Travelogue

We made it back last Sunday, Sept. 20, after an extended layover at Dulles International Airport in Washington due to a canceled flight. M is doing extremely well, T has been sick for most of the week, and C is adjusting to not being the center of attention. T has posted photos to her facebook page and hopefully will get some up here soon. In the meantime, let's start at the beginning.

We left Charlotte on Saturday, Sept. 12, in the afternoon and flew to Dulles in DC. With a four hour layover, we boarded Ethiopia Air and flew to Rome for refueling and then on to Addis Ababa. The flight was fine and we arrived in Addis @ 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. We met our driver, Becky, who took us to the grocery store, got us some phone minutes, and the took us to our guest house, the Bejoe'. As we were still on east coast US time, we stayed up to unpack.


The morning of Monday Sept. 14, we traveled out to the Hilton to confirm our flight home. This was our first view of Addis and our first glimpse at Ethiopian traffic. Simply put, I was overjoyed to have a driver. Complain all you want about American drivers, it beats near anarchy. Most traffic lights don't work and many intersections don't have them anyway; sheep, donkeys, ox, chickens, etc., are all hearded through the streets; kids (and some adults) come to knock on your windows at intersections to ask for $ for food. Becky, though, was a pro and always got us where we needed to go safely.

After the Hilton, we then went to the National Museum. My first reaction was that the parking lot had room for about a dozen cars (!) and only two were parked there. (THE National Museum and no one is there? Ever do battle with the crowds at any of the Smithsonians?) Upon entering, we had our first encounter with the admission rates in Ethiopia--2 birr for Ethiopians, 10 birr for foreigners (that's still less than a dollar so it's hard to complain...) The first floor held royal artifacts (crowns, robes, etc.). The basement explored the fossil record in Ethiopia, particularly the human ancesteral lineage leading back to "Lucy", the most famous hominoid discovery in northern Ethiopia. Replicas of her bones were displayed. The upper floors displayed art and tribal artifacts.


Upon returning to the Bejoe', the other families had arrived and we were treated to a traditional coffee ceremony. They roast and grind the beans as part of the ceremony. In the spirit of the occasion, I drank a cup of coffee. Coffee connoisseurs tell us how wonderful Ethiopian coffee is. Since I can't claim that title, all I can tell you is that it tasted like strong coffee.

At 3, M and the other babies arrived and we all got to enjoy our new kids.

M slept very well only waking up once for a feeding and a diaper change. Every night was consistent, in fact, Wed night she slept through until 6 am. Most parents would think this was great. If you're still on eastern US time while in Africa, however, you are laying there hoping the baby wakes up so that you have something to do! It's the only time any parent EVER has wanted their kid to poop so that they can change a diaper!

Tuesday, Sept 15, we went to lunch at the Top View Restaurant with the other families from Gladney, our adoption agency. As the name implies, the restaurant was on a hillside and provided a nice view of the south end of the city. After lunch, we went to the US embassy to do our interview so that M could get her visa to enter the US. Everything went smoothly there, though some of our fellow travelers discovered that, like most public toilets in Ethiopia, they don't have toilet paper. Even at the US Embassy!! Come on, people, I don't think cutting the toilet paper budget is going to cover the cost of bailing out Wall Street and GM. Let's be reasonable! That evening we had our first rain storm. It's still the rainy season. The storm didn't last very long. The Bejoe' just got web access so I tried to post a blog entry, but it wouldn't save (Too bad, I remember it being much more interesting than this post...).


Wed, Sept 16, we visited M's care center. Gladney rents four homes--three in this particular neighborhood--and has set up the rooms as nurseries. M's room was in the first building we visited--the one for infants. We toured the other buildings and then returned to M's building for the coffee ceremony. We met M's "special mother", Bokio--the care giver who had primary responsibility for M. She dressed M in a traditional dress for the ceremony. We had M checked by the care center's doctor as she (and the other kids at the Bejoe) had a cough and rapid, shallow breathing. She had a respitory infection and got some medicine for it. Our pediatrician in the US suggested that the pollution was probably aggrevating her distress and urged us to fly out before Sunday, our planned departure. Flights were full on Friday, but we were able to move up our departure by a day to Saturday. After getting the flight changed, we went to dinner at the Beer Garden Inn, the "German" restaurant in Addis. T ordered an Ethiopian dish and (re)discovered 1) Ethiopian food is hot and spicy and 2) German food isn't. So if hot and spicy food bothers your tummy, it's probably better to order German food at a German restaurant (a very German observation).


Thursday, Sept. 17, we visited the Holy Trinity Church, the Ethiopian version of St. Paul's (UK) or the National Cathedral in DC. It houses the resting place of Emperor Haile Selassie and his wife, Empress Menen. We were informed about the rituals of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity, the history of the Ethiopian church, and the housing of the Ark of the Convenant in a church near Gondor. Apparently, Indiana Jones went through a whole lot of unnecessary effort and too many encounters with snakes to get to the Ark. Just outside Holy Trinity, but still on its grounds, we visited the memorial to the victims of the "Dirge"--the communists--in the early 1970s, including Belay's father who was the head of Haile Selassie's personal secruity.


That afternoon, we visited the Ethnography Museum in the former presidential palace. It contained the bedroom and bathroom (in all its 1950s glory) of Haile Selassie. The main part of the museum illustrated the human life cycle with practices of Ethiopian tribes at each stage of life. The upper floor contained art, in particular a large collection of religious iconography, and native musical instruments. We then traveled up Entoto mountain for a view overlooking Addis Ababa. As the car climbs, it is passed by women carrying large loads of firewood on their backs who are making their way down into the city. At the top of the mountain, there is a museum to Emperor Menelik II who moved the capital to Entoto mountain, building his palace and a church there. He later moved the capital off the mountain and founded Addis Ababa (Prior to that, the royals traveled in a large caravan and were hosted by the locals whereever they stopped; T's side note addendum - the site for Addis was, interestingly enough, chosen by Menelik's wife, Empress Tatyu.) While on the top of the mountain, we experienced a brief, but intense, rain and hail storm.


Thursday evening was the "cultural dinner." All the Gladney families got together and shared meals deposited on huge pieces of injera bread--the staple of Ethiopian food. Basically, a variety of stews were poured onto the bread and then you dipped smaller peices of injera into the stews. The stews included lamb, chicken, ground beef, chick peas, collared greens. The chicken was the spiciest. Throughout dinner, native music was played and as dinner finished, dancers started to perform native dances. Later numbers included selected audience participation. The dance included a lot of shoulder shaking and neck stretching. The dancer who came to our area tried to pass over T, but she stood up and made him dance with her (addendum - that's E's version of the story...talk to T for the real scoop). Fortunately, one of our friends was able to grab our video camera and get it on tape. I'm now taking orders (or maybe it will appear on You Tube at some inopportune moment...)


Friday morning started with M sitting on my lap on the bed as T was getting ready for breakfast. Then my leg starts to feel warm...and wet...and I lift her up to check her bottom...we have a blow-through! So I started the day with a fresh pair of pants. We visited three government orphanages with which Gladney works. The first, Kolfe, was an all-boys center for boys age 7-18. One boy held my hand through much of the tour. Then he became fascinated with the video camera and carried it around for the rest of the tour, showing off to his friends how they could see themselves in the video display. Once we reached the soccer field, an older boy filled me in on Ethiopian politics and talked about how they followed the Obama campaign last fall. From there we went to the Kebebetshane orphanage, which houses boys and girls from birth to seven. They were building a new dorm at this site. The final stop was Kechene, the original gov orphanage in Addis. It now houses older girls (and their younger brothers, if any). T was treated to having her hair braided (before you ask, no it didn't hurt; second, T gives major props to anyone who can sleep with those braids in your hair...WOW). Becky, our driver, introduced us to his special friend, Derik (age 2).


Saturday was our trip out of the city to the "Dreamland" resort. They were booked with a conference, however, so we stopped there to take photos of the lake and continued on to a nearby resort. This place was very upscale and beautiful: flowers, waterfalls, mosiacs, roofs covered (and lined on the inside) with thatch to make them look traditional. The restaurant was open air and overlooked a large lake. A very relaxing afternoon and a nice chance to see some of the countryside.

Saturday also bid us adieu to our friends at the Bejoe'. The staff were extremely pleasant and worked to make our stay most enjoyable. T, being the Southerner she is, was pleased with the Ethiopian version of "Southern Hospitality (y'all come back now ya' hear...). Genet (Belay's sister) was always warm and welcoming. Marta (T had no problem remembering her name thanks to the Sound of Music) was the best cook. T looked forward to "Breakfast at the Bejoe'" every morning - each day brought something new: omelettes, wonton-style meat delicacies, toast w/ strawberry jam, etc. Breakfast also brought us a chai-style tea, which everyone looked forward to (T even took the reigns to ask one morning if Marta was making tea). Genet and Marta took turns holding the babies to give the families time to enjoy their meals. They also ensured our caregivers were available, so that the families could enjoy the sights, shop, or simple things such as showering. T didn't mind the 50-100 Birr ($4 or $8 US dollars) per 1/2 day or full day for babysitting - try finding that here in the US!

Ethiopia had some surprising similarities to Vietnam, as well as many differences. The key similarity was the number of small shops lining nearly every street. Likewise, stores selling similar items were often concentrated together on the same block. There also was lots of construction. Big concrete shells of office or residential towers loom over nearly every block. The buildings, however, tend to look less modern, probably because the air pollution dirties them quickly. Thousands of scooters (Vietnam) apparently do not pollute the air as much as a few old diesel-belching Toyota cars and vans (Addis). Poverty was also a lot more obvious in Addis. I had been surprise at the time that we didn't see more of it in Vietnam. One explanation may be that shanty towns and luxury high rises were next door to each other in Addis, where poverty may have been "zoned" out of sight better in Vietnam. In both countries, the people were exceedingly warm and welcoming and made the trips to be enjoyable experiences.

M did extremely well on the flights to the US. She was not bothered by pressure changes on the flights whatsoever, unlike her Mommy who thought her eardrums were going to rupture during the landing. M slept during the flight between Addis and Rome and most of the flight from Rome to Dulles. During the long layover at Dulles, she hung loose and was less aggrevated than her parents at having to spend the day in the airport. She has been, and continues to be, remarkably contented. She cries when she needs fed, she poops at the end of a feeding and then has her diaper changed, and then is happy to sit and look around. And if you change her position every half hour or so, she won't complain about anything. Even though she was sick in Addis, it was only the cough that gave it anyway.

Opa met us at the airport. C met us at the door to the house. He grew 2 feet and 40pounds and doubled his vocabulary while we were away. When we called from Ethiopia, he didn't want to talk much as playing with Z&G was more interesting. He told us that he cried every day while we were gone (which we know is not true) but is a sweet way of saying that he missed us. He'll be adjusting to "no longer an only child" status for a while.

As for now, we rest. Opa and Oma left to travel back to PA. We'll miss them and look forward to the next steps in our family's journey.

And NOW, there are four!