Is there anything more aloof than an Ethiopian Airlines flight attendant in charge of a planeload of West Africans? Certain knowledges, no matter how widely shared, should probably not be voiced or printed: she knows that, for reasons that go back hundreds of years and miles of chromosomes, the men desire to pounce on her … More Found Persons and Lost Pens
You know what they say: you can take the (habesha) out of (ET) but you can’t take the (ET) out of (habesha), which is why in my short time here I’ve learned the Chinese character for “beef”. I put this knowledge to good use one day as I waited for my chicken burger combo at a … More On the Truth About Burgers.
Marge calls it “galalalalalala”, Lisa thinks it’s a pancake, foodie websites up and down the internet call it yeast-risen flatbread, sponge-like bread, crepe-like flat bread, sour pancake, flatbread, sourdough pancake-like bread, flat spongy bread, flat crepe like food that has millions of bubbles or holes on its surface, (millions, really?) American-style Ethiopian bread, sour flat-bread, … More 99 Names for Injera
Chickens have got it bad. Really. No matter where in the world you go, chicken meat is bound to be a staple, on the menu of any restaurant or home meal. For many years now, my chicken has come to me in pieces, never whole and certainly not while still alive. A pair of deboned … More Chickens Beware!
I should know better. I’ve lived in Africa. Not in a very long time, yes. But I’ve always re-configured my mind every time I’ve boarded a plane destined for Addis. Even before boarding. As I arrive at the gate, I adjust my expectations, by which I mean I lower them. Yet, there is always the … More Expect Disappointment
Industry moves Wenzhou, to be sure, but ask me what higher form of spirit moves the city, and I couldn’t tell you. I miss the sound of the muezzin that can be heard from our home, or anybody’s home no matter their location, in the city of Addis, in the early hours of the morning … More Spirit
There are more lions guarding buildings of all kinds in Wenzhou China, than in all of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, capital city of the former seat of the Conquering Lion of Judah. They are usually carved of stone (although a “gold” pair have been seen), of varying levels of detail and grandeur, but always of two … More Lions and Other Commonalities
Anyone knows better than to provoke a bride on her wedding day, and anyone knows better than to take an unauthorized picture of her. Unless you are the hired photographer, family or an invited guest, you know better. But if you are an Arab or White guest of the Addis Ababa Sheraton – one of … More Photonappers.
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