{"id":394,"date":"2012-09-19T16:34:35","date_gmt":"2012-09-19T13:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dknolte.com\/?p=394"},"modified":"2012-09-24T19:59:27","modified_gmt":"2012-09-24T16:59:27","slug":"a-conversation-with-hywat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dknolte.com\/?p=394","title":{"rendered":"A Conversation with Hyw\u00e4t"},"content":{"rendered":"

W<\/strong>ith Terese still in the States adoring her new little grandson, I am here in Addis having to fend for myself. The past few weeks have been off and on with stress and it tends to add up, especially recently.\u00a0 The other night, I didn\u2019t feel like cooking anything and certainly did not want to get in the car and idle through the traffic to a restaurant, so I headed up the hill on foot to the Family Restaurant<\/em> to get something that resembles a hamburger. Just as I walked up to the place, I made a quick left turn on instinct and went to the place next door instead, the \u201cItalian\u201d food place where Hyw\u00e4t works.<\/p>\n

I went there the other day and she was not there, which kinda disappointed me. But that night she was.\u00a0 I realized, the only reason I went there was to have a good conversation with her, as it\u2019s not the pizza.\u00a0 I guess my psyche knew I needed a good dose of humor.<\/p>\n

Her first reaction did not seem too happy, like she was upset because we have not been in to eat lately, because usually she chews our butts out right away for not showing up. But I clambered up on a bar stool and ordered a pizza and beer.\u00a0 Within a minute, she was back to old herself.<\/p>\n

Again, on these conversations, I catch only bits and pieces of them, just enough to catch the gist.\u00a0 And sometimes, I have no idea what she says, but because of her laughter I know it\u2019s got to be funny, so I end up laughing anyway.<\/p>\n

She has a slight nasal tone to her voice, which seems to fit with her thin frame. Also, as with all locals, when they say Ethiopian, the \u201cth\u201d becomes simply \u201ct\u201d. As in E\u2019tiopian.<\/p>\n

After some light talking, I asked her, \u201cHow old are you?\u00a0\u00a0 23?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m 23.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen\u2019s your birthday?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMarch 16th.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a sister whose birthday is March 15th.\u201d<\/p>\n

She smiles and states, \u201cThat\u2019s only one day away!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, and my mother\u2019s birthday is March 18th!\u00a0 She is very old.\u00a0 When she goes outside, buzzards sit down beside her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s two days away!\u201d (the buzzard comment went over her head)<\/p>\n

She asked, \u201cWhen is your birthday?\u201d<\/p>\n

I told her the month I was born and said, \u201cI am very old. Buzzards follow me around, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

She spoke something to the little girl helping her behind the bar and said, \u201cHer birthday is in September.\u201d\u00a0 (The buzzard comment still didn\u2019t work)<\/p>\n

I replied, \u201cSeptember is a good month to be born in.\u00a0 Terese\u2019s birthday is in September and so is her new little Grandbaby and one of her daughters!\u201d<\/p>\n

And she confirmed, \u201cYes, September is a good month!\u201d<\/p>\n

Then returning to March, \u201cE\u2019tiopian football player is same birthday as mine!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou two the same age?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, born on same day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIs he very thin like you?\u201d\u00a0 I used my hands and pressed in my sides to get a thinner waist. (it didn\u2019t work)<\/p>\n

She laughed and said, “No”.\u00a0 Then running her hands along the outside of her face, she said, \u201cBut he\u2019s pretty like me!\u201d and laughed more.\u00a0 Then added, \u201cMy new year\u2019s plan is to get fat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, right.<\/p>\n

Ethiopia just had their new year, so I asked her if she had a nice dinner. She told me she spent it with her mother and grandfather, and\u00a0started explaining to me about baking some \u201cE\u2019tiopian culture\u201d bread that you place something on it, (I think she was saying some kind of chicken) and you break it apart with your hands. Sounds nice.\u00a0 And they put red pepper on it.<\/p>\n

I asked, \u201cIs the pepper\u00a0hot?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot hot for E\u2019tiopians, hot for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked her if she is a good cook.<\/p>\n

She pointed to the back area of the restaurant and chuckled, \u201cWhen the cook leaves outside (goes home) at 3 o\u2019clock E\u2019tiopian time, I go back there and make pizza and spaghetti.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat time is 3 o\u2019clock Ethiopian in my time?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHmmm, 9 o\u2019clock at night, and E\u2019tiopian year is 2005.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot 2012?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo which calendar is right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cE\u2019tiopian!\u201d<\/p>\n

Somewhere in the conversation, I called her by name, because having to look it up the other day, I remembered it and I wanted to use it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for a long time you forgot my name!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNah, I remembered it,\u201d I proudly stated.\u00a0 \u201cI told my mother about you, how you make me laugh. Next time I come, I will bring a camera with me so I can take your picture for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay\u201d, she chuckled.<\/p>\n

I think I slept better that night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Terese still in the States adoring her new little grandson, I am here in Addis having to fend for …<\/p>\n

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