Day 21 - Goodbye, Ethiopia...Hello, Columbus!!

Today is the beginning of my long trip home! I made it to Addis Ababa from Gondar in just under an hour. Thank goodness for Tigist, our contact in Addis, who arranged for the hotel driver to meet us at baggage claim and take us to the hotel. It was so crazy once we got off the plane, with so many people everywhere, that I'm glad we had a driver arranged for us. :)

Gondar airport. Pretty sure it's the smallest airport I've ever been to lol

Too many people leaving the airport lol

The Jupiter hotel seems like a palace right now (not that the Kino, where I've been for the past 3 weeks, wasn't a nice hotel lol). Normal carpeted floors, uber nice bathrooms, mini-bar/fridge. Paradise lol. But I can't wait to get back to my apartment!

Now I suppose I should do kind of a "wrap-up" as I'm drinking my last Ethiopian macchiato and waiting to board my international flight to Washington DC. This adventure has been so amazing, so I really don't know what I can write that will do it justice, but here goes nothing:

It has been 3 weeks of laughing until my abs hurt, trying new foods, walking until my legs feel like jelly, and all around having the time of my life. The people I got to experience Ethiopia with made all of the difference: The professors I got to work with, Nicole, Dr. Wang, Dr. Gebreyes, and Dr. Hoet, we all so great! Their expertise in communication, veterinary medicine, and human medicine helped me learn a lot on this trip, along with having a great time. My fellow OSU students Sharon, Sarah, Dan, and Elsbeth were so much fun to hang out with. I'm looking forward to the reunion in Columbus sometime next week before Dan leaves for Utah. :) I also made some great friends here in Ethiopia: Sadam, Mulugeta, and Mustofa were all so wonderful to work with! I'm really going to miss them! And let's not forget James, the Canadian MD/PhD student/GI genius who was diagnosing all of our illnesses lol. I'm hoping that all of them can come to the U.S. to work on some projects in the near future. :) 

I know I always ask people, "What was your favorite part of your trip?" when they get back from a vacation, but I really don't know if I could answer that. Which part wasn't my favorite part of my trip? :) Ethiopia was unlike any place I've ever visited. The hospitality really can't be beat, the scenery is spectacular, and the food is actually really good (even if I did start to wish for more variety after like 2 weeks lol)! Plus it was so awesome to experience a culture that's so very different from what I'm used to.

I remember the first car ride from the airport to the hotel in Gondar 3 weeks ago. I was a bit freaked out at what I was seeing, thinking, "What have I gotten myself into!?" lol. It's hard to describe, but it is VERY different from the U.S. Dirt roads, partially constructed buildings with rickety stick scaffolding, huts made out of whatever could be found, etc. But then, on the drive to the airport this morning it didn't phase me at all. Instead, I saw the beautiful rolling hills dotted with farms and the typical busy-ness of any city. No longer freaked out at how different it was from home, I realized I was really going to miss Gondar and everyone I'd met. 

Well I'll get off my soap box and stop with all of the cliches lol. All in all, an absolutely fantastic trip, but I'm really glad I'm coming back to the United States. :)

Much love,

Joslyn :)

P.S. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6. The perfect verse to end this adventure. I was certainly trusting in the Lord throughout this whole trip! I'm trying to "lean not on my own understanding," and instead follow the straight paths set before me. :)

P.S.S. Chicken fingers and fries with actual KETCHUP never tasted so good. :)

YUM :)

Day 20 - LAST DAY!! :( :)

Today was my last full day in Gondar before I begin my long trip back to the US. :( :) I'm super happy and super sad all at the same time! But let's start at the beginning:

Today we had to go to a few farms to check the TB test results. We again had a university driver, so not too much walking today. ;) PPD checks are super easy, so all in all it was a very easy morning. Then, it was back to the Kino for lunch. I have to say that I'm missing some variety in my meal choices lol. All of us have been living on fish goulash, spaghetti with meat sauce, "pizza", or soup for the past week. Ethiopian food doesn't really appeal to us anymore (especially the injera/flat bread) lol, so I for one will be glad for some new meal choices in the very near future! 

Fish goulash with cooked vegetables and rice :) Probably my favorite thing to eat here lol

This afternoon, I relaxed/packed, and then Dan, Sharon, Elsbeth, Mulugeta, Sadam, Mustofa, and I all hung out on this neat rooftop patio of a hotel at Piazza. We then went to a sort of farewell dinner at the Goha Hotel. It was delicious non-Ethiopian food. :) Now, it's time to finish packing and making sure I'm all ready for a long trip back to the United States. That's all for now! Short and sweet. :)

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
    and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
    I awake, and I am still with you.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
    O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart!
    Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting!

-Psalm 139

AMEN! I love this Psalm. :)

P.S.S. If you couldn't tell, I'm getting tired of writing lol. I feel like the posts get shorter and shorter :).

Day 19 - Productive Day

Today was such a productive day!! We officially sampled our 300th cow! :) Now that does not mean we got blood, milk, AND urine from each cow, but just that we somehow sampled 300 cows. Still, it was great to reach that goal number! It helped that we went to an official dairy farm called Ambassador Dairy Farm. There were about 40 cows there, and we got to sample close to 30! 

There was a super cute lamb at the farm too :)

Elsbeth learning how to draw blood from a tail vein :)

Somatic Cell Count - under 200,000 is considered ok lol

After the "big" dairy farm, we went to a catholic school that had a few cows. The grounds of this school were really nice, with nice landscaping and beautiful tropical plants all around. Once the sampling was done, the people working at the school (bishops or clerics or something? They were in long robes) ushered us into this nice room with comfy chairs and proceeded to serve us coffee, tea, and traditional Ethiopian bread they had made that morning. It was all delicious! We were so honored that they would prepare something like that for us when they were actually doing us a favor, letting us collect samples from their cows. It was a really cool experience. :)

Part of the catholic school

Beautiful coffee/tea service

After the catholic school, we ate a quick lunch then went back out to farms. The afternoon was going reasonably well until we got to a farm owned by this really old looking woman. She invited us in and said yes to us taking samples, but then seemed really confused as to why we wanted to see her cows? Sharon and I couldn't tell if she was mad that we were there or if that was just her personality lol. We conduct a survey as part of the research, so when we asked her age, she told us, "At least 100." Then, when we asked what her occupation was, she responded, "Why do you need to know my occupation? Are you going to give me a job?" She was a spitfire lol. She kept saying things in Amharic that would make the Ethiopian veterinarians Mulugeta and Sadam laugh, but I have no idea what was being said. I have never wanted to speak Amharic so much! Needless to say, it was an interesting way to end the day. :)

Tomorrow is my last full day in Gondar! That's crazy!! But also super exciting. Here's to enjoying my last day of farm visits!

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

  He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

  He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

 for his name's sake.

  Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

  You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

forever." Psalm 23. Amen. :)

Day 18 - The Countdown Begins :)

Exactly 4 nights from now, I will be sleeping in my own bed. :) :) :) I'm pretty excited about that lol. But today has been a great day so far! We got a TON of samples this morning! The first farm we went to had 80 cows. You read that right. Eight. Zero. Unfortunately, half were out at pasture and the farmer had to leave after we got through about 20. But still, that's 20 samples! I also couldn't believe that this one farm had that many cows. 

Just a small portion of the cows from the first farm (side note - we once again encountered deep, liquidy manure and played a fun balancing game on the rocks lol) 

We were in Kebele 6 today for the first time. Besides the first farm, we visited 3 other farms, each with at least 2-7 cows. It was a great morning of collecting samples. Also, the views from some of these farmers houses is just incredible! I'm really going to miss the spectacular views of the Ethiopian countryside. I've never seen anything like it.

Beautiful view!

Awesome local man photo-bombing our picture :) (Sharon, me, Dan, and Mulugeta)

Minor rant :) - So I've had a lot of experience working with kids, from summer camp to nannying, and I think I'm pretty patient. Well my patience was tested today lol. I'm used to being surrounded by kids at pretty much every farm here. BUT. They are usually just staring or whispering or teaching us Amharic. Not so today. One little boy (actually pictured below lol) kept repeating "Hello" for literally 15 minutes. Even if we acknowledged him and said hi back, it was still, "Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hello..." I can tell you that it becomes grating on the nerves after about 9 minutes lol. But we made it through and finished sampling at that farm, so life is great!

Beautiful view with an unforgettable little boy in the foreground lol

This afternoon was extremely unproductive lol. We had high hopes, because a farm we had passed yesterday had at least 20 cows and the farmer told us to come back this afternoon for sampling. Alas, he no longer wanted to help us get samples from his cow so no samples. We went to a nearby farm, but it only had like 3 cows. I did organize the milk samples into smaller tubes for the university, so there's that! Now it's dinner with Sharon, Dan, and Elsbeth, then bed. :)

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "...cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7. Here you go, Lord. All my anxieties. :)

Day 17 - Farms, farms, and more farms

Today was another day of farm visits, except this time, we didn't have a university driver to take us places. We ended up walking everywhere and definitely surpassed our usual 4 mile average. :) One of the farms we went to was actually a charity/school set up by the government. It had beautiful flowers growing on the grounds and a really cool map of Ethiopia painted on one of the buildings!

Gondar is in the yellow section :)

One of the farms we went to had really friendly cows! They were so curious and not afraid to come right up to us and sniff everything. They also liked to be scratched behind the ears and under the chin, similar to a dog or cat. They were so sweet!

Sharon petting a cow :)

All in all, it was a very uneventful day. :) We saw an abnormally high number of lambs while we were walking, and let me tell you, they are stinkin' adorable! I want one!! But other than that, just a regular day of collecting samples and checking PPD results. My time in Ethiopia is really winding down! It's crazy to think this awesome adventure is almost at an end. I actually booked my return flight from Gondar to Addis Ababa (where my flight to DC leaves from) today! And guess what!? It was free. :) I signed up for the frequent flyer miles for Ethiopian airlines, and between my flight from DC to Addis and then Addis to Gondar, I had enough miles (and a bunch extra actually) to get a free return flight. I was super pumped about that. :)

That lamb!

I'm definitely going make the most of my last few days here, but I'll admit that I'm ready to be home. :) So here's to 4-ish more days of this adventure!

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." 2 Timothy 1:7. This was a perfect verse for today! No fear, just power, love, and self-control. I'm glad God gave me all of that. :)

Days 15 & 16 - Cultural Dancing and Exploring

Day 15 - Friday (8/1/15)

Today was an easier day. I went out to farms in the morning with Sharon, Dan, Mulugeta, Sadam, and Sarah. It was Sarah's last full day in Gondar! :( But all of the farms today were great. Not too much walking. This past week has been a lot of walking! I found out my iPhone has been keeping track of my steps and miles, so that was cool to see. Sarah and Sharon sure do make us walk all over the place!

So. Much. Walking!

We had lunch at the Taye Belay hotel, and then it proceeded to absolutely DOWNPOUR. I am so glad we were inside. :) This wasn't the usual 1-2hr rain shower and then back to sunshine. It rained the rest of the afternoon, which meant we had the afternoon off! We all got to relax for a few hours before the closing dinner for Dr. Hoet's Summer Institute course. Every participant got a certificate, and then they presented Dr. Hoet with a UoG scarf, hat, tie, shirt, etc. He was so excited about the tie lol.

Dr. Hoet sporting the UoG hat and scarf

After the dinner, Sadam, Mulugeta, and Mustofa took Sarah, Sharon, Dan, and I to a traditional dance place. It was really cool! Everyone was sitting on these low stools or cylindrical bean bag style chairs, and there was a stage up front for the band and dancers. Traditional Ethiopian dance involves a ton of shoulder movement. It's like all shoulder isolations and crazy shoulder and chest popping. It's really cool to see! The dancers leave the stage and just go up to people in the crowd and they start doing like a shoulder dance duet lol. Ethiopians all seem to really love to dance (or at least the ones at this traditional dance place). 

The dancers do tend to pick on any white people present, though. All of the sudden one of the guy dancers comes down and grabs my arm and starts leading me to the stage. Before going, I had told everyone, "No way am I going up on stage! Nope." Well I didn't have much choice lol. I think my Ethiopian friends intentionally sat us towards the front, with most of us "white people" right on the aisle way so we'd be picked on lol. They have a mic on stage and they ask me my name, "Joslyn." Well here in Ethiopia, every time I say my name, they think I say "Jackson." So the whole crowd thinks my name is Jackson lol. The guy then proceeds to say a bunch of things in Amharic, then sticks the mic back towards me. I had no idea what he said, so I just say, "I have no idea what you said." The crowd thinks that's hilarious lol. Then the music starts, and I just have to try and mimic what the guy dancer is doing. It was really hard! But I survived, and they finally let me sit down again lol. I'm pretty sure Sharon got a video of the whole thing, and I hope to never, ever, EVER see that video! lol :)

The women in traditional costumes

Day 16 - Sunday (woo finally caught up on blog posts!)

Today we had a day off! Woo!! Dan, Sharon, and I got up early to have one last breakfast with Sarah before she leaves Gondar, then we all went back to bed lol. When we finally all got up and ready, we walked down to the Florida Hotel for lunch. We all took a minor "risk" and ordered "spris," a layered juice that is DELICIOUS. Here's hoping none of us gets sick lol. :)

Guava, pineapple, and avocado layers with half a lime squeezed on top :)

After lunch, we decided to explore the University of Gondar campus. It's a beautiful campus! We climbed up the 250 steps, and just kept walking and exploring. We eventually ended up by a soccer field, watched a game for a few minutes, then headed back to the hotel (it was starting to rain). All in all, a nice, relaxing day. Nothing planned for the rest of the day. I'm hoping for a relaxing dinner at the hotel and bed early (we have to be at a farm by 7am tomorrow). Also, Sharon and I totally watched an old Mary Kate and Ashley movie. It was the only thing on in English! lol it was funny.

The steps!

View from the top of the steps! 

We don't have a view like this on OSU's campus lol

I've again added to my list of things I miss:

- My cat lol
- Oreos: I don't know why, but I'm totally craving Oreos right now. Or brownies. Better add brownies to the list too lol. :) I think I'm craving sweets because there really are no desserts/sweet things offered here. It's kind of weird, but yet nice/healthier? Anyway.

Much love,
Joslyn :)

P.S. "And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." 1 John 5:14. I'm so glad He hears me. :)

P.S.S. To all my Bachelorette watching friends - I know who she picks lol. Sharon and I turned on the TV for the first time today, and some Entertainment show was in English and they had a segment on the Bachelorette. But I still need to watch the episodes I missed when I get home! :)