The most bizarre meeting of my life has really unsettled me. Belay, our new Programme Manager, visited us from the VSO office. After chatting with him the two of us then had a meeting with my line manager, one of the Vice Deans. He was very pleased with the work I have done, but what I expected to be a formality of a meeting plunged rapidly downhill when I started to raise some very innocent and appropriate questions about how the cluster unit might work next year. He became very defensive and then quite aggressive. He seemed to misinterpret everything I said and resorted to his usual tactic of not listening. I couldn’t believe how defensive, aggressive and outright rude he became. Belay looked a bit stunned. It seems to me that he simply did not like somebody raising questions and I think he interpreted questioning as criticism. I was simply seeking clarification of various points, but I think he interpreted questioning as insubordination. After an hour of this we ended on a sour note. Belay was astonished at his attitude and rudeness, and was very good at calming me down afterwards as I was furious. I’m pleased with how I handled myself during the meeting as I do try and seek to understand rather than jumping to conclusions, but there was a point where I wanted to walk out shouting at him where he could stick his placement.

So now I’m left with a horrible sickly feeling. I can deal with confrontation but I’m mystified about what happened and why. He’s a difficult and abrasive person to get along with who seems to have a very black and white view of how things should be. Maybe I will not be here afterall until Feb if I have to deal with his obnoxious behaviour.

Jordan and Debbie, the IT vols, temporarily fixed up the cluster unit PC this morning, which will make my life a bit easier. I just need to get another voltage surge protector from the college store as the current one didn’t stop of a voltage surge of over 350V from frying the cluster unit PC!

I had planned to visit Abera, a science teacher, at Ediget Feleg School today, but because Meleshew wasn’t around yesterday we had to make some last minute arrangements this morning. Last minute arrangements are always a bad idea, even though most people seem to work in “last minute arranging” mode. Meleshew had to go back to the local authority offices so I got a lift in a college vehicle and managed to arrive ten minutes late. On meeting the school Director he told me that Abera had finished for the day and gone home. What would have seriously pissed me off a year ago just made me shrug and smile today. Shortly after leaving the school to trudge back into town I bumped into Abera. He had been off to get some exam papers photocopied as he had no lessons this afternoon, even though he had arranged a lesson observation this morning with Meleshew. Ah well. I’ll see him next week and I’m looking forward to it. During the training I did for Science teachers he struck me as being particularly sharp and has good English.

Walking back to the centre of Gondar was quite interesting despite the baking heat. The school is in a predominantly Muslim part of town near the big market. I haven’t wandered in this part of town before and I was struck by the bustling feel. The kids were curious in a relatively quiet way and I was enjoying the walk until somebody threw a large stone at me, which just missed my head and clattered across the ground. It isn’t easy being white.

On the walk to the college I stopped at the post office and collected a parcel from mum, containing several packets of drinking chocolate, chocolate bars and some magazines (thankyou mum!). Thank God for treats.

Gill returns from Addis Ababa tomorrow. It’s been an interesting experience being here myself for a few days. Overall I’ve enjoyed it and been much more aware of lonely and anxious moments. Regardless of whether you are on your own or as a couple, you have to be quite self contained to do this. Most of the time I feel strong, emotionally well-equipped and happy living the VSO volunteer life, but there are times when I feel lonely, vulnerable and emotionally shaky. The seemingly small things take on a huge importance. Our radio is one of the key coping tools. Sometimes it’s the sound of other peoples voices that matter and sometimes its music. Most of the time the BBC World Service makes me feel that there is a big wide world out there that I can keep some connection to.

Another essential requirement to do VSO is to love lentils. Potato & lentil soup, in many different varieties, is staple food. I do though still miss beans on toast.

A storm! The clouds dumped torrential rain for most of this afternoon. With the grey overcast sky, strong breezes and drop in temperature the weather made me feel happy and lightened my mood. In UK-speak, this afternoon’s weather was “miserable”. In overheated-Brit-in-Ethiopia-speak, this afternoon’s weather was “lovely”.

Actually the weather has been the best feature of today. I wanted to do more observing in schools with Meleshew, but she was at the local authority offices all day sorting out a dispute with her neighbour. I finished most of the tasks on my to-do list, with the remaining tasks requiring either Meleshew or the Cluster Unit PC to be fixed. At least Mulugeta has been busy. His workshop has been continuous source of DIY sounds: hammering and sawing. Following the recent training we did for Science teachers, in which I demonstrated using a cloth board as a teaching tool instead of just as a display tool, I wanted to have at least one board per school manufactured. Initially Mulugeta wanted the teachers to come to us and help him. Once he started work I think he remembered how much he likes making resources. The boards are very simple, consisting of a rectangular wooden frame (about 1.5 m x 1 m) with cotton cloth fixed to it. Words and pictures drawn on paper can be stuck to it using pins. Apart from being colourful and more visually interesting than a blackboard, these boards can be used actively during a lesson and can then be left on display. For the last week or so Mulugeta has been producing 24 boards. It’s good to see him happy. HHHHe really only wants to be left alone in his workshop and make resources. I get occasional glimpses of someone who has been bruised by the system and has learned not to stick his neck out in other peoples business. Like many people he’s had direct experience of police brutality and has a somewhat cynical and pessimistic view of his fellow Ethiopians. As long as he’s happy making display boards then that makes my life a wee bit easier.

I blethered a bit this morning with the Head of the Maths Department in the college, Getachew. He was very disappointed that Liverpool lost the Champions League final last night to AC Milan. We went over the road to a café for coffee only to find that their coffee machine was out of action. For him the café next door was not an option as they don’t do Machiatto. A Machiatto is an institution here, being basically a small café latte ie coffee with steamed milk. I love these small but significant features to life here. Ethiopia may have many many huge problems but people like their machiatto! Getachew is an interesting person to talk with. He has worked with Gill a lot on the maths training she has delivered, and is unusual in that he is hard working, dedicated, believes in his profession and wants to learn. I guess he’s in his fifties and he’s experienced many changes in Ethiopia. He repeated what I’ve heard from many people, that progress, especially in governance, have gone rapidly downhill since the last elections about two years ago. The political repression that followed has taken its toll on the general level of optimism and belief that maybe things could get better. Once again, my own worries and anxieties about myself and my future seemed overshadowed by people who love their country but don’t see it going anywhere good.

In amongst the frequent heckles and hassle we get when we walk in the street (such as “you!”, “Ferenji!” and “money!”) there are many people who say nice things such as “good morning” (even in the afternoon!) and “welcome”. Unfortunately there is also the occasional abuse in the form of “fuck you”. I was shocked when small children would swear at me in English until I realized that many of them have picked it up from movies and don’t really know what they’re shouting. What I am increasingly aware of is how many comments we get in Amharic which are abusive or racist. Most Amharic I get from passers-by just bounces off me as I don’t understand it, but I am starting to pick up certain words which I know are less than flattering. There’s a word which means “red person” and I’ve had “whitey” (in Amharic) shouted at me a few times. Maybe the intent is not aggressive, but it does get annoying when a group of school kids make comments to me in Amharic which cause the whole group to fall about laughing. The only plus side is that my skin is good deal thicker than when I arrived here.

Balancing the hassle are the acts of kindness that mean so much. Yesterday, after visiting Rekebnaha School, I went to the water supply offices to pay our water bill. Queuing is unknown here and everyone, old and young, just pushes each other to get on buses or get served in shops. The shoving is not meant to be rude or aggressive, but it does make me feel extremely British. At the water offices I stood helplessly near a counter to collect the bill, while a dozen people swarmed the counter to get their bill first. The people who were waiting encouraged me to sit and wait with them but I could see me being there all afternoon. Just when I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed and pathetic I was spotted by Birhanu, the Head of the English Dept at the college, who was also waiting. He explained how it worked, realized I was a bit unhappy and then just pushed his way to the counter and asked the official to deal with my bill next. Although I felt a bit embarrassed at the preferential treatment I also felt very very grateful. Birhanu then invited me for a cup of tea in a small café next door before I went back to college. I can’t explain how appreciated and needed are the hundreds of small acts of kindness, often by complete strangers, I have had here. At moments when I’ve felt adrift in a threatening world somebody giving me a moment of their time has made all the difference.

Meleshew


Mulugeta

Looks like we might not be doing much more training with Walya school in the near future. During a chat with the Vice Dean yesterday, he explained that the college has officially told the school that it will not be supported. Last year Walya School refused to accept college students doing their “practicum” i.e. teaching practice. As a result the college decided that if the school will not support the work of the college, by accepting its students, then the college will not support the school. The school can get away with refusing practicum students because it is privately owned, but that refusal might now prevent us from doing any more work with it. I feel sad about that, as they have been very pro-active in seeking our support, but I do also see the college’s point of view.

Gill went to Addis Ababa yesterday afternoon to do some work in the Ministry of Education on the Higher Diploma Programme. This work might build into even more consulting-type work for her which will fill the gaps in her placement in college. So, I am alone until Saturday and have another opportunity to experience and reflect on what that feels like. Of course I miss her. However, it’s also good to experience some space to myself. Perhaps I rely too much on having somebody else I know at college instead of building more bridges with college staff.

This afternoon I observed a science teacher at Rekebnaha School, another one of Gondar’s private schools. I’m always struck by the difference in quality and amount of resources, general condition of the compound, and “feel” of the private schools. Why can’t state schools be like that?

We have another new VSO volunteer: Debbie, from Canada, arrived yesterday. She will replace Jordan, who goes home on Saturday having completed his three month short-term placement, as an IT person. Debbie, who spent the last six months in Awassa, is herself is a short-term volunteer and will leave in September.

To keep me occupied in the slack moments, I’ve been assembling a Cluster Co-ordinating Unit (CCU) notice-board. The idea is to raise the profile of the unit in the college and to inform the college students (and the staff) who we are and what we do. I like the creative part of it and I had some fun today getting mugshots of Meleshew and Mulugeta, my colleagues. Soon everyone in the college will not only know who Meleshew and Mulugeta are, but also who the hell that Ferenji is who walks fast around the campus.

Working with Walya School teachers

Back into action! Friday afternoon saw Gill and I delivering training on active learning methods to Walya School, a private 1^st (Grade 1 -4) and 2^nd (Grade 5 – 8) cycle school. Two teachers from the school had specifically asked us to come and give training and, during a brief visit on Wednesday, the Vice Director was very keen for us to do anything that developed the skills of the teachers. Being a private school many of the teachers do not have any teacher training. We were very happy to put something together for them as they are one of the few schools that have shown initiative and approached us to ask for training.

Over the course of two hours we worked with all 30 teachers using a variety of activities to give them some experience of active learning. Unlike may of the Gondar schools, most of the Walya staff are young and had quite good English. There seems to be a hierarchy of new young teachers starting off in rural schools, where nobody wants to work, and the older more experienced teachers graduate to jobs in towns. In our experience the younger newer teachers are easier to work with, as they have some enthusiasm and energy for learning new ideas. Walya fitted nicely into this picture and we both enjoyed working with them. I am particularly keen to work more with the science teachers and will meet them on Monday morning to discuss possibilities. Other highlights of the afternoon include the room we used for training acting like a wind tunnel, so that when anyone took their hands of their notepads bits of paper would be whipped up and sent flying across the room. There was also the older man, who looks after the school pedagogical resource centre, who Meleshew, my colleague who was participating in the training, refused to work with as he had clearly been drinking and smelled of alcohol. I tried to work with him, but from his responses I’m not sure he was on the same planet as the rest of us.

Saturday at home seemed to pass with pottering about, reading, sweating in the now daily baking afternoon heat, and listening to live coverage of the FA Cup final on the World Service.

Today, Sunday, has been, well, varied. I called round this morning to a neighbour’s house to talk with Belete, an English teacher at Fasilides High School. He has seen us around and stopped to talk with us one day to invite us to call round and chat. He’s been a teacher for over thirty years and is keen for me to visit his school and the private college he teaches at part time. We talked about many aspects to life in Ethiopia. When he talked about his experience as a child of being taught by an American Peace Corps volunteer, more than thirty years ago, I was reminded of how much impact it’s possible to have on people, often years later. The volunteer has perhaps forgotten about Belete, but Belete talked with real feeling about what he learned from their time together. As for his hospitality, Belete apologized for not being able to offer coffee as his wife and daughter had gone out!

Lunch at home was interrupted by a chicken from next door escaping into our yard and trying to eat one of the very few tomatoes that Mekdes, our day-guard, has successfully grown. The chicken’s owner and his son came round, which was the first time we had met, and after a bit of chasing and stick waving the chicken was persuaded to jump back over our fence. With the sheep that graze outside our fence, the chickens that now live next door, the cattle that wander around the streets and the hundreds of donkeys that work as pack animals carrying loads everywhere, sometimes living here is a bit like living on a farm. Of all the animals I love the birds the most. There are literally dozens of birds of prey, mainly Black Kites, which live around our house. I never get tired of watching them glide and swoop for bits of meat from peoples houses or listening to them calling when they roost in the trees by our fence.

This afternoon was quite illustrative of some of the rules of socializing here. We had made an arrangement to visit again Tesfaye (an instructor at the college) and his wife at their house. We have been invited to their house before (when their son had to cook for us because she had clearly forgotten about us coming!) and we agreed to call round at 2pm today. At 2pm their gate was answered by their maid (“servant” as they are referred to here) who told us there was nobody home, but we could come in anyway and eat some injera! We politely declined and went home wondering if Tesfaye and Co would call round at our place. Sure enough, at 4pm they both turned up. As I invited them in they said something about having been visiting people in another village. At home this would call for profuse apologies and maybe embarrassment. Not here. Time and appointments simply have different meanings here. We all chatted for a bit with a wee bit of awkwardness. When your guests have limited English there’s a limit to the conversational “flow”! After a while they said it was time to go and left us with a bag of fruit (the traditional gift when visiting somebody) and a 1litre bottle of Araki, a strong vodka-like Ethiopian spirit (definitely not a traditional gift!). Despite the awkwardness there was something really touching their visit. Their willingness to try and befriend us despite the fact that it can’t be easy for them to socialize with us is really nice.

VSO Programme Office in Addis Ababa


Mugshots and locations of all current VSO volunteers in Ethiopia


Coffee ceremony at the end of the Leavers Workshop

Yet another trip to Addis Ababa. This time to attend a meeting of the Volunteers Committee (I am the rep for the North West area) and to go to the Leavers Workshop. VSO hold a one day workshop to help volunteers prepare for going home in May and December. Since there is (was?) a possibility that we would go home before the end of December were we advised to go to the May workshop. The workshop itself was quite good, with a lot of time spent enabling us to explore and share our experiences, highs, lows, challenges, etc and to explore what skills we have developed in our time here. Although we have already been thinking a lot about what comes next, to have some structured time with other leavers was useful, if a bit strange as I am almost certainly not leaving until February! What was really nice was spending time with some people who are leaving in the next month or so, including Emma, Michael and Amanda from our Feb 06 intake. A good day together was spoiled by lack of organization by the VSO programme office. The Leavers Pack, containing all the info and procedures to get ready for leaving, was sent out late and some people at the workshop had to extend their stay in Addis to get their Police Clearance done, as they were not told what documentation to bring with them. I have to say that I am proud to do voluntary service with VSO, would consider doing it again and would recommend it to others, but at times VSO can’t organize a piss up in a brewery.

Saying goodbye to Emma, Amanda and Michael was a bit sad. We came here together, bonded during in-country training, have crossed paths two or three times in the last year or so and now they are done, finished, heading home for good. Unfortunately Amanda & Michael had problems with their employers and have decided to leave early, and Emma has been clobbered with illness (malaria twice) so much she feels she has given enough, despite having a good experience.

I met with my new programme manager and clarified that I feel committed to my work and what can be achieved enough to want to stay until the end of the next semester (Feb 08). Gill has made it clear to VSO that they need to help her get the college sorted out with using her properly or she is off in July. However, there may be enough of other bits and pieces which make good use of her skills for her to stay until Feb as well. The next month should hopefully see some progress.

As usual, we came back from Addis on a bit of a high. This also, as usual, turned into a crashing low for a couple of days. Yesterday evening I could have cried with a pent up mixture of frustration, lack of demand at work, tiredness and simply needing a break from dealing with being here. Today has been the complete opposite. After a low energy start while visiting a school my mood and energy picked up during the afternoon. Sometimes the extreme emotional roller coaster leaves me exhausted! Some stability would be appreciated, as would a reduction in the appalling heat of the last few days.

My colleague, Meleshew, was unable to do some lesson observations while I was away as all of the key teachers have been summoned by the government to be data collectors for the census which starts this month. At home, a form is sent to every household, here people have to actually visit every household. With a population of approx 80 million and most people living more than two days walk from a road, that’s a big task.

I’m hoping to get involved with some other bits and pieces of work as well as my main role of in-service training for teachers. I want to organize a regular get-together with the students on the physics degree course to practice problem solving, explore contemporary issues, etc. I’m also trying to organize a trial of a Grade 7 Physics textbook developed by a previous VSO vol but not tested with teachers and students. Hopefully useful to all and stimulating for me.

After three meetings together we really are making progress in the cluster unit in planning for next year. We haven’t actually started to create “the plan” for next year, as I am deliberately engaging my two colleagues in a very slow process of exploring the various issues we have to deal with. I’ve really learned that there’s a big advantage in taking time and giving space to the issues and trying to fully understand them. To my surprise, Meleshew and Mulugeta have responded to this slowness enthusiastically and positively. They have both really engaged with chewing over issues together and, with some gentle pushing from me, are engaging more with series of “why” questions instead of just stopping with the first simple explanation they can think of for why something hasn’t worked. As far as I’m concerned we can keep doing this for the next month if the action plan we finally produce together is one we actually use to guide our work. Some of the suggestions that have come out of this process have been good and point the way towards how we should work with schools next year.

After several aborted attempts we finally got to meet the college academic commission (a bit like a senior management team) on Tuesday morning and share our experiences of working in the college and how we think in-service teacher training and professional development for the staff can move forward. There was a certain amount of interest, pessimism and polite attention and a distinct lack of interest from many in being involved in making some of the better ideas happen. We’ve done our bit and just have to hope that something shifts.

Gill and I are talking a lot about the immediate future. Gill’s placement is still almost non-existent due to ambivalence and sheer crap leadership in the college. She is underutilized, unappreciated and undervalued by the college and is either going to have to find some other role for herself, in Gondar or elsewhere, or perhaps go home early. For me, I’m often bored and understretched, but I’ve been feeling more and more committed to what we can achieve in the cluster unit as time has gone on. After five months I can see how the unit and its support of teachers can more forward and I believe we really can make a difference in the coming year. I’m a bit surprised about how much I care about my colleagues, their development and what we can do for schools, even if trying to work with them all frequently drives me to the edge of tears with frustration and anger. Frankly I’m jaded and tired with dealing with living in Ethiopia and need a break, but I also feel like I have a mission and can make a difference.

Speaking of being driven nuts, yesterday morning provided a good example of what to me, as someone from “the north”, is a crazy way of working. At 10am morning 48 teachers and a school director from Debre Tabor, a town about 50km from Gondar, turned up at the cluster unit to see the model classroom and learn how to make and use resources. They had made no prior arrangement and hadn’t even phoned to let anyone know they were coming. Meleshew and Mulugeta were not around, so I was supposed to just drop everything and “show” them how to make and use all the resources on display and how to use active learning methods. If only it was that easy! Swallowing my irritation, I politely explained to the director that if they made an arrangement with us in advance then we could prepare something useful. Besides, we already have a plan to go to Debre Tabor and work with the teachers in their schools. He finally got the point, apologized and I managed to improvise a 20 min session explaining how we can support them. On the bright side, these teachers were enthusiastic and want help to improve their practice, so full marks to them for dedication. Unfortunately, turning up and expecting attention is how people work here. Making prior arrangements is an alien concept.

Today I’ve done mundane things like make a checklist for Meleshew and Mulugeta to use when we are preparing to deliver training. I also visited Kebele 16 primary school, with Hiwot who delivered some of the science training with me, to observe Loza, a science teacher. Loza’s lesson was really quite good. She used a variety of methods and two demonstrations using simple pieces of kit. The kids (Grade 5) were interested and her manner was positive and encouraging. She impressed me during the training and impressed me again today.