Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown

Where is home?

Most of us are born with the answer.

Others have to sift through the pieces.

Admit it. You hear the name, Ethiopia,

and you think starving children with

distended bellies.

You think dust and famine and despair so awful

you frankly don't want to even think about it anymore.

But take a look.

Addis Ababa.

Capital city of Ethiopia.

A cool high altitude urban center that will

both confirm and confound expectations.

Fueled largely by direct

foreign investment and a returning

Ethiopian diaspora eager to be part of the new growth.

Things are changing in Addis.

It's one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

- It's not the first time the place has gone - through a growth spurt.

In the 1950s Emperor Haile Selassie known

as the king of kings,

embarked on a similar program of massive public works.

This was supposed to be legacy of Ethiopia.

The future.

But the next time Ethiopia found itself

in the headlines,

it was for this.

And for many of us, that was the end of the story.

So I'm looking forward to this week.

I can't wait to show you Ethiopia.

- I've been waiting for you, I mean, - I tell you right now.

You couldn't have picked a better time

because we have old Ethiopia right here

and we also have new Ethiopia right here.

And that's like a that combo is going to be so cool.

Marcus Samuelsson.

Maybe you know him from such shows as a lot of them,

or his many restaurants.

His best selling memoir, his status as America's most

recognizable black chef.

But Marcus isn't African-American.

He's Sweden-American, Ethiopian-Swedish-American.

Look, It's complicated.

What is true to say is that Marcus Samuelsson

like his wife, Maya,

was born here in Ethiopia.

So when is the last time you were in Ethiopia?

Four years ago, and you can tell it's changed.

Changed a lot.

I'm interested in seeing an African country

that was never colonized.

It was never taken by Europe.

No, that sense of pride,

You really hit the nail on the head.

I mean, that sense of pride is also the sense

of that everyone wants to come back.

How does it feel coming back?

Is it weird at all?

You feel like you're coming home?

It is weird. But end of the day,

I always love it. I miss it.

One foot of me is like, just Ethiopian,

But then the other foot is so Swedish or American

at this point, Right?

You do not speak the language, Or any of the dialects.

Ahh... You've since come back, You reconnected with family.

Yeah.

But it must be weird to, I mean...

It is. You need a translator.

No, But... I need a translator.

My wife is now my translator in life and in

culture and so many things,

But I think when you're a black man,

when you're immigrants,

when you're Ethiopian,

when you're Sweden,

I've been put into so many situations

that I put myself into.

So, I'm actually very comfortable in being

uncomfortable.

In the 1970s Ethiopia was hit with a tuberculosis epidemic.

Marcus, his older sister Fenti and his mom were all stricken

with the disease.

With no possibility of medical attention in their village,

facing the almost inevitable death of both her children,

Marcus' mom set out on foot with her daughter

at her side and

2-year-old Marcus on her back.

Walking 75 miles to the Swedish hospital in Aris.

Against all odds, they made it.

Marcus and Fenti recovered.

Their mother did not. Marcus and his sister

were adopted by

Ann Marie and Leonard Samuelsson.

And raised from that point on in Sweden.

Ethiopia it's language, it's food, it's culture's

were largely a mystery.

Marcus traveled and trained apprenticing in some of the

great kitchens of Europe.

He moved to New York.

At the remarkably young age after 23

received three stars from "The New York Times"

at his groundbreaking Restaurant, Aquavit.

It's been a pretty stellar rise since then.

And in 2010 he opened Red Rooster in Harlem.

I always find so paradox that,

I was born into very little food,

but yet sort of I made my whole life about food.

My sort of structure and pragmatism comes from being

raised in Sweden,

and my soul of vibrancy and warms to cooking

and feel-based food that I love, comes definitely from here.

- Weirdly enough the single aspect of Ethiopian culture - most westerners

Do know a little about is Ethiopian food.

So maybe you've had this.

Oh, wow.

That looks good.

That... that is exciting.

What is it?

This is typical, Ethiopian vegetarian,

make it really nice.

At Kata Togna Restaurant they do it classic.

Injera bread, that's Ethiopian 101.

I mean, you think about Ethiopian food right,

The foundation is really the Injera bread.

It's not just food, it's an implement.

Yeah.

We're having beyaynetu, a selection of stews or

wat as they called around here.

That's goman sauteed greens.

Shiro Wat which is a chickpea stew.

And tikil gomen, sauteed white cabbage.

Many, if not most of the dishes, spiced with the magical

mysterious flavoring of the gods. Burburing.

Can I give you one that normally we do it.

They say gursha.

You have to.

This is stuffing of food in your fellow diners'

face is called "Gursha",

and it's what you do to show your affection and respect.

Try this at the waffle house sometime and

prepare for awkwardness.

Now, Maya you were born here?

I was born here.

Left what age?

13.

I grew up in Holland.

Then after that we all went to

London, Germany, and I'm in New York now.

I don't want to say it's a rootless existence,

but it's...

You know, where's home?

I think for us now, Harlem is really home.

But when I've been gone for two years,

I'm like, I got to go back.

Because the beat is just so different than what Sweden

can offer me

and definitely what New York can offer me.

The median age in Ethiopia is under 18.

That means most people here don't remember

live aid or any of that.

Coupled with a recent economic boom,

this might be the first generation in decades

to enjoy a future with real hope.

Things are indeed happening.

In this case, at a vacant bus stop.

They're Dog Town, man. Maybe next generation

Dog Town in Africa.

A few years back a couple of Ethiopians

who've been living abroad

returned to Addis with skateboards.

Today there are couple of hundreds skaters in Ethiopia

and more on the sidelines waiting for there chance,

waiting for a board, and waiting for pair

of sneakers.

It's funny now, it's like, skaterboard culture came from

white Southern California suburban,

they have pretty much track all skating culture back to like

one parking lot.

So what's coming out of this parking lot?

There are no skateboard shops in Ethiopia.

None.

They have to come all of them from abroad.

Woo!

Nice.

Little kid's good.

Little kid is amazing.

For those lucky enough to have them,

progression seems to be fast.

This gives me hope, honestly.

This can be a really cool town.

- Not just a great town with big buildings you know, but a cool - town, too.

- For skater boys and television hosts, - alike,

The thing to do in late-night Addis is something

called turbo and tibs.

I feel like a college party or something

like that. It's perfect.

Turbo is a mutant concoction consisting of

gin, beer, wine, and sprite.

What's the first rule of drinking?