THE WEYALA SERIES




WeraJe Weraje!!!! Yes yes.. I needed to get off not only from the taxi but a lot of things .. Jokes aside Yes I am back.... I am still getting acclimated with the word "weraje" so you know i had to spit it at you with my word of the week. Well yeah... That is the word you have to say to tell the ever amazing taxis and its abundant weyalas that come with it when you want to get off. This week i am featuring the lives and hustle of weylas in a small, small, small pictorial part i have experienced while i was on the several taxi's near stadium, Mexico, Arat kilo and more . The weylas for those who don't know what it means!!! ..I say go the nearst taxi driver and ask if they need assistants..As odd as it sounds that is what they are. They are basically the middle men that get riders for the taxi drivers and/or they are like the assistants.. Shouting 3 to 5 destinations at you get ready to tune your ears to their lingo and ways of non verbal communications .. They are by far one of the most Hard working people i have seen in Ethiopia with their shrewd business style as well as Witt and humor you ride can be a joyous or sometimes madness. So without saying much go to the " Mexico Stadium Yemola " cab but make sure you Say "WERAJ" before you finish..!!!!

p.s. come back and check the pics in few days for more of the taxi series

ADDISSHEGER--FINEAABABA

06

SHHhhhhhhh........

Jeettttt laggeedddddddddddddddddddd...........or just jet LAG.....yes yes i know I know what u are thinking i have beeen away to ADDIS and i forgot about all the DSL and CABLE serviced internet Junkies , although i did i still got around to think of you all JUST now.. JK!!! what do you expect having been bouncing around between family, weedings, jet lag, dealing with Weyalas, drinking macchiato, eating tibs and the hustle and bustle of ADDIS i just didn't get around it. Oh did i forget the Slow Internet. One thing i learned since i got here is that patience is a must. The internet at least is much better than the last time i was here. So don't panic if you come to Ethiopia if you happen to find open your Hotmail emm taking about 5minutes.. It is a vast improvement from the 30 minutes i waited when i was here 3 years ago. Yahoo and Gmail works just great ..Before i go Tele Bashing , let me shut my mouth since the internet is provided none other than Telecommunication Corporation..and i am sure they are seeing this :))...

But Yeah.. Addis is a melting pot of everything and anything under the sun which need to be understood with its own way and Having to capture it in images has been a great challenge as well. Why you say ??? well first having to lag around a big ass camera as i learned is not the greatest idea of taking candid pictures.. with everyone stairing at you and the camera being a touristy Ethiopian looks very weird to a lot of people . And ofcourse with the big business of mobile phone robbery going on here.. One piece of electronics would just open a new market for someone in need of opeining a Wedding Picture business.. Well thats what they tell me here although no one has yet done try to take my camera...

So what is new in Addis , well there is a whole lot of construction and more construction and expansion and urban sprawll going on with tremendous speed. The city is trying to be the next HONG KONG by next year.. with all tall buildings and semi sky scrappers covering the landscape... More Buildings and expansion and more Koroconch to drive on.. VIVA KOROCONCH!!!The people are more the same in all levels. It seems everything that happened last year hasn't happened. However, individually people will disclose to you more about their lives in reflection of last year.

Ok let me get to the point...Before you throw anger tantrums at me for the lack of Images on this blog.. you should go here with the few Pictures i was able to take from where i am volunteering at. So until i get the balls to take any pics i want in the middle of Addis enjoy .. i will be back in a few.. days that is..