Loza Tesfaye

Final profolio

Ukc 380

4/29/2013

“HABESHANETE” :

An Authoethnography of an Ethiopian international student

Friend- so I heard your taking a class where you write about yourself …lol

Me-Yea I do not know if I’m going to like it tough their all American in there it scares me to say

things out loud

Friend-Omg ! you have to talk in front of everyone ,and write about yourself ..Good luck

Me-Yea with my accent good luck to my professor and my classmates …hahaha

My name is Loza Tesfaye I am Ethiopian andcurrently live in Lexington KY; Authoethnography

is said to make you open up about one’s self and write about it, discover one’s self unveil their

hidden secrets, family matters, who were my ancestor’s where do I come from, who am I ? in a

way introduce Me to Myself ,and my readers. I took this class not knowing what was going into ;

very nervous about speaking out loud , and even more bothered by my accent ,I did not know

how well this class was going to go for me ,so I told my friends and they obviously laughed at

me ,and said I will be fine ;only to realize that I was meant to take this class it taught me so much

about myself ,my parents my culture, my country, the Ethiopian immigrant society . I opened up

about my family ,our tribal problems and many more, authoethnography is was the key tome

really to really understand Myself not just as an Ethiopian international student living in

Lexington KY , but as a person.

In this profolio i will explore Ethiopian cultural traits, ethiopian immigrant students ethiopian

parents , but will focus on two conflicting tribal issues ,and what caused them to happen to begin

with . I will present their story and how it really causes problems not only in the country but also

in every person in these two major tribal groups In order to understand my grand parents and my

family’s disagreement back in the days on my parents marriage. Specifically,in this essay i

analyze heavily on personal information and documents , to understand better. the problem like i

mentioned before At the same time I seek to gain a better understanding of the root of the

conflict and where my ancestor’s come from saying that two rival Ethiopian tribal groups are not

to be wed .

-why are tribal groups so important in Ethiopia ?

-What caused all these tribal groups to be in a conflict ?

-Is it possible to fix and get rid of these problems once and for all?

this would be my mother’s tribe “My tribes is the best no questions asked , we discovered Addis

and no one can take that from us ” always says my mother’s godmother she is nothing like my

mom and usually when we stayed at her place she used to go on and on about the oromo tribe

and then finally make a small comment , criticism really on my parents decision to get

married .And usually gets me thinking Is it really worth going through all the trouble to get

married when both sides of the family have big problems with it ?

this one would be my father’s tribe, and is one

of the wealthiest tribes in Ethiopia for that not

very liked” we are the most powerful tribe in

our country, let’s not mess that up by mixing

in some other tribes “used to say my father’s

big brother we all listened because he was

kind of the eldest on my father’s side and he

also had that effect on people he made people believe what he was saying . just like my family

on my mother’s side my father’s side was pretty serious about these tribal issues.

As an international student whose parents never lived here before I would say that my parents

have a very important place in the immigrant Ethiopian students because they help kids , get a

better education by sending them to the united states , and giving them a better life than what

they would’ve had back in Ethiopia .like I have mentioned in the beginning I am Ethiopian and I

think  some of the family markers of identity in the group are definitely the language, and our

culture as a whole really .

To begin with my journey on writing an authoethnography I did various researches

because it is not easy to write an authoethnography on my family and my ancestor’s when

absolutely none of them live anywhere around to doing interviews with or kind of connect and

talk to whenever I needed to ask questions or needed explanation so I could easily say that doing

this interview over the phone with both my parents was  very difficult , It is against my culture to

ask elders about their personal life .Whenever I was actually asking my questions my parents

were very retained in a way I could say they would not give me any information whatsoever ,

wouldn’t even let me get to the next question . I had to make a decision to get it out of them not

as an interview but just sneak in my entire question in our conversations, so that said it took me

3-4 phone calls to Ethiopia to gather all the information I needed.

Rapport is a very hard subject to accomplish, over the phone; I would say it is easier to connect

with the person one is interviewing if they are face to face. In my case I established rapport with

my informants, because they are my parents first of all and that made it easier in a way because I

knew what not to say , and what to get things out of  them so knowing them like I do helped me

identify their strengths and weaknesses when it comes to speaking with people and I used that to

work my questions in our everyday conversations, which worked well. My interview like I had

mentioned in the previous paragraphs was made over the phone because both of my parents my

interviewee’s are thousands miles away from where I am so I had to do it over the phone. In

order for my interviewee’s to be in a good mood and answer my questions like I want them I had

to make the call at a specific time not early in the morning , not during work ,nor late at night my

parents both come from work around 8 so I waited until then to make my call which I believe

helped me find them in the right state of mind , when I made my call since it was only me and

my sister in the house and we are both here in the us now there was no background voices

screaming , or being loud  all I heard was the news that my dad was watching while I was

interviewing my mother, and  every 15mins or so I could hear my dad saying” You guys are so

loud , I can’t even hear the anchorman speaking” ,we always laughed at him when he got mad

because we were loud .

My informants are my mother and my father, unlike most Ethiopian parents my parents were

very open,playful, liberated  and just very fun parents they are like my best friends really I could

say except when it comes to family there are subjects they never want mentioned or talk about

for some reason I will never understand;  it is against my culture to ask those questions. My

parents and I have always had a relationship where we know each other so well we know what

they’re going to say , but during this interview that I did a couple days ago I saw a different side

of them the answers that I got were very different and surprising to me its almost like I was

interviewing strangers. I do feel like in the past they held some information about their past

because they taught I was not mature enough to handle it , and now they are opening up a little

but I could say they refuse to talk about their mother’s especially I have noticed.

My interviewee’s were cooperative , and I feel like when out of their way to give me most of

their answers that is why I mentioned earlier I was very struck by how much they are actually

opening up about their past and really tried to answer all my question .Yes they held back but me

being from the same culture and having the same background roots as they both do I completely

understand and respect the fact that they do not want to talk about certain things because of

cultural traditional tribal reasons.

When one interviews a couple people it is obvious that one will get different answers, different

emotional reactions to the questions, and different amount of information .my mother is a very

sophisticated but funny and loveable woman she does things her way and she does it

perfectly ,my mother speaks French Amharic and oromigna which the last one is her tribal

language, she is open and willing to help anyone if she can , but never ever talk about her mother

. I started talking to her on the phone and just asking her random questions ,like how is everyone

back home? How is grandpa? How’s Ethiopia ? has it changed since I left ?  after a few minutes I

sneaked in one question from my list of questions for my paper , I asked her about her ancestor’s

specifically avoiding the word “mother ” my mother said “ kiya (my nickname) you already

know everything there is to know about your ancestor’s now I know you are trying to get me to

talk about my other which I am not going to do because she has not been in your life all these

years ,and you do not need to know about her now” my mother was upset I could tell by her

voice that this was a very sensitive subject for her so I skipper to my next question and asked her

about her and dad’s tribes and why they were rivals and how come her and dad decided to break

a very strict and important cultural boundary ? I knew my mother liked talking about her and dad

being rebels and going against the culture so that question was kind off my idea of getting her all

exited and talking and man did it work ! “your father and I were very popular amongst out

friends you know, we did whatever we wanted to do we had fun , we broke the tribal rules and

we got married , and we had you so we did something right “ “Hailu (her father) would not talk

to me for months I actually had to say sorry on my knees in front of the whole oromia Addis

‘tribal gathering’ congregation in order for him to even accept me as his child “  

How do my parents contribute to the Ethiopian immigrant students community ?, My parents

founded  this  agency helping students Ethiopian students  go to different countries for education

then going back to their countries and making a difference , my father is currently the CEO of

this organization, which gave him that higher position (prestigious position in the community )in

the Ethiopian immigrant students eyes.

My father is a very interesting intelligent and kind hearted man he stands by what he

believes he is humble and understanding , and willing do anything to make one’s kid’s dream

come true ,My family has a pretty good connection with the community because my father is

know back home and ,not just because of that because of all the kids  and families he helped and

is still trying his best to make people’s lives better  ,so he is heard and appreciated by the

Ethiopian immigrant students  community . As an International student it is pretty easy to say

that I am an outsider and for that so is my family , I say this because  if we took the university of

Kentucky as an example there are less than 15 Ethiopians , in a community this big !  , our 

language ,our  habits, our cultures are very different which puts the Ethiopian community on the

outside , of the American one; So  I believe us Ethiopians we can gain entrance in the us

community  by learning every difference that we have , we have done have the job by joining a

university together with different kinds of students that come from different  places ,traditions

have different languages  , so I believe what is left to be an insider is to learn the tradition , the

habits , the people  of this community .

What is Race ? Race to me is like Habesha,  black and Caucasian, Asian ,Latino a group

of people where people belong to ,where one is in a way claimed and fits in a group of people

he/she feels comfortable with race is not something that is chosen ,race is a gift.

-how does race function on race in U.S society ? : i think race matters a lot in the U.S because as

an international student i have never had race problems or separation but when i came here i cold

easily see it , people were grouped in different race groups like all the African American students

hang out together the Caucasian together, same thing for Asians and Habesha’s .

I could say race is a negative matter in some areas for example it keeps UK students from

interacting and getting to know a different group of people and not be stuck with a certain kind

of ethnic or racial group because that’s just what everybody is used to ;But then again it could be

the gift that I think it is and it could help one explore and unveil the different qualities ,and

characters of each group .

Ethiopia is an absolutely marvelous country and ,and most of all a very popular tourist

attraction ,when I read the question for this assignment I was actually very excited to write about

what really stroked ,me as an Ethiopian when the tourists noticed our everyday routines and were

very fascinated and interested in knowing more about those specific Ethiopian cultural/tribal

traits here are some of the many things I have picked to share.

The miracle cross, In Ethiopia since we are very strict

Christian orthodox , religion is taken very seriously and to

show that we all wear the miracle cross with a specific kind of

hand twisted black lace , this tradition has been going on since

anyone can remember but nobody at least the non-Ethiopians

never notice it.

I picked the Ethiopian coffee ceremony because i

remember when I used to live back in Ethiopia ,and my family hosts tourists sometimes ,we

welcome t hem into our home and treat them as if they were ,Ethiopian’s and I always remember

how exited they all used to get when it was 8:pm which means it is the traditional coffee

ceremony time everybody gathers around the special place where we always make coffee and we

chat the elders talk ,the kids get loud and there is always that traditional ,music playing slowly in

the background ,i can never forget how it caught their attention and really made a lot of tourists

love and appreciate coffee more and understand it’s not just something one drinks to stay awake ,

it is so much more it brings friends and families together. the Ethiopian coffee ceremony is

special and everybody should at least experience it once in their lifetime

The mesob is the traditional , plate /table I could say , it is where

every member of the family gather’s around and eats off of , Again I never really taught that was

a big deal until I came here and I told my American friends how we ate back home and they were

all very amazed, that’s when i realized that the “mesob ” was actually so much more than just a

big , table/plate , so i asked my grandfather and he told me that the reason why everyone eats off

the same “mesob” is a symbol of unity ,it’s a symbol of being a family we live together pray

together and then eat together.

“nekesat” is a traditional Ethiopian body tattoo done

with herbs, one is only aloud to have these done once they reach the age of thirteen, once again

this was just a normal cultural trait for me until one of the families my family hosted was

fascinated by the way it was done , nowadays in urban Ethiopia not a lot of people do it but the

maids and the butlers who come from the country side still do it , according to their tribal

backgrounds

“injera ” is thee traditional

Ethiopian food it is something that every Ethiopian eats 3 times a day 7 days a week , it is made

with a special grain grown only in Ethiopia called teff it is then fermented for three days then

mixed with boiling hot water than , baked in very thin almost transparent manner, almost like

crepes , it is an Ethiopian delicacy and it is absolutely loved by foreigners.

And to end with here are some of my youth and family pictures and descriptions , youth and

family are really the definitions of a writer ,it is where I come from it is my surrounding ,it is my

parents and my family that make my Authoethnography .

This is the funniest picture I have taken it is me and my sister I remember it was

Christmas week, and my father had taken us to see Santa Christmas week, and my father had

taken us

“you were so small, and quiet and adorable…what happened to you ” lol….My mother used to

say this whenever we get in an argument and she took the albums out to look at my baby pictures

, I was told this was me at 80 days; i feel like the fact that this picture is vintage rusty black and

white gives a certain story to the scene .

this is my father i believe he said at the age of 9 or 8 ” I was the

smartest kid in school, all the teachers used to love me , all i did was read ” my dad always says

that and i mean always , He talks about how reading is the only way out ,and how it changed his

life .

this picture was taken on my fifth birthday ,i was very excited as you can see that will be

my grandfather and my sister on the right ” your my favorite grandchild since you’re the first one

in the family ” my grandfather used to say ,I love

this pictures reminds me of how warm and loving

people /family back home are .

CITATION PAGE

INTERVIEW CITATION:

- Kebede,Mateos ,Interview with Loza Tesfaye Lexington KY/Addis Abeba Ethiopia

04/12/2013

- Hailu,Senait,interview with Loza Tesfaye Lexington KY/ Addis Abeba Ethiopia

04/12/2013