Elias seemed so at peace. Unhurried. So unlike my own approach to life. But wasn’t that what I was looking for here? To take stock, to find a new way to coexist with myself that didn’t involve erasing my needs and wants to keep those around me happy?

Usually when I met someone I couldn’t stop talking, trying to impress them, or sound smart or knowledgeable. But with Elias I felt it would be pointless. Like he’d know it was just noise.

“I might see you out there.” His rough voice in the silent night brought me back from my wayward thoughts.

“Sure, sounds good,” I answered, trying not to sound too eager.

“I have to get the vehicle ready first thing since we’ll be driving rough for a good part of the day. But if I get up early enough, I’ll have time for a short run.” When I looked up, I was greeted with that warm smile he always seemed to have for me.

But when I got closer, I realized he looked tired. “Do you need help getting the car ready? I can skip the run and help out.”

He looked surprised by that. “Thank you for offering, but the other drivers can help. It will be a long day, but you’ll get to see some very nice parts of Gedeo, at least.”

I rubbed my hands together, feeling excited for the work ahead. “I’m looking forward to it—it’s been a while since I’ve actually done field work. These days I mostly go the main country offices to do my stuff.”

For this job, we were collecting data to assess a nutrition program for children in rural areas who were under the age of five. Aid USA had been running it in partnership with the Ethiopian government. We’d be in the field most of the time.

“Rain has been over for a few months, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get to the more remote villages,” Elias said as we walked.

“That’s good,” I answered, lost in thought over the conditions we’d find.

Many families in the rural areas of the country still relied on subsistence farming, so if there was a bad year in the fields, there was just not enough food to go around. A lot of people depended on this program, and with the current political environment in the States, Aid USA officials were feeling the pressure to justify a few more years of funding. Our job was to collect information they’d use to make their case.