Again, in no particular order.
Being disconnected. There are (plenty of times) when not
having a reliable phone network or constant Internet access is a hassle, but
for the most part, I’ve really enjoyed not feeling the need to check my cell
phone every five minutes, to see what the latest and greatest (and not the
least bit important) on facebook is, or to be constantly hearing about whatever
the daily tragedy is that the media is harping on.
The food. Papayas never topped my favorite fruits list, but
that was probably because they were the grocery store variety, and not fresh
picked from the tree. Add to papayas, mangoes, fresh picked salad with garden
grown lemon dressing, injera, sambusa, shiro, fresh made chapatti, asa (fish)
lebleb, ful, red beef curry and so many others, and I know I’ll spend just as
much time drooling over the good stuff here once I’m home as I have drooling
over things I miss from home here.
The views, I’m writing this while sitting in a hammock at
6:30, watching the clouds and the light shift in preparation for another
incredible sunset. I’ve started taking walks down to the next village in the
morning, and I never stop being amazed at how beautiful this place is. It’s only convinced me more that I need
to end up living in the mountains.
The people. One
of my favorite parts of traveling is meeting people from all over, and my time
in Ethiopia has been no exception. I’m lucky to get to spend every day working
with such delightful people, and as much as I get frustrated with the constant
stares and yells, I love the grins and handshakes from the kids as I walk by.
I’ve also been beyond lucky to encounter more than my fair share of
interesting, intelligent, genuinely kind good-hearted foreigners, all with
stories to share, many of whom have helped in making the touristing here so
much more enjoyable.
The work. After eight hours of serious activity, the first
thing on my mind is a shower (with temperatures nearing luke-warm if it’s a
good day), and the second is how long until dinner. I’m asleep by ten at the
latest every night, and I love it. There’s something wonderfully honest about
being able to see visible results after hard day’s work.
And there will be other things that you don't realize yet that you will miss. But we are looking forward to seeing you soon!
ReplyDeleteLove,
James
Not many mountains on the U.S. mainland where you can grow lemons and papayas, but we'll see what other magical fruits we can add to your favorites list!
ReplyDeleteYour attitude is wonderful! Glad you're my girl!
Isn't it strange how we yearn for what isn't available? If you find a good recipe for ful, we'd like to try it. Fresh-picked tropical fruit sounds heavenly. I wish it was mandatory that all high school or college students spend a year abroad - we need more global-minded citizens.
ReplyDelete