Melkam Addis Amat (Happy New Year) x2

“You are lucky.”

“Why?”

“Because you get to celebrate two new year’s.”

While the rest of the world celebrates the end of 2019 and the coming of 2020, for Ethiopia it is another day, it is December 22nd, 2012 to be exact (Ethiopia is on the Julien calendar). We celebrated the new year in September, so I am lucky that I get to celebrate two new year’s. Twice the opportunity to reflect on a year before and look forward to the year ahead.

I arrived in Ethiopia in 2018 (or 2010) and will finish my service in 2020 (or 2012). 2019 was the only complete calendar year of my service; and when I approached it it seemed insurmountable and yet now the year has passed and it seems that the remaining precious months will quickly slip by.

I have a lot of gratitude for the time I’ve had in Ethiopia. For the double new years, the thirteen months, the daily lessons in humility and patience, the feeling of warm sunshine against a brisk morning, for three cups of buna, for the children who hold my hands on my walk to school, for the handfuls of kolo, for the endless greetings from friends and neighbors, for the abundance of shared meals,  for each day that I’m here which I want to hold onto a bit longer before it inevitably slips away.

A lot of my service has been unpredictable and beyond my control. Surrendering to that has been both challenging and freeing. There are times when I get to make choices and other times when I don’t (or somehow choose not to make a choice). I’ve also experienced lessons in permanence in that most things are in fact quite impermanent (including my time here) and to not take things for granted.

As I look out my window I see the moon, a new crescent like a slice of fruit, the way it is positioned in the sky in this part of the world. Perspective is everything and I know my perspective has changed many times since arriving in Ethiopia.

Yesterday I talked to my students about the new year and taught them about new year’s resolutions—they all resolved to get high marks and study hard. I resolved to be a better teacher and one student said, “you are a better teacher.” And in many ways I am a better teacher than I was last year; I’m more patient and have more fun in the classroom. I learned not to be so hard on myself and to appreciate the small victories. But, as I told my student, there’s always room for improvement and so I will strive to be a better teacher for my students in the time that we have left together.