A Night in Ethiopia!

Ok, so my article isn't as long and it isn't as sophisticated as other poeples' seem to be but I stretched this as far as I could tonight. I might be able to add more later but I will look into that. This was an article I wrote for Le Journal magazine on the topic and I reedited it for this. Like i said, It's short but I tried.

Here goes:


A Night in Ethiopia
For the students who were lucky enough to attend The Taste of Ethiopia’s 3rd Annual Celebration, it was a memory they will always have and cherish. The night was filled with music, education, culture and custom and all around fun. According to the students of ESA, there are about 80 tribes in Ethiopia and each of these tribes has their own music, dancing, language, food and even fashion. The Amharic Dance was incredible. It involved a heavy concentration on the rhythm and towards the end of the music/dance; half the audience were at least tapping their foot to the beat.

Next was the Guargena Dance; much like the Amharic dance focused on the rhythm and was not very had to get the audience enthused about joining the dancers on stage. At one point, Jack Morgan, a physics professor here at WVSU was taken onstage by one of the performers of the evening and he danced with them. “It was great. I knew a lot about the food because my family and I have been attending this event since it started years ago but I learned a lot about the traditions and the dances as well as the culture of the people that brought us the incredible food” he commented.

Throughout the show, there was a drawing with prizes for the audience to take home priced gifts from the ESA. One of the winners got a Blackwood candle-stand to take home. I learned from the students that the candle-stand is very expensive. The second winner also got something made from a very beautiful wood, a drinking cup. It was said to be available in almost every home in Ethiopia and was very expensive. It was also very pretty. The third prize had me wishing I had won it. It was a silk scarf, very expensive looking, and can go with just about any outfit.
After the drawing there was the fashion show where they explained to the audience that each of the tribes’ clothing is characterized by the length of the skirt, the accessory that goes with them and many others. Some of the women wear braids in their hair whilst others just let their hair down. I understood that they are very diverse and one could tell where someone is from by their way of dressing. I realized that during dancing, the women mostly put their hands behind their backs and I wondered if that was a symbol of humbleness.

During the last song, students, faculty (Dr. James Natsis, Director of the Office of International Affairs) were invited onstage to participate in a dance that the audience picked out themselves. After the events, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mrs. Ann Johnson; a woman who had just moved to the area with her new Ethiopian daughter Azalech. “We are very excited to be here. My daughter was born in Ethiopia and we just moved to West Virginia, so I was very happy to participate in this to show my daughter our appreciation for her culture” she stated.

“Incredible! This was one of the most energy filled events that I have ever attended. It was exciting, fun, and all around enjoyable. I recommend that everyone should come next year.” Haley, a student I met during the event commented. One of the other students I met was Enda Smith. According to Enda, the event helped her know more about Ethiopia and appreciate the diversity here on campus as well as better understand her Ethiopian classmates.

During my interview I was pleased to learn that once people take part in this event, their experiences does not end there; they develop interests in learning more about the culture and even the continent of Africa. One of the guests who had been coming for a couple of years now stated that, after their first attendance, they also researched and found out about an Ethiopian camp in Virginia that teaches people about the cultures and customs of Ethiopia

The Ethiopian students here on campus have formed close relationships with each other that worked well when it came to preparing for this event. They mentioned that they couldn’t have put anything together if they didn’t have each other. Looking at their interactions with each other on and off stage, it is very clear to see that they have become more than friends; they are a family. They are a family that wants to show people about their traditions and customs and they did an incredible job of that.

Like most of the people who attended this program, I felt honored to be able to share such an incredible event with everyone that was present. Almost everyone couldn’t wait for next year so they can attend this event again. At first, I was a little jealous and wished there was enough students here at WVSU from Ghana to be able to show people what our culture was about but then I realized that regardless of what part of Africa the show was about, it was a representation of our people, our African people and that I should be proud. That was exactly how I felt; pride, by the end of the program.

“It was awesome. Thank you for everyone who participated in the event. Amazingly, we had non-Ethiopian guests here on stage dancing; our cultural dance. This is what we call a mission accomplished!” Salem concluded.