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.”

A Day In The Capital

On Saturday, July 20^th we said goodbye to our camp home for a day and headed up to Addis Ababa.  For many YSEL students this was the first time for them to be in Addis and visit different cultural places in the nation’s capital.  Students visited the Zoological museum, which highlights the different types of wildlife found in Ethiopia.  Next, they visited the National Museum where they saw the real Lucy and artwork from various well-known Ethiopian artists.  An American couple in the

museum commented to Tom Toomey the YSEL Camp Director how well behaved the students were, which put a smile on his face.  After lunch, students had a drive through Addis Ababa University—a place where many dream to study in the future.  Students ended the day at the Lion Zoo before heading back “home” to camp.  “It was really nice for me, especially the museums.  This was the first time I visited the museums and learn about my country’s history, said Medhanit Fuad Abdela.  Yosef Worku commented, “I enjoyed it a lot.  My favorite part was the National Museum because I got to see Lucy.”  This was actually everyone’s first time seeing the REAL Lucy since she has been on tour around the world for the past 6 years or so and only has returned to Ethiopia in May of this year.  This was definitely one of the highlights of the month, and one day that students will remember for a long time.

Connecting with YSEL-Afghanistan Alumni

What do Ethiopia and Afghanistan have in common? YSEL, of course!  Ethiopia is the second country tohave a YSEL program and it was only apropos that connect Afghan and Ethiopian students together via Skype to get to know each other and share their YSEL camp experience.  Last Friday, five YSEL-Ethiopia students, Liul Gebreselase, Semira Abdihakim, Hannah Abate, Hoden Ahmed, and Dugume Yeshitla had a Skype conversation with four YSEL alumni in Kabul: Hamid Hamidid (YSEL4), Murtaza Afghan (YSEL3), Farkhonda Tahery(YSEL5), and the YSEL Alumni Coordinator Abdul Moqet Moneeb (YSEL 1). 

  The Skype connection was not the best, but still the two groups were able to have a brief conversation, as well as a chat session and talk about their YSEL experience and learn more about each other’s country.  To the question about the challenges they faced at YSEL camp, Hamid Hameedi replied, “It was challenging at first to be with other students from different parts of Afghanistan, but soon we all became like one big family.  Being in another country (India, where YSEL-Afghanistan is held) was very exciting too.”  He also commented that the YSEL program is “not a waste of time and is a really great opportunity to improve yourself, and prepare yourself for studying at university.”  When Hannah Abate asked about how they all felt on the last day of camp, Farkhonda Tahery said, “It was a really tragic day for us, it was difficult to leave each other and go to our homes.  But when we got together again at the American Councils office in Kabul, we were so happy to be together. Now we keep in touch by phone, texting and Face Book. You all need to stay in touch after camp.” 

   One of our students from Somali region, Semira Abdihakim asked how their fasting for Ramadan is going and what special things they do for the month.  Semira was surprised to hear that many things they do in Afghanistan for Ramadan are similar to what she does here in Ethiopia.  They talked about the different kinds of food they eat during Ramadan but had to change the subject for the conversation was making them too hungry.

  After the initial Skype call and chats, the connection got better and our Afghan alumni had a chance to speak with Tom’s Reading group for about 10 minutes.  The Reading Group discussed the book they are presently reading, “By The Great Horn Spoon,” and YSEL Afghan alumni talked about the books they read in camp.

  We hope that we can connect with YSEL alumni in Afghanistan one more time during camp and that the connection will be better.  Both sides of the conversation enjoyed meeting each other virtually and we will encourage more contact via the YSEL groups on Face Book.

Visitors From the US Embassy

                                                                                                                                                                                             On Thursday, July 18^th YSEL Ethiopia students welcomed Robert Post, the Public Affairs Officer and SemiraAlhadi, the Educational Resource Center Manager from the US Embassy in Addis Ababa.  Both Robert and Semira were excited to meet the students after two weeks of being at camp.  Semira noted that she had seen a remarkable change in the students since the Welcome Meeting in the Embassy on the first day of camp.  “The students really have opened up and seem more confident,” she commented.  “They really are very comfortable with each other too.  It is great to see the change in them after such a short time.”

  Semira gave a presentation to students on educational opportunities in the US, how to apply to colleges and different resources available to them at the US Embassy’s Educational Resource Center.  In addition to Semira’s presentation, Meron Berhanu of the Institute of International Education gave a presentation on a unique scholarship program offered through New York University-Abu Dhabi.  Many of the YSEL-Ethiopia students would be good candidates for this scholarship and here at camp we plan to give special evening sessions on filling out the application, how to write effective essays and presenting themselves well on paper. 

  During the presentations, Robert met with the eight Peace Corps Volunteers that make up the YSEL-Ethiopia teaching team to hear what they had to say about camp.  All commented on what a unique opportunity this is not only for students but for them as well.  “This is a good opportunity for us to meet students from other parts of the country we don’t get to, as well as giving us new ideas and methods for teaching,” commented Jennifer Miller, one of the eight teachers.  Our Embassy guests stayed through lunch and joined us for our YSEL camp photo in Ethiopian flag colors.

  This is hopefully not the final visit by US Embassy staff to the YSEL camp.  We look forward to seeing Robert and other colleagues back at camp for our Closing Ceremony on August 4^th!

What Are You Reading?

Here at YSEL camp, an important component is the Reading class.  Students develop their reading skills and move beyond basic word recognition to a more in-depth understanding of reading a book such as understanding the main idea, characters, setting, writing responses to what they read and develop critical thinking skills about what they read.  Below are just a few responses from some of our readers at camp.

By The Great Horn Spoon, by Sid Fleischman.  “This book is about the California Gold Rush and tells about the journey of one boy and his friend from Boston to California by way of Cape Horn.  I find this book very interesting—the journey on the ocean, how people traveled to California. It is also helping me develop my reading skills. If I can finish this book, I can read many more books.”  Dawit Mekonen, Maychew, Tigray region

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins.  “The book is more interesting than the movie.  There are more characters in the book and some of the actions were different.  I find the book a bit challenging to read because of many new words and some of the concepts.  We have 7 chapters left to read in the book and I look forward to finding out what happens in the end.”  Duguma Yeshitla, Adama, Oromia Region

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.  “I like this book because it is different from the first book we read (Seed Folks).  The main character is a horse named Joey and we know how he is feeling since he is telling the story.  In a specific amount of time, Joey learns a lot of things about war and people.  He gets separated from different people and Joey learns about life from these experiences. The setting is in Great Britain and France during World War I.  I’m learning about this period of time so it is interesting for me.  We saw some of the movie and it is a bit different from the book.  We are almost done with the book and I look forward to finding out what happens in the end.”  Redeat Moges, Addis Ababa

Happy Twins Day

As per tradition at the YSEL camp, every Tuesday is Spirit Day, when students show their camp spirit.  Last week was Backwards Day and this Tuesday was Twins Day.  Monday night students were busy finding their twin among their fellow campers and looking through their clothes to see how they could dress alike.  Fortunately, our students got their YSEL t-shirts a few days before and had no problem finding a twin.  Even our teachers got into the spirit.  Megan Sievert found her twin with Semira Abdihakim from Jijiga (Somali region).  Fortunately Megan and Semira are about the same size and Megan looked great in

one of Semira’s outfits from home.  Most students got into the spirit of the day and were able to find a twin for the day.  Next week is Crazy Hat Day so you can imagine what fun we will all have here making hats on Monday night!