Midlist Writer: Travel Tuesday: Obama in Ethiopia

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Travel Tuesday: Obama in Ethiopia

The American elections are in full swing and it has to be the most unpredictable race I've seen since I started paying attention in the 80s. But whoever wins, one thing is for certain--Obama will leave the White House in November. I wrote about his nomination way back in 2008 in a strangely prescient post.

Love him or hate him, Obama is a historic president, and it isn't just Americans who think so. When I was in Ethiopia I saw pictures of him all over. Above is the Obama Hotel near Addis Ababa. I didn't get to stay there, so I can't tell you if the accommodations filled me with hope or if they really serve Johnny Walker. When I was in Harar in eastern Ethiopia I came across these cool Obama pens, imported from Kenya. Actually they were just standard ballpoint pens with Obama's name printed on them. I think I still have a couple of those around somewhere. I also gave one to a woman who worked on his campaign. She got a chuckle from that.

Next year will we see a Trump Hotel or Clinton pens in Africa? I don't think so!

3 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...: You definitely won't see a Trump Hotel there - no money in that.; 29 March 2016 at 06:20
D.G. Hudson said...: I think Obama was one of those rare birds - an actual statesman, not a showman. I would much rather see Hilary Clinton as US Prez than Trump. A female president would shake up a lot of things. . .; 29 March 2016 at 13:21
Sioux Roslawski said...: Perhaps the election results will remind you how lucky you are to spend much of your time out of the United States...; 2 April 2016 at 02:48

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