| I'm going to try a slightly different format... or at least explicitly state what my intentions are. Essentially, the text of my posts will be about more general thoughts, and the pictures with their captions will suffice to describe what I've actually been doing lately. This one is going to be a bit long on the photo side and short on the text side (well, assuming I can stop myself from being too verbose ;-).
Running in the Great Ethiopian Run (see photos below for more info) got me thinking about how the popularity of running can affect a culture. The t-shirts for the run describe Ethiopia as "the land of runners", and running certainly has a large following here. Haile Gebrselassie is a national hero, and is a running legend the world over (he recently broke the world record for the marathon in Berlin). I would even venture to say that, if someone in Europe or the U.S. is to hear something positive in the news about Ethiopia (i.e. not about famine or tensions with one of its neighbors), chances are quite good that it will be about Ethiopian runners.
So what does that mean in a culture? The U.S. experienced a running boom in the 70's when the word "jogging" was invented. It had an impact on the general fitness of the population, not to mention made Nike and a few other shoe companies into household names. The vast majority of Ethiopians aren't overweight or unfit though, at least as far as I can tell. So what are the benefits of a national obsession with running? Discipline? The optimism that comes from watching a poor village boy like Haile Gebrselassie grow up to be famous and own at least a few large buildings in Addis? A positive national identity behind which an entire country can rally? Kenya has a similar reputation for dominance when it comes to distance running, so I wonder if running has the same effect there. Either way, it seems like this sort of dominance has a greater effect, or more meaning to the country, when it occurs in a developing country. Citizens of countries which have more heroes on offer (sports or otherwise) have the ability to pick and choose who they follow. A few years ago, Germans could follow Michael Schumacher, Oliver Kahn, Heidi Klum or Angela Merkel... all recognizable names throughout Europe if not the world. So does Ethiopia's focus on distance running provide a more-focused shared experience for Ethiopians? Is a choice of national heroes a sign of development?
Alright, enough babbling. On to the photos!
A bit more from my Zambia trip...
Since I was already in Zambia, I figured I should take a day off and do something fun...
I even caught a fish, I promise! But Jody has the picture on her camera. I'll post it once she sends it to me. In the meantime, some pictures from last weekend...
p.s. - A sobering piece on international aid in Africa from the BBC.
Parting shot...
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