I was away from Haramaya University for almost a week to take part in a teacher training workshop in Jimma. While the workshop was only two days, it took two days to get to Jimma and two days to get back. I first traveled to Addis Ababa which is approximately the half-way point. The next morning Semira, Tahra, and I rode in a U.S. Embassy vehicle from Addis to Jimma (about a 6-hour drive). It was exciting to see a new part of the country; things were noticeably greener west of Addis than in the eastern part of the country. I also noticed that most of the houses in this part of the country were round and had thatched roofs whereas the homes near me are usually rectangular and have corrugated metal roofs (both areas use mud and straw for the walls of the home). During the drive, we saw a troop of baboons on the side of the road; I made a note to myself to try and get a closer look on the drive home. As we got closer to Jimma, there were many different items being sold along the side of the road. We first went through an area with people selling woven goods (baskets, bread holders, seat covers). Next, there were young girls selling eggs. Finally, there were fruit vendors (selling bananas, pineapples, guavas, oranges, and some other fruits unfamiliar to me).
After reaching Jimma, we checked out three different hotels before choosing our home for the evening. The first hotel had moldy rooms, the second hotel had little running water, and the third was nice, but fully booked! We opted to go with the hotel without much water. After settling in, we had the end of the afternoon and evening to ourselves. I decided to take advantage of the free time and go swimming. The next two days, I would be fully occupied during the daytime hours because of the workshop, so Thursday was my chance to enjoy the sunshine! I walked over to Central Jimma Hotel which was right next to our hotel. I had to pay about $2 USD to use the swimming pool, but it was definitely worth it! I was surprised that there were so many other people swimming with me (about 15 different people came and went while I was there). I had fun chatting with some of the locals and we played some water games together (Marco Polo and diving for coins).
I met up with Semira and Tahra to head over to Honeyland Hotel. The main workshop organizer, Gina, was staying at Honeyland and that was also where the workshop would be held the next day. We had dinner together in the garden area outside the hotel. I wasn’t very hungry since I had had a late lunch, so Semira and I decided to split a pizza. When our pizza finally arrived, we couldn’t even see it because it was so dark. Luckily, I had my headlamp in my bag. Semira thought it was quite strange to wear a “miner’s accessory” and took a photo of me looking goofy. I was happy to see our strange-tasting pizza though! The crust was sweet and the toppings included hardboiled egg and chunks of brie or gouda cheese that didn’t melt. I can’t say that it was bad...just not at all what I was expecting! We discussed a few of the workshop details and then headed back to our hotel.
I met up with Semira and Tahra to head over to Honeyland Hotel. The main workshop organizer, Gina, was staying at Honeyland and that was also where the workshop would be held the next day. We had dinner together in the garden area outside the hotel. I wasn’t very hungry since I had had a late lunch, so Semira and I decided to split a pizza. When our pizza finally arrived, we couldn’t even see it because it was so dark. Luckily, I had my headlamp in my bag. Semira thought it was quite strange to wear a “miner’s accessory” and took a photo of me looking goofy. I was happy to see our strange-tasting pizza though! The crust was sweet and the toppings included hardboiled egg and chunks of brie or gouda cheese that didn’t melt. I can’t say that it was bad...just not at all what I was expecting! We discussed a few of the workshop details and then headed back to our hotel.
The next morning, we ate the free breakfast that was included with our rooms. I was pleasantly surprised by the delicious avocado juice, scrambled eggs, toast, and macchiato. With full bellies, we headed back over to Honeyland Hotel. As predicted, things didn’t quite get started on time. We were expecting up to 50 teachers from the local area (some high school and some university-level English teachers). We ended up with 42 teachers of various ages (mostly males). Tahra made some opening remarks and then I was scheduled to speak for 15 minutes about “being engaged” at a workshop. I was a bit nervous since this was my first opportunity to do any sort of teacher training. I think it went well though; the 15 minutes flew by in no time! The room was hot though and I was already sweating!
Later that morning, I led another session about teaching writing. I should mention that the title of the workshop was “Maximizing the Conditions for Learning English” and Gina had created three overall themes of “exposure”, “use”, and “motivation”. I adapted my material to fit into these three themes. I shared my experiences teaching Intermediate Writing at Haramaya University and suggested various activities that I found effective and useful. I spent some time talking about assessment and how to deal with potentially large class sizes and low-level students. The participants were good listeners and asked me many good questions. Although there are some things I would like to change for future workshops, I thought my first full-session went really well.
Lunch was served buffet-style at the hotel – it was nothing fancy, but included lots of fresh veggies which I appreciated! After lunch, a Peace Corps volunteer named Chris led a session about energizing activities (this was perfect since everyone was feeling a bit sluggish after eating). Gina rounded off the day with a session on teaching reading. She focused specifically on how to use textbook readings that are often far too difficult for the students (and sometimes even the teacher).
On Saturday, the second day of the workshop, things got off to a rocky start. The workshop itself was fine, but everyone was in a bit of a strange mood since there had been an armed robbery late Friday afternoon. A group of Chinese men staying at Honeyland Hotel had been hijacked while driving just outside of Jimma. Sadly, one of them was shot in the neck and did not survive. Since our workshop was being held at Honeyland Hotel, we had to deal with the police coming and going and see the distraught faces of the survivors. It was a surreal situation; I still can’t help but think that our embassy vehicle could have been just as easily targeted. Generally, Ethiopia is very safe and as far as I know, this was an isolated situation. But still...I, and the other workshop participants and presenters, were shook up, to say the least.
Later that morning, I led another session about teaching writing. I should mention that the title of the workshop was “Maximizing the Conditions for Learning English” and Gina had created three overall themes of “exposure”, “use”, and “motivation”. I adapted my material to fit into these three themes. I shared my experiences teaching Intermediate Writing at Haramaya University and suggested various activities that I found effective and useful. I spent some time talking about assessment and how to deal with potentially large class sizes and low-level students. The participants were good listeners and asked me many good questions. Although there are some things I would like to change for future workshops, I thought my first full-session went really well.
Lunch was served buffet-style at the hotel – it was nothing fancy, but included lots of fresh veggies which I appreciated! After lunch, a Peace Corps volunteer named Chris led a session about energizing activities (this was perfect since everyone was feeling a bit sluggish after eating). Gina rounded off the day with a session on teaching reading. She focused specifically on how to use textbook readings that are often far too difficult for the students (and sometimes even the teacher).
On Saturday, the second day of the workshop, things got off to a rocky start. The workshop itself was fine, but everyone was in a bit of a strange mood since there had been an armed robbery late Friday afternoon. A group of Chinese men staying at Honeyland Hotel had been hijacked while driving just outside of Jimma. Sadly, one of them was shot in the neck and did not survive. Since our workshop was being held at Honeyland Hotel, we had to deal with the police coming and going and see the distraught faces of the survivors. It was a surreal situation; I still can’t help but think that our embassy vehicle could have been just as easily targeted. Generally, Ethiopia is very safe and as far as I know, this was an isolated situation. But still...I, and the other workshop participants and presenters, were shook up, to say the least.
Semira and I left the workshop in the morning to go to the American Corner located at the public library in Jimma. I was scheduled to present for about an hour on any American culture related topic and Semira was to present about applying to American universities and applying for scholarships. Since it was the week before Thanksgiving, I decided to do a mini-lesson on my favorite holiday. I taught the students some related vocabulary and then told them the story of the history of Thanksgiving (complete with a turkey prop). I then gave them background information about myself and allowed them to ask me any questions related to me or the U.S. I was pleasantly surprised by their level of interest and interaction. We had about 80 students there and few materials to work with (no chalkboard/whiteboard, no paper, etc.).
Semira gave an excellent and realistic portrayal of the college admissions process in the U.S. So many Ethiopians will tell you that they want to study abroad and will ask for information about scholarships. While it is entirely possible for them to be accepted to American schools and to be eligible for scholarships, most are naïve to the details and the competitiveness of the process. Once again, the participants were interactive and had a lot of questions for Semira and me.
We left the public library to get lunch and head back to the teacher training workshop at Honeyland Hotel. I had another session to lead in the afternoon about the Academic Word List (AWL) and vocabulary teaching ideas. I wasn’t sure how this session would go over with the teachers since most of them were teaching lower-level students. I adapted much of what I had originally planned and spent much of the time having the teachers try out activities/games that I use with my own students. It was a hit! I think the teachers appreciated the practical nature of what I was sharing with them and also enjoyed having fun at the end of a long two days of being “talked at”. At the end of the workshop, all of the teachers received a certificate and many handshakes and congratulations.
Semira gave an excellent and realistic portrayal of the college admissions process in the U.S. So many Ethiopians will tell you that they want to study abroad and will ask for information about scholarships. While it is entirely possible for them to be accepted to American schools and to be eligible for scholarships, most are naïve to the details and the competitiveness of the process. Once again, the participants were interactive and had a lot of questions for Semira and me.
We left the public library to get lunch and head back to the teacher training workshop at Honeyland Hotel. I had another session to lead in the afternoon about the Academic Word List (AWL) and vocabulary teaching ideas. I wasn’t sure how this session would go over with the teachers since most of them were teaching lower-level students. I adapted much of what I had originally planned and spent much of the time having the teachers try out activities/games that I use with my own students. It was a hit! I think the teachers appreciated the practical nature of what I was sharing with them and also enjoyed having fun at the end of a long two days of being “talked at”. At the end of the workshop, all of the teachers received a certificate and many handshakes and congratulations.
Semira, our driver Solomon, and I celebrated the end of our time in Jimma by shopping for souvenirs and eating raw meat! Jimma has a lot of little shops that sell various wood carved items. I picked out some neat looking animal figurines (2 giraffes and 2 deer-like creatures). I also got a salt and pepper shaker and matching sugar/spoon set. Jimma is also famous for its coffee, but I didn’t get any since my backpack was already overflowing with goodies (and I had yet to stop at the U.S. Embassy market).
The drive back to Jimma on Sunday was fairly uneventful save for the baboons! I purchased several bunches of bananas before we reached the spot where the baboons usually hang out. I got out of the car to feed them, but they were more timid than I had imagined. They refused to take the bananas out of my hand, so I threw them a couple of feet in front of me and tried my best to lure them over to the camera! It became immediately clear who the alpha males were...they managed to steal almost every banana. I tried to spread the “golden” wealth to the whole troop...especially the mother with a tiny baby baboon clenched to her chest, but it was easier said than done!
The drive back to Jimma on Sunday was fairly uneventful save for the baboons! I purchased several bunches of bananas before we reached the spot where the baboons usually hang out. I got out of the car to feed them, but they were more timid than I had imagined. They refused to take the bananas out of my hand, so I threw them a couple of feet in front of me and tried my best to lure them over to the camera! It became immediately clear who the alpha males were...they managed to steal almost every banana. I tried to spread the “golden” wealth to the whole troop...especially the mother with a tiny baby baboon clenched to her chest, but it was easier said than done!
Only in Ethiopia have I ever felt car sick. Usually I am a very hardy girl and it takes a lot to negatively affect me. However, whenever I’m in a vehicle for more than an hour or so here, I start to feel queasy. I am wondering if this has something to do with the elevation (even though I thought I’d be used to it by now). The roads here are in relatively good condition and the drivers aren’t doing anything too crazy, so I’m guessing there must be some other factor at play. When I mentioned this to Tahra (who is also from the Midwest), she said that she’s had the same experience here. Luckily, I haven’t had any major issues; usually a quick pit stop or sitting in the front of the vehicle alleviates most of the discomfort. Anyway, when we finally reached the outskirts of Addis, it was a very welcome site! I was ready to be out of the car and do a little sightseeing before heading back to Haramaya.
More photos from my trip to Jimma:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113203084550986862848/albums/5950634774034459313
More photos from my trip to Jimma:
https://plus.google.com/photos/113203084550986862848/albums/5950634774034459313