Archive for December, 2008
While I was out on my brief and somewhat breathless walk yesterday, I had one of those experiences. Let’s be honest – no matter where I go in Africa, I stand out. Still, there are things one can do to not flaunt it, you know? Speak quietly (Americans are so loud); when you do have a conversation, don’t talk about the local food, customs or people as “them” (here, you’re the oddity, not the local population); realize that you’re going to overpay for things outside the western hotel, but engage in a little bargening if that’s the local custom (you’ll still overpay, don’t worry).
I had exchanged money and was carrying about 50 USD in Ethiopian Birr. Usually when I carry bills on travel they are in my front pocket, folded over. No billfold in the back pocket – why invite trouble? It sounds silly, but I usually arrange the bills so that when I fold them the smallest currency value is what shows. That way, when I pull the bills out of my pocket I don’t inadvertently flash around the fact that I’ve got a lot of cash by local standards. Everyone knows I’m a rich American, but why rub it in, you know?
Well, I stepped into this little shop, probably 20′ on a side (roughly the size of my living room at home) and picked up a 4-pack of bottled water. The place wasn’t full, but they were doing good business – mostly women, and lots of chatter going on. The first worker I saw said “good morning” and I replied “salem”. I held up the water and asked “how much?” She bowed her head, clearly embarrassed and mumbled “good morning” – no English, and I’ve no Amharic. I put my hand on my heart as I’ve seen others do here when ending an engagement, bowed my head a little, and said “thank you,” hoping that I wasn’t screwing up and causing further consternation. A gentleman behind the counter saw the interaction and said “24!”, which equates to roughly 2 USD. I set the water on the counter, reached into my pocket, and pulled out my Birr. Suddenly the store became silent. All eyes looked at me. I had screwed up and put my largest currency on top. I had to flip through a stack of 100 Birr notes, then 50s, in order to get down to the 20s. Then through the 20s, and the 10s, to get to the 5er that I needed. Now I was the one who was embarrassed. I handed the money to the cashier and began to walk out of the store, not waiting for my change. He stopped me and handed back the 1 Birr note that I was due.
That’s a lesson in how to be an ugly American. I had flashed flashed a stack of bills roughly equivalent to half an average person’s per capita annual income. Not only that, I flipped through the whole thing to pull out the bills I needed. On sight, everyone knew I was a rich American and I had just rubbed their noses in it. Today, I’m more aware than ever of how conspicuous we can be.
I’m just back from a quick walk to buy water and, more importantly, stretch my legs a bit. Sad to say, but I’m recovering a little from just that short walk! I’d forgotten about the altitude here and as I was walking (slightly) up hill from the little store where i bought my water, I quickly ran out of breath.
Anyway, I had a couple nice nights in Kenya. One evening, a group of about 8 of us went to dinner at a continental restaurant not far from the Embassy. In this case, “continental” means the African continent, not European. I had a wonderful piece of lamb. While the food was great, the setting was most notable, too. Kenya is just over 1′ south of the Equator, and situated such that the days are usually in the high 70s. There is no growing season – every season is growing season. As such, every meal featured wonderfully fresh vegetables, juices to drink, and meat that is produced the old fashioned way (i.e. not mass produced). Everything tasted so good!
the other evening, we splurged and went to “Carnivore,” a place that is something of a tourist trap, but fun nonetheless. They skewer and roast lots of different kinds of meat over an open flame, then walk around the restaurant with the cooked, skewered meat which they will carve for you at your table. Some Brazilian restaurants do this, too. The gimic here, of course, is that some of the meats are rather exotic. I had (and enjoyed) ostrich, crocodile, and the like. Apparently they used to serve impala, gazelle and other, even more exotic, meats, but have stopped under pressure from people who objected to eating such cute animals. The crocodile was surprisingly good!
Anyway, today is a down day for me, finally. Tomorrow the team is having a late lunch with some folks from the office here and then maybe we’ll do a little sightseeing. The others are out hitting the shops already, but I’m content to enjoy my balcony or in the rose garden for a bit.
Made it to Ethiopia yesterday after a nice, but intense, week in Kenya. The sun set pretty early in Kenya, and we were not encouraged to be out walking after dark, so I don’t have many pictures. We did, however, go out to some cool places and I’ll do another update on those shortly.
While in Kenya, I ran into an old acquaintance whom I know from a World Learning project in Sarajevo. Once again, it’s a small world!
More to come!