Today I turn 27. Today, 27 years ago, my mom was 27 years and 27 days old. I always thought when I was 27, I would have my first child, and why not? It is a good age to have a kid, and many of my friends are at that stage in life. I always […]
We are traveling for about 5 days, not as storytellers but as tourists. It is said that if you go one place during your time in Ethiopia, it should be Lalibelia. Lalibelia is a town with a collection of 12th and 13th century churches that are carved out of rock, and still used today. […]
This time last year I was on my family’s corn and soy farm in Central Illinois. It was a great experience: I got to ride tractors, see a newborn calf, go to the annual ice cream social at the church my grandparents were married in, and learn about my family’s history. My grandma grew […]
Phoenix and I spent a long, but good morning interviewing different community leaders in Jimma, one of the towns we were visiting. We listened and learned, and when it was time to go we politely excused ourselves. Instead of walking back to our hotel alone, one of the community leaders offered to walk us back […]
The other day I was looking at film I have of our 2nd interview, and I thought to myself: ‘Wow I am really in Ethiopia… this is crazy’. The film and the interview take place in a a northern neighborhood of Addis. In this area of the city there is no running water. There hasn’t been […]
Three weeks ago was day 3 for interviews. A lovely and generously new friend offered to take us to the Akaki river, just outside of Addis. She has recently finished her MA and her focus of study was the water quality of the Akaki river. This river has vegetable farmers on it and […]
Here is a collection of pictures pertaining to water that I have taken in my time here in Ethiopia. It’s a random assortment, but my hope is that it tells a story of the water situation here. I will continue to update this post as more pictures come along.
Ethiopia. When I got this fellowship I had to google it. I knew where it was on a map (thank you, Professor Van Inwagen!) but didn’t know too much besides that. Maybe you were like me and also had to do a quick search. To fill in your Ethiopian knowledge a bit I wanted to […]
Last Thursday I moved into my very own Addis home. I share it with 4 others: 2 are away on holiday, 2 dogs and a guard. It’s noting special, but it is nice to be able to unpack and cook for myself. I got a pretty good deal and will be paying […]
Our director, Pushpa, came in Saturday night. Since then, the 3 of us have been on the move. We have made our way though restaurants, markets, hotel lobbies, parks, squares and mausoleums. We have sat in UN offices, NGO offices, university offices and in plenty of traffic. We are mastering this ever growing […]
