A Belated Greeting from Ethiopia

I’ll start this post out as I will likely start out most of my posts, with an apology for being so negligent with my blog. I would like to blame it on the fact that internet in Ethiopia is very slow and charges per minute, which is true, but not really an acceptable excuse because I’ve been able to check emails fairly regularly and even occasionally check Facebook. I’d also like to blame it on the fact that blog sites, such as this one, are generally blocked in Ethiopia. Apparently, as an attempt to limit the opposition during the particularly tumultuous 2005 elections, the government restricted access to blogs. Although the recent election was relatively peaceful, the blocking of blog sites remains. So, it almost sounds convincing, and makes a pretty good story, for me to blame my lack of communication on government censorship. But, unfortunately, that excuse doesn’t hold up either. As soon as I discovered the block and relayed that information to my family, I had multiple offers of substitute posters. So that excuse won’t work either. I’d also like to explain my poor posting on being very busy and engaged with the Ethiopian culture. That sounds the best, and is probably the most legitimate excuse so far. I spent my first six weeks here in Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, doing my language study and my “cultural orientation.” Struggling to learn an extremely difficult language, exploring the capital city, trying new foods, meeting new people, and living with 4 other American MCC service workers kept my days full and my mind occupied. But, there was still plenty of free time. I spent many afternoons reading and many evenings watching TV shows or movies with my housemates. Life was full, but it wasn’t too busy and it was rarely stressful. So what’s the real reason I’ve been so negligent in my blogging? Part laziness. As most of you know, I’m a procrastinator to my core. But, more than that, I’ve been having a very hard time knowing what to say. I started to write 3 separate posts at various times during my language study, but never knew how to finish them. How can I sum up everything I feel and think and do in a new country with new people? How can I describe the intangible ways in which everything feels different and everything feels the same? How can I make all those I love back home understand experiences about which I’m not sure how I feel?
I can’t. That’s the truth. It’s impossible.
But, I guess I better at least try.