I Heart Headphones

As the days go by, feeling more and more that the invisible shield that I carried with me from “back home”, that protected me from feeling the alienating impact of the expressionless stares is starting to wear off. I will soon feel like I did in the early days, keenly aware of the stares and … More I Heart Headphones

Photonappers.

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.

Look: Diaspora!

Somehow the staring is more tolerable when it is directed at you after you return from a place where everyone may not have thought like you but certainly looked like you, and where the stares were of a knowing nature, rather than blank and expressionless. The silliness, absurdity, even the pathetic nature of it becomes … More Look: Diaspora!

Chinese Crossovers

One of the ways to get to Mainland China from Hong Kong is by bus. When you exit Hong Kong and pass through customs at the border bus depot, you file into the line marked “Visitors”. A short bus ride later, when you cross over into China through Shenzhen, you file into the line marked … More Chinese Crossovers