Max Levene
Upon our return from Mekele we had a couple of lazy days around the house. One of these days I decided to leave the confines of the house with my helper Haile, to not only meet our local neighbours and see the area, but also to practice some Amharighna (the local language).
Outside the house is what some would describe as shanty but you soon realise it is rather better built then the slum areas; people dry their spices on the streets and sell vegetables, and there are numerous small shacks selling groceries.
The trip was interesting seeing the ‘local stores’ however the Amharighna
did not go so well as I pointed to Lucy (our Ethiopian street dog) and said,” Habesha woosha”, which to my understanding meant ‘local dog’, however it turned out I had insulted the old Lady I was talking to, calling her a dog. Haile later told me adding the word ye in front of my phrase would have worked! Oops!! Read more…