Stamps, envelopes, and letters oh my!

Hello everyone!

I want to thank you all for following my blog and reading my updates! Right now I am in preparation mode. Basically that involves buying a ton of stamps, envelopes, and address labels and printing out a lot of letters. It also involves a lot of paper cuts, so it seems. I'm basically sending out a letter to anyone that knows my first name. I'm hoping (and praying) for generous hearts and a lot of response!

The trip has become less surreal to me as July draws closer. We had training this past weekend for the trip, and I met my fellow team members and got to bond with them. I really enjoy the girls on my team (it will be an all-girls team). They come from all different colleges around the Des Moines area including Drake, DMACC, Grandview, and Central.
My favorite part of training was the "culture-immersion" activities, one of which involved me having to play a quiet, careful person. HA!

I've been doing some research on the country of Ethiopia, just so that I feel more comfortable with the culture once I get there. I figure it will make the transition a little easier if I'm knowledgable :) I've been learning some Amharic, which is the common language in North central Ethiopia. For example, hello is "selam" (if you are speaking to someone informally). The word "please" differs depending on whether or not you are speaking to a man or woman, either "ebakih" to a man or "ebakish" to a woman. I thought that was interesting.

Now I will count from one to ten in Amharic. Ready?
And, Hoolet, Sost, Arat, Amest, Sidist, Sebat, Sement, ZeTegn, Aser.
Pretty impressed aren't you? That's what I thought.

That's all I got for now.


LOL (as in lots of love- not laugh out loud),

Atalie