H is for Habasha

Habasha is the Amharic word for the local people. It means 'burnt face'. Here, it's used in all manner of ways, typically to mean local by PCVs and HCN (Peace Corps Volunteers and Host Country Nationals). Habasha libs is local clothing. Do you have a habasha friend? is the way local men ask if I have an Ethiopian boyfriend. Habasha nagn (I am habasha) is what I say to kids when I'm upset they call me ferengi (foreigner). It is adjective (I want habasha food tonight) and noun (habasha are always calling out to me on the street) and for a white girl being called habasha is the best feeling ever because it's a sign of how well I've integrated with the people around me.

My landlady Dani (in the black and orange mumu) and her siblings. Well, some of them.