The Fifth Best Ethiopian Singer

The fifth best Ethiopian singer
On my first day here I didn't realize it, but I had met a real star- Tebebu. I met him at The Shepard House- a really good Ethiopian restaurant. A few days later I went out for dinner with him. The first time we went out I thought he was a nice enough guy. He talked a lot about how famous he was and informed me that he is the 5th best (traditional) Ethiopian singer- mind you, not the 4th or 6th! We had some interesting conversation and being new here I enjoyed the company and thought maybe the next time would be better.

The second time we went out was just too much too handle! Still he's a nice guy, but chosing a place to go was a major ordeal! You see, when you're the 5th best Ethiopian singer you can't go just anywhere. Tebebu, or the 5th best Ethiopian singer as he likes to call himself, explained the complexities of being famous in Ethiopia. You see, he can't even drive down the street without people noticing his car and asking for money...In Addis, where the streets are overflowing with beggars and most people cram into buses to get anywhere, it is hard to understand how he can't hide in his raised, black SUV with chrome rims, tinted windows and purple lights that radiate under the car.

So back to figuring out where to go... for a famous Ethiopian if there aren't enough people at a restaurant then it isn't worth going to ( so we passed by about 5), but if there are too many people then he may get too much attention (so we drove for another 30 minutes)! After eating at a drive-in, we went searching for a bar. The search was again an ordeal. Finally I decided on the place. Tebebu wore an ankle length leather jacket and a cap...despite the disguise he was swarmed- 4 servers noticed him and shook his hand.

It's tough being famous in Ethiopia!