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Thursday, April 7, 2016

Chat and Getting Arrested

The bus is transporting people, probably to Ghinir, the town I got arrested in.  But if you look on top of the bus you can see it is carrying chat.  In America it is an illegal substance, but in Ethiopia it is completely legal and considered a cash crop. It is mostly chewed exclusively by men, and it can lead to people in your town having a bad opinion of you. While some people choose to chew only in secret, it is still common to see  drivers, and people in similar lines of work chewing. It is supposed to give a euphoric high, with the added benefit of being a stimulant, hense why drivers chew. 
The second picture is a horse gari (cart) commonly used to get around moderate distances. The number seen working varies but is largest during market days when people are being in supplies to sell, or carting away large bags of grains.  There is also a version of gari pulled by donkey, see my previous posts for a donkey gari with a tie.


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