The countryside around the conference hotel



Xmas Eve at home

It’s Xmas Eve and there’s absolutely no evidence of Xmas whatsoever. It’s hot and sunny, and only the occasional mention of Xmas on the BBC World Service reminds me of the time of year. We’re back home in Gondar after being away for over a week. I flew to Addis Ababa last Thursday to attend a volunteer committee meeting at the VSO office on Friday. Gill flew to Addis on Saturday and then all the VSO Ethiopia vols (about 90) travelled to a conference on Monday. The conference was at a hotel in the middle of nowhere about three hours drive from Addis. We had a great three days getting to know each other and sharing experiences, as well as enjoying the swimming pool fed by a natural hot spring. During each day there were discussion sessions held on various issues, such as HIV & AIDS, dealing with hassle in the street, security and life after VSO. We had a talk about Development issues in Ethiopia by an Ethiopian economics and development expert. Out of many interesting facts he told us about, the one the sticks in my mind is that only 14% of the arable land here is actually used for cultivation, and yet Ethiopia receives several million tons of food aid each year. The “Life after VSO” session was particularly thought provoking. Although we have about a year of service remaining (although placement duration is not rigid – you can extend or finish earlier) I do think about it. At the conference were a few people who are going home in Feb and they talked about the range of emotions they were feeling. Some people have very clear ideas about what they will do next while others have no idea. Many vols, myself included, do not want to return to how they used to live and work, but don’t really know what they want to do. One vol who flew home to the UK yesterday, has been in Ethiopia for four years. I think he’s about 27 years old and I wonder how hard he will find resettling. There are many ways of staying involved with VSO, ranging from delivering pre-departure training to visiting schools and colleges to talk about VSO, while some people re-volunteer (the record is TEN consecutive two-year placements!). As we approach the half-way point I think “what happens next” will become a bigger topic of thought.

Other highlights of the conference included sitting around a bonfire under an incredibly starry night sky, not having to think about what to cook (each meal was a decent buffet) and just being away from work and hanging out with people with similar backgrounds who are having the same kind of experiences in Ethiopia. The low point was being pickpocketed in Addis. I fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. A very well dressed man bumped into me and then profusely apologised, shaking my hand in a very Ethiopian way. As we shook hands another man reached into my pocket but made it look as if he had simply brushed past me. Fortunately, he grabbed a couple of travellers cheques and manged to miss the 200 birr in cash I had in the same pocket. The frustrating thing is that I'm normally very very careful about security here, but I fell into the trap of getting complacent. Live and learn.

After the conference we had a couple of days in Addis. Being in Addis is a good opportunity to go to a restaurant and have interesting food, and also a valuable chance to stock up on goodies at Bambis Supermarket. Key purchases included brown flour, herbs & spices and decent chocolate. As a Xmas treat we also spent some money on a couple of bottles of Ferenji wine, a jar of pesto sauce, tinned pears and some Italian cake. I can’t wait!

As for Xmas itself, tomorrow (Monday) is just a normal working day and there’s lots for us to get on with. During the conference I got some good ideas and suggestions from other vols, especially about how to help develop the skills of my Ethiopian colleagues. Hopefully in the evening we’ll have drinks with the vols who are still in Gondar.