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Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Laura
Well, I'm back from Ethiopia! I spent three months with Jordan and we had an awesome time together! It was so cool to be able to see all the things that Jordan has been talking about on the phone and in his emails. After seeing all the things that Jordan has adapted to and dealt with over the past 8 months, I know that I will always have so much respect for him. It is truly amazing to see what he has brought to the people of Yirgalem.
Jordan has alot of projects that he's continuously working on. His favorite project is his permaculture trainings with the PLWHA organization. PLWHA stands for "People Living with HIV/AIDS." It is really important for this group to learn how to make the most of their land and grow as much food as possible, because if they don't meet their caloric intake needs for each day, their HIV could turn into AIDS. Staying as healthy as possible is vital for those infected with the disease. Jordan has been teaching them how to "double dig" their land, use compost, and plant certain fruits and vegetables together, so that they can maximize their harvest. Jordan has taught several trainings, and the PLWHA members are very enthusiastic about learning his methods.
Jordan is also working on a new Beza OVC Village. Beza is the youth center that Jordan works at and the OVC Village will be a place where "Orphans and Vulnerable Children" can live, grow their own food, and earn their own money. Jordan is working on setting up a "meat fattening" IGA (Income-Generating Activity) for them to run and profit from.
Jordan also teaches English regularly at the Cambridge Elementary School in Yirgalem. He occasionally lectures at Furra, the local college. He also started teaching an HIV/AIDS and English class at Beza. He asked us to send him any magazines that he could give the students to improve their English.
Jordan spends most days at Beza planning projects, editing and translating documents, writing proposals, meeting with people, etc.
I've just posted links on the right to some of our photo albums from Ethiopia. I have a ton of things I could write about, but I don't have the time or memory to write about it all now. I will include more stories and info from time to time, as I remember it.
Please keep Jordan in your prayers, that he is able to stay safe and encouraged in the work that he is doing. Jordan loves mail! His email is jordanthomascole@gmail.com and his address is:
Jordan Cole
PO Box 381
Yirgalem, SNNPR
Ethiopia
Jordan has alot of projects that he's continuously working on. His favorite project is his permaculture trainings with the PLWHA organization. PLWHA stands for "People Living with HIV/AIDS." It is really important for this group to learn how to make the most of their land and grow as much food as possible, because if they don't meet their caloric intake needs for each day, their HIV could turn into AIDS. Staying as healthy as possible is vital for those infected with the disease. Jordan has been teaching them how to "double dig" their land, use compost, and plant certain fruits and vegetables together, so that they can maximize their harvest. Jordan has taught several trainings, and the PLWHA members are very enthusiastic about learning his methods.
Jordan is also working on a new Beza OVC Village. Beza is the youth center that Jordan works at and the OVC Village will be a place where "Orphans and Vulnerable Children" can live, grow their own food, and earn their own money. Jordan is working on setting up a "meat fattening" IGA (Income-Generating Activity) for them to run and profit from.
Jordan also teaches English regularly at the Cambridge Elementary School in Yirgalem. He occasionally lectures at Furra, the local college. He also started teaching an HIV/AIDS and English class at Beza. He asked us to send him any magazines that he could give the students to improve their English.
Jordan spends most days at Beza planning projects, editing and translating documents, writing proposals, meeting with people, etc.
I've just posted links on the right to some of our photo albums from Ethiopia. I have a ton of things I could write about, but I don't have the time or memory to write about it all now. I will include more stories and info from time to time, as I remember it.
Please keep Jordan in your prayers, that he is able to stay safe and encouraged in the work that he is doing. Jordan loves mail! His email is jordanthomascole@gmail.com and his address is:
Jordan Cole
PO Box 381
Yirgalem, SNNPR
Ethiopia
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jordan
Hey!
Things are going well! I am currently working on
several things here. Firstly, I am working on creating a survey for
the street children of Yirgalem, to find out the reasons they are on
the street, their knowledge of local resources, exposure to risky
behaviors, and such. UNICEF has a pretty good one they used in
Zambia, which I am trying to adapt to our needs here...it's just
taking time. Also, Mola and I are going to begin trying to make Beza
more professional in its presentation. We will write a history of the
organization, and also create some kind of website for NGOs to look
at. (Beza needs some donors for a new facility that the community is
calling for.) I have also been cleaning up the English in our visual
presentations and publications, which helps a lot when dealing with
English speakers.
In the near future I will begin teaching English as well...people are
getting anxious. Today I had a conversation with a group of young
guys, all about 11 probably, who asked about learning to speak
American English, as well as discussing Martin Luther's Reformation
with me (yes, a young African boy actually used the phrase
"justification by faith alone"), the differences between the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church (they don't agree with my
denial of Mary as a mediator between God and man...for now...haha),
then about Laura (yes, Laura, I showed them your picture...they said
"konjo not," which means "she is beautiful"), and then, of course,
what the best food is in America. I said cheeseburgers.
Jordan
Hey!
With the help of Laura, it has been decided that my food-poisoning was caused by salmonella. I eat eggs on a regular basis, and I hadn't been cooking them well enough. I got salmonella again the other night, after eating eggs, and that was what pointed me to the eggs instead of tomatoes. But I had medicine still from my previous hospital visit, so I took it and it solved my stomach issues, and I only had to deal with the fever for several hours...no big deal. So since then, I have been cooking my eggs VERY WELL. Even more than I want to sometimes.
When people ask what they can send, drink mixes are always a good thing, because I purify my own water, and without drink mixes, a lot of it has a funny taste...haha.
With the help of Laura, it has been decided that my food-poisoning was caused by salmonella. I eat eggs on a regular basis, and I hadn't been cooking them well enough. I got salmonella again the other night, after eating eggs, and that was what pointed me to the eggs instead of tomatoes. But I had medicine still from my previous hospital visit, so I took it and it solved my stomach issues, and I only had to deal with the fever for several hours...no big deal. So since then, I have been cooking my eggs VERY WELL. Even more than I want to sometimes.
When people ask what they can send, drink mixes are always a good thing, because I purify my own water, and without drink mixes, a lot of it has a funny taste...haha.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Laura
Well, I feel like I need to do an update, but I don't feel like I have that much to talk about! Here in Malaysia, it's just the same old, same old!
My mom and Katelyn are coming THIS weekend, which is VERY exciting! Their visit has given me something to look forward to since I came back here after Christmas and I can't believe they're almost here! Time really does fly by! It's been really fun to get everything ready for their visit, plan our days together, and write down everything I want to show them/feed them/take them/etc.
This weekend was really fun. I found some new American friends in my apartment building! I used to be the only American in the building, so it is so exciting to have them closeby. I went to church with them on Sunday, where they introduced me to new friends! I'm always amazed at how exactly when I need it the most, God sends me someone to bring me the exact encouragement I need!
Monday we had the day off from school for Muhammad's birthday. One of my good friends from work, Francis, invited me on a picnic with him, his wife, and their daughter. However, it rained ALL day, so they brought the picnic to my apartment! We ate and then spent the day at the mall. I watched Mary Anne, while Francis and his wife went to the movies. I had so much fun trying to keep up with Mary Anne (she's three years old) and listening to all the funny things she had to say. It was so nice to be able to spend the day with such a wonderful family.
Shieu Ye, Mary Anne, and I at the beach!
My mom and Katelyn are coming THIS weekend, which is VERY exciting! Their visit has given me something to look forward to since I came back here after Christmas and I can't believe they're almost here! Time really does fly by! It's been really fun to get everything ready for their visit, plan our days together, and write down everything I want to show them/feed them/take them/etc.
This weekend was really fun. I found some new American friends in my apartment building! I used to be the only American in the building, so it is so exciting to have them closeby. I went to church with them on Sunday, where they introduced me to new friends! I'm always amazed at how exactly when I need it the most, God sends me someone to bring me the exact encouragement I need!
Monday we had the day off from school for Muhammad's birthday. One of my good friends from work, Francis, invited me on a picnic with him, his wife, and their daughter. However, it rained ALL day, so they brought the picnic to my apartment! We ate and then spent the day at the mall. I watched Mary Anne, while Francis and his wife went to the movies. I had so much fun trying to keep up with Mary Anne (she's three years old) and listening to all the funny things she had to say. It was so nice to be able to spend the day with such a wonderful family.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Laura
Lizards are the bane of my existance. On any given day, as I walk to school, I might encounter a rat, wild dogs, angry monkeys and/or four-inch cockroaches, but nothing terrifies me like lizards in the house. The first time I saw a lizard here, I was at someone else's house. They moved a picture on the wall and a lizard came running out from behind it. I screamed and then asked "Is that your pet?!" The Malaysians thought that was a pretty dumb question. It wasn't a pet, but it was welcome in the house. The lizards eat mosquitoes, so if you have a few lizards in your house, it's better than the risk of catching Dengue Fever from a mosquito bite. However, since my a apartment is on the 24th floor, mosquitos rarely come this high, so I didn't think I had lizards!
The first time I saw one in the house, I was walking into the kitchen, flipped on the light and a little, green lizard ran across the cabinets and into the silverware drawer! Gah, it still makes me shiver to think about. I went out for dinner and refused to go near the kitchen for the rest of the night. When my roommate got home, I met her at the door. I said, "Kris, I have some terrifying news. . . There was a lizard in the kitchen." She replied "Yeah, I see them in there all the time. There's one that lives under the couch too!" I almost had a heart attack. For a week, every time something fell on to the floor, I would jump a foot in the air. I mean, a crumb from my sandwich would drop and I would scream and jump back. It was bad.
Well, I have learned to live in peace with the lizards. . . kind of. I just stomp really loudly when I go to the kitchen, so that they have time to run and hide before I get there and I can pretend that they're not there. Then I turn on the light and wait for them to make any final arrangements before I walk in. . . I can't bear the thought of one running across my foot. And when I hear ANY noise at night as I'm falling asleep (barking dogs, the elevator, regular night noises, etc.) I think "I wonder if that was a lizard??" The other night, I was in the kitchen and there was one in the corner a few mere inches away from Kris' foot. I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. Of course, I took the pictures standing on top of a kitchen chair while screaming and begging her to do something with it.
The first time I saw one in the house, I was walking into the kitchen, flipped on the light and a little, green lizard ran across the cabinets and into the silverware drawer! Gah, it still makes me shiver to think about. I went out for dinner and refused to go near the kitchen for the rest of the night. When my roommate got home, I met her at the door. I said, "Kris, I have some terrifying news. . . There was a lizard in the kitchen." She replied "Yeah, I see them in there all the time. There's one that lives under the couch too!" I almost had a heart attack. For a week, every time something fell on to the floor, I would jump a foot in the air. I mean, a crumb from my sandwich would drop and I would scream and jump back. It was bad.
Well, I have learned to live in peace with the lizards. . . kind of. I just stomp really loudly when I go to the kitchen, so that they have time to run and hide before I get there and I can pretend that they're not there. Then I turn on the light and wait for them to make any final arrangements before I walk in. . . I can't bear the thought of one running across my foot. And when I hear ANY noise at night as I'm falling asleep (barking dogs, the elevator, regular night noises, etc.) I think "I wonder if that was a lizard??" The other night, I was in the kitchen and there was one in the corner a few mere inches away from Kris' foot. I took the opportunity to take a few pictures. Of course, I took the pictures standing on top of a kitchen chair while screaming and begging her to do something with it.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Jordan
Things are going great here in Ethiopia. I have two more weeks of
language and technical training in Ambo. Our first volunteer E.T.'d
(early termination) the other day due to some issues at home, and it
was hard for us to take. I think he made the right decision, but it
was still tough. All 40 of us had lasted for almost two months, and
most of us had begun to think that we would all make it to swearing
in, and when one left, it was like a member of the family was lost.
It's hard to lose part of the group. I think of it sort of like the
military. When a group goes through so many changes together, and
find that they need each other for so much support, they develop close
bonds. So it has been a tough week in Ambo, but we are all excited to
finish training and begin our service.
Our swearing-in ceremony will be on February 13 at the U.S. Embassy in
Addis. I think I am as excited to get to the capital so I can buy
some things for my new house as I am to be sworn in and become a PCV
(Peace Corps Volunteer) and move on from PCT (Peace Corps Trainee).
My Amharic language is coming along great and I look forward to
improving more and more as the months go on, and I have also decided
to begin Sidaminya (the language of the Sidamo region of the Southern
Nations) once I settle in at site.
I have a two room house with electricity, and running water in the
main house on the compound, which includes an ice-cold shower! Yay!!!
haha. I bought a bed when I was last there, which is as comfortable
as I need it to be (take what you want from that statement). When I
return, I am going to buy a large oscillating fan in Hawassa, the
large town near me. It will be pretty expensive at 380 birr ($38),
but I live in the jungle and it gets pretty warm. Also I am in the
market for a TV and DVD player.
I am healthy, with the exception of the normal stomach bugs and aches
we all deal with here. Our medical staff and support, including any
medicines we might need, for ANYTHING, are top-notch and readily
available. I feel completely taken care of. They say
our health care is as good as Barack Obama's!
Well, I think that's all for now!
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