August 5th--The Saddest Day for All

August 5^th was a rainy day.  It was reflective of the mood of the YSEL family.  Like the clouds, the tears fell from our eyes as we packed our things, loaded the bus and said good bye to the YSEL staff and our friends from all over Ethiopia.  Some of us left early to catch morning flights to our homes, most of us went to Addis on the bus together, but when we got to Meskal Square and said our final goodbye, again the tears flowed from our eyes as the rain came down and flooded the streets of Addis.  YSEL camp was over but despite the tears, we still have each other and we’ll never lose our YSEL family.  Although we are far apart from each other, we are forever in each others’ hearts and minds. “This was the best time in my whole life,” said Daniel Workeneh of Kombolcha.  “I will never forget this month or my YSEL family.  I hope American Councils can give this opportunity to other students in the future.”  As this program ends, now we have the busy task of making it happen again for more students from around Ethiopia.  We shall see what the future brings!

YSEL Closing Ceremony

  It’s hard to believe that a month had passed so fast and the day came when we were holding our Closing Ceremony. The day before we all said goodbye and left our home in Debre Zeyit, we put on a big show to celebrate the culmination of all our work.  We had special visitors from the US Embassy, Peace Corps and USAID.  Molly Phee, the DCM who wished us well at the beginning of camp came to help celebrate our success at the end of camp.  Bob Post, the Public Affairs officer and Tahra Vose, the Cultural Affairs officer were also in attendance, as was Greg Engel, the head of Peace Corps and Michelle Chen of USAID.  We showed our special guests a typical day at camp from “Morning Song” to “Goodnight Ladies” highlighting all the things we learned throughout the month. Afterwards, there were speeches and we received our certificates of completion and some books from the embassy. 

  It was a very special day and yet somewhat sad because we had become so close with each other and now we had to say goodbye.  “Going home tomorrow is going to be really hard,” said Senait Zemenu of Bahir Dar.  “The YSEL family is like my own family and I will miss them a lot.”  Like everything in life, there is a beginning and an end.  There is the YSEL Ethiopia FaceBook page and everyone has each others’ contact information so it won’t be too difficult to keep in touch.  Before the last day of camp comes, we will celebrate and enjoy every moment together.  Long live YSEL!

Karate Club!

Everyday after lunch is Club Time.  This is a time for students to do non-academic activities and unwind a bit before the start of afternoon classes.  One of the more unique activities YSEL students have had for clubs are Karate and Capoeria run by Nzingha Uhuru, one of the Peace Corps Volunteer teachers.  The dining hall was full of eager campers interested in learning about martial arts.  Nzingha has taught karate and some capoeria in the US and wanted to give YSEL students an opportunity to try something new.  Students really enjoyed learning the basic steps of both forms of martial arts from Nzingha. “I really liked the karate,” said Daniel Workeneh, “It taught me discipline, how to focus on the moves and count in Japanese.” 

The last week of camp, Nzingha taught capoeria, the lively form of dance mixed with martial arts that originated in Brazil.  Students loved the vigorous dance moves intertwined with some martial arts move.  It was a rigorous club and really gave students a workout before heading back to class in the afternoon.

  Besides martial arts, other clubs included soccer, aerobics, art, poetry, song, dance, and computer.  Every week students changed clubs and were able to explore different activities that they may not get back home.

Culture Day!

Yesterday was Culture Day, the last of our Spirit Days at camp.  This day, everyone dressed in traditional clothing from the different regions of Ethiopia.  Overall, it was the girls who dressed up, leaving Sintayehu of the Fantastic 12 House as the only boy who managed to wear traditional men’s clothing.  Tom wore one of his traditional Afghan outfits to give students an idea of what men wear in Afghanistan.

   At lunch, the kitchen staff surprised us with a traditional coffee ceremony.  The dining hall was covered with grass, as per tradition, and Eyerusalem from the Fantastic 12 House had the honor of roasting the beans and making the coffee, or buna, in the traditional Ethiopian way.  Other girls joined Eyerusalem to fan the small fire to boil the coffee and serve it to everyone as well.  In Ethiopia, coffee is served with popcorn so Beza and Gnajuok of the 11 Geniuses House passed a giant bowl of it around the dining hall.  Lastly, another part of Ethiopian tradition with coffee is served a special kind of bread.  Being the most senior person at the YSEL camp, Tom got the honors to cut the giant, round loaf before it was passed around.  Afterwards, someone put on some traditional music and we all got up and dance different dances from around Ethiopia.  We were a bit late for Club Time but everyone was having a great time and enjoying the moment.  Tom wasn’t sure how Culture Day was going to turn out, whether or not students had brought traditional clothes to wear, but they surprised him and it seems like Culture Day was one of the best Spirit Days we had at camp!

This is the way we wash our clothes...

You may be wondering some of the more practical sides of the YSEL camp, for instance how do students do laundry.  Well it’s quite simple—they do it by hand themselves.  This is an important way to teach many of our students life skills as well as personal responsibility.  For many,, especially the boys, this is the first time they have to do their own laundry.  The biggest challenge to doing laundry is the weather.  Given it’s the rainy season, a warm, sunny day can be elusive.  Mostly there is sun during the day but it may be followed by a rain storm that blows through in the afternoon.  Last Sunday was a beautiful, sunny day and a free day for students so it was a perfect time for students to get their laundry done.  The clothes lines quickly filled up with clothes drying and some students had to resort to the bushes around the dorm rooms to dry their clothes. 

Camp Thoughts from Gnajuok John

Gnajuok (Lil' Juok) John is one of our campers from Gambela region.  She took some time out from her busy camp schedule to give her impressions about things at camp as we enter our final week.

For me YSEL camp is very good because at first it teaches me how to communicate with other people.  This camp teaches us how to live with different people and be responsible for ourselves.  Like in the dining hall, I learned to clean up after myself.  I also learn different ways how to live with other people.  I’ve improved my English, reading and writing skills.  After camp I will continue with my reading and I will teach other people in my region.  I need to pass on my experience to other students.

  One of my new friends here is Hoden.  She is from Jijiga.  We have shared many ideas here and she has helped me a lot speaking English and helping me improve.  Because of her, my English has improved.  She checks my homework to make sure my work is correct.  She also helps me with pronunciation.

  My roommate is Senait. She is a very good roommate.  She is active in our camp. In the morning she wakes me up and makes sure we are on time for breakfast. She has taught me a lot about punctuality.

  The teachers are very active and I have learned a lot from them. If they are not active, I will not learn much.  Lastly, I want to thank all my teachers, especially for the “Speak English Only” rule. Because of that rule here at camp, my English has improved tremendously.

Meet the YSEL Teaching Staff

The YSEL Teachers are all Peace Corps Volunteers serving throughout Ethiopia.  As much as we don’t like people leaving, our first group of Peace Corps volunteer teachers had to leave us after two weeks of great teaching.  Jennifer Miller, Erin Sullivan. Whitney White and Megan Sievert, our teachers for the first two weeks said “Adieu” to us on Friday, July 19^th  as we welcomed our new team; Nzingha Uhuru, Kristen Rosen, Amanda Sutker and Pamela Cayemitte.  With tears in their eyes, students bade farewell to our fantastic teaching team of the first two weeks and with signs and songs, welcomed our new teachers to YSEL camp.  We don’t like when people leave early at camp, but our Peace Corps teachers have other camps and trainings to attend throughout Ethiopia.  We were sad to have Jen, Erin, Megan and Whitney go, but were happy to have such eager replacements for them. It has been a great pleasure to have them here and they have really enjoyed their experience. 

“The YSEL program is so remarkable, it should be replicated throughout the world!” says Nzingha Uhuru

“I have completed just over a year on my service with Peace Corps and working with the YSEL students has been the most rewarding experience so far.  I want to personally continue to be an academice resource for all of my YSEL students because they deserve my full support.” commented Whitney White

Here are more details about the dynamic Peace Corps Volunteers that make up the YSEL teaching team:

Jennifer Miller is from Iowa City, Iowa.  She has a professional and educational background in the visual arts, education, and ESL fields.  Before moving to Ethiopia, Jennifer taught informally and formally to students in a variety of contexts, including KG- Grade 12 English and Art, University level Fine Arts courses, and Citizenship classes for new immigrants and refugees.  In Ethiopia, Jennifer worked in Debre Markos as a Peace Corps Volunteer for three semesters and then moved to Addis Ababa where she worked at Kotebe College of Teacher Education.  Her favorite Ethiopian foods are tegabino, zilzil tibs, and bayenatu. Jennifer enjoys sports such as running, cross country

skiing, and swimming.  She is married and has a large extended family in the United States.

Whitney White was born in Memphis, Tennessee and didn't move from there until 2006. I accepted a

full scholarship to Swarthmore College outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where I continue to reside when I'm in the States. For the past year Hawzien, Tigray, Ethiopia has been my home. Besides the beauty of the people here, I appreciate how basic life is: organic food, few technologies, and clean air. The night sky is very captivating when there aren't many lights to outshine the stars. I never knew the brightness of the moon (or the loud sound of hyena calls) until I moved to Hawzien.

Megan Sievert, otherwise known as Lilita, came to Ethiopia with the Peace Corps to work for the Ministry of Education. She has been living in the town of Injibara in the Amhara region for two years working at the Injibara College of Teachers Education. She established an English Language Improvement Center to help teachers and student improve their proficiency. Megan learned Amharic and loves to dance to the Awi music.  She enjoys drinking jebena coffee and eating all Ethiopian food.  Megan is very excited to be a teacher at the YSEL camp for the summer and hopes all campers will teach her their special dances from all the different regions! 

 

Erin Sullivan graduated from American University in Washington, DC with a degree in Public Relations and Spanish. She spent a year as a marketing assistant for a small company in DC before moving to Ethiopia last June. In Ethiopia, Erin lives in Adet, a small town about an hour south of Bahir Dar. In her spare time, Erin enjoys running, reading, writing, spending time with friends and drinking lots of buna.

Nzingha Uhuru was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and resided in Washington, DC for 13 years.  It is here where she attained her Masters degrees in Teaching and Education and taught students from Pre-K through graduate school for over a decade.  She is presently serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia imparting the knowledge and experience she has gained in the field of education to English teachers in Haik.

Kristen Rosen is an Education Peace Corps Volunteer. I’m from America, but I currently live in Fincha, Oromiya, Ethiopia. My work in Fincha is focused on English Education at the primary schools. Before I came to Ethiopia I got my bachelor’s degree in sociology and I volunteered as a teacher’s assistant for English classes for immigrants to America. My favorite color is blue, my favorite Ethiopian food is tagabino, and I don’t know how I will survive without jabana buna after I return to America.

Amanda Sutker is a Peace Corps Volunteer serving in Adaba, a small town in the Bale mountains.  Originally from Columbia, South Carolina, Amanda enjoys reading, writing, and traveling.  Her favorite things about Ethiopia are embroidered scarves, macchiatos, and Ethiopians' long greetings (complete with kisses on the cheeks).

Pamela Cayemitte is originally from Florida in the U.S.  In Ethiopia, she works as a teacher trainer in Korem, Tigray.  Pamela studied French and Education at the University of Florida.  She likes music, reading, and basketball.

Meet The YSEL Staff

  The YSEL Camp staff is made up of experienced American Councils staff, Peace Corps Volunteers, and members of the U.S. Embassy’s Youth Council. Together they make up a strong team dedicated to making this camp a success. Here’s a little information on them.

Tom Toomey (YSEL Camp Director) has been working for American Councils for twenty years.  He first got started in Ekaterinburg, Russia where he recruited students for the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program.  Since 2004, he has been involved in youth programs in Afghanistan, the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) and YSEL programs.  Besides these programs, Tom has done teacher trainings and curriculum development and English language programs in various countries in the Former Soviet Union.  He is very excited to add Ethiopia to his list of countries and work with Ethiopian youth. 

Endalkachew Tesera (YSEL Assistant Camp Director) is excited to be involved with the YSEL program.  “This is a unique opportunity for young people from all over Ethiopia and I’m very happy to be working with them,” says Endalkachew.  As Assistant Director, he helped interview 120 semi-finalists, traveling around the country with Tom to select this group of motivated students.  When he is not working on the YSEL program, you can find him at Addis Ababa University where he is a professor of psychology.

Kyle Kastler (YSEL Program Coordinator) was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Kyrgyzstan for two years before joining American Councils in Washington DC. It was in Kyrgyzstan that Kyle developed a real love for helping students to discover the English language in non-traditional ways. He loves to teach using songs, stories, poetry, creative writing, television shows, and speeches. This is not Kyle’s first opportunity to work with the YSEL program. Last winter, he was part of the YSEL-Afghanistan teaching team in India and had a great time.  He is ecstatic about joining the YSEL-Ethiopia team and working with young people from this diverse country.

Crazy Hat Day

This week's Spirit Day was none other than Crazy Hat Day!  The night before students got together in the YSEL library to fashion their own crazy hat out of old flipcharts, streamers and colored paper. They cut, glued and stapled themselves into a frenzy of millinery.  YSEL Director Tom Toomey was on hand

to give creative tips to making the craziest toppers ever.  Back in his pre-American Councils life, Tom was a hat designer in San Diego, so he has some experience with chapeaux whether it be of felt, straw or paper.  The students had a great time desiginign their own creations and
sporting them the following day.  Despite the rain, the hats stood up and we carried on                                                             with Crazy Hat Day as planned!

Debate and Public Speaking Nights

Every Wednesday night is when we have an academic competition between the houses.  Last Wednesday was Debate Night.  Each house competed in two rounds of debating, judged by our teaching staff.  When the scores were tallied, there were two finalists remaining Liul Tsegaye of the “11 Geniuses” house and Senait Zemenu of the “Habesha” house.  In the final round they debated the topic “Is it good for a country to have a strong economy or a strong military?”  The two debaters went at it in front of their peers and in the end, when the scores were tallied by Kyle Kastler, the YSEL Program Coordinator, Liul was the winner!

  Last night was the Public Speaking competition.  Two members of each house were selected to show off their oratory skills.  The judges this time were our new teaching team: Pamela Cayemitte, Amanda Sutker, Nzingha Uhuru, and Kristen Rosen.  There were two categories. The first was a prepared speech modeled after Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, where each candidate had to express their ideas for how they see their future and talk about their “dream”.  The second category was an impromptu speech where students chose a topic from “Tom’s Topic Box” and had 5 minutes to prepare a speech about it.  In the end, Hannah Abate of the “11 Geniuses” house won the “I Have A Dream” speech, and Senait Zemenu of the “Habesha” house won the Impromptu speech competition.  There are some wonderful public speakers among the YSEL campers and it was close in both competitions.  Congratulations to our winners!

An Afternoon At The Lakes

  Debre Zeyit is known for its 7 lakes, 5 of them formed from ancient volcanic craters.  People flock from all over the country to spend a relaxing weekend at the lakes.  Yesterday, YSEL students toured the 4 main lakes and had a chance to relax and have some fun by the famous lakes of Debre Zeyit.  They boated, they swam, and enjoyed being together in the lovely natural settings.  For many this was the first time they have seen these lakes and they were very impressed.  It was also a chance for students to spend time outside of the classroom getting to know each other better in a relaxed setting.  As two of the boats rowing students went out to the middle of Babugaia lake, one could hear form the shore the “Boom Chicka Boom” going back and forth between the boats and students laughing, having a great time. 

 

What did our students think??

 I’m very glad because I visited the lakes of Debre Zeyit; Bishoftu, Hora, Chelekleka, and Babugaya.  It was my first to see these lakes.  I went swimming in Babugaya lake and enjoyed it very much. 

  Duol Ker Doyiech, Gambela Region

  The lake views were really nice, they are surrounded by mountains and forests, and there are resorts where can people can visit and relax.  I am form Bahir Dar where we have a big lake, Lake Tana, but this was the first time I went on a boat on a lake.  I enjoyed taking pictures with my friends and teachers at the lakes. It was a very unforgettable day.

  Hanna Andargie, Amhara Region

   The lake visit was a nice journey.  At Hora lake I saw a castle of Haile Selassie.  There were very big trees and mountains surrounding the lake.    It was a very nice day for me, it was the first time I got to see the lakes of Debre Zeyit after hearing about them from many people.

  Gnajouk John Gach, Gambela Region

  I liked the nature that is found in Debre Zeyit.  It was unbelievable that felt like heaven.  I saw four lakes, one is seasonal but the others are there all the time.  At Hora Lake I went on a boat and put my hands in the water.  The water was very warm, but at the middle it was cold.  I saw Halie Selassie’s castle on Hora Lake too which was very interesting.  Also there are many kinds of birds that I have ever seen before.

Redeat Moges, Addis Ababa

We Are Family--Celebrating Family Day At Camp

  One of the new traditions at YSEL camp is Family Day.  This was a chance for students to invite their own

 families to visit us for an afternoon and see all the achievements the YSEL family has achieved thus far.  In total, we had over 40 family members visit camp, mainly from the Debre Zeyit and Addis Ababa region.

  Students did a wonderful job explaining their work and projects they have done at camp.  All family members beamed with pride and were very grateful for this experience their children, and other children, have.  “We are all very thankful to the US Embassy and American Councils for organizing this wonderful program,” said one proud father.  “I can see how much my daughter has grown in only two weeks!”  Besides visiting the classrooms, family members saw the exhibit of art in the dining hall, project design class work, and toured the garden area to see first hand what YSEL students have been learning about urban gardening.

  After a tour of the campus and lunch, the YSEL students showed some of the things they have learned here at camp.  Each House made a presentation about their house and some of the different clubs presented songs and dances they have learned together in the past two weeks.  Parents got to see the wonderful Geography class film project where students present various components of geography newscast style.  Eyerusalem Dessie wowed the crowd with her version of Adele’s “Someone Like You,” and the day ended with a round of piñata breaking, thanks to piñatas made by Jennifer’s Art club this past week.  Kyle Kastler, the Program Coordinator, and his cooking crew whipped up batches of cookies for the guests, which were

much appreciated by the families visiting.

  Later in the evening students reflected on the day and what it meant for them.  Hannah Abate of Bahir Dar in the Amhara region said, “It was a wonderful day.  My family did not come today but my friend’s family came and treated me like their own.  I realized today that we, the YSEL members, are family and that they can share their families with me. I enjoyed every moment of the day.  Everyone really admired all our work and when we showed them around the classrooms and displays, I felt a sense of pride about all we achieved so far at camp.”