My friends and 24 hour companions

I would like to start this blog by saying that this is the FIRST TIME I HAVE SEEN MY BLOG SINCE I WAS IN THE LONDON AIRPORT! The internet here is too slow to load it/it never works, so my boyfriend Luke has been posting for me. A shout out to Luke for helping! I am excited. Right now I'm sitting in a different part of Addis at an internet cafe that is known for being super fast. So here I am! Alright, on with the blog:

  Here in Ethiopia, my only real friends are the other volunteers and workers at the home. I have begun to make more connections with those at the feeding center, but I spend every waking minute with my fellow volunteers. I thought I would write a bit about them, since they are a HUGE part of my life (and we just got two new ones).

  Peter V: Peter is from New Zealand and was only here for January. He is a really quiet guy who is studying to be a nurse. He wanted to come to Africa specifically and working with kids was a bit new for him. But he was always good humoured and had a lot of fun with it, so I was sad to see him go.

  Peter J: Peter is from Canada and is here for the entire 3 months that I’m here. He works as a camp counsellor for most of the year and loves being around kids. He reminds me a lot of people I worked with over the summer (at camp), and we get along very well. We are both a bit competitive, which made for some fun card nights. Over January, we played the same game every night and made a grand total score. I beat him by only 12 points (you can get that amount in just one hand), which he wasn’t too happy about. Our final scores were in the 2000s, so you can imagine what 12 measly points means. But he’s very relaxed and doesn’t mind entertaining himself, so we have gotten along great.

   Julie: Julie just arrived a few days ago from America (yaaaay!). She is originally from Chicago (and yes, she was sorry about the Bears), but she now lives in Detroit. Julie will just be here for February. She recently quit her job as an accountant and moved to Detroit with her husband. She seized the opportunity to do something a bit crazy before settling into something new. She’s really friendly and we’ve had a lot to talk about. It is nice having someone else from America. At first I didn’t think I would really notice, but it’s nice when someone knows the same references.

   Lisa: Yes, two Lisas and two Peters! Crazy crazy. Lisa just got in from New Zealand and she’ll be here through March. She was immediately friendly and we hit it off right away. She works in business and is really close to her family. She was really impressed I played rugby and it was so nice to have a conversation about the sport with someone! Both girls are still adjusting but I know it will be no problem. We’ve already had some “girl talk,” and I’m really excited to have more people to talk to on a daily basis.

  Lastly, the workers at the home are a huge part of my life here. Eyob is my supervisor and is amazing. He works around the clock and is currently doing the job of volunteer supervisor AND director, while the director is on a mission trip. Eyob helps us with everything we need and he really dedicates his whole life to this cause. It’s great to see someone who is so invested in the kids. Magdee is another worker here who helps out a lot in the classroom. She translates for us and is really great with the kids. We love having her around to help and to chat with. Before Julie and Lisa, she was my main girl interaction! Lastly, Amarach is the “den mother.” Eyob calls her the cook, but she does so much more than that. She cleans, does the kids’ laundry, washes their hair, cooks, etc. She is always busy and right now she is chopping onions for some meal, and has been for almost an hour (it is also 9am… she is always on top of it). As I said in my last blog, she doesn’t speak a lot of English but we have definitely bonded and I am learning new phrases to say to her. I recently learned good night! Denadueli!

  So there they are: my friends in Ethiopia. I really like all of them and I’m glad for the new additions. The people have definitely made this experience enjoyable and I feel lucky to have such great company!