. . . but names will never hurt me.

Deacons holding liturgical parasols and in the center the priest.

This past weekend, January 20-22 the Gregorian calendar,communities in Ethiopia celebrated Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox celebrationof Epiphany. On the first day I alongwith a multitude of others formed a procession escorting the priest and churchleaders from the church to a ceremonial site about two kilometers away.

I was with myEthiopian friend Tesfaye watching all this when a man came up to me and starteda conversation. I don’t understand muchAfan Oromo and he spoke very little English so communication was not good butwith all the good feelings of the day it didn’t matter to me. I was feeling the love. At one point Tesfaye got into theconversation and I got out of it. Icould tell the discussion was getting heated but not until much later did Iunderstand what it was about.

Hours laterTesfaye explained to me that, knowing I was an American, this fellow wanted meto give him money, a lot of money. Apparently he was quite offensive so Tesfaye reported him to thepolice. Two days later Tesfaye and Iwere called to the police station and, as is the custom here, the man apologizedas he knelt at my feet.

The curious thingfor me is I felt no affront at all. Thewords, since I didn’t understand them, were not offensive and I felt no needfor defense or an apology. I see nowthat it is not ever words that give offense, that make me react, it is themeaning I give them. That childhoodchant took on a deeper meaning for me that day.

“Sticks and stones my break my bones but nameswill never hurt me.”

Life is good,blessings to you all,

Dex

“The contents of this Web site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the PeaceCorps.”

January 22, 2012 Eteya, Ethiopia

My aspiration in the Peace Corps is to work with my community, inspiring them to possibilities within themselves and helping to better their lives.  At the same time I will immerse myself in a cross cultural experience. 

This quote says it well for me: “No one is more motivated or better equipped to create change than the person whose life and future is at stake.  It is their potential, their energy and their ideas that ultimately will conquer the difficulties they face.”                                           Dexter Nardella

I arrived in Ethiopia on October 5, 2011 with 19 other PCT’s.  Together we attended 10 weeks of training in one of the local languages (Amharic, Oromic or Tegreian), Cross-cultural awareness, Natural Resource skills, country specific medical self-care and Safety issues.

Each of us were housed and fed by a host family.   Negera, Gete, Senyite, Biniyam, Emabet and Yergelum, not pictured here, were my family for those first 10 weeks.

There was an incredibly steep learning curve for those first few weeks of service. Everything was new, exciting, frustrating, confusing, and tiring. And then there were the medically required drugs and inoculations!  For the most part I was stable even enlivened by the experience.  There were moments though when dealing with a new language, new culture, missing the comforts of home, the weeks of training day after day tested my commitment.  

All twenty of us got through that training and on December 16 we were sworn in as PCV’s by Donald Booth, the U.S.  Ambassador to Ethiopia.  The next day we each moved to our service site.  My site is the town of Eteya, about 150 kilometers south of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. 

That was more than a month ago.

Farmers, wives and children gather to build soil bunds, a watershed management strategy, across the face of this hillside.

Week 16 in Ethiopia, January 18, 2012

I had an adventure yesterday.  Tesfaye (my Ethiopian counterpart) and I traveled to a worksite where a group of farmers have been working on a watershed management project.  The land looks nearly desert-like and yet they farm it and somehow subsist.  I also visited their elementary school.  Not much there either.  Kids don't have much in the way of books and are fortunate to have a pen or pencil.  There are 12 teachers working with 750 students. 

Visiting there I felt overwhelmed for a time wondering what I could do to help.   Then I began to wonder.  "What do they have?  That question turned my experience around.  They may not have much outwardly but they do have each other and they know how to work together.  And they have the land and they have decided to care for it.

A street in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is a fascinating country that is a combination of the ancient and the modern. Many of the archeological discoveries concerning early mankind were found here. They still use farming methods developed thousands of years ago. Electric power comes and goes, water must often be hauled to homes and shopping can be a challenge.  It takes about two weeks for a letter to travel between here and the U.S.  On the other hand mobile phone coverage and internet is available in most of the country and both are being expanded rapidly.  

Blessings from Ethiopia!
Dex

“The contents of this Web site are mine personally and do not reflect any position of the U.S. Government or the Peace Corps.”