Wednesday

Another great day in Addis…It’s hard to believe that we are leaving tomorrow (it’s also hard to imagine being on a plane for two days with a three year old!). My feelings are divided. On the one hand, I cannot wait to get home and see our kids! I miss them so much. On the other hand, I know that we are not coming back to Ethiopia in the near future, so leaving is a bit sad. We have really enjoyed our time here in this foreign land. We have come to love the culture and especially it’s people. The people here in Ethiopia are truly wonderful.

For example, we were invited to a buffet lunch this afternoon by the owner of our hotel. We met her yesterday and learned that she will be in Seattle in two weeks. We arrived at noon and could immediately smell the delicious meal she had prepared for us: Injera, rolls, chicken wings, fish, salads, dora wat, three different kinds of sauces, Ethiopian wine and more. We felt like royalty. As we sat down to eat, we were joined by our coordinator from WACAP, as well as the hotel owner’s sister and brother. We learned that her sister owns an Ethiopian restaurant in Baltimore (close to Joel’s DC office) and her brother owns Dreamland, the wonderful resort we ate at on Sunday overlooking the lake! We were in fun company and enjoyed learning more about their histories and lives here in Ethiopia, as well as the US. As we chatted, Eli and his BFF ate their lunches (those kids can EAT!) and then chased each other around the room blowing up a balloon and then letting go, screaming as zig-zagged through the air. I am not exactly sure what the staff thinks of our parenting (is such behavior acceptable?) but our children are met with nothing but smiles and affectionate nods. You can tell that children and loved and valued here.

After lunch Joel went with the WACAP staff to purchase lockers for the children at the House. Right now they have no where to put their clothes, shoes and such, so this will provide each of them a “place” to keep their clothes. He will have to tell you more about this experience, but I understand that the gift of the lockers was very much appreciated. The lockers were purchased with the donations that came in from the children and families at Grace Lutheran, as well as from the grant Joel received from his work (Merkle). I wish everyone who contributed money and donations (formula, games, medical supplies, clothes, toothbrushes, etc) could be here to see the children they are helping. I know sometimes the phrase “make a difference in a child’s life” can be overused and somewhat mind-numbing, but we got to see firsthand how your generosity and thoughtfulness affected 28 children and improved their daily living. Not to mention the hundreds of more children that will follow in the coming months and years.

After Joel returned, we all went to the market again and to an art gallery. We went back to the same local market we visited earlier and they remembered us! ☺ We much prefer going to the local market, rather than the mall. Even though it is much more crowded and full of eager sellers, we like the atmosphere and the people in the shops. We didn’t buy a lot, but purchased a few things to take home to remember our trip. It is important to us that we have a few items especially for Eli from his birth country.

The art gallery that we visited was quite beautiful. Much fancier than the tin container up on En Toto mountain. I am really kicking myself that we didn’t purchase a painting the other day on the mountain. We tried to find another painting like the ones we saw, but with no luck. Luckily we were able to contact the artist we like so much and he is bringing some paintings to the hotel tomorrow for us to see. Hopefully we like what he brings! I’d love to have at least one painting from here at home to look at and to help me remember this experience (not that I’m going forget this!).

I wish that I could get everything that my eyes witnessed during this trip down into this blog. It has been an amazing experience. As we look forward to our last night sleeping on box springs and listening to the endless car traffic outside of our window, we have mixed emotions. The week has gone by quickly. We have experienced so much, but mainly the week as been about meeting and getting to know our son. I feel like we have transitioned well this week. Eli is a trooper. He has an infectious laugh that we enjoy hearing throughout the day. Now that we have met and spent some time together, my mind goes to thoughts of being home and how that transition will go. We have shown Eli pictures of his brother and sisters, but I am sure he doesn’t understand that he will have to share our attention in a couple of days. We are noticing that he is definitely developmentally younger than three. Some of his behaviors remind me of a young toddler, such as arching his back when he is unhappy and throwing things. Some of this I am sure is due to a lack of language communication as well. However, tonight he was counting (in English) to five! Also, I was singing the ABCs and paused at “K” and he chimed in with “L, M, N, O, P!” Joel and I cracked up laughing with surprise, which sent Eli into a fit of giggles!

Another good, no great, day in Ethiopia!