Africa, arguably the most misunderstood/stereotyped of continents. Its 54 countries (55 if you include the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which the current administration doesn't, especially after negotiating the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Morocco) range from the Arab nations of the north, to the rainbow that is South Africa. 1.2 billion people live in a land mass so huge the United States, China, Japan and India could fit inside it, with room left over for several European nations. Those 1.2 billion souls come from more than 3000 ethnic groups (Ethiopia alone has 80 different groups) speaking well over 2100 different languages (at least 86 native tongues in Ethiopia) . The complexity and diversity are overwhelming, and I've only experienced a very small part of the African continent. This is a dynamic place, offering much to the world's shared artistic and cultural heritage.
But when we in the West think of Africa, what comes to mind are those images most closely related to the central part of the continent - of dense jungles, dangerous animals and so-called "primitive tribes". When Africa is in the news, it's usually for all the wrong reasons - corrupt dictators, bloody wars and devastating famines. One of the worst examples of the latter occurred in Ethiopia in 1983-5 and resulted in 1.2 million deaths, 400,000 refugees and 2.5 million internally displaced persons (It also gave us Band Aid, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and "We Are The World" - more on that in a moment.). At that time news reports on the famine left an image in my mind of Ethiopia as a desolate, dusty country, with a population perpetually on the brink of starvation, an image that couldn't help but shape my expectations before we arrived here in July of last year, even though I knew so much had taken place in Ethiopia in the 35 years since.
So, of course, the reality is quite different. While it can get dusty and dry here, Addis Ababa አዲስ አበባ is surrounded by mountains that can be surprisingly lush, and as the above photo hopefully illustrates, the city doesn't sit in the middle of a harsh desert (rather, it lies in a grassland 2355 meters/7726 feet above sea level, which explains why it's been taking me so long to readjust to the elevation). And while poverty and strife are endemic, a lot has changed since those dark days of the famine and the Derg, when the world's music stars came together to produce a couple of horrendous songs in a well-intended but misguided effort to raise money for famine relief.
"Do They Know It's Christmas?", in particular, rankles for its Western-centric lyrics and "white savior" message. "Feed the world. Let them know it's Christmastime again"? Ethiopia adopted Christianity as the state religion in 330 CE, making it the second-oldest Christian country in the world. 63% of the population is Christian, with 44% belonging to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tehawedo Church. The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, with the earliest dating back to the 7th century, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites (and I still haven't seen them, though I hope to do so before we leave next July). And yet Bob Geldof and Midge Ure would have had us believe the population was unaware of Christmas, even if they do celebrate it on January 7, according to the Orthodox calendar, instead of December 25. Geldof and Ure could've done their research instead of composing a song based on culturally-biased assumptions, but facts would probably have gotten in the way of the song's narrative, and had a deleterious effect on fund raising (even though in the end much of the money apparently never made it to its intended beneficiaries).
Do I know it's Christmas? Enough to know the holiday season is also a time of Holiday Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder. While I'm not at those stages yet, 75 days apart from my wife and daughter haven't exactly made for a jolly, happy Christmas. Especially since on Friday I learned that Amber and Shu-E's flight next Saturday from Taipei to Dubai has been canceled, meaning that instead of arriving at Bole International Airport a week from today, their schedule has been pushed back by five days. If you do the math, that means they'll be arriving on Christmas Day, which the optimists can point out is a present itself. I would've preferred, however, to have time spent with the family before then, doing things like putting up the (artificial) tree, wrapping presents and then opening them on Christmas morning. With the disruptions in air travel due to the coronavirus, the pessimist in me thinks that the girls will get here just in time for Christmas...the Orthodox one early next month.
Oh well, they'll get here eventually. I did use the free time yesterday to finish my holiday shopping, driving to the Kore garden market at Sabahar ሳባ ሐር, where different artisan groups were showcasing a selection of handicrafts. The Kore area is home to many artisans, but is also one of the poorer communities in Addis Ababa. On the off-chance Shu-E reads this, I won't reveal what I bought, but Amber assures me she'll like the gifts:
This morning, with more free time on my hands, I went for a walk back to the Kore area. On the way the contrasts between rich and poor were clearly evident, as I first passed through an upscale neighborhood of embassies, expats and the Ethiopian upper class:
Even in this area, though, there are beggars - notice the woman cradling a child outside this house:
The Armenian embassy. Armenia is the oldest Christian country in the world, adopting Christianity as a state religion 29 years before Ethiopia. I was reprimanded by a guard for taking this photo, and, yes, I of all people should've known better. But I did it anyway:
I'm often asked if I often walk alone in Addis, with the answer being yes, at least in my area. Security is an issue here, and while I have been the target of some attempted pickpocketing, I haven't faced any serious threats...yet. It helps that I'm bigger than the average Ethiopian, and that I only walk in the daytime. Even so, as I approached the shantytowns of Kore, I felt a little uneasy, as it was obvious ferenji ፈረንጂ on foot are not a common sight. And yet people were friendly, including the shepherd who good-naturedly asked me if I wanted to buy one of his goats. Nonetheless, I didn't linger, nor venture from South Africa Street:
Construction work on Alexander Pushkin Street has made the side roads in my area congested at times. It doesn't help when cement mixers try to make their way through. A good thing I was on foot this time:
While my life is dullsville over here, in Taiwan the girls seem to be keeping themselves occupied, at least judging by the photos I keep getting from my wife. Here's Amber enjoying hot pot somewhere:
Feeding the fish and fowl at the Huwei Shenxiang Park 虎尾沈香園 in Yunlin County 雲林縣:
One of my sisters-in-law and her husband. After all these years, I don't know her name, for she's only referred to by Shu-E as her "second sister". My daughter only knows her as "Aunt No. 2":
The park's designers were obviously influenced by Japan's famous Kenroku-en 兼六園 in Kanazawa 金沢, which I had planned on taking Amber to this past summer, until COVID-19 came along:
Later that evening they visited a local night market:
On another occasion they visited the Dahu Fayun Temple 大湖法雲禪寺. The Zen temple dates from the Japanese colonial era, a fact of which I'm aware because the three of us had checked it out way back in March 2011:
The temple is located in a region known for its strawberry cultivation, so of course the girls went to do some pickin' after visiting the temple. From the photos my wife sent, it looks like the same area where we did the same in February 2011:
Amber has loved strawberries ever since she transitioned to solid foods. At the same time we visited the Fayun Temple, we also had to stop at a Strawberry Culture Museum (same link as for the temple); now known as the Dahu Wineland Resort 大湖酒庄, nine years later the girls made a return visit:
Going to Liyu Lake 鯉魚潭 in Nantou County 南投縣 to see some flowering trees:
This weekend Amber and Shu-E drove down to Tainan 台南 to see one of my wife's friends. I don't know what they were doing there, but apparently they visited a place called Tsou Ma Lai Farm 走馬瀨農場, and it looks like they enjoyed themselves:
Amber with my wife's friend, 詠心. Shu-E always refers to her as "Penghu Mei" 澎湖美, meaning a "beauty from Penghu", the archipelago in the Taiwan Strait where she hails from:
So thanks to Emirates Airlines, I now have to wait twelve more days until we're a family in more than name again. Until then, I'll try to keep myself sane by admiring the sunrises every morning while getting ready for work:
The obvious song to leave you with would be "Do They Know It's Christmas?", but I'm not going to inflict that on myself, you or anyone else. Instead, I'll put aside the jaded cynicism just this time, and let you enjoy this Minnutes song from 2009. Until next time...:
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