The Journey

Today we went to the "Africa Unite!" Bob Marley Birthday celebration in the center of Addis Ababa! It was crazy! 30,000 people there! A huge outdoor event! Picture this: thousands upon thousands of people weaving in and out of stone-step benches. Ethiopian flag colors are everywhere... braided in hair, sported as scarves, hats, shirts, and even pants...painted on chests, seen on flags held in sweaty palms. Dry heat mixed with radiating sunshine....sweat on your face. Not very humid...but just plain white sun rays draped over everything and everyone. Anticipation hovers like a mist...encircling and settling. Occasionally you see a white person or two or three...usually together in clusters ...but almost always with a hippy-like (may not have showered recently in order to experience Africa) flare. The music starts. They open the gates out in front...hundreds flood the area right at the foreground of the stage. We join this group later..but after the chaos subsides. Very interesting! Great music! Angelique Kidjo performed!!!

Jess

Do you know why I like Ethiopia?
Because you can be sitting with a group of people on a field in the middle of the city watching a sport tournament...and the Assistant Director of the Selam School turns to you and says, "You see that man there." You look toward a man behind you ...he is well dressed...important looking. "Yes." "That man can laugh continuously." "What?" "He can laugh for let's say 24 or 48 hours without stopping. It's like... it's like a talent!" "Really? Wow!" "Yes...maybe he will show us later."
And, then that will be that.
No more explanation.
Just a random collision of facts.
And random collisions aren't that uncommon here.
That same day a woman of about 26 to 29 approached us. "I hear you are from the USA?" "Yes," we say. And the conversation evolves.... turns out she went to college in Kansas and now lives in Switzerland, but was born in Ethiopia. Her mom came over and talked with us too. They ended up taking us out to lunch and tea that very same day... and offering their home as a place to stay if we are ever in Ethiopia again! The mother was this wonderful mix of crackling cinnamon- food smells, glitzy wealth, and unsubtle kindness. Her hospitality overwhelmed us. She was a mother in every sense of the word.

To us, Ethiopia has come to mean hospitality. This country has taught us how to be welcoming and how we want to treat our guests in the future.