Saturday, February 12, 2011

Looking Out for Each Other

In a book I recently read, it said that Addis is like a large
village; people are often looking out for each other. Being the
“forengie” (the name for foreigner) that I am, most of my day-to-day
experiences with locals are them asking for money or looking to rip me
off. It’s nice when I’m reminded of the generosity of people, and in
the last few days I’ve gotten a couple of examples.
    The first example has been ongoing since I’ve been here. At the
feeding center, it is a common theme to help others. There are many
men who come in and are blind. Sometimes they come with others leading
them, but often they are by themselves. When we are serving, the other
men around them will always help move the bowl up, or make sure the
man knows he’s been served. It is nice to see a huge group of
extremely hungry men taking the few extra seconds to make sure a less
fortunate among them is getting the same treatment. I’m always
impressed at their willingness to help everyone else get served, even
after they have gotten theirs (and could be stuffing their faces).
   The second example is what prompted this entry. I was sitting on
the taxi the other day and a woman walked up with a small child. The
little boy (who was probably 3 or so), got into the taxi first. There
was only one seat and it seemed the boy would be sitting on his
mother’s lap. While the mother was getting into the taxi (she had a
few bags so it was a bit slower), a young woman took the small child
and put him on her lap, no questions asked. Everyone in the taxi began
smiling at the child. When the mother sat down, she did NOT take her
child. The young woman held the child until him and his mother got off
of the taxi.
   These taxis can be brutal to get into and I’m used to shoving my
way so I can have a real seat, so to watch this clear example of just
helpfulness from everyone in the taxi was really great. It did not
seem out of the ordinary that the young woman sat with the boy on her
lap and nobody questioned her integrity or the mother’s abilities. It
was just clear to everyone that the mother literally had her hands
full and it would have been a struggle for her to carry the small boy.
  In a city as crazy as Addis, it is really nice to see locals looking
out for each other. The moments in the feeding center and the taxi
remind me of a small town, where people are just helpful for no
reason. I wish I could obtain this “local” status to take part in
these instances. Unfortunately, I am stuck being a very white
forengie…

Also, I just got my hair braided in corn-rows! Hopefully pictures on
Tuesday on Facebook :)

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