Saying goodbye to Butajira

My first home in Africa

PST (Pre Service Training) is coming to a close and its a little hard to believe that I'm going to be leaving this little town that has become a home to me. I'm eagerly awaiting moving to my site of Wolisso, and living on my own, but I will miss Butajira and the routine I've grown accustomed to. I'm dreading saying goodbye to my host family... I hate goodbyes. But I feel so fortunate to have met such wonderful people who willingly took me into their homes and made me a member of their family.

My host family has been an intregal part of my Peace Corps experience thus far. I arrived in country 3 months ago, unable to speak a word of Amharic, not knowing how to wash my clothes, or survive in Ethiopia and my family helped to teach me all of that. It takes a special kind of person to take in an absolute stranger, let alone one from another country who does not speak your langauge.

I will be forever grateful for the hospitality, love and Godliness that these people have shown me. They have opened my eyes to a whole new world, a new way of living life and living out the gospel. I will miss them, but I know I will come back to visit before my two years are up :)

Now its time to see what Wolisso has in store for me over the next two years...

Inate (My host mom) Emebet

My adorable host sister Betselot. Africas next top model.

Towards the outskirts of town

The view from my bedroom window

One of the classrooms at the preparatory school where we taught during PST

The crater lake I would often hike to with my PC friends

My first pet chicken! He died 2 weeks later.

Fun with my baby chick. He thought my hair was a birds nest -_-

The town of Butajira