Chillin' with Rahel, Gezahegen and ... a hen

Saturday evening we visited a family that is good friends with Jordan. We met mom, grandma, daughter Rahel (Ethiopian women are famously beautiful -- a reputation upheld by Rahel), son Gezahegen, dog Mourinho (named after Chelsea F.C.'s recent coach -- Ethiopians, we learned, are big fans of the English Premier League), and an unnamed hen. The women soon started a coffee ceremony, filling the living room with fog-like smoke and delicious aroma. We talked Ethiopian culture, American culture, soccer and a tad philosophy (Gezahegen had just graduated from Addis Ababa University where he had studied English literature and philosophy.) I was amused by the hen, which was very friendly and relaxed as it hung out with us throughout the evening. It was blissfully unaware that in a couple of days its fate would be sealed and it would be served with injera as dinner.