Tuesday, 11/26. My last day in Ethiopia (note: I’m not
writing this at the end of the day on Tuesday, but a week later so I will do my
best to remember things). One of the wonderful things, we (Amy, Nicole, and I)
got to experience was tagging along with Mindi and Dean Weber to their meeting
with the President of a Civil Service University in Addis. We really just came
to walk around and see the University while they were in the meeting but the
President invited us to sit in and have lunch with them. I’m not sure when I
would ever have the chance to sit in on a meeting like this, which was trying
to set up an initial relationship between Pepperdine University and a
University in Ethiopia. We learned a lot from the president and it was a really
unique experience.
Marketplace visit and transactions:
After we got a tour and ate, we decided to do some shopping
(it was the last day and we need to get a few more souvenirs.) First, we went to
the “gold and silver district” of Addis. Imagine, store after store right next
to each other and across from each other with just silver and gold. A lot of
them had the same items. Everything was priced on weight. They would weigh each
piece of jewelry we picked out (and of course the prices were very good… if it
was real silver and gold… which I’m still unsure about.) At places like these,
you can’t negotiate. The prices are set. Some observations I noticed where that
these places were very little. Most of the people were attentive. Some stores
would just watch you until you expressed interest, other places would try to
help you right away. What I noticed in many of the other places I went to like
the mall or other shops in buildings was that 1) they checked our bags and
patted down our bodies before we got inside (at malls) and they had security
with big guns at the entrance 2) employees follow you around the store. Like
serious customer service OR they were watching us for security measures. But
either way they would follow so closely. It was very interesting, and coming
from a culture where we are individualistic, it was definitely a change for me
to have them following me everywhere I went in the store. I still don’t know if
it was customer service or not.. or just cultural..
Anyways, after we went shopping for gold and silver we went
to more of a marketplace where you could bargain. This people have small little shops made from
natural resources like wood and mud, and they are not shy about talking to you.
They want you to come into their stores, “just take a look inside.” Like the
other stores they were very “helpful” but more in a pushy way than a polite
sweet way. They also were totally fine with making bargains. I actually was
about to negotiate for some paintings because I was buying 2. I think I
probably could have gotten the price down more, but it was just the experience
that I was going for. What stood out to me the most as I walked through these
shops and as we drove past people selling things on the street was that I was
surprised that they made any money. Especially since everything we were buying
only cost a few dollars. It wasn’t very expensive (this is all relative to
living in the United States.) I felt like a lot of their items were there for
ages, and I didn’t see many other customers. Do only foreigners shop there? If
so, do they make a lot of money? How can this be the way they survive?
Especially if most of the population doesn’t have a lot of money to spend on
“extra” things. Even though, from the outside it doesn’t look like a
sustainable lifestyle (because I can’t imagine them getting very much
business), I do appreciate the entrepreneur spirit of these people.
As we went back to our compound, Amy, Nicole and I made a
pit stop at the store to get a few last minute presents for Adam and Zion and
for Amanual’s new little son. Over the course of the two weeks, we really got
close to people and started to build relationships. I think that’s why I am
most sad. You finally start building relationships, and then you have to leave.
But they are in my prayers and I will think of them often.
On our return back to the compound, the electricity was out.
(Typical!) So we did our last minute packing and hanging out together in the
dark. Then it was off to the airport to wait for our 2 a.m. flight… and over 24
hours later, I finally arrived safely in LA.
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