Outside the gate and in the light, Jima’s bus station doesn't look so bad. But you're likely to only
interact with this place in the morning hours where you’d rather be anywhere else,
fighting your way through a crowd for something greater than a bus seat.
There are few places that I have dreaded going to within Ethiopia
but bus stations make up the majority of them.
Jima’s bus station in particular is a difficult bus station to like
because – for me- it represents the approaching, groggy hour of having to wake
up before sunrise, haul baggage down a dusty or muddy road, a long wait in a
crowded and poorly lit area until the station’s gate opens, and, when that gate opens,
preparing for the rush of flying elbows and baggage of people aiming to get through inflexible gate posts.
If you're traveling by bus and taking public transport to/from Central Ethiopia and Ethiopia's Southwest, you'll likely be passing through here.
Justin Bieber's painted portrait seems to like the avocado juice served in Jima’s bus
station cafe.
Man climbs Millettia ferruginea to check on seed maturity
Exploding pods releasing seeds of fish poison? This is Millettia
ferruginea. In Ethiopia, people
refer to it as birbirra. Millettia
ferruginea is endemic to Ethiopia and Ethiopians have known for some time that
its seeds (when crushed and dumped upstream in a river) can stun or kill a lot
of fish at one time. Another interesting fact about Millettia ferruginea is that when its seed pods have dried, they blow apart and send their seeds flying.
Exploded seed pod and immature seed pod of Millettia ferruginea
But this tree has other benefits besides. Agroforestry practices have pegged Millettia ferruginea as a tree providing animal fodder, firewood (the dried pods burn just as well), charcoal, posts for construction or fences, mulch, nitrogen for the soil, shade for coffee, and beauty.
Millettia ferruginea can be observed growing in a variety of climates but thrives between 1,000 – 2,500 meters above sea level.
--- References A Selection of Ethiopia's Indigenous Trees: Biology, Uses and Propagation Techniques - Legesse Negash
Condominiums as far as the eye can see in Hayaat, Addis Ababa
Demolition and construction are common sights in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Shops are being torn down and new roads, water ways, condominiums, train rails, and bigger businesses are opening up. What will Addis Ababa look like in 10 years?
Rosa abyssinica (also known as the Abyssinian rose) is indigenous to Ethiopia but can be found in Arabia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudean as well. Rosa abyssinica produces large, fragrant flowers and small fruits, which can be eaten. This beautiful shrub grows well between 1,700 and 3,300 meters and can thrive in areas with little or great amounts of rain fall.
Rosa Abyssinica in Addis Ababa
Beyond their beauty and edible fruits, Rosa abyssinica offers itself as firewood, medicine (flowers, roots, and fruit), and live fencing (when grown close together along a boundary).
--- References Useful Trees and Shrubs of Ethiopia: Identification, Propagation and Management for 17 Agroclimatic Zones - Azene Bekele-Tesemma
Outside a bus window, livestock on the road presents itself as a sea of cows.
It doesn't matter if you're in a large city (including the capital, Addis Ababa) or rural village, animals will be on the road. What better, more established route can a herd take?
You can never predict the affect that art, religion, philosophy, music, entertainment, or fashion from one country can have on another. What's considered attractive, interesting, or great within a given country sometimes doesn't translate past its own borders. There are too many factors involved to easily explain why this is the case. My guess is that whatever the medium, simplicity, scale of broadcast, and a sense of familiarity are major factors involved with whether or not media is picked up internationally.
In Ethiopia, many foreign movies and songs get airtime but the ones that stuck out the most for me were the unexpected. Hearing Michael Jackon's 'Thriller', or Celine Dion's tracks from Titanic, as a counter example, was not surprising. Below are a few performers that surprised me. How did they get here? Why did they stay?
Don Williams - Surprisingly, country music gets a lot of love over here. Don Williams is one artist of several country music stars that get a lot of play and singalongs. I like Don Williams and he actually sounds great with an Ethiopian backdrop. Many rural towns (especially around the national parks) offer a decent setting for the thoughts and emotions his music evokes.
Leo Sayer - 'I love you more than I can say' sometimes plays on ETV, the most available station (and probably the most watched) in Ethiopia and can occasionally be heard in public buses, the streets of Addis Ababa, and on the radio. It doesn't play as much as Celine Dion but I've heard this song just about everywhere.
Jean Claude Van Damme - Why him? There are so many more action stars in this world that perform better. Perhaps it's the simple, easy to follow plot that his movies usually follow. The scene above was taken from the movie, The Inferno. I think this clip typifies most Van Damme fight scenes: Van Damme encounters a psychotic villain and has to fight. Although in better shape and seemingly much more coordinated than his enemy, Van Damme's role is to get roughed up by this guy until he looks like he wants to give up, fall asleep, or roll over and die. This period of pathetic loosing lasts a minute or two and then he gathers his strength, motivation, or a lucky break somehow (in this clip a jet provides all three) to make a come back, put his enemy in submission, and even offer a little mercy. The fallen psycho takes advantage of the mercy granted him (like in this scene), abuses it, and is killed as a result of mishandling of it.
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