When I was in 3rd grade, my teacher hosted 'International Day' for our class. In addition to eating 'ethnic' foods and gaining a new appreciation for the various cultures represented by the student body, my teacher invited two of her friends...RPCVs from Morocco...to share their experiences of life abroad. That one day opened my eyes to the world beyond my classroom...my neighborhood...my home town...the USA. Literally, the day that changed my life! I knew at that very moment that my life would, for sure, include service in the Peace Corps and beyond that...a life lived as a global citizen.
After school that day, I rushed home and told my parents about the amazing people I met and how I was definitely going to 1) have a pet monkey (don't know where that came from), 2) join the Peace Corps when I grew up, and 3) travel the world for the rest of my life. Everything (almost) that I did from that point on shaped the volunteer experiences I took on...the education I sought out...the jobs I took...the things I read...the vision I had for my future (right down to the type of husband and kids I was going to have...I have an imagination, ok?!).
With respect to the husband and kids thing...I always thought that, by 27, I'd wind up with a Frenchman (don't ask me why), we'd have kids named Jean-Michelle and Gaston (again...don't ask me why), we'd live in a village (but with a little flat in Paris), have a garden, and of course, I'd have a pet monkey like Bubbles (Michael Jackson's monkey friend in the 80's).
Peace Corps (check)! Life and career abroad (check)! My Frenchman, Jean-Michelle, Gaston, and Bubbles Jr by 27...not so much! Well...after learning overtime about the cruelty of taking wild animals out of their natural habitat, made me change my mind from a monkey to a dog...and after the unfortunate incident with Travis the super frustrated chimp, my decision to stick with a dog was confirmed. So instead of the monkey...I have a bovine relative...or rather a pig.
Instead of focusing on getting the French-American family of my dreams, I focused on doing all of the things I loved and figured that the man and the family would find me in the midst of me living my life. There were those along the way who I thought might have a shot at matching me toe for toe, yet again...not so much. So I kept living my life...and enjoying it!
My job was going great and I was newly assigned to an awesome project to strengthen nursing and midwifery education in Lesotho...how rad is that?! And the best part was that, because of my involvement in this program, I was sent to Ethiopia to attend a nursing leadership summit. What?!!!! Ethiopia...the second place I wanted to visit, after Morocco, of course. Little side story: towards the middle of my PC service, we were told that the PC Ethiopia program was about to re-open after being closed for some time and there was active recruitment of currently serving volunteers and RPCVs to help open it back up. What?!!! Uhh...Me!!!!! But alas, that didn't work out...but I managed to secure a spot at this awesome leadership summit in Addis Ababa several years later!
The first day I arrived, I knew I was 'home'. This was the first place that people looked me in the eyes when speaking to me instead of at my ridiculously poofy/curly hair. 'You look Habesha', they'd say. 'Oh, for real?'
The second day, I was minding my very own business when I saw this devastatingly beautiful Ethiopian profile walk in the room. 'Whaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!' Oh Yeah! And he noticed me too!
This beautifully handsome face and lovely spirit eventually caught my imagination over a helping of injera and tibs fed gursha-style. He asked, 'Can I come visit you in Lesotho.' I balked and said, 'Well that's dramatic!' After dinner, the lovely man dropped me off at my hotel and we said our goodbyes. The next day, I caught a flight to Lesotho thinking that I'd never see that classic nose of his again. The day after that, I sent an email with the parting words, 'You're more than welcome to pay me a visit in Lesotho.' And that's where the love story began...
...And during a recent trip to Addis Ababa, my lovely Ethiopian (who obviously took to heart lyrics sung by one Beyonce Knowles) 'liked it, so he put a ring on it'! Woohoo! In the immortal words of Shug Avery in Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple', "I's (almost) married now! I's (almost) married now!"
Move over Frenchman, Jean-Michelle, Gaston and Bubbles! Welcome to our forever Ethiopian man, Tekkle, Yohannes and Bubbles-substitute!
...in the midst of doing what you love...and living your dreams...what you want and need (and sometimes didn't even know you wanted and/or needed) will find you!
And that, my Dear Reader, is my short (kinda) and sweet story of 'Love & The Expat!'
Until next time,
Dani
