my wondim (brother) is 13. He absolutely loves to play the role of astemaree (teacher)! The bet (house) in which I live is actually quite modern. My fellow PCVs are envious of my flush toilet and shower (most of them have pit latrines)! I fear, though, that I will not have such luxuries when I am on my own.

I will share more as I am able. Training is exhausting and what little time we have to ourselves is spent studying. Internet access in this town is fairly limited and slow, so my posts may be few and far between. I suspect that pictures may be impossible to upload, but I will do my best.

Bye, Bye U.S.A

Well today is the day! We have completed our 3 whirlwind days of training and are set to depart this evening. Our group is comprised of 43 people from all over the country with ages ranging from 22-65. It's amazing how quickly bonds form when a group of strangers are thrown together.

Because we are the first re-entry team to Ethiopia (a 10 year hiatus) we are receiving considerable attention. We've met with the Dean of GWU medical school who wants to set up a partnership between us and his international emergency medicine fellows, med. students, and public health students; we've met with a group of returned Ethiopian Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs); we've had the honor of meeting with the Director of Peace Corps and Congressmen Mike Honda (both RPCVs) and last evening we had the priveledge of meeting with the Ethiopian Ambassador at their embassy. WoW!

I'm so fortunate to have had pre-service training in D.C. as I have been able to spend some quality time with my sis. I'm actually writing this from her home! She's done Target runs for us, provided a few of us with a place to do 1 last load of laundry, and treated me to a very yummy American style breakfast. I'm really enjoying this role reversal :)

Although being in D.C. has been fun, it is safe to say that all of us are eager to step foot on Ethiopian soil and truly begin our journey. Stay tuned!

Final Preparation

What a whirlwind these past few weeks have been! I grossly underestimated the time required to make this transition and have been running like a chicken with my head cut off for the past 4 weeks. My house has yet to sell, but after 8 intense days all of my wordly possessions have been organized, sorted, and stored between my parents house, barn and cottage. A big THANK YOU to Mom and Dad and a couple of great guy friends with muscle :) Although not a very attractive picture, the first picture is how my Mom and I looked on the 8th and final day of moving! We're still trying to recover.

In addition to packing up the house, I've also managed to squeeze in a trip to Asheville to hone my "auntie" skills. I have quite the "yummy" little niece and will greatly miss her. My sis-in-law, Kim, has tried every tactic to sway me into staying in the States and has even offered to provide me with a safe harbor and stage occasional photo shoots so that it will look like I'm in Ethiopia. I give her an "A" for effort and creativity!

Last Friday, I parted with my favorite feline---Dexter. My absolutely wonderful and extremely generous friend, Amanda, will be serving as his foster mom for the next few years. I have to admit that neither Dexter nor I handled the transition well, but at least I didn't vomit! (sorry about that Amanda!)

Now...I find myself with 2 final days and a to-do list that is still a mile long. So...I best get started.