Wordless Wednesday — Boy on an Ethiopian Street
13 Responses to “Wordless Wednesday — Boy on an Ethiopian Street”
About this entry
You’re currently reading “Wordless Wednesday — Boy on an Ethiopian Street,” an entry on Bodhipaksa's blog, bodhi tree swaying
Published: Oct 21 2008
Strangely, that looks more “developed” than I always imagine Ethiopia to be. Lovely photo, Bodhi. I really can’t get enough of these shots.
Happy WW!
-smarmoofus
Great shot, it really captures feeling of the environment.
Hi, Smarmoofus. This is a very typical scene from a small Ethiopian town on the highway that runs south from Addis and through Awassa. Lots of little cafes selling 10c espressos that are about the best you’ve ever tasted, and coke in bottles with the logos in Amharic, and where you can’t take the bottle away because the stores need to return them, and people walking everywhere, and usually people herding animals along the road too, or driving carts pulled by donkeys. A lot of people in the country and on the outskirts of the towns live in small thatched huts (usually round). Addis is a mixture of stuff like you see here and very modern glass and concrete buildings, but much busier, with little blue minibuses everywhere. I’ll have to post more pictures so you get a better idea.
Last week I happened to go onto iStockphoto and searched for pictures of Ethiopia, and about a quarter of them were of circles of begging outstretched hands — probably shot in the US. I felt annoyed that the western view of the country is so focused on the negative. Maybe people here need to imagine that Africa is filled with helpless/useless people so they’ll feel better about themselves.
What a nicely composed shot. The boy is so cute and it’s neat to see the environment behind him.
Happy WW! I truly appreciate this photo. It is wonderful to see images of Alkebulan that break the stereotypical image that many of us are given here in America…
I invite your blog readers to see something that I never imagined possible earlier this year … Barack & Hillary kissing each other?!?
peace, Villager
Great shot showing the environment. Happy WW!
Nice picture, and an interesting story below…
Such a nice smile on his face
Beautifully composed! Makes me appreciate what I have. Stunning shot!
hello from a fellow wordless wednesdayer.
happy that you’re contributing to an image of africa that is not always about disaster and poverty.
What an adorable boy!
Ethopia looks so clean!
I think those streets are cleaner than my own. Do they have street sweepers there?
Hi Rachel,
The streets in Addis were a lot less clean than in this town. I think in a town this size there’s just less to throw away. People don’t have much and don’t waste much. But they also may have street cleaners as well.
Thanks for sharing.