The Condition of Our Country

Dejen, Ethiopia. We stopped at the Kizain Dejen Hotel. Paid faranji price, double what Ethiopians pay. Our cozy dark room had all the amenities, a hot water heater, flushing toilet, shower and sink, but no running water. In fact, there had been no running water for three years.

I tried to imagine Randall Thayer, manager at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel telling his clients: “You will pay double price because you are from out of town. And, oh yes, there is no running water.”

As we lay in bed contemplating the day, Ryan and I decided that what Ethiopia really needs are 10,000 maintenance men to spread throughout the land teaching the locals how to fix things. But in that statement is the assumption that there is motive to fix things.

Sunrise, next morning, wearing my usual shorts and short-sleeved shirt, I walked out on to Dejen’s dusty main road, Highway 3 to Gondar.
A young man walks up behind. “Why don’t you wear trousers?”
Is this trouble, I wonder? “Because shorts are comfortable.”
“Aren’t you cold?”
“In my country, this is not cold.”
A group started to gather. I liberally mentioned all four Amharic words I knew.
The usual questions: “Which country? Where are you going?”
Then suddenly, the tall thin man speaking the best English asks: “What should we do to improve the condition of our country?”
Wow. How do I answer that as big trucks and donkey carts roll by? “Go to school and get very good teachers.”
Some laughed.
“Good teachers can show you a bigger perspective,” I defended making an umbrella motion with my hands.
The tall thin English speaker and several others invited me to their Sunday church service.

Twenty-two kilometers north on Highway 3, we stop in a clean local coffee shop. The place is packed. Walking in, Ryan and I get the usual faranjis-are-a-rare-sight stares. We order from the frantic waiter trying to serve everyone. The man who just sat next to us started hitting the table for immediate service. Only in Africa do people go without running water for three years but want immediate service at the busy coffee shop.