Dr. Tra's Second Day in Ethiopia!

Day two of My Adventures in Ethiopia!
This morning I went to the University and met with students to advise them on their qualitative research projects. The students are so smart and so passionate about their topics! I am always amazed at how much new researchers try to accomplish in one single research study. I'm still so fresh out of my doctoral program that I can certainly relate to them--I wanted to cover so much with my dissertation research, but I soon realized that a narrowly focused and do-able project is best for the doctoral thesis--as one professor told me, the best dissertation is a FINISHED one! LOL I shared that with some of the students today-- of course, no one ever wants to hear that their project should probably be scaled back! So, I told them very gently. :)

We met with the Directors of the Institute for Educational Research at Addis Ababa University. It's so amazing of the breadth of their collaborations and research endeavors. They collaborate with several other reserach organization and an international consortium for educational research. So many possibilities! Speaking of possibilities, my colleague Ann O'Connell gave a fantastic talk about the partnership goals and projects that we hope to engage in via the partnership. I give my talk on Thursday--I will discuss how we can use technology to support our partnership and student engagement efforts.

Today, we visited the Mary Joy Development Association--one of the country's largest NGOs--and it serves hundreds of thousands of people yearly with its health and education inititiaves. This organization has impressed me with its ability to accomplish such meager resources. Mary Joy is one of the organizations we hope to partner with for service learning and community outreach projects. The staff were so wonderful to us--so hospitable and welcoming! We were treated like celebrities--I was so moved and honored and grateful. We toured the compound and clinic. Such an amazing facility! While at Mary Joy, I had authentic Ethiopian food--a type of spongy-like bread product that is native to this country. It's called injera and it is not found anywhere else! It was covered with a flavorful red sauce... My tummy didn't like that sauce--it was very spicy. I drank a lot of coco-cola to keep my mouth from burning! LOL I must be getting old because my tummy doesn't like a lot of different things these days.

I took a ride in a taxi bus they call the "blue devil" and it's hilarious because everyone drives really fast here, but there are not many traffic regulatory mechanisms like traffic light signals, signage and such... funny, I have not been frightened at all while riding along in cars. I just feel like I am completely safe here--the power of my spirit in action!!  Also, it is NOT illegal to drink and drive or to have open bottles of liquor in the car while driving! How interesting is that? Speak of liquor... I had "honey wine" tonight and I was told by my university colleague that it's not strong enough to make you tipsy, but how about I'm definitely tipsy right now! LOL Another quick fact--do you know how much gas is here?? Approximately, 1.00USD per liter!! Can you believe that?

While drinking the honey wine, I had a such a wonderful discussion with my colleague about a possible study he wants to conduct--it is on teacher education. There has been some major programmatic changes--I believe that it is a perfect opportunity to use a qualitative study to explore the nature of these changes. What a stimulating experience. It feels great to be able to explore possible research topics with my colleagues at Addis Ababa--this experience made me feel so grateful to have my career.

One thing that has moved me in a very special way is the ability of the Ethiopian community to adjust to their environment and make big things happen with small amounts of resources. I have seen amazing projects and initiatives happening on such small budgets and such... it makes me realize how innovative and creative people can be--and also how wasteful we are as Americans. If we used our resources the way Ethiopians use theirs, we could probably accomplish three times as much as we currently do. I am so moved and honored to be witness to the persistence and tenacity of human beings.

Well, that's it for today's reflection! Pics on the way!

A New Experience: International Partnership Work in Ethiopia

Again, it's been a while since my last post... I'm having a new experience this week: I am working with an OSU colleague on an Int'l partnership development project and my college and I are visiting Ethiopia for relationship building, teaching, and fact-finding... I just figured this would be a good time to share a little of what I'm experiencing..

So as I write this, it's after 10pm here in Ethiopia! I've had an exciting day, but I'm completely exhausted! I only got an hour nap all day! Can you say jetlag?? LOL
Did you know that 1 US Dollar is equal to 17 Ethiopian Birr?? So when I cashed in 100.00USD for ET Birr today, they gave me 1700. ET Birr!! I spent 600 Birr today and here is what I bought: 5 pieces of handmade jewelry and a light meal for two which consisted of two bowls of soup, two beers, a super huge order of fries and a bottled water... I have 1100 Birr left! So I only actually spent roughly 35 USD on all that stuff... Unbelievable....
I learned that Ethiopia is actually known for its coffee and I had some of the best coffee I've ever had today. I also learned about the history of the University. The University was founded only in the 1950s or so. Their main campus building was actually the palace of their last King! This building houses their Institute for Ethiopian Studies and inside is a wonderful museum that chronicles Ethiopian life--showing notable history and rituals and customs, from birth through death. So interesting... and I've always been intrigued by different cultural norms, rituals, and belief systems, so I've been pondering lots of questions about this type of stuff  along the way. So many questions have come up (e.g., questions about gender relations in the university and in the culture in general, how meetings with university admins are approached/arranged, etiquette/decorum and views about the elderly, poverty and the behavior of panhandlers on the street, and so many other things)  I plan to share more of my relevations on this later.
I met with a few university administrators today to talk about the partnership. I met some doctoral students that are taking my colleague's class, too. I will be giving a few of them some guidance on their research proposals and I'm planning a brief workshop (on conceptualizing research questions) for friday morning--this idea just came up over dinner tonight when we realized some of the students needed help with this. So much to do!
I learned so much today, my mind is overflowing... well, I just wanted to share a little... I have a few pics to post, but I'm in bed now, so I'm gonna post them tomorrow. More updates to come!