Last weekend I was in Ethiopia. I had two eventful days with my friends Ellen and Øystein who live there since two and a half years and have even had a kid during that time.
Ethiopia is a very interesting country and has a different mindset than most other countries I've been to. They are extremely proud of their country and their cultural heritage, to an extent that I have only seen in one other country I've visited so far - the other one is Peru. I got to see some of the Ethiopian culture and music in a show that was set up in the complex of Alliance Francaise - a fusion show with experimental jazz and punk mixed up in a jam session with traditional Ethiopian music and dance. The dutch band The Ex was the core of the event - really cool.
The second day we set out with a group of British people on a picnic and hike. We drove out of Addis Ababa, and after about one hour we reached the edge of a deep escarpment with a waterfall. A magnificent view. Some local Ethiopians were there, and followed us arround seeming to be interested in what these mzungus were up to in their village. We even saw the gelada baboons, the only monkey that live strictly from eating grass and live in groups of up to several hundred individuals. The local villagers were very interested and wanted to practice their english. I am used to this from Malawi, and went along with my friendly tone in a conversation with a couple of the youg girls. Walking back to the car, the girls started asking for money. I am also used to that, and of course I never give money to anyone in exchange for a conversation. When approaching the cars, the crowd accumulating around us were becoming bigger and bigger. I am used to this from Malawi also, but when we had sat down in the cars and wanted to drive out of there the situation became tense. The locals demanded money and started banging on the windows of the cars. Some of them picked up stones and rocks, threatening to throw them against the cars. We managed to get out of the chaos, but it was not a nice experience. My friends later told me that this is what Ethiopians do in the rural areas - they threaten you and throw stones after you. Not a very good strategy to attract tourism to a country which has so much to offer.
We stopped in a more quiet place for a picnic. Also this time a few locals spotted us and a club of young sheperds decided to take a break in their herding and stood and watched us while eating. These guys were more peaceful, and honestly interested in seeing what strange food these whites had brought to eat here among their cows and teff fields. It felt a bit weird eating with such a public, but no signs of throwing stones this time.
After the picnic a few of us went out for a bit of hiking. Rolling and lush hills and with the deep escarpment on the side - a beautiful landscape. Being just north of equator the rainy season has just ended in Ethiopia now in October, and the landscape is green and sprinkled with flowers of different colors. The dark and fertile soil is an excellent foundation for different crops. Ethiopia has a lot of endemic crops - species that were cultivated for agriculture there and due to the special climate some of them are still almost only found in Ethiopia. Fortunately one of them have caught on in many other places in the world, and every time we enjoy a cup of coffee we can thank Ethiopian farmers from thousands of years back for cultivating the bush that gives us this wonderful drink.
