Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal Volume 7 | Number 2 Article 10 11-2018 Intersections: Ethiopia, Peace Corps, and a Fulbright Experience Janet Lee Regis U,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.regis.edu/jhe Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Lee, Janet (2018) "Intersections: Ethiopia, Peace Corps, and a Fulbright Experience," Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal: Vol. 7 : No. 2 , Article 10. Available at: https://epublications.regis.edu/jhe/vol7/iss2/10 This Reflection is brought to you for free and open access by ePublications at Regis University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal by an authorized administrator of ePublications at Regis University. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Lee: Intersections Intersections: Ethiopia, Peace Corps, and a Fulbright Experience Janet Lee Dean of the Library Regis University
[email protected] I don’t remember the exact moment I decided I in the 1970s, in my case the village, Emdeber, would join the Peace Corps. I just knew I would among the sebat bet (seven house) Gurage people. go. Somewhere. Anywhere. Imagine me, small town girl from small town America off to see the Since my return to Colorado, to school, to work, I world. When I received the formal acceptance my have thought about Ethiopia every single day, senior year of college, I tore open the envelope without exception. Like Maria, I have been known and read that I would be going to Ethiopia. My to walk up to complete strangers—be they friend asked, “Where is Ethiopia?” and I students, hotel staff, airport employees, drivers, responded, “I think it’s in Africa.” Ethiopia, the the guy at the local sandwich shop—and greet land of ancient kingdoms, the Ark of the them in Amharic, the official language of the Covenant, its own written language, castles and government.