An Unintended Cultural Lesson

 

One day in Bahirdar, Ethiopia, my wife and I were walking home after a heavy shopping trip. It was one of those days where we clearly bought more than we had planned. Naturally, I ended up carrying all the luggage, bags in both hands, a couple hanging from my shoulders, while my wife walked behind me. She was carrying our two-year-old daughter and holding our seven-year-old son by the hand.

To me, this felt normal. In fact, I was quietly pleased with myself, thinking I was doing my bit as a responsible husband and father. But what I didn’t realize was that we were being closely observed.

As we walked, I noticed a few Ethiopian men and women looking at us with curiosity. Some of them were whispering among themselves. At that time, I didn’t think much of it. I assumed it was just casual curiosity, perhaps the usual attention that families sometimes attract in public spaces, especially foreigners.

I was wrong. The next day, at work, one of my Ethiopian colleagues walked up to me with a rather serious expression and said, “You are spoiling our wives.”

I was completely taken aback. Spoiling their wives? What had I done?

Naturally, my first instinct was confusion. I even jokingly tried to “analyze” the situation, wondering how on earth I had managed to create such an impact simply by walking home after shopping.

Seeing my puzzled look, my colleague explained. “In our culture,” he said, “it is usually the women who carry the luggage. The men walk ahead, freely.”

Then he added, with a mix of frustration and amusement, “But after seeing you carrying everything, our women have started asking questions. They are saying, ‘Why can’t you carry the bags like that man?’ They also want to walk freely now!”

That’s when it hit me. What I considered a small, personal act—simply carrying shopping bags—had unintentionally become a point of comparison in a completely different cultural context. Without meaning to, I had disrupted a visible social norm, at least in a small way.

I stood there, quite nonplussed. It was a fascinating reminder of how everyday behavior, which feels entirely ordinary to us, can appear unusual, or even provocative, in another culture. We often think of cultural exchange happening through big ideas, policies, or formal interactions. But sometimes, it happens in the simplest moments, like a man carrying shopping bags.

This incident stayed with me. Not because of the complaint itself, but because of what it revealed: how quietly and powerfully norms operate, and how easily they can be questioned, sometimes without any intention at all. In the end, all I did was carry a few bags. But somewhere along the way, I may have also carried a small idea across cultures. 

“Are you not coming to the class?” - Ethiopian Journey - Blog Post No – 35

 Ethiopian Graduate students come to the university from a very vigorous schooling system. Government Universities in Ethiopia can be compared with the Indian IITs and IIMs. The students come from all over Ethiopia and are allotted seats in different universities based on their merit score.

All the expenses are taken care by the university. Typically students come to BDU (Bahirdar University) on their own but from that point onward all their expenses including tuition fees, food, and accommodation are taken care by the university.

By the time I returned back to India, the federal Government came out with an innovative scheme where all the expenses were initially paid for by the government. But the students had to sign a document promising that they would serve the government or would work in the country for a period of four years. If any of the students break the bond they would have to repay all the expenses incurred along with interest.

Students would come to the class with a single note book. Most Ethiopian students in my time would have very small and compact hand writing. I was initially puzzled but quickly understood the logic. They were conserving space! Many of my students could write one entire day’s class notes in a single page. So one note book of 200 pages would be enough to write notes for three subjects. So with two, 200 page note books they would manage to write down all the notes for the whole semester.

Most boys would wear jeans and T-shirts and on it would wear an unbuttoned shirt. The open shirt would double as a coat. Some would wear a stylish coat. Most girls would wear a western dress or a long coat.

Ethiopian students have some of the most startlingly big eyes in the world. And to go with those big eyes they had the most solemn expressions on their faces. They would simply stare, not smile, not acknowledge me and remain expression less. It was annoying and yes, it was very puzzling. The facts about Ethiopians in the book that my Brother-in-law, Sai Matam had gifted came flashing into my mind.

Ethiopians endured a very brutal Derg regime that suppressed all type of dissent. So any expression shown on the face would instantaneously mean punishment or even death during that regime. So an entire generation of Ethiopians had mastered the art of ‘dead pan expression’ on their faces. Once they trusted and liked a person, Ethiopians opened up and their faces would explode into a mosaic of expressions.

They would listen solemnly and when I made eye contact, would give a shy smile and drop their eyes. Most would not ask questions as English was not the medium of instruction till graduation and they would speak English very haltingly. They would get confused between I and you and would inter change the usage. For example one of my students asked me “Mr. Anil (they would address the faculty by name) who teaches your children at home?” I replied “my wife”, “my wife!?” he asked, I got little perturbed but said “not your wife, MY WIFE”. Seeing his puzzled expression, I simply left the issue. Some things are better as they are!

Another student came to the faculty room and enquired “are you not coming to the class?” I was totally foxed. If I said yes, it means that I would not be coming and if I say No, it meant that I would be coming to the class. But I was not very sure if the student actually understood the meaning. Giving up, I simply nodded my head and walked to the class room as quickly as I could. 

If I asked a question for which they have to give an answer in affirmative, the students would emit a soft guttural sound “ah”. Initially I thought that the entire class was grunting. Even after four years I found the Ethiopian way of saying yes, charming, puzzling and yes a little disconcerting!

I remember my first class of “Sales Management”. I wore a very formal dress and a matching tie. I was sure the students were very impressed by my persona. I cleared my voice and said ‘Good morning students” in my best voice “Let us get the ball rolling”.

There was a pin drop silence in the class! I could hear the leaves rustling from outside the classroom. The students initially looked confused but later a knowing smile came on many students’ faces. They started looking around. Then it struck me. ‘Oh my, my”, I said to myself. Not knowing the idiom “let us get the ball rolling” meant ‘let us get started or let’s start’, my Ethiopian students have thought that this strange Indian teacher was a football lover and wanted to have a game of football in the class room itself.

Run, Run and run - Ethiopia's romance with sporting glory - Ethiopian Journey - Blog post no - 22

Ethiopian Athletes at the 2012, London Games  

What I am saying might come as a big surprise to a majority of my readers. Most of us have a world view that can frankly be called “navel grazing”. We are so wrapped up with ourselves and our self-belief that we are among the best in the world, if not the best!

For human indices for child development for kids under five, India’s indices are even worse than that of the Sub Saharan countries where some of the worlds’ poorest people reside. So When ever we talk about Ethiopia even among my own academic fraternity there are blank stares. THEY DON’T HAVE a CLUE ABOUT WHAT OR WHERE IS ETHIOPIA.

Happy Ethiopian Kids 

After a Titanic struggle they would come out with a jewel “oh! that country that was starving and where many people died due to famine”. Yes, there is no denying that Ethiopia suffered very badly due to the famine and had to pay a heavy price overcoming the connected stigma.

But the Ethiopia that we saw in 2002, was not that was portrayed to us by the popular media. There was poverty and poor people but they exist in India too.

The second shock is that Ethiopia has a great culture and tradition. Nowhere is it more stark than when it comes to sporting events. India is number one in games like cricket which is played by very few countries.  India also does well in sports where one person or two players play either individually or as a doubles team like Snooker, billiards and Chess.

The only world sport that India does very well is tennis, that too because of individual brilliance. Stars like Sania and Leander Paes have succeeded not due of the system. Rather they have succeeded inspite of the system. There are some bright spots appearing, but very few. We have started to do well in badminton and that too because of Pullela Gopichand Coaching Academy.

High Altitude Training

The one area where all countries try to excel is, in Summer Olympics. Olympics is watched by everyone in the world and countries strain every sinew to get noticed. Countries like USSR, East Germany and the eastern bloc countries in the 70s and 80s and China now tries everything to be in limelight. Success is seen as a sign of arriving at the world scene. It is a signal that the country is economically prosperous and making rapid strides in all spheres of life.

But we have a strange anomaly of the east African countries especially Ethiopia, Kenya, and Eritrea who excel in a big way and turn heads in amazement with their sporting achievements. At the same time, they are classified as middle to low income economies.  Let us look at some cold facts that will jolt the living daylight out of us.

India has been participating in all the Summer Olympics right from first edition in 1986 to the latest and 28^th edition held in 2016 at Rio De Janerio, Brazil. India has got 9 Gold, 7 silver and 12 bronze medals for a total of 28 medals. On the face of it, the tally looks good. Hold on! We are talking about 28 Olympics in all. That is a measly one medal per Olympics. And we are the second most populous country in the world.  One medal per Olympics is unpardonable by any standards.

To make things even more bleak, out of these 28 medals, 11 medals came from field hockey and that includes 8 gold medals. That means in all our Olympic history, WE HAVE WON ONLY ONE INDIVIDUAL GOLD MEDAL.  That individual gold medal was won by Abhinav Bindra in 2008 Olympics. That is a depressing thought for all sports lovers.

Rocky path to success 

On the other side we have the case of Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, which excels in the field of sports. There are lot of theories; that the high altitude terrain and the training that the athletes get at these high altitudes are the reasons for success. Or that they are genetically predisposed to run long distances. But these reasons are over simplifying a phenomenon that is difficult to explain. Many other countries like Mexico too have high altitude.  

Young Wannabe Olympic Champions 

Other countries have athletes with who have similar low body fat and low carbohydrate food habits. But these other countries could not replicate the successes that the East African runners are churning out with monotonous regularity.

There is definitely something else that motivates East Africans to do so well and that too so consistently. Let’s look at how the nations perform. If we compare all medals won per GDP (in million US dollars): The first rank goes to Jamaica with 67 medals at 4656.011 medals per GDP in million Dollars. Ethiopia comes in at 19^th Rank for 45 medals at 950.570 medals per GDP in million Dollars. 

There is only one country in Africa that does even better than Ethiopia. It is their great neighbour Kenya which comes in at 7^th rank for 86 medals at 1898.036 medals per GDP in million Dollars.

If we look at only gold medals won per GDP, (million US dollars): The first rank goes to Hungary at 169 gold medals at 1294.028 per GDP, in million US dollars, Ethiopia comes in at 12^th with 21 gold medals at 443.599 per GDP, in million US dollars. again only Kenya does even better coming at 8^th at 25 gold medals at 551.755 per GDP, in million US dollars.

Let us look at the medal lists in terms of GDP per $1,000 per capita:

Rank	Country	MEDALS	MEdals/GDPPD
1	China	526	53.673
2	United States	2706	51.250
3	Kenya	86	47.778
4	Ethiopia	45	37.500

Let us look at the medal lists in terms of GDP per $1,000 per capita:

RANK	COUNTRY	GOLD MEDALS	GOLD MEDALS/GDPPD
1	China	213	21.735
2	United States	1083	20.511
3	Ethiopia	21	17.500
4	Kenya	25	13.889

 

All statistics taken from “OLYMPIC MEDALS WON BY NATIONS – A DEEPER ANALYSIS by BMALLON written on JUly 14, 2014. Url: http://olympstats.com/2014/07/14/olympic-medals-won-by-nations-a-deeper-analysis/

Bekoji, town that produced 10 gold medal winning Olympic runners 

Need I say more!. Interestingly, the majority of East Africa’s successful runners come from three mountainous districts that run beside the Great Rift Valley. In Kenya, most of the country’s successful runners come from Nandi region. In Ethiopia, most of the country’s successful runners come from Arsi and Shewa regions. The Ethiopian town of Bekoji, having a population of only 20,000 has won a whopping 16 Olympic medals and 10 of them gold.

In next post we will talk about some of the greatest world class athletes that Ethiopia has produced. And it makes for fascinating reading.

First Day in Addis Ababa, at Ethiopian Hotel - 8th November 2002 - Ethiopian Journey - Part 12.

Ethiopian Christians going to the Church for Prayers 

I got up early in the morning. I peeped out of the window. There was a lot of fog and it had enveloped the city in a tight unforgiving hug. There was a nip in the air. I was shivering in the cold. I went up to the terrace of the hotel. The view was breath taking. There were rolling hills all around. It was picture post card perfect! I shot the scenes on my video camera.

Gingerly I stepped out of the hotel but stayed under the watchful eye of the hotel security. I could see hordes of Ethiopians silently moving in their long white flowing dresses. They had the most solemn and serious faces I had ever seen. I was puzzled. They were shuffling along slowly. It looks as if a holy procession was moving along. It was so surreal. The effect was accentuated by the nip in the air and the cold weather. I had to pinch myself to get out of the feeling of awe. 

I enquired “where are they going?”. The guard replied in halting English “They go, Church”. Then it struck me, Ethiopia is a Christian country surrounded by Muslim nations in the horn of Africa.  Readers might be wondering as why this area is called as the horn? If you were to look at the African map the eastern part of Africa has a part jutting out. This part looks like a horn of Rhinoceros and that is why it is called the horn of Africa.  Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia, are the countries that constitute the horn of Africa.

Ethiopians are devout Christians. Three  out of four Ethiopians are Christians and follow the orthodox form of Christianity. Ethiopia still uses the old Julian calendar. They celebrate Christmas on January 7th, and not on December 25th! The Christmas celebration in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is called Ganna. “Malkam, Malkam Addis Ganna” they  would greet each other. It means welcome welcome new Christmas!

Western and European depiction of Jesus Christ 

Ethiopian Depiction of Jesus Christ 

The depiction of Jesus Christ is what we had been taught by the Europeans and the westerners. As Ethiopians have never been colonized their depiction of the same biblical epic and Jesus Christ is refreshingly different. I was coming to terms with one of the most ancient civilization in the world. Ethiopia is one of the few countries mentioned in the Bible, the Koran, Homer’s Odyssey, and many other ancient books.

Smiling Ethiopian Boy 

The name “Ethiopia” comes from the Greek words aitho and ops, which together mean “Sun burnt face.” This was how the ancient Greeks referred to the dark-skinned people of Eastern Africa. Ethiopia is one of the oldest nations in the world, having been founded in 980 B.C. Axum, in Ethiopia, is famous as a claimant to the final resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, the chest containing the ten commandments God gave to Moses. It is of tremendous pride to the Ethiopians that the final resting place of the Ark of Covenant is amongst them!

Breakfast done, all the men and the contract holders assembled in the reception area. It was almost ten in the morning and there was no action. The clock struck twelve and still no one came from the Ministry of Education. We were getting bored. We dispersed for lunch. After the experience with the last night dinner, we had bread and jam for lunch. But Indians being Indians we were not liking the bland and sweet taste. We wanted our tongues to get tickled and the palate to be satiated with the hot and spicy Indian curies and dals. But alas we were thousands of kilometres from India!

The representative from the ministry arrived at 3.00 p.m. We accosted him anxiously. He was unflustered. He appeared as cool as a cucumber. We were slowly getting used to the ways of the Ethiopians. He had this almost Zen like calmness. He drawled “How are you all, how is Ethiopia treating you?” One of us responded with a little irritation and lot of anxiety “We are here for the entire day. We would like to go our respective stations. We would be losing our salary too!” The practicality of people whose main reason to come to Ethiopia – to save money and send it back to India was kicking in. We were rearing to work and earn our pay! Itching for action. May be the result of living life in a fast lane.

The Ethiopian was genuinely surprised. Then his face brightened up “oh aha” he exclaimed “that is your major worry. Don’t you worry about your salary. Salary would be given from Today.” We came to know that our tickets to Bahirdar would take some more time. He promised to come back in a day or two.         

I birr Note (front Side)

We felt lost. Now the excuse of going early to our universities was snatched from our hands. We were resigned to our fate. There were many rumours floating about. We heard stories of how tourists being robbed and assaulted. But staying in the hotel was not an option. I took a 100 dollars note and went out to an authorized exchange centre and got around 855 birr. A back of envelope calculation showed that one birr was worth approximately six Indian rupees. That was the mantra that we chanted for the next four years. We would buy in birr and immediately multiply it with 5 (a 5 factor being more convenient than a 6 factor).

I birr Note (back Side)

I would buy 5 kgs of rice and Padma would ask “how much”. I would reply “10 Birr”. She would immediately say 50 rupees and that meant price of rice is Rs 10 per kg. Talk of the NRI ways of living and surviving in faraway places! 

The New Flower beckons (763) – Ethiopian Journey – Part 11

Our air travel took us five hours and we covered 3837 kilometers. The time difference between India and Ethiopia is 2.5 hours and this time difference was to create lot of confusion but more of that later.  

There were tin roofs everywhere. Somehow the movie Fiddler on the roof came to my mind. Addis Ababa at the first look looked very much like the landscape that we see when we take off from Mumbai International airport.

Map showing the size of Africa 

Most of us have very limited and sketchy information about Africa. Africa is the cradle of the world civilizations. It has the most diverse bio diversity in the world. Diverse in races, people, languages, flora and fauna. Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent. Africa’s land mass is 30.3 million kilometers² (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands.

Africa covers 6% of earth’s total surface area and 20.4% of its total land area. From the most northerly point, Ras Ben Sakka in Tunisia, to the most southern point, Cape Agulhas in South Africa, the distance is approximately 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles). And from Cap Vert, Senegal, the western most point, to Ras Hafun in Somalia, the eastern most point, the distance is approximately 7,400 kilometres (4,600 miles).

We need to travel 10 hours continuous from the northern tip to the southern tip and nine hours from western tip to eastern tip by an aeroplane before we leave the continent and see the sea. That is how big Africa is! When it is 3.45 a.m in Cape Verde, the western most point in Africa it is already 8.45 a.m in Seychelles the eastern most point.

Africa consists 57 countries and Algeria at 23,81,741 square Kilometres is the biggest country and at 55 square Kilometres French Southern and Antarctic Lands is the smallest.

Street View of Addis Ababa, 2002 

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, my home for the next four years is more than three (3) million years old. Ethiopia shares borders with Eritrea to the north and to the northeast is Djibouti which is the nearest sea link for Ethiopia, Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. After Eritrea got independence, Ethiopia got completely landlocked. Ethiopia is the most populous land locked country in the world.

Ethiopia has a land size of 11,04,300 square Kilometres which is almost one third of India's land size. India’s land size is 32,87,263 square Kilometres. But whereas India’s population stood at 107.1 crores in 2001, Ethiopia’s population is tiny at only 6.85 crores. That is mind boggling, I/3 of India's  size but having only 1/16 of India’s population.

Ethiopia is not small by any standards.  It is the 26^th biggest country in the world by size and 10^th biggest in Africa. It is the 2^nd most populous country in Africa. Only Nigeria had more people than Ethiopia.

Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia has a land size of 527 square kilometers. It is 3rd highest capital in the world at an altitude of 2355 metres. The average highest temperature in Addis Ababa is 23 degrees centigrade and the lowest is 6 degrees centigrade. According to the October 1994 census the population was 21 lakh people.

Old Airport, Bole, Addis Ababa, 2002, within one year of our arrival a swanky new airport was opened 

It was almost 10.00 p.m. by the time we finished our inward formalities and stepped into the lobby of the airport which was old was very quaint in its looks. There were traditional Ethiopian Motifs everywhere – Huge murals depicting the coffee ceremony and of smiling Ethiopian faces. 

Ministry of Education, Addis Ababa, at Arat Kilo. 

But we were all tense and tired. Waiting to receive us was a representative from the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia. He was very polite and dropped us at the Ethiopia hotel which was at the intersection of Sudan Street and Yohanis Street and parallel to the Churchill Avenue.

Ethiopian Hotel, Near Churchill Avenue, Addis Ababa

We went to the restaurant and ordered the food. The first shock was on us. There was very little choice for vegetarians and no Indian food at all on offer. We ordered some chicken and some bread. The bread tasted different and the even the chicken was prepared differently. It had deep roasted in oil and there was no spice chilly or salt at all! Coming from a country that drowns all its dishes in ample salt, chilly, liberal doses of masala and spice that was the last straw. 

We had to leave the food almost untouched. Okay, we learnt the first lesson; eating food outside our own home is going to be a culinary adventure in itself! Addis Ababa was cold but the hotel room was cosy and comfortable. We got into our woolens and settled down. 

Ethiopia - 13 months of sunshine - where yesterday, today and tomorrow merge seamlessly - Ethiopian Journey - Part VII

Ethiopian Highlands 

The next day morning, the Vice President’s words “the entire country is air conditioned” was ringing in my mind. “What did he mean?” I wondered.  I went to the easiest and most convenient person to ask questions – Google Matha (Mother). Google embraced me warmly and I deep dived. I was astonished at what Google was throwing at me.

I was interviewed for Bahirdar University and Bahirdar is a part of the Ethiopian highlands. They are a rugged mass of mountains , situated in the Horn region of Northeast Africa. They form the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 metres (4,921 feet), while the highest mountain peak, Ras Dashen reaches a height of up to 4550 metres (14,928 feet).

The Ethiopian High lands are often called the Roof of Africa due to their height and large area.  Most of the Ethiopian Highlands are part of central and northern Ethiopia, and its northernmost portion reaches into Eritrea, a neighboring country.

Smiling Ethiopian holding Coffee beans 

In the southern parts of the Ethiopian Highlands once was located the Kingdom of Kaffa, a medieval early modern state, where from  the first coffee plant was exported to the Arabian peninsula . The land of the former kingdom is mountainous with stretches of forest. The land is very fertile, capable of three harvests a year. The term "coffee" is derived from the Arabic ‘qahwah’ and is traceable to Kaffa. The Latin name of coffee is Coffee Arabica as coffee was made popular by the Arabian merchants.

In the highlands, the air is cool and bracing in summer, and winters are very bleak. The mean range of temperature is between 15 to 25 °C (59 to 77 °F). The year may be divided into three seasons. Winter, or the cold season lasts from October to February. It is followed by a dry hot summer, which in the middle of June gives place to the rainy season. 

Bahirdar city promenade lined with palm trees and autos which are called Bajajs

Bahirdar University, Bahirdar is considered one of the holiest places in Ethiopia. Bahirdar or Bahardar is home to the starting point of the Nile River. And Nile as we all know is the longest river in the world. The Nile River starts in Lake Tana the largest lake in Ethiopia. The lake is so big that the town adjoining came to be called Bahardar (by the side of the sea). Lake Tana is so big that the Ethiopians thought it was a sea! Lake Tana has many small islands which have very old and holy monasteries. These are popularly called Lake Tana island monasteries.

Lake Tana the biggest lake in Ethiopia

Bahirdar is located approximately 578 km north-northwest of Addis Ababa, at an elevation of about 1,800 metres (5,906 feet) above sea level.  Bahirdar has a borderline tropical climate.  Afternoon temperatures are warm year round, and morning temperatures cool.  Temperatures vary a lot during the day and in the night. The highest average temperature is 28.8 Degrees centigrade and the lowest average temperature is 5 degrees centigrade. So that is what the Vice President meant when he said that the entire country is air conditioned!

Bahirdar is the third largest city in Ethiopia, after Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa. It is the capital of the Amhara region, inhabited by the Amhara people. Amharic is the official language of Ethiopia.

That was more than enough for me to get excited. Many get opportunity to go to USA but how many have the chance to visit one of the oldest countries in the world?  The oldest surviving skeleton of human man mankind, ‘The Lucy’ was found in Ethiopia.  Ethiopia has a long history and is fiercely independent. It was only colonized for a very short time by the Italians but the proud Ethiopians threw them out in a jiffy.

Addis Ababa,the new flower, capital of Ethiopia and the 3rd highest capital in the world

Ethiopia is considered as one of the most influential country in the Entire African continent and the Capital, Addis Ababa (meaning New Flower, I should say very romantically named!) is often called the capital of Africa and is the headquarters of the African Union. It is said that all the African countries have atleast one of three colours of the Ethiopian Flag, green, yellow and red.  This is to show respect and acknowledge the contributions made by Ethiopia to the African cause and development.