After working in an 89-acre field in central Ethiopia all day, Andover native Nels Nelson returns to his home and writes an email, where he says "for better or worse, I'm a bit of a wanderlust."
Since graduating from Andover High in 2003, Nelson's life has been filled with travel.
Nelson, 27, is working in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital city, on creating an 89-acre landfill. "I can say that living in Ethiopia is very interesting, mainly due to their deep cultural heritage," said Nelson, via email. "Ethiopia has never been colonized, and as such they are a very proud people."
His work is paid in full by a Fullbright grant through the U.S. government, partnered with the Horn of Africa Regional Environmental Centre and Network. Nelson is one of eight Fullbright recipients working in Ethiopia, he said.
"A new sanitary landfill is being constructed, so the current landfill is being permanently closed," said Nelson. "We hope that the project is finished by May 2012, and then we will begin a city-wide recycling program in order to limit the amount of waste that enters the new landfill."
The landfill will include infrastructure necessary to extract landfill gas, which Nelson said is "the same as the natural gas piped to homes in Andover." The landfill gas should be used to generate enough electricity for 8,000 homes in Addis Ababa for the next decade, he said.
After graduating from Andover High, Nelson went to Bates College in pursuit of a degree in sustainable energy. He graduated from Bates and continued his education in the Netherlands, where he received a degree in urban environmental engineering, according to Kay O'Neill, his mother.
"He has traveled all over the world," said O'Neill. "He left home in 2007, and hasn't come home since. The longest he's been home has been for a couple weeks."
While in the Netherlands, Nelson wrote the Fullbright application that sent him to Ethiopia. The grant is an "at-large" grant, meaning it isn't connected to an educational institution in the United States.
"The announcement of the award came as a wonderful surprise, and also turned my life upside-down, as it meant that I was to relocate to Africa," said Nelson.
In a time zone that is eight hours ahead of the east coast, Nelson says life is dramatically different.
"I am supported by the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, where I receive mail, have security provisions, and even celebrated Thanksgiving," said Nelson. "Living here has its ups and downs. On the positive side, the people are very warm and friendly, the weather is great, and daily expenses are incredibly low. On the negative side, one has to wrangle with tropical diseases, like typhoid, typhus and malaria. Thankfully, Addis Ababa, unlike Nairobi, is very safe, even at night."
But the differences between Andover and Ethiopia run deep. Socially, the two are different worlds, according to Nelson.
"I don't think I ever really knew Andover until I left it, for only then did I actually see it for what it is," said Nelson. "Growing up in and around Andover, many aspects of life are taken for granted and the lifestyle comes perfectly naturally, such as driving everywhere, supermarkets, and lots of trees."
He still longs to return home, though, just to revisit the place of his childhood.
"When I look back on it now, I think Andover is a beautiful place, and I enjoy going back to Harold Parker for a walk or riding a bicycle through town," said Nelson. "I'm a bit of a wanderlust, I get itchy feet after a while anywhere, so I'm happy to move around after a couple of years here or there."
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