Training at the King Hotel

Yet again, training continues to be better than I expected. This may change when we move in with our host families and have class 8-10 hours a day for 6 days a week. As for now I have no complaints, even though we spent the day indoors for 10 hours on a beautiful day. We got the scoop on some of the geo-politics of Ethiopia. I'll briefly fill you in:

The horn of Africa is unstable. Somalia is a failed state. Ethiopia and Eritrea are in a standoff border dispute. After over a decade of civil war, South Sudan is forming an independent nation from the former Sudan. Kenya is FULL of refugees from Sudan and Somalia and there are terrorists and extremists East and West. The beauty of it is that these hostile nations have not taken Ethiopia's security, instead Ethiopia is a very stable nation despite the hardship and corruption that surrounds it. It is a nation full of rich history, proud people, beautiful diverse cultures and mind-blowing scenery. 

View of Addis Ababa from my balcony.

The country directors informed us that no volunteers are placed near areas with security issues. Most of our sites are in the north which helps me have faith I will be in a cooler region at high altitude. Addis Ababa is at aroudn 7,000 ft. and the weather is perfect. In ten weeks we will be sworn in as official volunteers and each left to a town by ourselves.We will learn of our permanent sites soon and be visiting them on the third week. It seems that time is already going too fast, and I've only been here for 24 hours. This Sunday I will be moving in with my host family and the following day I will officially begin my language training. Today I quadrupled my Amharic vocabulary which means I went from knowing 0 to 4 words:

Coffee = ጮፍፈኤ = "bunna"

 Perfect = ፐርፈጭት  = "goma" 

Ok = አልርግህት = "eeshi"

 Thank you = ትሃንክስ = "imma say gon alo"

                 

 If I could maintain this pace I would be in good shape. I've heard that it takes at least a year to be able to participate and understand lengthy conversations. This will be a test of patience, but one that expected and look forward to. There is a decent chance that I will need to learn another language in addition to Amharic, which will slow down the learning process. Over 80 languages are actively spoken in Ethiopia and Amharic, the official language, is only primarily spoken by roughly 20% of the population. Even though I may learn enough to get by it is safe to say I will not learn to write proficiently in the traditional fidel script. It is beautiful and incredibly ancient to say the least. (try your Amharic skills here)

Fidel script and Amharic language requires a thick thought and  big lungs.

My comfortable gawdy bed at the King Hotel. 

We also got our 2 week stipend today which amounted to 330 birr. This made me feel like Bill Gates, until I realized that it was only $20, which means I'm getting paid roughly $2/day. Money is obviously not the purpose of my mission. Instead, I feel wealthy in the amount of friends I have already made, the incredible coffee, support of my new PC family and all the delicious Ethiopia food that I encounter 5 times a day (this food culture is something I've only dreamed of).  I know that things will get a lot less luxurious, a lot more frustrating and a lot less delicious, but I am enjoying each moment.