Eye opening

These last few days have really opened my eyes to the true Ethiopia. Last time I was here I was with an older lady, and part of our trip was through a tour company, which I think shelters any tourist from the negative aspects of a culture/ country. Also being with an older lady made a huge difference I'm how I was treated on the streets. They respect older people. This trip I was a single white girl, which to the local layabouts translates to please harass. they are much more hostile then Kenyans. Kenyans are happy, friendly people, and when most of them see a white person they are friendly, even more so if you know the language. But here it is quite the opposite. I went for a walk to buy bread with my cousin who speaks amharic, and has lived in this area for 5+ years, and we were still rudely harassed.

Despite what you might have heard or read in the news, Ethiopia is far from democratic, caring country. I thought that kenya was bad with their extremely corrupt politicians, but people at least have a voice in Kenya. Here it is almost communism with a happy face. In Addis there is much development, but also much too much poverty. All the media outlets are owned by the government, so there is no criticism, and the prime minister has been in power for 18 years.

I don't think people can truly understand how awesome America is until you visit a place like this. You can't understand what freedom really even means. Of course America has problems, but that is part of the awesomeness of freedom, we can debate, fight, say whatever we want about these problems, and there are no consequences. I was asking the taxi driver from the airport what he thought of the government and it took him about 15 minutes to really open up and tell me his opinion. Afterward he told me that if you are overheard complaining about the government you can get in trouble. Americans think that It is a basic right to speak our minds. Can you imagine living in a place like this?

Suz