Hiking through the hills around Banos, Ecuador we heard a noise above us. Two kids hanging out in the trees giggled and hid from us as we looked up. They were minding a herd of sheep along the path. Waving and chatting with them, the kids turned shy and refused to engage us in conversation. Turning to continue our hike, we heard the landing of a berries on the path. As we looked back the kids waved at us, smiling micheviously from their perch. On our return back down the mountain they chatted with us a little more and thankfully we were spared from their berry artillery.
Lalibela: Rock Hewn Churches
Lalibela is the second holiest site in Ethiopia, a significant Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrimage site, one that UNESCO has given significant funds to over the last decade for restoration, maintenance and site protection. How then were we able to go in through the back (not on purpose!) and view several of the famous rock hewn churches without paying?
Maybe UNESCO should rethink their site security plan. In the end, we found a ticket office and paid, and in an ironic twist of fate after we paid our tickets were checked at all of the subsequent churches. For our steep 300 birr (over 20USD) entry free we legally accessed the city designed as the second Jerusalem and its 11 monolithic large rock-hewn churches and a few pitch black tunnels.
If I sound disenchanted it’s true, I am. The churches themselves are architecturally interesting, having been cut out of rock, so they sit below ground in carved out holes. They certainly have an ancient world feel to them (or perhaps that’s just because they’re dark and dusty inside) which leads to an Indian Jones type aura. But, when holy priest after holy priest tells you to take his picture while holding centuries old ritual objects in front of centuries old frescoes and paintings, reminds you to turn on your flash and then balks that the “voluntary donation” you’ve given him for your picture isn’t enough, the whole experience gets ruined. Of course we want to be polite and respectful, but some of the priests were borderline aggressive when asking for tips that you just sort of shuddered at the thought of another picture. Trust me, between our conservation fee and donations for photos those priests are making sufficient income. Having lived in Italy where centuries old paintings aren’t shown the light of day let alone flashed a hundred times a day, I was so disappointed to see protectors of their own religious tradition throw UNESCO’s very clear guidelines out the window and encourage flash just to get a bigger tip.
The tip-happy priests didn’t completely ruin the Lalibela experience. In fact, we had a refreshingly nice time in Lalibela. From the moment we stepped out of our hotel we were greeted by children, who once they realized they weren’t getting any money from us, were happy to chatter away about their most recent lesson in school, what they wanted to be when they grew up and where we were from. As is typical in Africa, admitting we were from America was greeted with cries of OBAMA! And very proud displays of their primers which have not only a very patriotic red, white and blue design, but also a head shot of our famous president. Although kids in Africa can be annoying at first, when they give you their sob story for money, a pen or sweets, these kids were actually delightful and animated. One boy asked me to test him on his world capitals, and although he could name correctly every capital of Europe, he wasn’t able to name the capital of Canada, which was OK, he said because its cold and there is snow there. Sorry Canadians, it appears Ottawa doesn’t hold any exotic appeal in Ethiopia.
Business is Business…
There’s always someone with something to sell. No matter where we are, on a bus, on a beach or at a famous historical site, there are vendors, both young and old hoping to make a buck. Snacks, cold drinks, knick-nacks, entire chicken meals, random bathroom tools to super glue and even a kids picture dictionary its a veritable shopping mall of goods on the go. While it can be annoying, in the case of a cold beverage on a hot bus, its often exactly what you want at the moment. Given that we’re traveling with small backpacks I often don’t even look at the handi-crafts that amble by for fear that I’ll want it and won’t have a place to put it. So when laying out on the beach in Tofo, Mozambique the kids came by with string bracelets, necklaces and their smiles pitch, I always replied “No, thanks.” in Portuguese. This had little effect, and hour after hour the same entrepreneurial children came by again… and again. Finally I gave up and just greeted and shooed them away in Spanish.
One boy, age 13, came by probably half a dozen times one afternoon. After declining his sales pitch, in Portuguese, English and Spanish he came by late in the afternoon, this time with a new offer. “Can I look at the pictures while you read?” he asked me in beginner’s English. Enthusiastically we went through the National Geographic magazine I was reading, him asking lots of questions and me explaining the pictures, ads, and articles in English or Spanish. As we went through the magazine more and more kids came over to look at the pictures. By the time we were half way through the magazine three or four young entrepreneurs crowded around the magazine some trying to listen to my explanations others just staring blankly at the pictures. The kids were amazed at the pictures of Angkor Wat, and if anyone from National Geographic is reading this please insert more maps! They had no sense of where Cambodia was in relation to Mozambique, so eventually we drew a crude map in the sand. Finally my friend asked if he could have the magazine when I was done reading it. “I will learn English in school next year,” he told me as he explained that he wanted to show the pictures to his siblings.
When confronted with a child in the developing world who asks for something educational like a National Geographic magazine what can you do but hand over the magazine? Handing it to him I made him promise to continue to work on reading English before school started. He promised me he’d read every night and in a gesture of friendship and thanks gave me one of his little string bracelets. As he carefully wrapped the magazine in a newspaper and put it in his backpack he thanked me and walked away with the other kids.
Of course everyone likes to think they have an impact, and perhaps no one more so than travelers. I was completely aglow as the kids walked away, thinking I had really made an impact on this boy’s life. Over the course of the hour he was so genuinely enthusiastic about the magazine’s contents and the pictures that I had the impression he found it to be a “treasure.” Walking through the market on the way back to our lodging we were again accosted by entrepreneurs big and small. With his same old sales pitch my friend tried to sell me a matching friendship bracelet to the one he gave me. As one little girl infamously said in Guatemala, “Business is business.”
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