back

Observations #4

Landscape

  1. Flies don’t seem to bother people as much as they would if we were in America.
  2. Don’t order a club sandwich in Addis Ababa, you will get sick.
  3. The forest ecosystem is different from flat sunny areas in that there is more moisture and lush flora.  There is different wildlife, like monkeys…
  4. The wide diversity on the mountain – cactus, grass, fields, scrub, trees, forest on top
  5. People often use a type of cactus shrub for fences.
  6. I have never seen a mountain pop up out of nowhere like Zuquala, the surroundings are so flat.
  7. Small horse-drawn carts are common in the countryside.
  8. There is a fascination with water bottles even in the city:  kids asking for it, drink from it, bottle to kick, play with, collect water, recycle?
  9. Women working at a construction site – not just 1 but  at least 10
  10. Buildings seem to go up much slower here than in North America which is likely due to the fact that everything is done by hand, even mixing the cement.
  11. All of the open sewage, where does it all go?
  12. Servant washing one of the iron gates in front of a house
  13. Even though the roads are very dusty and dirty the neighbor maid cleans the outside of the car everyday.
  14. Today a lady on the street, who I didn’t know, have me a big smile, shook my hand, and said “konjo nesh”
  15. There is a guy that watches our neighborhood at night.
  16. There is always “grass” scattered all around my home during any sort of a holiday
  17. It seems very important to use placemats when you eat, at restaurants or at home
  18. The sky is so beautiful and clear all the time, I love it.
  19. Amazing sun shining with very dark clouds behind all with the mountains in the background!  People standing on the bridge enjoying the scene.
  20. It is hard to play soccer on a dirt track!  I don’t know how some kids do it, especially barefoot.
  21. There are huge boulders everywhere!  It makes for a really rocky terrain.
  22. Kids wearing T-shirts with big pictures of Eminem’s face will still yell farenge when they see me!
  23. A man selling brooms and mops walks through our neighborhood everyday, and no one ever seems to buy mops
  24. Everything has a fence around it – homes, schools, businesses, everything!
  25. The moon looks different here – it looks sideways and the eclipse moves from up to down, rather than right to left.
  26. They have the weather on TV even though it is always sunny
  27. Seatbelts don’t seem to exist in the this country.
  28. Outside Addis only the very major roads are paved
  29. Most roads are very rocky
  30. There are big rocks everywhere!
  31. Women sometimes cover their faces when they are near a road, using their gabis.
  32. On the walk to school there is an enclosed box jutting out above a wall.  Is this a watchtower?  There is s small, square opening like a peephole.
  33. The bigger the house, the bigger the fence, some of the larger homes even have razor wire with a deadly electric current flowing through it.
  34. Sometimes the water doesn’t work.
  35. All it takes is one dog to start barking and 50 more will join in.
  36. Occasionally at night all the dogs in the area, possibly in the city, will howl and bark in a wave that passes by from one side of the city to the other.
  37. Water is not dumped down the drains but out the front door.
  38. 13 months of sunshine, but what about the rainy season?
  39. Buses are so crowded that the doors can’t even close.
  40. Waitresses run away before you can tell them your drink order
  41. Just about all the lights you see around the city are florescent.
  42. Some gardens found on public space, used by whoever needs/wants to use

Relationships

  1. One of the servants at my house seems to be treated like a family member in some ways, I have seen her in a few of the family photos, as if she were a relative.
  2. Our entire neighborhood female population turned up in our courtyard and worked all night to prepare food for a wedding. 
  3. Ethiopians can’t put more than two consonants together…
  4. Whenever I say indemin adderu to my father he always says, indemin addersh as if that’s the reply, even if he had said indemin addersh before me.  I am confused.
  5. “Izo” is a fun phrase!
  6. Owner of restaurant very hospitable and welcoming, willing to take us around Markato…
  7. A guy in the country, herding animals, was wearing a suit.
  8. My little sisters are out of control when my parents are not at home, they even chase the maids around with big sticks!
  9. Wherever you go, no matter what time of the day, hosts will try to feed you everything they have to offer.
  10. It doesn’t seem to be an issue to disturb people’s sleep with lights, loud noise, etc
  11. Ethiopians are almost always covered from head to toe, do they fear cold or sun?  My host mom never lets me sit by a window or open a window
  12. There was a death in our neighborhood this weekend, so my mom spent the entire day and night helping the family cook.  She finally got home around 3 am.
  13. The family is much more patient with waiting than I am.
  14. When you eat at a restaurant everyone shares their food, and when someone offers you their food, they expect some of yours back.
  15. I recently learned that a common Ethiopian saying is:  If you kiss my children and eat my food you show that you love me: How true I have found it to be!
  16. I’ve only seen a few fat Ethiopians, it is weird for a culture centered around food.
  17. It is amazing how many kids love rap music and sing it all the time, its pretty crazy
  18. Many people come to church after worship begins, and most leave immediately afterwards without spending much time talking to people.
  19. Personal space isn’t as important to Ethiopians as it is for Americans/westerners
  20. A man at the church came up and greeted everyone before our class started.
  21. Some people only kiss you twice when they greet you, why is that?
  22. One of our neighbor families has 5 daughters.  All are very enthusiastic about meeting and talking to an American
  23. I have never seen such strong ties to a church, my family goes to church nearly everyday.
  24. People are very touchy and sometimes handshakes become a little excessive.
  25. A lot of the time it seems like my family isn’t very close, like the hugging and kissing all the time
  26. People rev the engines in their cars while stopped for no reason
  27. Even though people speak English I still can’t understand what the heck they are saying half the time
  28. There are often several doves (maybe?) which join us for worship Sunday morning (thanks to the open doors.
  29. My father wears his hat upside down when he is inside and turns it the right way when he goes out.
  30. Many people give their maids a monthly allowance in addition to providing food, shelter, education, etc.
  31. Women don’t usually make eye contact with us or offer a greeting.  Men never hesitate to stop and strike up a short conversation.
  32. There are menus in restaurants but most of the time half of the stuff is not available
  33. My mom has a little prayer book she takes around to all of us and lets us kiss it and rubs it on us.
  34. Weddings are a lot bigger and last a lot longer here.
  35. My little 5 year old sister goes grocery shopping by herself.
  36. Last night my mother told me that her children call her Nani so I should
  37. The first English words I heard this morning came from 3 guys dressed half way in hip hop clothes who were walking towards me rapping, they asked me “how’s the breakfast?”
  38. Celebrations take a long time, even days of activities!
  39. Though in many cases I have seen amazing honesty among Ethiopians, in others, people are indirect or even dishonest
  40. Shyness especially among youth