Embassies Everywhere!

Sheena is a good friend of mine who I worked with last summer in Ghana. She once said to me that each time you leave home to go work/study abroad it gets easier, while the return home becomes more difficult.  This statement initially confused me, but as a dealt with reverse culture shock during my return to Canada last September, I felt very much unable to relate to the people around me/my immediate reality in small town Nova Scotia. In hindsight it was the conflict I felt was around how to portray my experience and the responsibility I felt towards how I would describe the people who had very much become my Ghanaian family. I did not want to perpetuate stereotypes of poverty as their only reality, but I also did not want to romanticize a truth and gloss over the trials and tribulations that have been internalized as a daily part of their lives. It was attempting to find this balance that left me feeling quite lost in my own head, while the world carried on around me. Thus, much of my motivation in writing this blog is to try and bridge the gap between the things I experience while abroad and break down the stereotypes of a single story of poverty, famine and neediness, in a hope that it will make my shift back into Canadian life all the more smooth.

The other side of Sheena’s theory, the growing ease of leaving, seems to be ringing true for me at this point.  I am not sure if it is that I have started to develop a system or a routine where by I almost come to anticipate the unexpected or if this time I am living in a much larger city with access to basically anything I want within reason? Whatever the case, it almost feels like this has been too easy. Those who study culture shock may read this and laugh, saying I am merely in the ‘honeymoon stage’ and that in a week or so my reality will smack me in the face and I will really feel it, but for now I will just have to wait and see!

There are however still a number of things that which regularly remind me I am not in Nova Scotia anymore.  At home when I walk almost anywhere alone I tend to plug in my Ipod and let myself get lost in the music. Yet I do not quite feel comfortable flashing around an Ipod on streets that are notorious for pick-pocketers. So during my morning walk to work, I have found that in the absence of music, my thoughts have tended to wonder to all sorts of places. My first days I was more concerned with landmarks for the sake of knowing if I was heading in the right direction, yet as the week has gone on I really thought about what some of these buildings were. I kid you not in my short commute I walk by at least ten embassies; Denmark, Luxembourg, Zimbabwe, Djibouti, Sudan, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Portugal and Tunisia (talk about an eclectic mix!). There are also a number of unique license plates. In Canada I’m sure everyone has noticed the special plates for volunteer firefighters, while here the unique plates seem to be infinite. There are region codes similar to how we have specific provincial plates, yet in addition there are also United Nations and African Union special plates and others with numbers from 1-100, separate from the rest of the plate number.  I am told that these are diplomatic vehicles and each number represents a country. Thus there are over 100 countries represented in the city. This also means that the embassies I pass on my way to the office represent only a fraction of those present in the city (The Americans naturally have a small city built in the mountains..haha)

All of this made me wonder; how it came to this point? How has Addis become such a hub of international organizations and representatives? It was evident to me early on when I realized that although I was in an African capital I could realistically access any material thing I really desired, it was just a matter of difficulty and time it may take. The question continues to ring true to me; why is everyone here? Have these organizations and individuals come in an attempt to support the growth of the Ethiopian economy and participate in its ‘development’? Ethiopia was after all the only African nation to never undergo colonization. They are proud and hardworking people who are known to stand up for what they think is important. Is it this attitude that has drawn in such a large percentage of international organizations and diplomatic representation? Or do they hide under the mask of their diplomatic words and leach the benefit from the years of famine? It is after all the stories of famine that resonate in many Westerner’s minds when they hear the name ‘Ethiopia’. In basic economic classes (because lets be honest that’s as far as I ever made it with econ), they explain that economies do better in times of war. While my current context is hardly war, do development workers solely feed off of the demand that comes with crisis, I guess is what I am asking?

         I do not think in my naive and idealistically biased opinion, that it is entirely one or the other; that both exist but many are working in a grey space in-between, realistically needed to keep themselves afloat but trying to engage in positive change actions.  In bringing up this discussion I feel I am attempting to artificially categorize a reality, which is far more complex and circumstantial than can be bit into a box and labeled as a ‘Reality’ of international/foreign workers in Addis. Nonetheless, stepping outside of examining the motivation it has created quite a unique dynamic of individuals, groups, organizations, institutes and diplomats working in development and living in Addis. I am intrigued to discover more about this dynamic, and have to be honest; whenever I see another Forengi (foreigner) walking down the street I can’t help but wonder ‘what brought you here?’

As the weekend is approaching I sure I will have some more funny stories for next week! Word on the street is that the comment boxes are basically impossible to use! So if anyone would like to get in touch with me please feel free to drop me a note at steph.milo.mackinnon@gmail.com I would love to hear from you!