Images From Ethiopia: Seb

I could never have taken this photograph.

Seb, an old friend from Canada, came to visit in May 2004 and decided to stick around.  He worked at the same company as me for a year, setting up Unix networks for universities around the country.  He also took a bunch of photos of his own and, though they make me feel hopelessly strait-laced, with his kind permission I’ve posted some of them here.

Seb and Mitu, who tutored him in Amharic for his first few weeks.  Seb picked up Amharic very quickly and had surpassed me within a month.  He fluently bargained a guy in Merkato down to 25 Birr for this hat.  Then Elsa went back and immediately got it for 10 Birr.

Our second maid Haimanot’s family, early friends of Seb’s in Addis.  I think her sister Tigist took this.  Their father always struck me as a fun guy full of slightly crazy stories, but apparently he and his wife are big believers in education and with their support Haimanot is studying to be a nurse, while Tigist has made the extremely hard cut to get into university and is studying health sciences at Alemaya U near Harar.

More of Haimanot’s relatives.  That’s Tigist on the left.

We had a birthday party for Seb (and Shibu) soon after he arrived.  On the right, the team in charge of the food and drinks: Elsa, Serkalem, Tigist, Haimanot.

The party came off pretty well, though attendance was 90% women!  I’d never seen that before in my life.  Shibu and Yeshewaget from work; Mitu and Genet’s friends; Yonas and Fikirte from work; Muna, Sofi, Ayantu; Muna; Mame from Mon Amour and her cousin visiting from the States; Mame’s cousin again; Rahel from school; Rahel’s friends Sewit and Yodit.  Also mingling never got far, and the (no-drinking, no-dancing, no-music) Protestants didn’t have much to do, and everyone was gone by 10.  Still, it beat my later party-hosting experiments which were disasters.

By Seb.  All taxis in Addis are bright blue, except a few yellow ones, avoided by all except tourists because they’re insured and therefore slightly more expensive.

More Seb pics, some taken on my Canon, some on his Fuji.  Meskel Square; fancy China Road (Wollo Sefer), built recently by Chinese laborers (rumored to be prisoners working free for reduced sentences – man, people will believe anything about China these days); from a bridge between the guesthouse and Genet’s; Shell station that one day horrifically burned down; Awassa kids; Awassa lampshade; Entoto donkey; rapping at Ghion Hotel; practicing kung fu near Debre Libanos; Lake Awassa; by Lake Awassa.

One of Seb’s early photographic motives was to get shots for his mother, who studies birds.

Nazret (Adama) is a major town southeast of Addis and Seb had promised the guys back at Bar Nazareth in Toronto that he’d check it out.  Those are freshly made bricks drying in the sun.

“Half sunk, a shatter’d visage lies...”  There was just this sign.

Farewell party for Seb at our apartment.  Unlike me, Seb got to know a lot of Ethiopian guys as well as girls, like teammate and close friend Debbol in the third picture here.  Debbol is always good for a story and was my main source for nuanced political analysis.

Debbol is also distinctive in that unlike the great majority of young Ethiopians with his skills, he currently has no intention of leaving for the greener pastures of the US.  Not that I have anything against those who leave – they have a role to play too – but Ethiopia’s immediate future depends on people like Debbol and it’s a good sign for the country that he would choose to stay.  And now that I’ve written that, some ministry will probably make him fill a form in sextuplicate one time too many and he’ll find a way to DC.  That’s Ethiopia for you.

Haimanot, Elsa.  Saying goodbyes.

Go to page:  Home  Addis  Genet  Genet’s Friends  Elsa  Sofi  Alem  Seb  Work  School  Canada  Arba Minch  India  Bahir Dar  Countryside