Sunday, May 17, 2015

Week 0: I'm going to Addis!

It doesn't quite seem real--in under two weeks, I'm scheduled to leave for ten weeks in Ethiopia. I spent several of my most important years living with my family in East Africa but never had the chance to visit Ethiopia, so this is going to be an incredible new adventure. I love Ethiopian food, I'm fascinated by the ancient culture of the Abyssinian Empire and the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia, and mesmerized by the discoveries of human ancestors in the Awash Valley.

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been provided a grant by Georgetown University to pursue an internship opportunity overseas, and to have been offered a position as a Learning & Knowledge Management Intern with Mercy Corps, an organization I've been working with for the past semester and which has a huge development portfolio in Ethiopia.

Right now, I'm focused on the process of packing, visa applications, flipping through my Amharic guide book, (temporary) goodbyes with friends and loved ones, and wrapping my head around this incredible trip ahead of me! As I prepare to leave, four of my classmates--Rachel, Taylor, Matt, and Meredith--are all headed off on their own trips (to Jordan, England, Germany, and Kenya) to do amazing work with very cool organizations. As we all get our blogs set up, I'll be sure to link to them--I'm so excited to keep up with them as they do incredible work with wonderful organizations. Please join me in wishing them luck on their travels!