Sorry it’s been so long, I have been out of site for almost 3 weeks now. The first two were in Ambo (it’s an okay spot) where we had IST (in service training) and then I went to Addis for some medical stuff. I ended up staying in Addis longer than I expected, I leave tomorrow morning…

I thought IST was very productive. It started out kind of rough, we had a bitch session then it improved dramatically with the first presenters – the Center for Creative Learning. They were amazing, I learned a lot.

Then Tuesday happened.

The second presenters were very out of touch with what is actually going on in the schools (they were Ethiopian), and instead of being polite about it – we all kind of blew up at them (to the point where our APCD told them to take the afternoon off – they were supposed to present the whole day). In our defense, we have been at site for 5/6 months (we were supposed to have IST around late October/September, the 3 month mark) so we should have had an opportunity to discuss everything long ago. There is a lot of pent up frustration – I can’t get into detail or I will be asked to remove another post  – sorry.

We are also the first education group since the 60′s/70′s which means we will naturally have more kinks than the other groups. The presenters also refused to acknowledge what we were saying, which for me – was the worst part. They could have learned a lot from us. We work on the ground, not in Addis Ababa, we know what it is like so to have people tell you “no, just do it this way” or “try this” when you’ve been there and done that and know the real results – is beyond frustrating.

Anyway, we made it through. The PCV staff and the other PCVs were amazing, reorganizing our whole schedule so that our sessions and workshops were actually beneficial – and they were. A lot of it was just learning from one another – different approaches with the teachers, activities with the students, cultural/communication issues, gender issues, grants, etc.  I learned a lot and I am excited to get back to site and get to work (again).

The photo above is of the Assela crew, the people at my site during pre-service training/PST (we’re all still here!..for now). Two Sundays ago was our one day off so we decided to book a bus and head to a lake/hiking area for the day. We thought the hiking was optional, a lot of us went to lay by the lake. 16 km  and some rock climbing later – our day “off” was not what we were expecting. The hike was almost straight up and down (sand and rocks), then we thought we were nearing the end and a “guide” said there was a short cut…  “sure, why not?”

It was vertical.

Literally – rock climbing – vertical. I wish I had a picture but I was too shocked/exhausted to think of it. I had flip flops on, and when we got to the rock wall I had to take them off. We all made it – looking back it wasn’t what we expected  and I think that was the worst part, going into something thinking you’re going to lay out in the sun and getting the complete opposite but once we got over that we all enjoyed it for what it was – an unexpected adventure and serious workout.

And it doesn’t hurt that the scenery was absolutely gorgeous:


Tomorrow I head back to site – I am flying into Bahir Dar then a 2-3 hour bus ride to Finote. Usually we would take a 8 hour bus trip through the gorge but after a horrific bus accident (the bus went off the gorge, exploded and 43 people died) the PC is looking into changing the policy so anyone past the gorge flies. It really is dangerous, last time I took the bus drivers number down to complain – not that that means anything here (no sense of business/customer service -usually)… and that is the nice “ferengi” bus that you pay more for and is suppose to be safer/good.

Anyway, I can not wait to get back to site. As much as I love seeing everyone and eating good food – I miss my Finote and the people there.

All my love,

Marie xx