Ethiopia smells like a combination of dead goats, incense sticks, dust, urine,chili and mango.
- Ethiopia is the India of Africa
- Ethiopians often legitimate illogical behaviour by claiming “cultural differences”
- Ethiopians are unable to queue
- Ethiopia has never been colonised
- Ethiopian birds are really devilish!
- Ethiopians also love English football
- Ethiopians kicked the ass of Mussolini (1936 – 1941)
- in Ethiopia the boys in the streets told me everybody is allowed to own a gun
- in Ethiopia kalashnikov is always around
- Ethiopia has many blind people, Ethiopia has many Polio and war cripples, Ethiopia has many brainsick people
- most Ethiopians are orthodox christians (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) or Sunnite muslims (also Rastafaris)
- in Ethiopia religious life averts social and economic progress
- 80% of the Ethiopians live in the country
- (nokia) mobile phones are everywhere
- Ethiopian boys in the streets love Jean-Claude van Damme
- Ethiopians use a different calendar and have also a different calculation of times
- most Ethiopians speak Amharic
- If you hit somebody with your car in Ethiopia don´t get off your car. Drive to the next police station. Otherwise the family of the victim will kill you.
- in Ethiopia heterosexual men walk hand in hand in the streets, sleep in the same bed and dance together
- in Ethiopia people also like chewing chat (also known as qat, qaat, quat, gat, jaad, khat, chad, chaad and miraa, is a flowering plant native to tropical East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. It is legal and keeps you awake. Tastes bitter!)
- in Ethiopia there are gari cabs (garis typically have two wheels, pulled by one horse, and can carry two passengers plus the driver. Within towns and cities, they function as taxicabs.), tuk-tuk (auto rickshaw) and lots of minibuses
- lots of lammergeiers over Gonder
- Ethiopians always finish their sentence with “…,you see?”
- Ethiopian pupils of Gonder are called by numbers instead of names (65 pupils per class)
- Ethiopian pupils learn from books (of USAid) that HIV infection comes from stepping on razorblades or syringes that lie in the streets
- in some parts of Ethiopia many women have a religious tattoo in their face
- over 2 Million HIV-infected people
- in Ehtiopia many women are used to wear scarfs (Netela) without any special religious meaning
- no diet/light softdrinks in Gonder
- Ethiopians call white people “Ferenge”
- Gonder has many big bones and skulls in the streets
- in Ethiopian restaurants male clients clap their hands if they want the waitress
- Ehtiopians eat Injera
- Ehtiopian culture and religion is considerably influenced by Jews (Ethiopia has a black Jewish minority), islamic culture and India
- in Ethiopia some females have a niggling moanful melody of voice
- in Ethiopia some men sound like Donald Duck
- many Ethiopians are small and skinny
- people like to weigh their bodies with a scale in the street
(Thank you Liku Zelleke for correction!)
ps: my camera broke down in africa. this is the only reason for the annoying stripes in the pictures.
Ethiopian music video on Youtube
Wow Lara!
Comment by Caroline Saturday, 18. April 2009 @ 23:42I love your pictures!!! The are really great!
XXX
Caroline
You’ve only been to Gondar. You passed through Addis Ababa,that makes your visit to the country-side not an expert on the whole country.
- What may appear as ’stupid behaviour’ would have a historical definition. You should ask before assuming it’s stupid.
- Everybody is NOT allowed to own a gun, it’s actually illegal! Try toting a gun through Addis Ababa. And an AK-47 is around in the country side. Only the Army and Police are allowed to carry them in the cities!
-If you have a car accident, do NOT leave the scene, driving 15 meters away changes the case to manslaughter … just ask the Ethiopian Singer Tewodros “Teddy Afro” Kassahun.Ethiopians do not just up and kill people. It’s that image you have in your head!
-We are free to touch and sleep with eachother because homosexuality is a taboo and everyone assumes that you are not gay! And we do not kiss one another! Not in the lewd way you meant it!
-There are no ‘garis’ in Addis Ababa, notice that?
-No, we do not finish our sentences with ‘you see’, you see?
- Our students are not stupid, it’s these same students that come over to your countries and make YOU look like the dunce in the corner! Check the stats of the Ethiopian students in any foregin university!
-The tatoo on the face is done in only two northern regions of Ethiopia,one being Gonder, and these customs are fading.
- The ’scarfs’ are called ‘NETELA’s and are our traditional clothes, dummy!
- Just because we don’t have weight issues and adhere to ‘light/soft’ soda doesn’t make us any less than a McDonald McCity! FYI – we have diet Coke, in major cities.And yes, they’re made in Ethiopia.
- Ethiopians eat injera. Period! Fasting or not, we eat it. It’s the sauce that varies when fasting. Get it? The meaning of our fasting and yours is different. Ours is more like Lent. Get facts straight before assuming stuff!
-Ethiopian culture is NOTHING like the jews. The jews were outcasts until the 17th and early 18th centuries!
-What do you mean we sound like Donald Duck? How old are you?
-You’re afraid of the scale, because you are so obssesed with being skinny…like Ethiopians!
Just who do you think you are? Are you woman enough to print this comment and admit you’re wrong? If not, I’ll spread it all oevr the net, and make you look like the fool you are.
Comment by deepethiopian Tuesday, 21. April 2009 @ 12:23Hello deepethiopian,
…what`s the problem about mentioning that bad education makes pupils stupid? It is true and of course everybody would be stupid without a proper education. I am not a racist. But the stupidity doesn´t come from feeding sheeps. The stupidity comes from bad lessons. (I worked at schools in Gonder and although every teacher is very nice and educated the lessons they give are really bad. Lessons are only about repeating instead of understanding. There is no creative work with the pupils. This is one main point what makes the pupils stupid in my opinion. Additionally I talked to a woman from the DED, german developement aid, who stayed next door to me in Gonder. She was very tough and made things clear: Ethiopia will never be able to develope with its religious rules and backwards-looking traditions, especially the women.)
So I don´t understand why self-criticism means nothing to you. I don´t deride Ethiopian people I was just mentioning some bad things. You have a beautiful countryside, you have nice people – of course. But it is not my job to make you more proud of your country.
By the way, I also criticize my own country a lot. Don´t be afraid of negative aspects and criticism!
regards
lara
PS: You should have a bit more humour. Take it easy boy! Ethiopia is an interesting country but you have lots of social problems and sometimes a very strange attitude…
Comment by Lara Thursday, 23. April 2009 @ 13:35Don’t mind him Lara, some people are thin skinned.
Comment by Simon Saturday, 5. September 2009 @ 22:20I thought the stripes in the photos are some sort copyright thing before I read your comment lol. May be there is a way of fixing it in photoshop