Alyssa Bistonath Photography: Of Life After 24,

Yesterday a cab driver named Emmanuel drove me to the Norman Felix Gallery with my Kenya prints.  We talked about how his brother was living in Nairobi and “Had I ever been there?” “Yes!” I replied enthusiastically telling him about my visit to the Canadian consulate and my misadventures on the bus ride over.  He told me that his family was from Ethiopia, and when I told him that I had been there also the conversation really took off.  We talked buna ta ta, injera, Abyesha, Addis Ababa, and the eventually the Full Gospel church.  We discovered that his family attended the same church as my friends in Addis. 

When he dropped me off he blessed me, and it made me feel nostalgic and hopeful.  The experience inspired me to revisit my Ethiopia photos and I found this one.  The man pictured is an Orthodox priest in Abote district.  I photographed him right before dinner as the sun was setting.