Evans' neighbor, Emmanuel, had volunteered to drive us to Jomo Kenyatta International airport. We jumped at the chance to avoid using public transportation in the darkness of night with Nairobi's many hell-bent drivers. Upon our arrival, customs was a breeze and we waited at our gait before boarding the plane. Our Ethiopian friend Muluneh, who we were introduced to just the day before, was already seated. We chatted amicably before the lovely Kenya Airways attendant called our seat numbers.
After almost 5 months of relying on modes of transport that involve moving at speeds that rarely exceed a light jog, we were delighted to hop onto this magnificent flying vessel. A forced flight over northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia, which is hailed as Africa at it's purist but notoriously difficult to travel, was an unforeseen yet welcomed change. As our plane took off and touched down 1165 km away, the only difficulty I encountered was ordering a second cup of coffee!
We were elated.
Ethiopia occupies the 10th largest land mass in Africa, however it is more distinct in culture and ethnographic diversity than any other African nation. Ethiopia means land of the Ethiopic or burnt face. While this may seem racist, Ethiopians do have a distinct, dark-coloured complexion, unique hair texture and bone structure that would not be mistaken for any other sub-Saharan nation. Even their language, Amharic, has no other African linguistic counterparts but rather has ties to ancient Semitic languages from the Middle East.
Our nearly 2-hour flight transported us from the westernized capital of Kenya to the often misinterpreted and misrepresented capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. Our mastery of the English language and new-found facility in Kiswahili were obsolete as soon as we exited the airport.
Thankfully, Muluneh had offered to let us rest at his home and would help us get our bearings. We took a taxi to Muluneh's family's home and were immediately treated as if it was our own. It just so happened that one of Muluneh's relatives would be leaving for Italy the following day and much of his extended family had come over for dinner; because when an African gets a chance to visit the western world, it is too often the case that they don't return.
The food was incredible and everyone was eager to talk to us and find out how we ended up in Ethiopia, and in their home for that matter. Their limited English and our non-existent Amharic rapidly improved as we spoke slowly and gestured with our hands. Prior to this, the only exposure I had ever had to Ethiopian anything was a dinner I had enjoyed over 2 years prior in Montreal. Now, we were totally immersed in the rich culture of an Ethiopian family, with the buna (coffee) ceremony and lighting of incense; the sharing of food and eating with our hands; and to the the incredibly strong religious bonds which permeate through all aspects of Ethiopian life.
Although Muluneh's family was Catholic and not Ethiopian Orthodox, the christian majority in Ethiopia, we still got a strong sense of the role and influence that faith has for our adoptive family. We took dozens of pictures with them and were invited to spend the night. We agreed, but would only stay one night because we didn't want to overstay our overwhelming welcome.
The following day, after some great sleep, we walked down the upscale Bole Avenue and as we were walking, Muluneh turned around and stopped a kid in the process of opening his backpack. He smacked the kid a few times and threw him to the ground. The kid picked up a rock but ran off rather than retaliating. After the attempted theft in broad daylight, I held onto my camera a little tighter and kept my hand in my pocket, clutching my money.
We continued up the hill and passed the Prime Minister's residence, which not only resembles, but is also guarded like a medieval fortress. We then walked to the university district of Arat Kilo and went to the Ethiopian National Museum, which contains some interesting ethnographic, anthropological, artistic and historical exhibits. The most impressive and famous, was the fossilized skeletal remains of "Lucy", the 3.2-million year old hominid discovered in the barren north-eastern region of Ethiopia.
After exiting the museum, we met up with Tadesse and Ana, two couchsurfers Chris had contacted and they introduced us to Tobi, a German NGO worker who would be our gracious host. We then went back to Muluneh's place and had another spectacular feast. We told the family that we would be staying with a friend but they insisted that we stay with them. We kindly refused but stated that we would still visit everyday.
Muluneh then split a cab with us and dropped us off at Tobi's place. Tobi had a great flat that he shared with another German guy named Benjamin. Both Tobi and Ben were reggae-addicts and would put most Rastas to shame with their dreads. Ben even worked as a DJ and there was rarely a time where we didn't have some amazing reggae or dancehall playing.
That evening, we met Ana, Tadesse and some other couchsurfers at the New York Cafe. We were having a great time discussing our journey and finding out what the others had done or would recommend doing in Ethiopia. We then finished our over-priced beers (still under a dollar) and would make our way to another place.
On the way, a stupid American girl who was with us started talking to, and dancing with some street boys. They saw this as an invitation to join us. They crowded around Ana and as we pushed the guys away from her, they had already stolen her camera and were bolting for the slums. I chased after them but they were already too far away. Luckily, she had backed up her photos just a few days before, but this was also her last night before heading back to Germany. She took the theft with a quiet dignity and we continued to the next place. While we were there, another German girl nearly had her purse stolen as someone ran by and tried to snatch it running at full-speed, but she held on very tightly and the man ran off empty-handed.
We had heard horror stories about Nairobi regarding theft and crime, yet we had been there for a week-and-a-half and not even a semblance of danger. And here we were in the unassuming city of Addis Ababa and within one day there were three separate robbery attempts!
Forget Nairobbery, this is Addis Ababobbery!
To our relief, this day was a one-time occurrence and there was no more attempted or successful thefts during the rest of our stay in Addis.
Although I am completely opposed to any kind of theft of personal belongings or property, I do understand why it is so rampant in this city. Addis and Ethiopia in general are extremely poor, maybe even more so than Mozambique. Despite being the cheapest country we visited (a daily budget of 5$ to live very comfortably), people still struggle to afford even the most basic of necessities. What this creates is a nation of beggars: a culture of begging where you cannot walk more than several meters without someone yelling "youyouyouyou", "forenji" (the Amharic equivalent of mzungu, but not as cute) or just"money". Parents even encourage their toddlers to go up to foreigners and say "Hello. Money", setting these children up for a future in the art of pity, the art of panhandling, and in many cases leading to pick-pocketing and thievery as they get older.
Our final days in Addis involved climbing up the nearby hill and monastery complex of Entoto, giving us incredible views of Addis and the mountainous countryside. We also continued to be invited to diner at Zenebech and Dagne's (Muluneh's sister and her husband) home for delicious meals and coffee. We also managed to book a bus ticket to Harar in eastern Ethiopia, the 4th holiest site in Islam.
The only thing remaining before we left was to party it up with Muluneh, and that's exactly what we did!
No comments:
Post a Comment