Adventures in Ethiopia, or Why Ex-pats Overwhelmingly Favored Obama

I had some time off of work following the US Elections, and I took an amazing trip to see two of my college friends where they now work/live in Tanzania and in Ethiopia.

I was in Ethiopia at the end of my trip. I miscalculated how much time I had in Addis Ababa and found myself with an extra day. Having done and seen all I had set out to do and see there, I was a bit at a loss for how to spend the afternoon. A bit worn out from my travels, I was hankering for the mellow pastime of shisha smoking, a veritable national sport in Egypt.

Contrary to what many people assume, shisha is not "Hashish" or any other illegal drug -- it's flavored tobacco smoked out of a water pipe. Many people think it is healthier than smoking cigarettes because the smoke is very smooth -- even non-smokers tend to find it pleasant. It's actually about the equivalent of smoking cigarettes, health-wise, and so not a fantastic habit. It is a very Egyptian thing to do, however, and sitting in shisha cafes playing backgammon is one of the most effective and authentic ways to get to know everyday folks in Cairo.

"Smoking a shisha is nothing like smoking a cigarette," a 71-year-old man said as he looked up from his Hookah."Cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people, people on the run," he said. "When you smoke shisha, you have time to think. It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company. Shisha smokers have a much more balanced approach to life than cigarette smokers."
-- shishapipe.net

So, when I wanted to relax and catch up on my journaling, a shisha cafe is the first place I thought of. However, since I was in Addis Ababa and not Cairo, I wasn't sure where to go. After asking a few kind strangers I wound up in what appeared to have been a private residence converted to what could only be termed a shisha "den." Unlike the "cafes" in Cairo, with little tables and chairs, or (in very upmarket or tourist places) plush sofas and pillows, this shisha place had cushions placed on the ground, lining the 4 walls of every room, piled with pillows. Rather than a few general shisha guys walking around and refilling coals like a US waiter refills glasses of water, in Ethiopia you get a dedicated attendant, kneeling by your pipe and fetching tea. And this was no highbrow establishment, either!

I should add that many patrons were not partaking of shisha, but rather the local drug of choice, Chat (known in Yemen as "Khat"). It's an herb that is chewed, giving an effect most often compared to caffeine. Clearly a foreigner, they gave me a room to myself (several were full of robicund locals) and enjoyed my sisha in peace (while reading the MOST AMAZING biography ever written, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt). After a while, a gentleman entered and ended up being a cambridge-educated international law professor. He was keen to talk and I wasn't, but we did exchange small pleasantries including a commentary on the election of Obama. Quivering with excitement, he had this to say,

I thank America. I thanks America, because you really showed us something big. America is the moral of the world, and they have taught us even more about democracy and what democracy really means. Really they do, they do live this democracy, when a black man can be elected President. Now when people discuss human rights, they can no longer point to slavery in America as a distraction and an excuse, or the 'oppression' of the blacks. America is really an example now.

It's amazing, given that this came from a fairly internationalized black man. It's also amazing to know that he isn't the first person who has told me that African countries point to America's history of slavery as a tactic to stymie pressure on their governments to curtail human rights abuse. So I guess we can think of this election, whatever your thoughts on the outcome, as one more diplomatic advantage for America just because the election of a black man happened. This apparently (more than all of the other things America has done) proves that we can practice what we preach.

This was further notable as the first conversation in which I didn't have to vehemently defend America in the face of raised eyebrows and angry accusations. Reflecting on that at dinner with friends last night, we all agreed that the following conversation has been common:

"Where are you from?"
"America"
"Bush-- not good, yes?"
**Ensuing discussion of American politics.**

People seem to find this completely ordinary, whereas the reverse almost NEVER occurs.
"Oh, are you Egyptian?"
"Yes."
"Mubarak -- pretty corrupt, no?"

That just wouldn't happen. And I really can't articulate why, except to say that my first thought when I think "Egyptian" is shisha, pyramids, camels. I guess that, when it comes to America, Bush/American foreign policy is the association nearest the surface for most foreigners -- especially most foreigners living here.