Ethiopia is totally new and exotic

"I can see monkeys in my room"- "I saw camels in my school!" said two participants in the Ethiopian Project for the Chinese Youth Volunteers Association (CYVA) in 2006.

"Everything is new and exotic, there are so many varieties of car on the streets, it seems like we are in a car museum", said Xu Li, another volunteer.

Overseas volunteers already in Ethiopia are adapting to the new environment while waiting for assignments.

Xu Li was assigned to work in the Ethiopian State News Department and will be committed to sourcing information on current affairs and setting up a news website.

"I majored in software development, so I'm okay at this job," said Xu Li. "I prepared fully before I came, so I brought some gifts for children in case I was sent to teach in a school and some software in case I was asked to work in a computer-related field."

Liu Ziyan, Xu Li's husband, wanted to work in his field of specialty and was assigned to the Ethiopian TV Station. He said he plans to document the lives of the Chinese volunteers and hopes the recording will be useful in the recruitment of volunteers in the future.

Liu spent a large sum of money buying professional video equipment before he came to Ethiopia.

"Even though I am 20 kilometers away from my husband, I'm fine," said Xu Li. "We are lucky that we are not very far away from each other, some volunteers will be sent to the southern and northern parts of the country -- between two hundred and five hundred kilometers away from the capital. We have to contact them by short message," said Xu Li, with a little sadness registering in her voice.

Husband and wife join the team

"I really wanted to do something meaningful," said Liu Ziyan, when he explained why he wanted to volunteer in Ethiopia. He works for a movie company in Hangzhou. Xu Li made her decision to go to Ethiopia in her classroom.

Xu Li wrote on her blog that "when I taught students what respect is and how we should respect others and society, I had already made my decision. I told my students that there was a volunteer organization recruiting people to Ethiopia. Ethiopia is even more impoverished than China; the Ethiopian people are in need and China is willing to help them. I have seen a lot of Chinese filling out the application forms on the Internet, I will go.

"I found to my surprise that my husband was looking into the volunteer program in Ethiopia when I got back home," said Xu Li. "I did not expect us to make the same choice this time, even though we used to have very similar ideas when we were in university," she added.

The couple then signed up to the program. After two rounds of interviews and physical examinations, they were approved to go to Ethiopia. All the volunteers have attended a week-long training session in Beijing before they left for Ethiopia. Courses included English, photography, Amhara (a local language), customs as well as emergency medical care.

Experiencing a different way of life

Liu Ziyan and Xu Li have only just begun their life in Ethiopia. Xu Li had trouble adapting at first; she was unaccustomed to drought conditions and the local food. She ordered a traditional Chinese dish called "mushroom and rape" at a Chinese restaurant, but they didn't have the dish.

"I suppose we'll have to wait one year, when our service is over, to have a real Chinese dinner," said Xu Li.

"Though it is a tough task, we are glad to have this opportunity," said Wang Xuefeng, head of CYVA.

"The environment here is totally new to us; we have met a lot of people who are willing to help. Every day is new and our life has meaning in Ethiopia," said Wang. "We both enjoy life and its challenges; I can not promise that everything is good and smooth, but this is, absolutely, a good opportunity for our young people to taste both the sweetness and the bitterness of life," added Wang.

By People's Daily Online