Comments on: A Native Foreigner http://www.ea4c.org/2009/12/a-native-foreigner/ Sat, 29 May 2010 17:30:03 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Bunna Bean http://www.ea4c.org/2009/12/a-native-foreigner/comment-page-1/#comment-79 Bunna Bean Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:18:42 +0000 http://www.ea4c.org/?p=489#comment-79 Thanks for your comment! I was actually born in Addis, but moved at the age of one to Europe and then came to the States at seven. To my understanding, diaspora refers to all decedents of a particular location. For me, the goal is to have a realistic self-perception. Accept yourself for who you are, then decide where you will place your energy and follow your heart. If it is in the church, then learn Ge'ez and just do it with all your heart. If it is in the language, speak it- butcher it in front of people who will make fun of you for it and then learn how to correct yourself. It takes a tough skin to hold up an honest mirror. But this is the only way to make change. It would be nice to rely on elders to teach us everything, but they are busy feeding and clothing us and are having just as hard a time figuring out what is going on (if not more than) us. Hopefully we can unite as a community to encourage eachother. :) Thanks for your comment! I was actually born in Addis, but moved at the age of one to Europe and then came to the States at seven. To my understanding, diaspora refers to all decedents of a particular location. For me, the goal is to have a realistic self-perception. Accept yourself for who you are, then decide where you will place your energy and follow your heart. If it is in the church, then learn Ge’ez and just do it with all your heart. If it is in the language, speak it- butcher it in front of people who will make fun of you for it and then learn how to correct yourself. It takes a tough skin to hold up an honest mirror. But this is the only way to make change. It would be nice to rely on elders to teach us everything, but they are busy feeding and clothing us and are having just as hard a time figuring out what is going on (if not more than) us. Hopefully we can unite as a community to encourage eachother. :)

]]> By: Solomon http://www.ea4c.org/2009/12/a-native-foreigner/comment-page-1/#comment-77 Solomon Wed, 16 Dec 2009 01:15:36 +0000 http://www.ea4c.org/?p=489#comment-77 Your story reminds me of my childhood going to Ethiopian orthodox church in the US. I had no idea of what was going on but I was called upon almost every week to hold an umbrella by the priests and fake like I was singing along in some non-Amharic language that i couldn't understand, I was just barely learning Amharic to begin with.. several years of this later and I have no idea of what all of it was supposed to be about. I guess the moral is that if the elders don't reach out and try to teach they will risk losing the youth. I have not gone to a church in several years and my fluency in the language is slowly diminishing, it sucks because I miss the community. I believe this is because of what you noted in that the religion is far too deeply ingrained into the culture, if one chooses not to worship they are outcast. p.s. you sound like you were born in the US like me, I thought Diaspora was a term for people who were born in the homeland and left? Your story reminds me of my childhood going to Ethiopian orthodox church in the US. I had no idea of what was going on but I was called upon almost every week to hold an umbrella by the priests and fake like I was singing along in some non-Amharic language that i couldn’t understand, I was just barely learning Amharic to begin with.. several years of this later and I have no idea of what all of it was supposed to be about.

I guess the moral is that if the elders don’t reach out and try to teach they will risk losing the youth. I have not gone to a church in several years and my fluency in the language is slowly diminishing, it sucks because I miss the community. I believe this is because of what you noted in that the religion is far too deeply ingrained into the culture, if one chooses not to worship they are outcast.

p.s. you sound like you were born in the US like me, I thought Diaspora was a term for people who were born in the homeland and left?

]]> By: Daniel http://www.ea4c.org/2009/12/a-native-foreigner/comment-page-1/#comment-76 Daniel Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:41:24 +0000 http://www.ea4c.org/?p=489#comment-76 What can I say..... ignorance is bliss! What can I say….. ignorance is bliss!

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