Thoughts on Globalization

 

As I mentioned earlier in my blog, Ethiopia is the only country in Africa that was not colonized. Italy stayed for only 5 years as it tried to colonize Ethiopia, but was unsuccessful and was driven out. I think Ethiopia is very proud of this, and that they are able to retain its diverse culture. However, I definitely saw Italian influence like the many pizza and pasta restaurants (including the one I mentioned with my fasting pizza; it was amazing! I wish that place existed in LA) and the shoe shining. And when I say shoe shining, you need to take way the Americanized image you have of a fancy, puffy chair raised up, with a man in a suit cleaning imported leather shoes. Instead, imagine rows of people maybe 10 sitting on rocks with rags on every corner. Yes, some men with suits were getting their shoes cleaned, but even tennis shoes or anything were getting cleaned as well. And not only has Italy’s influence brought the creation of jobs in shoe shining, but it’s part of the culture. Having clean shoes is important especially before going into meetings. It was interesting to see the influence from Italy.

There is also influence from the West/Europe around speaking English. Speaking English is a big deal. I believe that almost all University students learn English, but most are afraid to speak it, unless they are trying to communicate with a foreigner. Even if they want to practice English with their friend, they are too embarrassed. Almost everyone I met that spoke English asked how their English was. Also, some were really thankful to meet and talk with me to improve their English. It made me realize how ethnocentric and selfish we are as citizens of the U.S. Other places like Ethiopia with hundreds of different languages, try to learn English, and believe that it’s important enough to teach in school. We are so spoiled that so many places learn English or else the majority of us would not be able to communicate. But by learning English, they see it as an opportunity to move further in their careers and have a better quality life because they know they can get better jobs. It really amazes me how so many English speakers take this for granted AND it makes me want to learn more languages, even though God did not gift me with the ability to pick up languages quickly or easily.

Another part of globalization that I noticed was in technology. A lot of people in Africa have cell phones. It’s completely normal. And even though the network is down and unreliable at times. Everyone has one. Even Wondimagagn told me he couldn’t believe that I didn’t have a phone while I was here. He asked me how I was supposed to communicate with people. He said it was easy and cheap to get a phone. You just pay a few dollars for a cheap phone and add minutes to it. That’s how all Ethiopians use their phones. BUT what I think was so interesting was the blend of this more western (I would call it) need for technology and the traditional collective culture of Ethiopia that exists together. Yes, communication does happen on the phone, but actually a lot of it happens in person. I remember Mindi telling us from day one that when people want to talk to you or need to take care of some business they will just meet you face-to-face or show up at your door. And sure enough, one day we came back and someone had come to house to say hello and drop something off (unannounced). Another time I saw this in action was on that first Monday, when I decided to visit Salam instead of go to my organization because I knew the manager was going to be out. I asked Dereje to call Makanisa and SLTSSA to tell them I wasn’t coming in, but he told me he would just stop by in the morning and talk to them in person. I thought that was really out of the way for him and not necessary but he insisted. I realized that’s part of the collective and community culture in Ethiopia... so I was very fascinated to see how globalization through technology is present, and the person-to-person connections have not been lost.