'Where you go?'
Wherever I go, invariably people will call out to me:
'Hello! Are you fine?'
'Where you go?'
'China! China!'
There are two terms for foreigner here- freniji (based on the French who were the first white people in modern times to have significant contact with Ethiopia) and china (based on the Chinese who currently have the most significant foreign presence here).
It has bothered me a great deal, being heckled. For the words cried out are not always in good taste. Truly, I dreaded going out alone. If I did, I would strive to make myself invisible, hiding as much of my offending white skin as possible.
Yet recently, I have realized (thanks to Abiy) that I shouldn't view this so negatively.
"They're giving you props."
Abiy explained to me that they have nicknames for everyone here. If I was Arab or African, they would have other things to yell out. And these much less kind. Freniji, in a way, is a compliment.
Ethiopians are a very proud people and consider themselves better than their fellow Africans. After all, Ethiopia was strong enough to withstand colonization. They probably think themselves better than the Chinese too in much the same way we in the US deride China. But white people, so few and far between, are like celebrities. Even I feel a tinge of excitement when I see one- it's not a daily occurrence you see.
More importantly though, is the fact that many people here simply have nothing better to do than call out to passerby (including fellow Ethiopians). There are few entertainment outlets and anyways precious little money to spend on such frivolous things. To pass the time, one sits. In a cafe, in a bar, on a street corner. You talk to whoever may be around and watch the world pass you by. The kids in the above photo spent their time hopping on the back of passing buses and trucks, riding them as far as they could before the driver caught on.
I still think it's rude to point and stare, I've been raised to you see. But I no longer get angry and uncomfortable when strangers try to talk to me. I just smile and say salem and carry on my way.
Julia Roberts would do the same, no?
