wanna have a catch?

Were it not for Peace Corps Ethiopia All Star, Anthony Navarrete, I would have completely forgotten about these videos I uploaded while eating Burger King and drinking Egyptian beer at Cairo International Airport. I was in a total travel daze at the time, scrambling to get these puppies uploaded before my final push back to Addis. That being said, it's no surprise that the vapors of memory absconded from whatever portion of my brain in which they were temporarily stored.

Without further adieu, I present to you two separate firsts for two separate pairs of Ethiopians. Video #1 is that of an Ethiopian couple having a catch with an American football for the first time in their lives. He's 95 and she's 80. Video #2 is that of two Ethiopian girls tossing a baseball for the first time in their lives. I don't know their exact ages, but they're definitely not 95 and 80.

everything the light touches

"Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope." -Mufasa
"But, dad, don't we eat the antelope?" -Simba
"When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass and so, we are all connected in the great circle of life" -Mufasa, The Lion King

The Lion King is hands-down my favorite Disney movie, so it's none too surprising that it was top-of-mind in the midst of a little "Circle of Life" moment yesterday afternoon. 

in memoriam: getenesh tesfaye

Late this morning, the Peace Corps Ethiopia world was rippled with the news that a member of our family had passed away. Getenesh Tesfaye, recently promoted to Program Assistant in the Education sector, will be sorely missed. Prior to her promotion, Getenesh served as a Language and Culture Facilitator (LCF); in other words, a teacher for PCVs to-be while in training. It was in her capacity as an LCF that most Volunteers had the pleasure to know Getenesh. While I did not have the opportunity to interact extensively with Getenesh, she was one of the first people to teach me Amharic, back when Ethiopia was new and relatively overwhelming, and also served as one of the guides for my group when we toured Addis and perused the National Museum. Those interactions, and the handful I've been blessed with since, were more than enough to bestow upon me the same impression of Getenesh Tesfaye that was held of her program wide - that of a kind, caring, generous, gentle individual with a passion for helping Americans adapt to life in Ethiopia.

The last time I saw Getenesh in person was in early December, when I was at the Peace Corps headquarters in Addis for my first VAC meeting. I poked my head into the Ed. PA office for a brief chat with Getenesh and Zebib, another fantastic Program Assistant. Getenesh was all smiles, as she was every time we met, which is undoubtedly how I will remember her.

Even had I not been fortunate enough to spend even a small amount of time with Getenesh, I would still have a difficult time digesting the news. The fact is that, in Peace Corps, you really do develop a family mentality with everyone in the program. We all go out of our way to help one another, knowing that we are our best supports. Other Volunteers become brothers and sisters; staff become fathers, mothers, aunts and uncles. We have lost one of our own. And while the work of Getenesh Tesfaye will carry on, with the hope that is her father's name, through the many on which she was able to leave a lasting impact, the Land of 13 Months of Sunshine is a little less bright today.

Getenesh, far left, on our Guided Tour of Addis

That I, considering everywhere

Her secret meaning in her deeds,

And finding that of fifty seeds

She often brings but one to bear,

I falter where I firmly trod,

And falling with my weight of cares

Upon the great world's altar-stairs

That slope thro' darkness up to God,