Okay, things are crazy. I'm back in Addis Ababa. I was at site for about 2.5 weeks and during that time it was exam week and break week. School resumed yesterday and I am missing the first week. Yesterday I went to the eye and will go back on Friday. I know you probably don't care about me going to the eye doctor, but now you know. Tomorrow I go get an x-ray for my sinuses, because I've been having headaches for about 5 months now. So, I'm not sure when I'll be returning to Injibara at this moment. I'll find out more on Friday.
The new group of volunteers arrive tomorrow night! I'll no longer be the freshmen, I'll be a sophomore. It's crazy to think that I've been in country for 7 months already, 20 left.
I'll be starting programs when I return to site. My plan for this semester is to have 13 English clubs (grade 5&6 club and Grade 7&8 club), a teacher English club, and at least 3 trainings. So hopefully I'll stay busy. I also want to begin working at one of the high schools.
Here's somethings that happened within the last few weeks.
On February 2 I attended an Ethiopian wedding. I didn't know what to expect. I went with Deborah (my sitemate) and an Ethiopian friend (who invited us). We (Deborah and I) were picked up from our hotel at 11:15 and were taken to the grooms house. We ate and there was a celebration, before leaving for the bride's house the groom cut the neck of a chicken. Next everyone went to the bride's house. At the bride's house there were 2 wedding parties. The bride and her sister were both getting married. It is customary for the grooms men to fight for the bride, so there was a little pushing and shoving going on. There was a little ceremony at the bride's house with more food and the marriage vows (or at least that is what I assume was going on, I couldn't hear or see what was actually happening). Next was a boat ride on Lake Tana. The bride, groom and wedding party were on one boat and the rest of the attendees were on 3 other boats. It was fun. The bride and groom stood on the front of the boat, so that everyone could see them. After the boat tour, we headed to a park. Where apparently 25 weddings were being held there (including this one). Right now is a high wedding season, because it is right between two major holidays and fasting seasons (or that is what I've been told at least). The last thing we did was go back to the groom's house. Deborah and I gave them a gift, which we purchased like 10 minutes before getting picked up. Overall, it was a great experience with lots of clapping, singing and travel.
On Saturday, February 8, I attended a Gender Fair in Addis Kedam (a town 15-20 minutes north of mine). A volunteer living there put on this fair for young females. There were 33 girls and 7 PCVs and 3 counterparts (Ethiopian adults). The girls really enjoyed the day. There was a session on leadership, health, education and a drama. At the end of the day, each town got together and talked about having a gender fair in their town, asking questions such as when, where, who to invite, what aspects we would take back to our town, etc. It was a great experience and the girls loved it, plus they got to meet other girls from other towns.
Other than that, I've been watching lots of movies and the 2 TV shows I have. I think that's about all for now.
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