To IITK, with Love from Ethiopia: Vox Walks 

I joined IIT Kanpur for the PhD program in Civil Engineering back in 2019. How did I land at IIT Kanpur? I chose India over the US/UK because the Ethiopian government sponsors us fully if we get admission to the top 5 IITs. There is a scarcity of professionals in Ethiopia, so the government incentivises us to study in IITs. I got into IIT Madras in 2018, but at that time, my wife had a baby, so I didn’t want to leave and hence declined the offer. The following year, I applied again and got Kanpur.

Currently, we are just 3 Ethiopian students, but in 2019, we were 13. New students got admitted but are waiting in the process. We are trying to convince them to come to Kanpur. In Ethiopia, the perception of Indian education is not good due to the expat faculty working in Ethiopian universities. These faculties are from local colleges, not from IIT. So we are biased whenever we think of India, and students don’t prefer to come here. 

IIT Kanpur has an international relations office that looks after us. Currently, there are students from Qatar, Sudan, Myanmar, Malaysia, Nigeria, Canada, and Indonesia as well. Even though lifelong bonds are difficult to create, I have good friends like Mayank, Sanjay and my labmates, who made my stay here much more memorable. I had a great experience with the people here. They are very friendly and cooperative. Everyone is social, and sometimes I don’t feel I am away from home, family, or another country. No one tries to hurt or take advantage as I am a foreigner. I have had many memorable instances at IIT Kanpur. Like at the mess, I used to drink hot water and said ‘garam’ to the mess person once, but I didn’t mention ‘paani’, so he gave me roti instead!

Despite some cultural differences, Indian culture, in terms of food habits, is very similar to Ethiopian culture. We mostly cook dal and have a dish similar to Dosa. We also eat food with our hands, so there are a lot of similarities in cultures. Still, how we celebrate festivals is very different. We majorly follow Christianity, so the occasions we celebrate and how we celebrate are very different. In terms of clothes, we have many similarities. We also wear dresses similar to Dhoti. The eastern part of Ethiopia is similar to the southern part of India.

As a student from Ethiopia, I found the weather here quite extreme. Being so far from home, I felt homesick a fair few times. I even thought of getting my family here, but due to the pandemic, I thought it was best not to. I have three children, two boys and a girl. They are 7, 5, and 2. They are going to school. I went once to Ethiopia during COVID and didn’t go after that.

Coming to my PhD journey, PhD is painful. It is a prolonged journey of continuous highs and lows. I am fortunate that my guide was very nice. He knows how to encourage you at your lows and always ensures you’re always on the right track.

Currently, I’m sponsored by the government of Ethiopia. I have signed a bond with the government that I’ll have to work the same amount of time in Ethiopia for all the days I’ve been paid for here. I have to work there as an Assistant Professor. The topic I’ve chosen for research also impacts my country in many ways. My B.Tech was in Hydraulics, and then I decided to pursue a master’s and PhD in the same domain. 

PhD in India is very different from that in Ethiopia. I found the hydraulics course here more Maths intensive. I didn’t do well on my 1st quiz but picked up after that. Here, you must dedicate your whole day to your research work. However, my lab atmosphere was very supportive. Everyone in the lab was very cooperative, and I got to work happily in my lab.

After my PhD, I plan to return to my country and do the work I must do, primarily depending on the opportunities. If I get good opportunities outside my country, I’ll go there. Otherwise, I’ll stay in my country.

But enough of academics! I had a great time on campus, too. I played football and went to the gym. I’ve eaten in quite a lot of canteens. It depends. For example, chai is best here in H8, but for Dosa, I go to H10. I went to H12 too. For hanging out, I preferred to go outside, like Z Square. My Hindi is bad, but I navigated to Z Square on my own. I didn’t understand the prices they named, so I just handed them 500, and they gave back the change. People are cooperative. They think I am also an Indian, so I don’t get scammed. 

I have also roamed around locally, near Nankari, Vishal Market and even visited the leather industry. We visit the Anil Mutton shop occasionally. I also saw Gurudev Chauraha and tried the metro up to Motijheel. Before IITK, I visited IITR in a program for two weeks. I have also been to Delhi, Lucknow, Haridwar,  and Chandigarh.

I haven’t watched a lot of Indian movies here. Still, I watched a famous Hindi Movie- “Kuch Kuch Hota Hai”, in Ethiopia. We watched the film in Hindi, guessing dialogues from the actors’ emotions. Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan are also very famous there. I also saw the film – “The Lunchbox”. It’s an excellent and interesting movie. I suggest you also watch it.

I have also been to concerts here! I loved Antaragni. I’ve also seen Nukkad Naatak here; it was interesting. It is art, even though I don’t understand Hindi.

If you ever visit Ethiopia, we have a lot of places where you can roam around and many animal parks. Of course. We are Africans! The weather is very pleasant too! I hope you get to love Ethiopia the same way I love India!