YOU... YOU...FERENGIE...

I’ve been here a week now but I’m not sure the locals will ever get used to me.

I am the only ‘Ferengie’ (white foreigner) in town. There are a few Nigerians and Indians who work at the university but with their dark skin they seem to blend in quite well. When I walk down the streets the children shout after me ‘you... you’. Apparently it is not as rude as it sounds... In Ethiopia children often shout ‘you’ in Amharic to other people to get their attention and so they feel quite proud of themselves that they can also do this in English! The children are mostly very sweet and want to shake my hand with their snotty grubby paws and ask my name. I heard someone shout ‘Tawroo’ and another ‘Terow’ after me the other day so I guess they are at least trying to remember my name J.

Yesterday I went for a walk in the nearby stunning countryside. On my way back I was humbled by some very sweet Ethiopian children, Marta and Lydia, who had great English even though they were only 7 and 8 years old. Rather than the usual request for money they offered me some of their food. A simple seed mixture...but it was lovely.

Ambo is very lucky to have its very own thermally heated outdoor swimming pool. On Saturday I decide to go along thinking it could be a nice place to relax and read a book. The pool was lovely but I felt anything but relaxed. Being the only white person (and a girl at that) I felt like every eye was watching me. It is hard enough wearing a swim suit when no one is looking. It took me a good hour before I plucked up the guts to remove my towel and jump in the pool. I think next time I go swimming I’ll make sure I take a friend and preferably a white one to deflect some of the stares.

Although walking down the street and hearing ‘ferengie’ shouted or whispered as you pass doesn’t sound very friendly, apparently it is not meant to cause any offence. They are simply stating fact- ‘white foreigner’. I have been told that an appropriate response to this ‘greeting’ (as they see it) is ‘habasha’ which means ‘local’ or ‘Ethiopian’. Sometimes I say this and they laugh. It crazy here though... I really do feel like a mini celebrity and can relate to stress caused by paparazzi and the desire to be treated normally.

It is quite a novel experience being in a place where everyone wants to know you or at least shake hands with you. (I think some of them are just fascinated by the opportunity to touch white skin!). The Ethiopian’s are such polite people and every encounter is accompanied by a handshake. You enter a room and you shake hands with everyone in it and go through quite a complex exchange of greetings. ‘Hello’, ‘How are you?’, ‘How was your night/ day?’ etc all in Amharic before getting on with whatever business you entered the room for. It is amazing! I think I have shaken more hands in the last week than the whole of my life put together.

At times it feels like I am being singled out as a 'Ferengie' but most of the time I think all the handshakes etc are just a way of them including me as one of them. Although no one calls ‘you you’ after my colleagues as they walk down the street they do regularly stop along a path to exchange greetings and handshakes with one another. And I have to admit it is quite lovely having a string of children saying hello as I walk between the University and my home twice a day.