Back Curving, Bouncing and Slicing to Success

As a young kid I enjoyed roaming the streets of my neighborhood on a cool red bike and playing soccer out on the field with my sefer buddies. Occasionally, I rented my bike to friends as a way of earning extra income. I was also an expert in playing marbles (gud gad being my specialty and sey bil bankerebabit my technique to win). I remember the best times as being those when my mom was out of the country - she often left to visit my brother who lived abroad for medical reasons. It meant that I had complete freedom for all of my favorite activities. I had my grandma shave my hair just like the neighborhood boys, put on my pants, my sneakers, grease my bike, and it was show time!

I am not sure how much my parents knew of my extra curricular activities, except on those few times they came home earlier than usual and caught me outside with my bike on the side and my soccer ball tucked under my arm. And the muddy clothes did not help conceal my guilt. Even though these were not your typical girl activities, but perceived to be yesefer dureye hobbies, I did not get a lot of scolding from my parents. They must have figured out that I felt lonely outside of school for I was the only child in the house. But it didn't last forever.

One summer afternoon, my dad came home with a Wilson tennis racket and announced that I was going to start playing tennis in 2 weeks. I couldn't believe what he had just said, but I realized that there was no way out of this one. Soon after, he started dropping me at the tennis club early morning and picking me up late afternoon. By then, it was too late to join my buddies from the neighborhood. I would wave my hand and show them signs that I am not able to come out and play. Even though I was very bored with tennis, I had to stick with it. After a few training sessions, my coach, Alemayehu, suggested that I quit playing Ping-Pong as well. I couldn't help but wonder that everybody had conspired against me in making my summer miserable. Ping-Pong had been my other favorite pastime activity where I challenged my friends into a game and occasionally charged them a fee to use the table. I did, however, quit after all.

After the first month, I started liking going to the tennis club. Alemayehu was very patient and eager to train me well. The staff, Habtu, Meru, Mamo (to name a few) were wonderful people. I knew most of the kids because their parents were friends with mine. As my tennis improved and I started getting to know the people, the tennis club started to replace my old hangout. It became my home away from home. It was at the tennis club that I first got acquainted with Shameta - a 10 cents per Tassa drink that would hold your appetite all day (like a power drink, except that it was a lot cheaper), ye mulu bar Misto sandwich, and ye fulweha fir fir that was to die for. I occasionally would drink one Tassa of shameta for lunch and would pocket the rest of my money. I had to substitute the lost income from renting bikes and playing games somehow. Even though I had an allowance and had absolutely no expense, I felt that I needed more money. I would always buy drinks (Mirinda or Ambo) on credit and dad settled it when Assefa (the cashier) remembered to bring it to his attention. Assefa swears that I still owe him money for the Mirandas. Dad never questioned me about these dealings. He must have figured out that I was developing some sort of "creative financin g" that would later help me in getting my car loan approved.

We played tennis competitively at the Addis Ababa Tennis Club. Our club had players like Rass, Solomon, and Yared, who were very talented and gifted in their games. We were also fortunate to have the most skillful and resourceful coaches. I learned most of my court tricks, (slicing the ball so hard that after it bounces it changes directions, drop shots that even Michael Johnson couldn't get too, looking at one direction while hitting the ball in the opposite direction) at the club. These tricks later proved to be useful when I played competitive tennis in the U.S.

After I finished 10th grade, my parents and I had discussed and agreed that it was time for me to move to the U.S. My mom accompanied me to upstate New York. After my move, I looked into both private and public high schools. Most of the schools were eager to take me after I participated in their tryouts for the varsity tennis team. I chose to go to a relatively big public high school for its extra curricular activities. It was a change to go to a public school after attending private schools all my life. Even though my mom stayed with me in New York for most of my first year, I was still home sick. I missed everything I had left behind: my high school and the uniform I dreaded to wear, the tennis club, and most of all my family and friends. I practiced tennis a lot since I had no social life. For the following two years, I was one of the top three players in the women's varsity team. After high school, faced with the "wereQet problem," I decided to attend the first college that had approached me. If I were to do it again, I probably would have waited until the matter was straightened out and gone to a college of my choice; i.e. a college that was bigger, that had a diverse student body and that was more known for its academic and tennis reputation. Nevertheless, I appreciated and took full advantage of the opportunity that was presented to me. In College, unable to juggle between my commitment to the tennis team, social life, and schoolwork, my grades suffered for the first three semesters. The coach was not particularly helpful in the adjustment process or in improving my tennis game either. However, for the following four years, I was able to maintain my status as a top player, from the skills I had acquired from my previous coaches at Addis Ababa Tennis Club and my experiences from playing on the high school varsity team.

After my upstate (boonies) experience, I decided to attend graduate school in the West Coast. At this point, I completely stopped playing tennis and started concentrating on my studies. Life in the rainy city was very different. I found the people and the environment to be very calming. Here, I began drinking a 2% restreto shot, tall latte every morning, afternoon and evening. The culture of camping among wild bears, rafting in the clear water, and hiking up the mountains (yeferenj CHewata) became a way of life.

Currently, I am working for one of the bigger companies in the city. Although "professionalism" has not brought me the 'funner' things in life, the process of getting here has made me mature and helped me discover my true self. I would say, from all my experiences, the best and most fulfilling is the one I had in Addis. I learned my "street smartness" from my sefer buddies, my entrepreneurial spirit from the neighborhood "business dealings," competitiveness, sportsmanship, and hard work from the Tennis Club. Although I never grew to like either upstate New York or the college I attended, it is there where I learned to be independent and acquired the skills needed to survive in a different world.

Today I no longer have an Afro nor am I a tomboy, but I still have my old traits of competitiveness and aradanet, both of which turned out to be very handy in the corporate world. In the end, I cannot forget my exceptionally wonderful parents who never criticized me for who I was but rather encouraged me to develop my talents and hobbies. For that reason, I am a content person.