Why Do Other Cultures Travel So Easily While Ethiopia Stays at Home?

Mar 21 , 2026. By Blen Hailu ( Blen Hailu (blenmahi12@gmail.com) studied marketing, management and law. She works in communications and digital content creation, with a focus on human rights, equity and youth engagement.  )

Tian Tian on Namibia St., near Edna Mall; Matsuki on Gabon St., near Mesqel Flower roundabout, and Gangnam off Zimbabwe St., in Bole, are Chinese, Japanese and South Korean restaurants. Each one builds familiarity before direct experience, through food, design, film and television. If Indian cinema, Chinese film, Japanese cuisine and Korean dramas have travelled far enough to feel familiar abroad, what of Ethiopia? Can injera, dance, music and story do the same? writes, Blen Hailu (blenmahi12@gmail.con) studied marketing, management and law. She works in communications and digital content creation, with a focus on human rights, equity and youth engagement.

I was met by an explosion of colour and sound on March 8, 2026, where I attended Holi, the festival of colours, at the Indian Embassy, off Dejazmatch Woldegabriel St., in the Aware neighbourhood.

The moment I entered the compound, I saw people covered in powders, their faces almost hidden beneath layers of pink, blue, yellow, green and red. Indian music filled the air, loud and rhythmic, pulling everyone into the celebration. There was no hesitation and no distance, only movement, laughter and a sense of belonging.

Inside the grounds, a line of food vendors stood to the left. Each stall offered traditional Indian dishes. The smell alone carried a sense of tradition. It was rich in spices, slow cooking and culinary traditions handed down through generations. Biryani, fragrant with rice and layered seasoning, sat beside freshly made chapati, warm and soft. Pani puri, crisp and delicate, delivered a mix of tangy and spicy flavours in a single bite.

These dishes were more than food. They were shaped by history, geography and identity.

As I moved further in, the energy deepened. Hundreds of people danced together without restraint, and their laughter spread across the compound. What stood out most was the mix of the crowd. Indians and Ethiopians moved side by side, covered in the same colours and following the same rhythm. Culture was not being watched from a distance but shared.

Holi, at its core, is a celebration of renewal, love and unity. It became a bridge between two cultures, allowing people to meet not through language or formality, but through joy.

Then the music changed as the crowd danced to “Tu Meri” from the film Bang Bang! (2014), I found myself thinking about a question.

Why does Indian culture feel familiar even to people who have never been to India?

Part of the answer lies in storytelling. Indian cinema has travelled far beyond its borders, carrying with it music, language, fashion and values. For many of us, myself included, the first exposure to Indian culture came through films. More than entertaining, Indian movies introduced traditions, relationships and ways of life that felt distant, yet somehow still close.

Before I ever tasted pani puri, I already thought I knew something about it. I had seen it in several movies, including “Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi”, where characters laugh, share and react to its flavour. When I finally tasted it, the experience did not feel entirely new. It felt like a continuation of something I had already met through film. That is the force of cultural export, preparing us for an encounter and making the unfamiliar feel familiar.

That thought did not end with Indian culture.

Recently, I had dinner with a friend at Tian Tian, a Chinese restaurant on Namibia St., near Edna Mall. The experience there went beyond food. The interior was designed to resemble traditional Chinese houses, with details that seemed to transport diners away from the city outside. On the walls hung photographs, including Mao Zedong and the incumbent Xi Jinping, alongside figures such as Jackie Chan and Jet Li. Through their films, they introduced audiences around the world to martial arts, discipline and stories rooted in Chinese traditions.

Sitting there, surrounded by carefully chosen symbols, I realised that culture is often experienced in layers. Food is one layer. Visual design is another. Media is yet another. Together, they create a fuller picture, allowing people to engage with a culture without travelling to its place of origin.

My introduction to Japanese culture came through cuisine, too.

At Matsuki Japanese Restaurant, on Gabon St., not far from Mesqel Flower roundabout, the experience is shaped to create a sense of place. The sushi displayed precision, balance and artistry. Each piece was prepared with care, freshness and simplicity. The interior adds to that feeling, creating the impression of being transported elsewhere. In that moment, I thought of Tilahun Gessesse and his song “Japanwan Wodije," a fascination with a place first imagined through fragments of culture, then made real through experience.

South Korean culture has also reached many of us through storytelling. Long before I visited Gangnam Korean Restaurant, off Zimbabwe St., in the Bole neighbourhood, I already knew about kimchi, how it is made, how it tastes and why it matters in daily life. I did not learn that from textbooks or from travel. I got a sense of it from films and television. Korean dramas, in particular, have played a major role in sharing cultural practices, values and food with audiences around the world.

When I finally ate Korean food, it felt like stepping into a familiar scene. The dishes, the presentation and even the atmosphere echoed what I had seen on screen. Once again, storytelling had done its work. It had built a bridge long before I crossed it in real life.

Thinking across these Asian cultural spaces in Addis Abeba – Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean – makes me see these cultures have found ways to settle in people’s hearts far from home. Through food, film, music and design, they have created entry points for others to engage with them.

That left me with a question that stayed with me long after the Holi celebration ended.

Is Ethiopian culture experienced in the same way by others? Do people outside Ethiopia feel a sense of familiarity with our food, dances and stories even before they encounter them? Are our traditions travelling beyond our borders in ways that spark connection and curiosity?

Ethiopia has a rich cultural heritage. Our food, such as injera and the dishes served with it, carries history and a strong sense of community. Our dances are expressive, rhythmic and deeply tied to identity. Our music tells stories of love, struggle and pride. Yet the global reach of these elements is still developing. Unlike the wide influence of Bollywood, Chinese cinema or Korean dramas, Ethiopian storytelling has not yet gained the same international visibility.

That may be changing. Cultural exchange is no longer limited by geography. Restaurants, festivals, films and digital platforms are opening new paths for cultures to travel and connect. The Holi celebration at the Indian Embassy showed how that can happen. It brought a part of India to Ethiopia and allowed people to experience it directly. In the same way, Ethiopian culture has the potential to travel outward, to be experienced, appreciated and loved beyond its borders.

What I understood from the event at the Indian Embassy was simple. Culture is not only something we inherit. It is also something we share. It grows stronger when others experience it, when it stirs curiosity and when it creates moments of connection. Whether through a plate of food, a song or a film, culture can bring people together in ways that feel ordinary and profound.

As I left the Embassy, covered in colour, I carried more than the memory of a celebration. I carried a deeper understanding of how cultures travel, how they connect and how they come to live within us, even when they are not our own. Most of all, I carried a question, one that invites reflection and perhaps action.

How can we share Ethiopia with the world in a way that leaves the same lasting impression?

PUBLISHED ON Mar 21,2026 [ VOL 26 , NO 1351]