Deconstructing Myths

Ethiopia

Salaam.

Confronting our fears and expectations with reality can be a very rewarding and enjoyable or, on the contrary, a very frustrating process.
Hence it is interesting to observe how certain images, events or experiences stick to our mind and gradually take control over our perception and perspective of things. Science has big wonderful words for the involved methods: extrapolation, generalization, elimination, negation.

Inasmuch as I sometimes wrongly build pedestals I also like tearing them down if inappropriate. Myths and prejudices are there to give us comfort, but at the same time they are there to be debated about, argued about and, potentially, destroyed.

With regard to Ethiopia I have to admit that I was blatantly ignorant before coming here. Ethiopia to me was equivalent to famine stricken population, poverty, heat and drought and bare monotonous scenery. Little did I know that I would discover a fertile country with stunning scenery: paradise for birdwatchers, inspiration for photographers and destination for trekkers. A country with beautiful, warm people and extremely open and sharp-minded children roaming the countryside and welcoming you everywhere.

The facts that I knew about Ethiopia were dry pieces of unrelated information: Ethiopia is the cradle of Christianity and - according to a study I read about in a scientific magazine - the people living at elevations of 3000m or more in the Ethiopian mountains have the best adapted mechanism for living at high altitude (in contrast to South American people like Peruvians who suffer from chronic altitude sickness - according to the study).

To me Ethiopia revealed itself as a biblical place. Every day I had moments when I felt like walking through scenes and pages of the Bible. The clothes, the scenery, the daily rhythm and the traditions, all contributed to that feeling.
I saw the holy family walking in the morning haze to the fields behind its little donkey; I saw it at noon resting in the shade of a tree; in the evening I saw it walking back home tired after a day's work in the fields. Regardless where and when throughout Ethiopia the image spoke to me of traditions and peacefulness, of harmony and unity with the surrounding land and nature and of extreme beauty.

I have travelled through Ethiopia in slow motion, I wandered around as much and often as I could lured by the scenery and the people. I said hello to and waved at children hundreds of times a day. Every hello was echoed back by dozen of little voices. And every time I smiled I was rewarded with dozens of smiles back. It was lovely and fantastic. It was another expression of this fertile land, magical and mythical.
And yes, I have seen the occasional rocks flying towards the riding targets - or me for that matter - but they were just the echo of our own unwillingness to smile and pay attention, to be friendly and patient. They were the expression of the same frustration we encounter when we see new interesting places go by and we are incapable to stop and explore them. From the reverted perspective we happened to be the places and the children the travellers.


I enjoyed Ethiopia, admired its scenery and loved its people. I wished I could spend more time there and see more. It was a great experience and a good lesson to learn.