I was too young to know that every country had one of those – airlines, that is, and the pretty ladies that went along with them, not to mention the dashing pilots. I was too young to even know that there were such things as other countries. There was Ethiopia, that was that. That was the world. … More Follow the Smile
This one’s on me. I’m happy to share my latest article for Selamta, the in-flight magazine of Ethiopian Airlines. For this assignment, I spent an afternoon being led to and fed in lesser known/much loved restaurants around Addis Ababa (one of which had one of the best ceiling art I’d ever seen, see below), all in … More Went/Saw/Ate/Wrote
The irony of this article (p.64-65), which I wrote for Selamta magazine, getting published in the middle of Abiy tsom season is not lost on me. Who said the Man Upstairs doesn’t have a sense of humour? I guess I’ll just consider it as something to hold me over until April 12. Having grown up with a steady … More Burger Irony
I once heard someone say, “Cemeteries are the richest places on earth because most people take their great ideas to the grave.” It’s a bit of a forced analogy, to be sure, but it stuck with me. So much so that I tweeted it; now that’s saying something. Anyhoo, as I inch closer to my … More GRAND Schemes
During a very specific window of time after I joined the Western World, I believed in Santa Claus. One hundred percent. This window happened to fall between October 1992 and January 1993. The natural thing to do, then, was to write him a letter. Sorry, write Him a letter. Make no mistake, I had always … More Christmas Confession
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
Something about coffee. A must. A delicious authentic cupful while waiting for yet another takeoff, feeling especially exposed in the surplus personal space of a cabin now even emptier save for you, a devout African Muslim and one green-clad airline employee hitching a ride, triggers a wave of emotions. The rush of vitality such a … More Coffee Stopover
Rebecca Fisseha, Writer. 