A Camel in a Well Wednesday 9 March 2016

         When I first heard that there was a camel in a well, I thought I had misinterpreted the local language. Then I realized it is Wednesday, which is often tagged “Hump Day,” and wanted a picture of what a bad hump day in Ethiopia is like (#ethiolife #badhumpday). My laughter died as I realized that the situation was much bigger than I had expected and not nearly as funny.

         Throughout the countryside of Selekleka (and I can assume most of rural Ethiopia) there are large reservoirs of water. They are about 8-10 feet in diameter and have steps going down about three feet though I don’t know where the bottom is on them. They are rimmed by rock. With the help of generators and plastic piping the water can be used for irrigation and then trickle back down to the large holes. I’ve also see children swimming in them and buckets being filled and carted on the backs of women to other places.

         Ethiopia is currently facing a drought, which is shifting in many locations to a famine. Many people lost crops with unexpected rainfall a couple months ago, and others are trying to keep what they have going as the hot season sets in. Vegetables at market are getting sparser and sparser while people are still trying to make enough money.  Like anywhere, bad luck and hard times can hit individuals with hard choices have to be made.

         A camel is worth about 10-15,000 birr ($476-$714.28) according to my teacher buddies. There are only a few places in Ethiopia where you can buy them so getting them back to wherever you came from is a long slow process. They are ideal for carrying heavier loads than donkeys or humans can carry. If needed, they can be ridden or tied together to go in a line. Many have their names scarred into their necks to show not only who’s they belong to, but that they have more worth than other animals who are never named. Overall, camels are considered a family’s greatest possession.

         However, when times get tough and the choice between family or animal has to be made, the latter gets the short end of the stick. I don’t know why the camel wasn’t sold or if there was something else behind the owner’s action. To be sparse on details, the camel was blinded and then led to the well to be left by the owner trying to make cuts. The steps leading down, are about four feet above the camels head. There is no way out just murky water sloshing against its sandy flanks.

         This week for my group hasn’t been easy. We just found out that our close of service dates have been moved back a week (from August 17th to the 24^th) which complicates many job, interns and other arrangements we have tried to set up. Network has been in and out making communicated between friends and Peace Corps staff a nightmare. Hot season is starting to set in making conditions sweaty and unpleasant. Students are getting over school and restless like American students get in June.

         I’d like to report that I am immune to the stress and hassle, but that’d be a lie. I’m spending hours at school trying to finish a world map mural with geography teachers, making a piñata for a Peace Corps program in two weeks, planning out summer camp details for a camp meeting this weekend, teaching a textbook that is repetitive and dry, trying to look into on-line grad school options that would allow me to come home earlier, figuring out final details for a friend coming to visit in 5 weeks, and going to coffee and funeral ceremonies with friends. Not to mention trying to battle power and water outages for the daily needs.

         One of my friends and I have dubbed bad days as “camel in a well,” type of days, but the reality is, there are usually more silver linings in our days than in the poor camel’s. My hand may be sprained, but twirling kids is still a joy. My farmer’s tan is getting more evident by the day, but the conversations I have with students and teachers to and from school are priceless. Students may be tired, but fun activities can get them up and thinking. I may not know where I will go for grad school or what I’ll study (I’m wavering between English, Math or Science for 6-12^th grade), but unlike Ethiopian students I get to decide. I may collapse exhausted at the end of the day, but at least my days are full of fun and purpose.

         Bad days happen. Just be thankful you aren’t a camel stuck in a well.

Update: When I was walking to school on Friday, students were feeding the camel. By the time classes had been finished, students had used ropes to get the camel out of the well and were feeding it in an empty field. Maybe even “camel in the well” days can come out okay in the end!