the glossary:

abay : (n) the nile river

abibas : (n) a knock off brand of adidas; general term for something that is intentionally derivative of, but not nearly equal to the original

abyssinia : (n) historically, the area of africa now mostly covered by ethiopia

addis : (n; adj) addis ababa, the capital city of ethiopia; literally: new; colloquial usage: addis kids (ethiopians who subscribe to a more modern culture; tend to live or have been raised in addis ababa)

afar : (n) the northeastern region of ethiopia, mostly comprised of desertland and salt flats and containing part of the danikil depression, possession of this region is politically divisive for the eritrean and ethiopian governments; related: afari (a person from afar)

afshan ziggy : (command; n) the feminine conjugation of shut your mouth; the title of tony’s and my peace corps ethiopia comic strip that may never leave the workshop stage

al shabaab : (n) the somali rebel force that continually seeks to reclaim the somali capital city of mogadishu from the current government; literally: the youth

alaukum : (phrase) i don’t know

algabanyam : (phrase) i don’t understand

alle : (v) there is; eg: mabrat alle (there is power)

amarinya : (n) amharic; the official language of ethiopia, esp. the central amhara region containing the capital.

amesegenalu : (v) thank you

arake : (n) homemade distilled alcohol; moonshine; hooch

arif : (adj) awesome

ato condom : (n) an anthropomorphic condom used to sell sensations brand sexual prophylactics, he comes in three flavors (no pun intended): coffee, honey, and ribbed (no, not ribs, that would be sort of gross, ribbed. it’s an engrish oversight on the poster); literally: mister condom

bajaj : (n) a three wheeled motorcycle taxi

bawonet : (interj) really?

baya aynet : (n) a food, especially enjoyed during fasting, that consists of many different vegetarian dishes du jour atop a flap of injera; literally: all the kinds

be/bila : (command) eat (feminine/masculine)

bet : (n) house, place, room, store, etc; eg: migib bet (restaurant), t’mirt bet (school), ya

thomas bet (thomas’ house), bete christian (church), lexo bet (funeral)

betam : (adj; adv) very

birr : (n) ethiopian currency, broken into centim (cents); also see: left handed birr

bitchcakes : (n) my landlord, also known as birke

bizzu : (adj) much, a lot of…

bubonz, the : (n) the bubonic plague; informally: whatever the hell is turning these ethiopian kids into fly infested, open wounded, oozing sore, infection factories; the first child to be diagnosed with this affliction by G5, found in boru.

bunna : (n) coffee

burberry : (n) the traditional ethiopian multi-purpose spice based on dried red peppers, much like chili powder; an iconic british fashion house known by it’s signature beige, white, black, and red tartan; a really fun thing to yell in a pompous british accent whenever you come across either of the aforementioned items, though not typically amusing to those who are being yelled at, for various reasons

cactaseuss : (n) strange cactuses, of an often tall, skinny stature, with paddles that appear in clustered bursts near the top, giving them a look reminiscent of the illustrations of dr seuss

chaat : (n) a mild intoxicant (upper) plant sold in bundles of leafy twigs, and ingested by slowly chewing the leaves, and often cleansing the bitter palate with spoonfuls of sugar

chigger yillem : (phrase) no problem

chiggers : (n) a bug that lays eggs in your feet, causing nasty blackhead-like abscesses which must be cut out; no relation to chigger yillem, but rest assured, if chiggers alle, chigger definitely alle.

china : (n) a name assigned to all ferenji because of china’s overwhelming presence in ethiopia for purposes of infrastructure projects; a massive country in east asia, and current economic overlords of america

coochbeh : (command) sit

cozy comfy closet, the : (n) jessica’s misinterpretation of mr martin’s cozy place guesthouse in addis ababa

cus ba cus : (proverb) slowly but slowly; step by step

dabo : (n) bread; vulgar: vagina

dambaña : (n) a client; informally: a regular customer

decompression sickness : (n) the inability to readjust to one’s home culture after traveling abroad; also: the bengali bends

derg, the : (n) the militant socialist party that filled the power vacuum left by the ousting of emperor haile selassie, and ruled from 1974-1987, eventually overthrown and replaced in 1991 by ethiopia’s current leader, meles zenawi and his people’s revolutionary democratic front

devil’s sprice, the : (n) a mixture of supermint and st george’s beer, also known as a smoked irishman, a shamrock shake, and a rough ride to jimma

diarrio grand : (n) the river of sewage, trash, and human and animal waste flowing through the upper mekanisa neighborhood of addis ababa.

dickensian : (adj) disturbingly poor, sickly, or bleak; characteristic of lower class victorian england

doctor karl : (n) karlheinz böhm, the proprietor of the charity organization menschen für menschen, and an austrian actor and uncertified evil doctor who married an ethiopian woman and built many schools and health centers across ethiopia

doxy : (n) doxycycline, a daily malaria prophylaxis that causes indigestion and increased sensitivity to the sun

egzabier : (n) god; eg: egzabier! (oh my god!)/egzabier istaling (may god provide)/egzabier mesken (praise god)

faustian : (adj) surrendering ones morals for some sort of personal gain

fearless rainbow watcher : (n) a resident of the oromiya region of the jimma loop; see also: whistlin’ buffalo

ferenji : (n) a foreigner

ferenji time : (n) the western time frame (GMT), which puts sunrise at approximately 6AM and sunset at approximately 6PM depending on seasons and latitudes; the julian calendar which sets the year 6 years after the coptic calendar, and consists of 12 months of varying lengths

finnegan scott newlands : (n) my never to exist son. the name references james joyce (finnegan’s wake), mark twain (huckleberry finn), f scott fitzgerald, and finnegan’s pub in cole valley, san francisco

fir fir : (n) shredded injera, spiced, refried in oil and served for breakfast; also: meta injera; related terms: quanta fir fir (fir fir with meat), fir firenji (fir fir prepared ferenji style)

food fighter : (n) someone who is eating; a good food fighter is capable of eating most of the food before his companions get a chance to

gabaya : (n) open air market

galitomi : (v) thank you (oromifaa)

gari : (n) a two wheeled, animal drawn cart

george’s : (n) [gee-yor-geez] ethiopia’s cheap beer of choice, often mispronounced as it’s proper english name, st. george’s

gobez : (adj) clever

gold coast, the : (n) a british african colony on the west coast composed of modern day ghana, and eventually inclusive of togo just prior to the area’s independence

gorsha : (n; v) a hand fed bite of food offered as a sign of friendship; the act of offering someone a bite of food

hakim : (n) a dark beer of the stout variety, brewed by harar brewery in ethiopia; a bar that serves this variety of beer on tap; literally: doctor (amharic)

hella : (adv; adj) a lot of; very (northern californian)

habesha : (n) an ethiopian

habesha time : (n) the ethiopian time frame, which is set six hours later than other countries within the same time zone such that the sun rises at 12AM and sets at 12PM; also: the coptic calendar, which sets the year 6 years before the julian calendar, and consists of 12 months of exactly 30 days and one month of 5-6 days depending on leap year; also: the act of being at least 20 minutes late for an appointment (on habesha time)

hashuma : (expression) for shame; specifically the kind of shame that a woman brings upon her family by dressing or behaving in a risqué fashion (arabic)

hisab : (n) the bill

horn, the : (n) the horn of africa, an area of land in eastern africa consisting of ethiopia, eritrea, djibouti, and somalia

hum d’allah : (expression) praise god, thanks to god (arabic)

ibakesh/ibakeh : (adv) please (feminine/masculine)

ichilal : (phrase) it is possible

indeh : (interj) you don’t say; get outta here; really?; usually pronounced with a comically long and rising, sing-songy inflection

injera : (n) a large flat pancake made from fermented grains (usually teff) and served as a sort of edible silverware under most ethiopian foods

izosh/izoh : (interj) be strong (feminine/masculine)

jib : (n) hyena

kafkaesque : (adj) stiflingly confusing in a potentially nightmarish way, like bohemian literature

kili : (n) kilimanjaro; the highest peak on the african continent, located in northern tanzania

kitfo : (n) ground, seasoned meat, usually served raw, but can be requested cooked, though the latter is not considered authentic by traditionalists; related term: qort (diced meat served raw)

konjo : (adj) beautiful; cool

kunicha : (n) flea

kushasha : (n; adj) dirt, garbage; dirty; eg: ya kushasha dabub (the dirty south)

leba : (n) thief

left handed birr : (n) a very dirty note of currency, often so dirty that merchants would rather not make money than accept the disgusting bill. so named because the left hand is typically reserved for the wiping of one’s ass

loc : (n) a local; informally: a person who frequents a particular bar

loop, the : (n) the road loop that begins and ends in jimma, and passes through metu, gore, masha, tepi, mizan, bonga, among others; also: loopers : PCVs and VSOs who live on the loop.

lothario : (n) a man motivated solely by the pursuit of carnal pleasures

masha : (n) a town in the sheka zone of the SNNPR region of southwest ethiopia, specifically the town in which i am stationed; see also: mudville

mashmushki : (expression) as you wish (arabic)

mef : (n) mefloquine, a weekly malaria prophylaxis that causes memory loss, confusion, dizziness, and general insanity; see also: spiraling medness

melkam : (v) enjoy; eg: melkam kan (enjoy the day)

mi amor : (n) jenny, my heart and soul, and a PCV in the togo young women’s development sector; literally: my love

migib : (n) food

minamin : (adv) etcetera

movie bus : (n) a mini van, outfitted with large external speakers and a PA system, and decorated with vinyl posters of the current hit ethiopian movies, which it distributes by driving around the country and holding screenings at local venues

moskid : (n) mosque

mudville : (n) masha town, in the sheka zone of SNNPR region, ethiopia

nach habesha : (n) a white ethiopian (either a westerner who behaves like an ethiopian, or an ethiopian who behaves like a westerner); see also: tikur ferenji and addis kids

ngorongoro : (n) a large, fertile crater in the serengeti (tanzania) that contains and isolates the wildlife and the food chain within it, resulting in unusually hearty populations of the crater’s fauna, shortlisted on dave’s long list of travel obsessions

-och : (suffix) the plural form; eg: ferenjoch (foreigners)

oromifaa : (n) the language spoken in the southern oromo region of ethiopia; also: afan oromo, orominya

pagne : (n) [pahn-ya] brightly colored fabric from west africa decorated with repetitive and seemingly arbitrary patterns (fish, cacao pods, vespa scooters, the president’s face, etc) and used to make just about every kind of clothing worn in that region

peace curse, the : (n) the phenomenon of desiring or appreciating previously undesired aspects of american culture (twinkies, sitcoms, fantasy sports, pop music, etc) once life in the peace corps restricts access to them

p’zone : (n) an unnecessary or logically impossible additional step; derived from the pizza hut p’zone, which was intended to occupy a non-existent niche market between a pizza and a calzone

quixotic : (adj) unrealistically idealistic and/or vast in scope

renaissance dam : (n) the hydroelectric dam being constructed on the ethiopian section of the blue nile river, and a large point of contention for countries that rely on water from the blue nile for, you know, life

rickshaw run, the : (n) an unsanctioned, no holds barred, cannonball race across india in motorickshaws, put on by the adventurists, and donating proceeds to various charities, in my case FRANK water, which brings access to clean water sources to rural indian villages.

shai : (n) tea

shaibunna : (n) tea/coffee; a tea or coffee break

shakala : (n) a small clay stove used to serve food sizzling hot; eg: shakala t’ibs or tagabino

shekenya : (n) the local language spoken in the sheka zone, wherein lies masha

shint bet : (n) bathroom; literally: pee house

schisto, the : (n) schistosomiasis, a skin infection caused by the water-borne toxic larvae of a certain breed of snail that lives in the less arid regions of africa, the infection can lead to more serious problems including liver damage.

shmoggly : (n) a loved and respected old man; a muppet voiced by my rickshaw run teammate, laura

shoobie : (n) a person who doesn’t know what they are doing, someone who is not to be taken seriously; from: someone who wears shoes to the beach

socotra island : (n) a small yemeni island in the gulf of aden, akin to the galapagos in that much of the island’s life is unique to the island, shortlisted on dave’s long list of travel obsessions

spiraling medness, the : (n) the slow tailspin into insanity caused by prolonged exposure to medications, especially mefloquine

sprice : (n) a mixture of two beverages, typically coffee and tea, or various juices (mango, avocado, papaya, grenadine, etc), but also sprite and george’s (stripper champagne), or supermint and george’s (the devil’s sprice, smoked irishman, or shamrock shake); literally: split, or mixture

stripper champagne : (n) a mixture of st george’s beer and sprite lemon lime soda, with a flavor reminiscent of cheap champagne

suk : (n) convenience store

supermint : (n) a fluorescent green alcohol flavored something akin to mint mouthwash; one half of the devil’s sprice

tachawat : (v) this doesn’t actually translate in context; literally: play and chat; also: tabadu (oromifaa), ditabeh (shekenya)

tafa : (expression) i couldn’t find you; you disappeared/didn’t show up

t’ej : (n) honey wine

t’ibs : (n) small pieces, bits; especially of meat, but can also refer to inkulal t’ibs (scrambled eggs) or dinich t’ibs (diced potatoes)

tigrinya : (n) the language spoken in the northern ethiopian regions of tigray and afar, as well as parts of eritrea.

tikur ferenji : (n) a black foreigner; see also: nach habesha

tinnish koi : (phrase) wait a moment; the name of my rickshaw run team; literally: little wait; amarynglizena: tiny japanese fish

trans-siberian, the : (n) the railway that crosses siberia from northwest of moscow to vladivostok on the east coast of the asian continent, shortlisted on dave’s long list of travel obsessions

traveler’s balls : (n) a mental state of comfort with a foreign culture that leads a traveler to make risky decisions

waat : (n) a stew; refers to many varieties of ethiopian cuisine of stewlike consistency

whistlin’ buffalo : (n) a resident of the SNNPR region of the jimma loop; see also: fearless rainbow watcher

yaselam guad : (n) peace corps; literally: peaceful friends, or friends of peace

yevo : (n) the togolaise version of ferenji, a derogatory term for white people derived from the reluctant exit of the colonizing forces from africa’s west coast; approximate literal translation: lying dog

zimb : (n) a fly

zinab : (n) rain; awesome use: zinab zinabama (the rain is raining)

acronyms and short cuts:

ADD : attention deficit dis– ooh! shiny.

AdminSep : administratively separated (fired)

AFP : acute flaccid paralysis (an early symptom of polio)

AWA : africa wins again

BBC : british broadcasting corporation

BM : bowel movement

btw : by the way; also: b the b (by the by)

CDC : centers for disease control and prevention

CHAI : clinton health access initiative

COS : close of service (completion of contract)

CSW : commercial sex worker (prostitute)

DC : washington DC, our evil and detail oriented bureaucratic overlords

ET : early termination (quit)

ETC : ethio-telecom

ETV : ethiopia televison

G… : peace corps ethiopia group (G5: group 5, etc)

GAD : gender and development (a committee for raising funds for small projects by working with and supporting local artists and craftspeople)

GI : gastrointestinal (often in conjunction with “issues” or “problems”)

HC : health center

HuffPo : the huffington post; also: arianna huffPo

IST : in-service training

MedSep : medically separated (service ended for locally insurmountable medical issues)

MST : mid-service training

OCD : obsessive compulsive dissorder

ODB : ol’ dirty bastard (late member of the wu tang clan); see also: RZA, GZA

ONLF : ogaden national liberation front (the militant independence party that is fighting for the freedom of the south and southeastern regions of Ethiopia)

PC : peace corps

PCPP : grant funds available through the peace corps partnership program

PCT : peace corps trainee

PCV : peace corps volunteer

PCVL : peace corps volunteer leader

PEPFAR : presidents emergency plan for AIDS relief

PLWHA : people living with HIV/AIDS

PSN : peer support network

PST : pre-service training

RPCV : returned peace corps volunteer (after an official COS)

SCZ : sandwich concept zone. the area around addis ababa where the possibility of obtaining an edible cold sandwich exists

SNNPR : southern nations, nationalities, and people’s region (the southwest region of ethiopia)

STOMP : the stomp out malaria, pan-african peace corps malaria initiative

TB : tuberculosis, also known as the TB, believed by many ethiopians to be caused by open bus windows

TCOB : takin’ care of business

TIA : this is africa (as in: of course your beer is warm. TIA, man.)

TOT : training of trainers (a redundant term for training)

TVO : television oromiyaa

UNICEF : united nations [international] children’s [emergency] fund (“international” and “emergency” have been cut out since the founding of the organization)

USAID : united states agency for international development

VAC : volunteer action committee

VSO : volunteer service overseas (UK based, multinational version of PC)

VAST : grant funds for volunteer activities support and training

WHO : world health organization