Observations #2, January 18, 2005

Landscape Observations

Beautiful stone block sidewalk with a pretty design – that for awhile – then no sidewalk at all, mud.
There is trash everywhere. X3 There is trash filling the streams, the streets, the few wooded areas.
There are dust bins on the side of the road but not trash bins
The rocks and soil are red.
There is dust in the air everywhere, a loose soil.
The grass in many parts in very different than the grass we see in America, it is light brown instead of green
My sisters were much more shocked at the mud on the road by the church than I was!
Everywhere I walked in the city this weekend there were wedding caravans. Sometimes the cars were preceded by men in white with Ethiopian flag sashes on motorcycles doing cartwheels.
I’m curious what kind of plan the city had for sidewalks and roads. They seem very randomly done and maybe redone in some areas.
The city planning here is very poor, there are giant open fields in the center and then dense areas way out. This requires more water infrastructure, electrical lines and transportation.
Even though the ground is incredibly rocky and steep, women still wear high heels.
There is s seat limit in the cars and taxis, but they cram the people into the buses until they’re falling out the door.
I saw actual wild monkeys yesterday!! Woo Hoo!
Weddings are a huge celebration here and usually involve a procession in white cars (the one with the bride and groom being decorated) from one family’s home to the other. Most weddings take place on Saturday and Sunday and January is the most popular month.
Even though there have been heavy rains the water dries up fairly fast.
After several days of rain I understand why it is so important to have big rocks in the dirt roads… even so I saw many cars stuck this weekend.
There is a lot of smog, the sunsets I find to be pretty but hazy as well.
Trucks here emit very black smoke.
I noticed in the houses, new mortar joints showing that electricity hasn’t been here that long.
If wood cutting is illegal, when why is there chopped wood in large quantities by the sides of the roads? X2
My uncle who works for EPA has thoughts on Ethiopia’s main environmental concerns that do not include eucalyptus or erosion.
There are birds (some kind of vulture) everyday circling in the air even above tall buildings. What have they found there?
As seen on the grounds of Holy Trinity Cathedral, some graves are particularly important with barbed wire and guards protecting.
Ethiopians are very open people, they share everything, and yet compounds are always locked, house doors locked, room doors locked, drawers locked.
It seems fairly common to have no running water in my kebele on weekends. No one seems to know the cause and don’t get worried about it. They just go to another kebele for water.
Ethiopians honor the church building itself, remove your shoes, kiss or touch the walls.
No one really rides bicycles here.
Trenches are built into the compound ground to channel rainwater
The Bible Amharic translation for the Lord’s prayer is “give us this day our daily injera”
On the way home from school I saw the funniest site – goats lined up in single file along the sidewalk – who knew goats were so polite
I saw a woman washing her face in the water coming from a drain pipe.
In rich compounds the grass is protected by fences, outside of that the animals eat all of the vegetation that is around.

Relationship Observations

There seems to be someone who is not my immediate family sleeping here quite often. Sometimes a cousin, other times friends or people I don’t know how they know each other.
Often times extended family members will live in one household, aunts/uncles would raise niece/nephew. In some cases children would be sent to work for their relatives as a semi-house servant.
People are very close to their neighbors and call them family
When a guest comes in, particularly a close friend or family member, everyone stands to greet them
Weddings – everyone goes to the groom’s house first, then go to retrieve the bride from her house.
Weddings are very expensive and are huge events.
There are so many people who come to weddings! My dad thinks this is ridiculous and complains about the social activities being a waste of time!
My parents are not home very often, yet they seem to mostly be socializing, not working. My sisters don’t seem to know where they are.
All my sisters have boyfriends but it is not allowed or acceptable for them to bring them into their homes.
Not taking food is like an insult to the person or doesn’t just mean you aren’t hungry maybe.
It is apparently ok to not eat dinner with the family if you have already eaten.
My family seems to rarely discipline my little brother even though he often needs a good kick in the pants!
When somebody is in the hospital even for something minor, family and friends make it a point to visit.
Extreme modesty in the locker rooms, etc.
My family typically will walk with me anywhere outside of the house. I can tell they really want me to be safe.
Protestants don’t call Orthodox “Christians”
My family seems to have an anti-Muslim sentiment
People always try to look their best, even when it isn’t practical, like people doing manual labor in suit coats.
Despite serious hardship the women here seem more optimistic and supportive of one another than most I’ve known. As a community they exhibit a strength and resilience that seems not even to be broken among the poorest of beggars on the street.
Every taxi ride here is exciting and different!
The taxi people think that farenge are stupid.
I feel bad when a waiter/waitress wants to seat me at a restaurant faster than another Ethiopian.
Yesterday when a group of us were trying to get a taxi we were one seat short, one of us couldn’t fit, so an Ethiopian lady got off so we could all go together
My host brother worked all 7 days of the last week – that seems to go against traditional cultural ideas…
On a blanket by the side of a busy loud street during rush hour, 3 kids were huddled under a blanket, peacefully sleeping. People had laid money in front of them and no one else had taken it.
Ethiopians are working towards a new developed Ethiopia as far as buildings go.
If my family thinks I am being too quiet my dad snaps his fingers to get my attention and my mom tells me to “play”!
Less fear of strangers, along the street at least.
My sisters like to put on heavy lip gloss and then kiss me.
It seems like women on the street avoid eye contact with men unless they know them.
Making Ethiopian food is harder than it looks.
The youngest female in the room will help clear some of the dishes, which is normally the maid’s job. Sometimes other sisters will help too.
I am still treated as a guest… I sit and eat while others get up and serve themselves
No matter how many times you try to explain something, once they have learned something it is very hard for them to understand anything else.
Everyone holds hand with each other except for the people who are dating.
The city is striving to be westernized but people do not wear shorts and teeshirts.
Beverages don’t come chilled even though it is hot.
People don’t drink beer in beer commercials, they chug it.
I have the closest relationship in my family with my mother who speaks the least English.
The cook and the maid never use the front door even if they are the only ones around here besides me and even if they are rushing out to let someone in the gate
Even Ethopians know that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Amiston are getting a divorce.
People love to talk about their country and are very proud of their culture
My father has the final say in everything, if my host mother says we may do something we still have to ask my host father and he may so no.
People seem to walk on the left side of the sidewalk instead of the right
Men and women don’t casually date as Americans do, dating is a way to find a spouse, it is not taken lightly.
Older siblings are responsible for their younger siblings when parents aren’t around, even if the younger sibling is an adult.

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