Ambassador's Distinguished Scholar Program: Ethiopia Day 1

I woke up to this from my western style hotel up against the reality of Addis Ababa. I have no pictures of the U.S. Embassy or our meetings. No cameras, laptops, backpacks. I forgot to take an old fashioned pen in with me. 
We went to see the Ethiopian National Museum after the meetings. Ethiopian is understandably proud to be the cradle of humankind. I like Ethiopia's name for the Beatle's song inspired Lucy much better: Dinkinesh, which means "you are marvelous".

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

We had a delicious lunch at the Lucy themed restaurant next door to the museum. My fellow ADSP colleagues are accomplished U.S. Professors in a variety of fields. They are originally from a diverse group of African countries, including Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Algeria and of course Ethiopia. I am sure I am the only one at this table who only speaks one language. They are passionate about Africa, its politics and its many problems. 

Commerce

Transportation

The guy below has the job of cramning as many people into a van as possible to maximize profits and move people as quickly as possible. He startled me, because I had been warned by the program that someone might snatch my phone/camera if I am not careful. He laughed when I withdrew, but he was just having a little fun.
Transportation is different in every country. In Ethiopia, the people politely wait in long lines to cram into these vans and busses to save a little money over a private tuck tuck. The more modern train, donated by China, was probably too expensive or did not go where these people live. 

An ancient form of transportation is still common here. This girl saw me taking a picture of the boys below and walked up to ask me to take her picture.

These boys are everywhere, asking passersby to pay them a few Birr to be weighed on the scale you see in their hands. I declined, but they seemed thrilled to have their picture taken instead. Commerce takes all forms, especially when unemployment and underemployment are so high.
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