Advertisement
Published: July 19th 2009
This blog entry is the missing week of Chris’s visit. I thought it would be a fun twist to have a new set of eyes tell you the story of what happened in his week vacation. I just want to warn any Ethiopians that nothing in this is meant to be critical of the culture. This was Chris’s first visit to Africa so anything that isn’t part of normal American Culture stuck out to him. Some parts may be a little harsh but I agree that all these things happen. I hope you guys enjoy.
So I really don’t know where to start, I’ve had a month to think about everything that happened on my 1 week trip to Ethiopia, and in that 1 week everything has changed about me. I don’t think the same about anything anymore. I guess Ill start with the people.
The people were amazing. Both good and bad. With the good, they were very very interested in white people. Everywhere we went, we were like celebrities (everyone told me that too). I mean I for real know what its like to be famous. They literally will follow you for blocks just looking at you because you are white. But once you talk to them, they are all very very nice and friendly. I mean everyone is totally friendly, they all enjoy talking and messing with us. Ethiopians have no shame in staring or following, the people literally would just circle around us and stare (no one saying a word, just looking, it was horrible for me, since Im very weird about people looking at me). They also were very hospitable, people want to help you, I got bananas on the bus, they all are just really happy to give and share with one another. When I had to go back to the airport alone (a 6 hour bus ride), the people were very helpful, a random guy actually took me under his wing and guided me to the place I needed to be just to be nice. Also, there is no mean people, despite the harsh conditions over there, most people generally seemed happy. Bully's just don't exist, its all just average people. The people are also just beautiful, I mean even though no one over there showers or any of that, they just had a natural beauty like I had never seen anywhere in the world. The women are just stunning, its hard to explain, but you would know if you saw them.
On the bad side, most people try to steal from us since we are white. I mean it got to the point where I was holding my pocket at all times walking since the people would just walk next to my pocket staring at it. But its understandable though, its survival of the fittest over there, and I for sure understand. There are also tons and tons of orphans and homeless people. I mean literally there are thousands of orphans living on the streets (and in the sewers). These children are just the saddest thing I've ever seen. 14% of people over there have aids, so when their parents die, the children have no where to go but the streets to live. There are foster homes, but I literally saw thousands of homeless children on the streets, all in rags, begging for money. And these kids don't just beg sitting down, they follow you for miles. When they see us coming, they literally would follow us for miles, begging the whole time. It really puts the American homeless to shame. I’ve always been very sensitive toward the homeless in America, but the 1st homeless person I saw when I got back, I actually didn’t feel bad for. Its one thing to live on the streets and have addictions to alcohol, drugs, etc., but the people in Ethiopia, have no addictions. I can think of few people I saw smoking, drinking, etc (most of them were white people I met through John in the Peace Corps). When the homeless get money over there, they use it to eat, and thats it. It really puts the homeless of America in perspective, though I still feel sensitive about their problems, I can’t help but almost laugh at how lucky they truly have it compared to the homeless in Ethiopia. On my trip back to Addis Ababa (where I had to fly out of), a child ran up to me and walked with me for over a mile. And this kid had serious problems, some kind of facial deformity, no home, just living in the streets, begging was his life. When you see a 5/6 year old kid by him/herself all alone on the street, begging for food, it really puts everything in perspective.
Myths
They also have a ton of myths, things that are just stunning. All of John's Peace Corp friends kept telling me "you are thinking logically in an illogical world, so stop trying to think normal". It took me the whole time I was there to start to get over the myths, here are some:
On the buses, people will not roll the windows down because they are afraid of getting sick (even though the buses are full of sick people), they think the air outside makes them sick, not the actual people.
They put up glass on the edges of the walls to protect them (like a security fence). Even though you can just push the glass off there, people just put it up there ( I mean it would take days to put all that up there), and it would take maybe 5 seconds to move the glass to jump the fence.
People litter and piss/shit in the street. There is no sanitation. I actually saw a kid take a shit in the street and he waved at us since we were white (I laughed my ass off).
The businesses there are horrible. Instead of thinking for themselves, they just copy each other. All the stores are almost identical because they think thats the only way to succeed. John told me one time he saw 17 hardware stores next to each other (they don't understand that setting up a hardware store next to another is a bad thing).
They sweep dirt. I still never figured this out (neither did anyone else), but they actually get up in the morning and sweep dirt with a broom. Like just sweeping dirt, not doing anything, its the weirdest thing I've ever seen. And they do it for hours too.
They water the walls. The concrete walls are really dry so each day they get buckets of water and water the walls (like how we would water plants).
So those are some of the weird myths and weird things, its fucking weird, but its so in their culture that nothing can change their minds. Ethiopians are EXTREMELY stubborn which is one of the biggest problems with trying to help them since they don't make changes (unless their elders tell them too, the only people they respect are their elders).
Some more about the people. They love to touch you. Like everyone over there is all about touching you and getting close to you. I had some girl on the bus touching my arms because they were hairy. The children just cling on to you and wont let go. Its impossible to keep sanitary there. Some guy at the airport was touching my legs and putting his arms all over me, I actually was laughing it got so ridiculous.
Its illegal to be gay in Ethiopia. But whats crazy is that all the guys hold hands and the girls never do. It literally is like how it is with girls in America but the roles are switched. Most guys that are friends will hold hands, hug, etc and thats not gay.
Women are less than nothing over there. A woman is more or less a possession. If a guy takes a girl on a date and he asks to marry her, its pretty much set in stone. The women also do chores ALL DAY LONG. I mean from dawn till dusk, while the men just watch and do nothing.
Animals are abused like I had never seen in my life. It was so hard to watch I can't even tell you how hard it was for me. In the 1st 3 hours there, a donkey fell in the street so 3 people were kicking it in the face trying to make him stand up. The dogs are all tied up to trees with leashes that are about 1 foot long. The aren't petted or any of that, their sole purpose is to bark for intruders. So they live on these trees and just get fed. The cats are the same, they are at peoples yards, but just to kill mice and rodents. Animals over there are no different then a sack of food, just a possession with a purpose. No one cares for them, they are just something to be used.
John mentioned some of the "ethiopian sports" to me. Some of these "sports" are staring at people working, staring at people, and literally just doing nothing. I saw one time a group of about 30 people just watching one guy dig in the dirt. If someone has a job, they all just watch them, its crazy. The government also makes jobs that are fake. For example, you will see a guy in a construction outfit, just standing in the street doing nothing. His job is just to stand there, because they make jobs even though they have no real purpose. They also, just stare at any and everything, I mean staring over there is crazy. You can't do anything without being stared at. If you go in the street, you are immediately stared at until you get back home. They will actually run out of nowhere and just walk with you just to stare.
The service there is horrendous, you order something, it never comes, you generally have to order 2-3 times to get it. And the best part is that once you do finally get it (generally around 45 min to one hour), the food/drinks are sometimes not even what you ordered. They will just say "we were out of that so here is something else". You still have to pay for it and everything.
Another thing is every single person has a product or service to sell. I mean you can be in the woods and some person will be trying to sell you lottery tickets, or trying to shine your shoes. Its crazy. When we got off the bus with my suitcase, literally about 20 people surrounded us and were fighting to carry our suitcase (I was really scared, it was overwhelming, but luckily John knew what to say and do to get rid of them).
There is no such thing as a line over there. Every where you go, the line is just whoever can push the hardest. I saw a guy getting on the bus, he fought his way to the front and then the bus driver punched him in the face, so he took a few steps back and got back in line. John didn't even flinch it was so regular to see that. The bank, is literally just a giant group of people holding their deposits out in the air at one teller. Lines don't exist so everything that requires waiting is chaotic.
Ok so enough about the people now on to the country and animals. The country was amazing, just stunning. Huge mountains, lakes, just beauty like I had never experienced. I mean you will just be sitting there and a bird that looks like a damn dinosaur will fly over your head, just amazing things. We went on a trip to the nicer part of Ethiopia, went out in a boat in the "great earth valley", surrounded by mountains on a lake, the lake had hundreds of wild hippos and crocs. Just stunning. They just pop up and look at you, it was amazing. The crocs are HUGE, I mean fucking scary. Like if you fell in the water, one bite would finish you off. Also monkeys just run in the streets, I saw tons of monkeys, one of them stole our bananas (he was crazy!!!)
So the story about how John and I almost died. A day when we were in "Arba Minch" (the place we visited with the scenery and animals), we got a tour guide and he took us on a trip into the woods to see the natural hot springs. We rode bikes into the forest and it was fun. So all of the bikes had flat tires (its still ethiopia mind you), so we ended up having to walk up this big hill. When we were almost at the end all of sudden 2 masked men with machetes jumped out of the brush and started running at us. Our tour guide instantly through his bike down, and started running (he didn't say a word, just ran for his life). So we did the same.
I mean in a matter of like 3 seconds we were all running for our lives. I didn't look back, but John looked back and he saw them jumping over our bikes running after us. So we ran about 1/4 mile and then found a police car (armed guards are everywhere there), and we got help. We find out they were a gang that hides out in remote areas and attacks/robs people (especially foreigners). So me and John outran an Ethiopian gang. I thought I was about to die for real, I now know exactly what people mean by the “fight or flight instinct”. It was the most real feeling I’ve ever had, my body just told me to run, that this was the end and I had one chance to live.. Over there, if you are killed, nothing happens, you are just dead and they get away. I ran the fastest I ever ran in my life, my legs hurt for 4 days afterwards I ran so hard. As soon as I saw them come out of the bushes my stomach just dropped to the floor, it instantly was survival mode. I swear, me and John were so lucky, its unbelievable, I mean these guys were trying to kill us for real. Luckily we all were decent runners, and they just gave up and let us go. Needless to say that night we went out and had some beers to celebrate life. It was scary, without a doubt the most serious and scary moment of my life. But we were all good and thats all that matters (the experience was great though, that alone was worth the trip).
Overall, Ethiopia was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had, I mean totally life changing. When I got back to the States, the 1st thing everyone wants to ask is “so how was it!!”, and my response has always been “be grateful for everything you have, you and I have never had a bad day”. And that is the truth, I used to think days were bad, working too much, having a hard time, etc. But now that I know what the worst of this world is like, I have to honestly say that every single day of my life has been great. The worst day I’ve ever had, has got to be better than the best day of some of the homeless children over in Ethiopia.
It’s funny how we think days are bad when a boss yells at us, when we get a ticket driving, when things are just not like they should be, but over in Ethiopia, a good day is living to see the next. A good day is getting enough money to get food to live to the next day, that’s something that almost all Americans will never have to experience (even the homeless). We have never been hungry, never had to worry about where we are going to sleep, never had to worry about getting a disease treated, its all just available for us, where for Ethiopians, none of that is available. I am so lucky, its just ridiculous, and now when I hear people complaining about a hard day at work and whatnot, its laughable, I just wish I could show them the images I have burned in my brain now.. Like I said before, when you see a half naked child come up to you at 1 AM, in total darkness, begging for anything you have to offer, it really puts things in perspective. When you see a man that’s half dead coming onto your bus begging for anything, he has no eyes (just gaping holes where they should be), missing an arm, and has a scar on his face that looks like someone stuck an axe in his face, it puts things in perspective. We are lucky, anyone reading these words is lucky, you and I have never had a bad day, and thats a fact. This world is a scary and brutal place, now that I’ve been in the 3rd poorest country on earth, I just feel so grateful for everything I have in my life, its just ridiculous. So Ill end my story at that, just remember how lucky we are and don’t take any day for granted.
As far as John and his friends in the Peace Corps, I have nothing to say but positive things about them. I mean just seeing Johns life alone, was totally stunning. He has nothing, I mean he can barely afford some chairs in his house (though he just bought some, but with a huge price tag). These people are living their lives in a place where they are constantly harassed, followed, and have nothing, to try to better this world and themselves. They don’t get any thank you’s from the people, nothing except the satisfaction of knowing they are making a change. To me, thats one of the most noble things I’ve ever seen. John has always been one of my best friends over the years, and I can honestly say that my respect for him is through the roof. It takes a lot more than balls and willpower to stay in a place like Ethiopia. I mean the average person could never make it over there. I am an extremely strong willed person, and by the end of one week, I was starting to get scared about things. At the end I was starting to worry if I would make it back alive or not. Getting to see John and his Peace Corp friends was very enlightening, especially seeing the girls. The girls in the Peace Corps don’t bathe (rarely), they don’t wear makeup, they don’t do any of the stereotypical American girl things. I actually feel really bad because I told them that it was hard for me to imagine seeing American girls do that kind of stuff (which they took offense too, totally understandable and I feel really bad about). They are just the most independent and most extraordinary group of people I’ve ever seen. So if any of you girls are reading this, just know you have my utmost respect and it was a pleasure to see you in that environment, really changed my perspective of what “american girls” can do 😊. I think they just see things through a different set of eyes that very few people have. Dedicating your life to the betterment of this world is incredible, and my respect for all these people is more than any other group of people I’ve ever met. If all people had these kind of morals, guts, and just goodness, then this world would be a beautiful place 😊
Well I will end it at this, just remember like I said, love everyday of your life. We are so lucky, its just ridiculous, just be thankful for everyday you have and live each day to the fullest. I hope this has been a good insight into my trip and I hope you all enjoyed it. If any you guys want to hit me up about my trip and whatnot you are more than welcome to do so. Talk to you later.
Chris
christopher.woodling@wku.edu
Advertisement
Tot: 0.24s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 7; qc: 44; dbt: 0.1876s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Karen
non-member comment
Kay and me
John, you do not know me but your mom is one of my best friends. She has coffee with me at my house weekly and we solve all our problems and those of the world and that includes our kids :) I keep track of you through her but this blog was the most amazing thing I have read in a long time. I have a greater appreciation for you and your work and sacrifices as well as how "rich" I am in comparison to the life you and your countrymen are living. May you have peace and more than that safety. The gang incident was unreal...Shalom.