top ten things overheard in an ethiopian conversation...

granny...my what big spots you have...

10. "you"
9. "fasil, look at that japanese farangi. if he lost anymore weight, he'd be an honourary habeshi (ethiopian).
8. "a farangi is a star trek character. NOT. haha."
7. "if there is a "special" jacked up price for farangi, i've got some extra arid land in the danikil depression you might be interested in buying. haha."
6. "bob marley has left shashemane..."
5. "learn how to play a Wurlitzer and you'll have the world by the tail, my friend."
4. "that girl is flatter than injera..."
3. "are you carrying a kalashnikov or are you just happy to see me?"
2. "would you like some injera to go along with your injera?" (ed. note: i'm not kidding.)
1. "two"

ed. notes:

1. i ate an entire 13 in. deep dish pizza tonite hoping to disguise the emaciated look. ok, it was deep dish as it gets in ethiopia. pretty thin on the ham, cheese, and sauce. crust was thick though.

2. spent the "weekend" in harrar (N9 18.793 E42 7.849) dodging obnoxious guides. old town was interesting. and, what about them hyaenas (see above), eh. 15 cm from my big mouth. there seems to be a recurring theme in this trip abroad. first, charging elephants. second, getting really friendly with gorillas. now, it's snacking hyaenas.

3. just got my sudanese visa. now only if i can find some transport out of addis. suffice to say, i'll be switching countries soon.