We arrived in Addis Ababa late Friday night and have finally settled in. While we are in Ethiopia, I am going to post a few short notes to let family and friends know what we are doing. It is easier to do here than send various emails. There will be nothing elaborate as the Internet is pretty darn slow here. Also no fancy writing and typos will be included as well!
As I write, I am sitting in a tiny hot and very crowded Internet cafe down the street from our place at Mr. Martin's Cozy House. Everyone in Ethiopia is on their Facebook too! Not that it was unexpected, but the Internet at the guest house doesn't work. So Steve and the kids are strolling down the street to check out a few restaurant menus for dinner.
All in all, our travels here were pretty good (even with our big pile of luggage). Lily and I are nursing pretty bad head colds, which is annoying to say the least. On our flight to Frankfurt, the decent gave us both fits. Lily was in tears before the plane hit the ground. Of course, she didn't sleep a wink either, which didn't help. The last two days, the kids have been up at 4 a.m. then falling asleep late afternoon. So, like a good mom, I am letting them have Coke at night in an effort to keep their eyes open until at least 9 p.m.:) They never seem to object when I say, "Let's order some soda with caffeine!" I am hoping that by tomorrow, they will be on a normal schedule.
The last two days we have spent visiting with Steve's friends and colleagues here in Addis. Yesterday, we actually left Addis for one of the suburbs called Akaki. Today, we took the kids out for a bit of shopping and had a nice lunch. I really have no idea what our plans are yet for the next few days. Ethiopians don't really make plans like we make plans. You kind of know what you are doing just before actually doing it! So, I quit asking Steve about time, who we are seeing, and what we are doing. Steve's phone has been ringing off the hook since we got here so I know that our days will be filled.
While Steve knows Addis like the back of his hand at this point, I am drawing from my single experience here in 2008 when we adopted Semira. It's exactly how I remember it...busy, loud, and interesting. It is easy to get around in taxis and on the minibuses, which the kids don't really like as much (they are very crowded). The city also has quite a bit of air pollution (no surprise). I just hate breathing it in while we are in the taxi/bus. I will post pictures when we return.
More later!
Erika
As I write, I am sitting in a tiny hot and very crowded Internet cafe down the street from our place at Mr. Martin's Cozy House. Everyone in Ethiopia is on their Facebook too! Not that it was unexpected, but the Internet at the guest house doesn't work. So Steve and the kids are strolling down the street to check out a few restaurant menus for dinner.
All in all, our travels here were pretty good (even with our big pile of luggage). Lily and I are nursing pretty bad head colds, which is annoying to say the least. On our flight to Frankfurt, the decent gave us both fits. Lily was in tears before the plane hit the ground. Of course, she didn't sleep a wink either, which didn't help. The last two days, the kids have been up at 4 a.m. then falling asleep late afternoon. So, like a good mom, I am letting them have Coke at night in an effort to keep their eyes open until at least 9 p.m.:) They never seem to object when I say, "Let's order some soda with caffeine!" I am hoping that by tomorrow, they will be on a normal schedule.
The last two days we have spent visiting with Steve's friends and colleagues here in Addis. Yesterday, we actually left Addis for one of the suburbs called Akaki. Today, we took the kids out for a bit of shopping and had a nice lunch. I really have no idea what our plans are yet for the next few days. Ethiopians don't really make plans like we make plans. You kind of know what you are doing just before actually doing it! So, I quit asking Steve about time, who we are seeing, and what we are doing. Steve's phone has been ringing off the hook since we got here so I know that our days will be filled.
While Steve knows Addis like the back of his hand at this point, I am drawing from my single experience here in 2008 when we adopted Semira. It's exactly how I remember it...busy, loud, and interesting. It is easy to get around in taxis and on the minibuses, which the kids don't really like as much (they are very crowded). The city also has quite a bit of air pollution (no surprise). I just hate breathing it in while we are in the taxi/bus. I will post pictures when we return.
More later!
Erika
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