I think it is about time that I owe everyone another blog. If only I could think of some things to talk about. Well, let’s see new developments. I got internet at my house so I can now check my email a lot more regularly. In fact it isn’t half bad. The days when I do have power, the majority of the town doesn’t so that frees up a lot of the bandwidth. I get asked a lot if I think I am making a difference and until recently I said I don’t really know. However, the second edition of the [View Full Entry]

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Let’s see… It is one o’ clock on a Tuesday or Wednesday. I am at my house being completely lost at the fact I have had electricity for some part of the day since Saturday. I had power all day Saturday and Sunday, which never happens. I am just waiting for the power to get cut off for a good three or four days in a row. I am stocked on candles so that won’t be a problem. Chris Woodling or Biker as some people know him came out for a week and we had a great time. I won’t talk [View Full Entry]

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Peace Corps has a very strict policy about traveling within country but without taking vacation days. This is a policy I that I adhere to without reservation. Did you know there are two Mexican restaurants in Ethiopia? One in Debre Zeit and one in Addis. On a side note I want to tell you a story. A Peace Corps Volunteer had a friend come into town the other day. They had a great time and when it was time for her to leave, he decided that it was in her best interest not to let her ride the bus alone. This [View Full Entry]

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Hello Everyone, I am sure you all have forgotten about me since my last post. Let me catch you up-to-date. If you remember, I was volunteering at the HIV/AIDS NGO Forum. The newsletter I put together went to the printer. The coordinator is getting a lot of complements from it. Anyways after all that was finished, I went in to ask about starting a new project. Getnet(coordinator) had an idea for a health service mapping project which sounds pretty extensive. The goal is to survey every health service organization; community based organization, foreign NGO, as well as all faith based o [View Full Entry]

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Hey Everyone. I know its been a while but I figured you just got tired of reading about me receiving packages and what I had to eat. Now I have some actual news. The Head Guy from the Aids Resource Council came down to Hawassa the other day to talk with his new Peace Corps volunteer, Rich. Rich is a pretty unique character; 6 years in the military and felt he wasn’t doing anything good for the world. So he joined the Peace Corps. He is doing IT work for the ARC trying to setup a computer lab for them to [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone. Let's play a little bit of catch up. I got sick last week, just a little bit of the flu that is going around. Nothing big just a few headaches, runny nose, and tiredness. So what did I do, I read three books. Franny and Zooey by Salinger, The Curious Incident of the Dog at Night, and Whatever You Do, Don't Run. The latter was the best. I read two on Friday and one on Saturday. Then I worked on a special project I will tell you about later for the rest of the weekend. I am fine now [View Full Entry]

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Hey Everyone!!!! I have a bunch to tell everyone but first, I have to thank Cheryl for her care package. It was amazing. One of the most beautiful things I have seen here in Ethiopia. It came with Playdoh, a small puzzle, Frisbee, socks, the biggest bag of Sour Patch Kids I have ever seen, 4 bags of Swedish fish and a whole case of assorted M&Ms. Thank you so much Cheryl, it was perfect. So this marks the one month of being at site for me. This means that we are allowed to travel in our region on the weekends. [View Full Entry]

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I am writing this on a friend's computer. A fellow volunteer, Jordan from Franklin, TN, traded his computer and hard drive for my PSP for the week. It was really nice being able to watch movies and TV. So what did I do this week? I found a really great NGO that I am going to start volunteering at. It is actually called the Forum of HIV/AIDS NGOs. They are working on a project to compile all of their members' mission statement, goals, projects, and contact information into a website. This actually works out great because they have gathered a lot [View Full Entry]

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Who is this Teddy Afro and what does he have to do with me, you may very well ask. Well, he plays reggae and I love reggae, he is an Ethiopian musician (and some kind of hero in his country - check the Net if you are interested) and I was in Ethiopia and got to know his music, AND: I went to a disco in Awasa with “the boys” (thank you for taking me!) where they had live music and also played some songs of Teddy Afro and it was packed and hot and fun and everyone danced and [View Full Entry]

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OK ... I know it has only been a day or so since my last installment but I have to tell you one hilarious thing that happened to me yesterday. I was walking home after my "productive" day. I live by the bus station and was just talking with some of the guys who hassle me everyday; just passing conversation. I start to walk home down my dirt road and no sooner than I hit the road do I slip and catch myself just before my butt hits the ground. Everyone was laughing, including me, and I thought to myself what [View Full Entry]

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