A little while ago, I was 30,000 feet up in the air. It strikes me that the position up there literally is the Metaspace. From the air you could see how lush and green the country is right now, with an abundance of water. Now I have landed in Addis, waiting to be forwarded to Dar es Salaam in about an hour. I step out from the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 757 and is greeted by fresh cool air. We enter the quite new terminal and I become filled of joy that I am now in Ethiopia for the first time, and about the diversity of the people. Coming to a new country here in Africa, however short the visit is, is like getting a new piece for a colorful puzzle.
I am imagining how it would look like with an election boot here with the "Sverigedemokraterna" – a political party with a distinct xenophobic message that might come into the parliament after the election Sept 19.
They think that Sweden is in deep trouble, and that the main reason is because of mass immigration. I can see the sign saying "Everybody should go home to their own country".
In the inflight magazine I read about Ethiopia, sending a message of pride around all the ethnic groups, languages and people that form this large country.
The airport is a wonderful space, and a new airport is always exciting. For some people this is the starting point. They head out for a journey into the unknown. For some this is the end point. They come back, bringing memories, new contacts. Maybe new insights. Or in worst case diseases. For others this is just a place to hang around for a while, waiting to move on to their final destination. And for the people working here, it's a daily transfer to another world.
We are all here waiting. I am trying to imagine the stories of all these people. These four guys with backpacks. Are they tourists, doctors, aid workers. Or maybe mercenaries? Why are there no Africans in this café? Could it be that the cappuccino cost $3?
So what are my questions here? I try to listen in to the space, to hear what it suggest.
- Why do I like to travel so much?
- What are my hopes for this journey?
- How can I open myself up more to this space, and what would I be able to find then?
- What is it with this continent that always makes me so happy arriving?
- If I look at my life from 30,000 feet, what would I see then? How does it differ from being on the ground?
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