I have been reticent in writing about the people I have met and observed while in Addis Ababa. One reason is that any observations I have to make will be highly subjective and knowingly superficial. A larger reason is that I am in an African city in a developing country. I don’t want to reinforce any stereotypes of the worst part of urban Africa with my observations. Whenever I do think of writing something about the people my mind tends to focus on the disparity between rich and poor which invariably leads me to the beggars and street urchins. I feel writing about these elements will not do justice to all the people of Addis Ababa. Therefore, I am going to do my darnedest to concentrate on the positives. Subjectivity, superficiality, and stereotypes be damned.
The people of Addis Ababa are very friendly in general. They smile easily and many nod their heads or say “Hi” or “Hello.” Usually this is said loudly and in an exaggerated fashion. Like how a bad sit-com would have a foreigner say “Hello.” And it always takes me by surprise. This happens a few times each day. It took some time for me to decipher a sincere “Hello” from one that would just be followed up with a call for cash. That happens as much as the sincere greetings. When a sincere “Hello” is given, I keep meaning to respond with “Tenastëllën” (Hello/Greetings) but don’t feel confident enough yet in my pronunciation to do so. I have been trying out “Tenastëllën” and “Ameuseugënallõ (Thank You) on shop owners and waitresses and they always seem pleased that I am attempting to speak Amharic. So I should just give it a go despite my mangling of their ancient language.
I think a lot of the friendliness comes from Addis Ababa being a very service oriented place. There are so many restaurants and shops and everyone else is out on the streets trying to do something for someone to get a Birr or two. The shop owners, the maitre de’s, the service staff, even the shoe shine boys are always overly helpful almost to the point of embarrassment. They will do everything for you.
While still friendly, I have noticed one idiosyncrasy about wait staff that needs to be addressed. This has happened many times to me and has been corroborated by other foreigners. If you order something and the restaurant does not have it they just walk away like they just took your order. After some time you ask where whatever it is you ordered and then they tell you they don’t have it. It is ridiculous. It happens most when ordering a drink. “I’ll have a Coke.” They leave and never bring you a Coke. You ask what happened to the Coke and then they inform you that they don’t have Coke, only Pepsi. You ask for a Pepsi and they bring it to you. I don’t understand why this conversation didn’t occur when you initially ordered. Now I try to hedge my bets when I order. “Can I please have a Sprite or 7-Up?” Or I just go to the cooler and point out what I want.
Ethiopian kids are also very friendly and a joy to behold. Always smiling, always playing. They seem most enthusiastic about seeing a white guy roaming about their city. (I am talking about the non-street urchin kids. The street urchins are enthusiastic about seeing a white guy but for different reasons.) These kids enjoy themselves like kids should. They run around more than 10 feet from their parents, not always looking for some implied permission. They jump around, they show curiosity. They seem so free, so innocent, so child-like. I noticed similar behavior in children in Hong Kong and Japan when I visited last summer. They make American kids seem repressed (or, perhaps, suppressed) by comparison.
On most days, when walking to and fro the office, I pass a little girl, who I would guess is about five years old. She usually runs out of the shop she is in and, armed with a smile a mile wide, waves enthusiastically at me. The first time I walked past, she ran over to me, smiling and waving. As she neared, she then placed out her right hand in front of her with the left hand held below her right elbow, which is a customary show of respect when shaking hands in Ethiopia. Due to a recent run-in with some street urchins, who walk next to you for blocks, hands held out, repeating “Money” over and over again, my immediate thought was she was doing the same with her hand and looking for some Birr. I just smiled wanly at her and waved and kept moving. I didn’t realize until too late what she was actually doing. I am extremely disappointed in myself because I didn’t take her proffered hand. Despite my initial rudeness she still produces that smile and vigorously waves every time she sees me. I return a smile and wave back, not as vigorous as she does but with some feeling. It’s the least I can do. I have since come to believe she doesn’t posses an ounce of guile and I regret not returning the friendly gesture to her on that first day.
Occasionally I feel like a zoo specimen with the way I am stared at while walking around. It’s not that I feel it is unfriendly but it is uncomfortable. I don’t know what they are thinking when they see me. My first weekend I thought everyone was making me out to be a mark for some crazy scam. Which may be true for some people. I’m not sure what it is. It’s not threatening and Addis appears to be a safe city. Most people pay me no heed but there are everyday hassles you need to put up with. People just calling out to you, whether it is taxi drivers or shoeshine boys. The worst are the ones who just walk alongside you talking and then expect money for showing you around. The beggars and street urchins can be fairly aggressive in their pestering. But I’m getting to the negative now. So I’ll stop and save them for another day.
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