Lufthansa has been trying to get on the foundation’s good side for years. Which is why we get free upgrades to first class all the time. Crazy, I know.
The super crazy thing is that today I was sitting in the first class lounge in Frankfurt and who sits down across from me? Will.i.am.* I didn’t get a photograph or autograph to post, but I DID get a conversation and a hand shake, which I very much prefer.
During my short layover in Addis I quickly remembered two of my favorite lingual things about the Ethiopian language: (not that I speak or understand it, but these are small things that you can pick up if visiting for a week like I did last summer).
Their way of saying ‘Okay…yep…I get it…uh-hu’ is: ‘Ishee…ishee…ishee…ishee’
They say it constantly and I love it.
Another thing that makes me laugh every time I hear it (which is often) is when Ethiopians make short, sharp and audible inhalations during a conversation (similar to the sound an American makes if they hear something that surprises them). This is like saying, ‘Oh, yes, I see!’ The first couple of times I heard it I thought that the person I was speaking to was shocked by something I had said, but then I realized that this is just to acknowledge that what was said is important and understood.
Flying out of Addis at 11pm local time I noticed that the ground looked like the night sky. Some of the ‘stars’ were even twinkling. After a couple of seconds to process it I remembered that the electricity is not consistent in Addis, and these lights were twinkling because they were blinking on and off randomly with the electrical inconsistency.
*When he first sat down across from me I had no idea who he was. I had to wikipedia Black Eyed Peas after they mentioned that band name in their conversation. Then when I was writing this post I first wrote 'sam.i.am' hahahahahah...what a dork!
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