Our New Home and Some Firsts

After two days and 10 hours of driving, we made it to Chiri on Saturday Sept 5th. It’s mountainous and green and beautiful here and our accommodations are very comfortable. We have a spacious one-room house with a flush toilet. We live on a compound where we share a larger house, appropriately named “The Big House,” with the other volunteers. The Big House has a kitchen, shower (with hot water!), and a large room where we can hang out. There’s also other houses for other volunteers and guests. The paths between these separate buildings are lined with pretty flowers and the surrounding trees are occasionally occupied by colibus and vervet (sp?) monkeys. The clinic and inpatient ward as well as a small orphanage are also on-site. And the best part? The view from our back porch! Take a look at the sunset!

Here’s some firsts:

First attempt at making injera (Ethiopian pancake): unsuccessful
First time drinking a full cup of coffee (I know that’s hard to believe): tastier than expected
First time drinking Ethiopian Home Brew: much less tasty than expected (tastes like dirt)
First time hiking in Ethiopia: Beautiful
First time driving down a highway full of children, dogs, livestock, and buses: frightening
First time having diarrhea in Ethiopia: messy