Couple finds Ethiopia vibrant, diverse

By THERESA HOGUE

Gazette-Times reporter

When Amy Chesbrough decided to take a year off after graduating from Corvallis High School in 2000, she knew she was embarking on a great adventure. But she couldn't have predicted how six months of backpacking through western Europe would change her life.

"This trip … made me realize how easy and inexpensive travel can be," Chesbrough said, corresponding earlier this week from an Internet café in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. "If I hadn't gone to Europe I don't think I would have headed to Africa."

Chesbrough's time in French class in high school inspired her to seek out French-speaking countries. When she came back to the states and started attending Lewis & Clark College, she took part in its program in Senegal and, after that, traveled to The Gambia, South Africa, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

During her time at Lewis & Clark, she also met Cris Davis, a fellow world traveler. First impressions weren't great.

"I thought he was snobby and he thought I was sweaty," she said. "I biked to school and always came to class red-faced and puffing."

But when they ended up in Senegal together, they moved past their initial dislike, and realized they might just be good for each other. They even got past a few awkward first moments.

"Our first two dates involved Cris throwing up from food poisoning," Chesbrough recalled. "Romantic, huh?"

Davis had planned on heading off to Cameroon with the Peace Corps upon graduation, but didn't factor in falling in love with Chesbrough. Instead, he waited until she graduated from college, and they started planning a big trip together. Davis began searching for jobs on the Internet, and the first place that offered them both jobs was Ethiopia, where they were offered positions as English teachers for adults in a private school.

"Preparation mostly consisted of trying to make sure the jobs weren't a scam," Davis said. Chesbrough's family expressed a lot of concern with her leaving the United States for a long period of time, especially after Ethiopia bombed Somalia shortly before they were scheduled to leave.

But leave they did, in early February, and upon arrival, met their first challenge. Their employer had gotten the date of their arrival wrong, and there was no one to meet them.

Language has been the biggest challenge for the couple. Although between them they speak three languages, the language of their current home, Amharic, is new to them.

"I've just begun to study the alphabet and it is intimidating, over 230 characters," Davis said.

Chesbrough has found building a social life challenging, and both have struggled with the country's intense poverty.

"There are well over 200 nongovernmental organizations working in Ethiopia, there are many resources, but yet there is this poverty," Chesbrough said. "I don't understand it and it's sad."

What's been refreshing about their experience is shattering myths and stereotypes many Americans have about Ethiopia. Contrary to media images, it is not a desert filled with starving children.

"It's a really vibrant, beautiful, big and diverse place that is developing quickly right now, so there are a lot of people doing quite well," Chesbrough said. "It is also safe here."

In addition to working at the school, the couple volunteers at HIV-positive orphanages and the only public library for children in Ethiopia. They've also adopted two puppies that Davis found abandoned in a garbage pile.

They keep their friends and family updated on their experiences through a blog and a Flickr site. This keeps them in close contact with folks back home, and helps them document their experiences.

"Sharing pictures has been great," Chesbrough said. "It is so easy and everybody loves being able to get a visual."

The couple plan on returning in the fall, with a stopover in Europe before they come home. They're already mourning the fact that Corvallis has no Ethiopian restaurant to visit when they return.

To read about Chesbrough and Davis' adventures, go to http://crisinethiopia.wordpress.com/

To help:

Amy Chesbrough and Cris Davis volunteer with a number of orphanages and a library in Ethiopia. To support these organizations, see their Web sites, including the Shola Children's Library at www.ethiopiareads.org, the Little Atetegeb HIV orphanage at www.awmosa.org, and A Hope for Children at www.ahopeforchildren.org.