making the most of it

This past week, I had my first bout of real sickness since arriving in Ethiopia. Luckily it is a terrible cold rather than any kind of stomach issues (although thanks to that unique form of hypochondria that is only brought on when living in foreign places I have at various points thought I had malaria, bronchitis, mono and strep throat). But it has had me pretty much housebound for a week and is my excuse for not managing to post about my weekend away yet.

Three days home from work has given my plenty of time to pause, reflect and acknowledge that I am rapidly approaching the half-way point of my placement. Some time outside Addis really helped me gain some perspective on life living in the city -the good and the bad. Walking off the plane in Gondar, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I spent the next four days enjoying the freedom of travelling with just a backpack and good friends, experiencing time and again the incredible generosity of Ethiopians and others. And I realised that I was living life in Addis with my defences up, trying to protect myself from the beggars, male harassment, and the general overwhelming confusion of never quite understanding what’s going on. And while the defensiveness is often justified, maybe there is a way for it to not always be necessary. It took getting out of the city for me to realise that life in Addis was feeling more difficult than I was allowing myself to admit, but there are also so many different things I could be doing to make it that much better.

And as I have been lying in my bed, thinking about the last few months and making plans to make the most of my remaining time, I have been noticing that the air outside is feeling warmer and the sun seems to be shining for longer. The rain still comes but it’s more often in the torrential bursts combined with prolonged periods of sunshine that one might expect from a rainy season.  There is starting to be a shift.

Photo Credit: Michelle Ferng