Amazing. Breathtaking. Surreal. Trip of a lifetime, no doubt.
Left GR, MI at 1:40 pm Wednesday. 3 flight changes later, arrived in Addis Abba, Ethiopia at 9:15 pm, African time, on Thursday (actually 1:15 pm Eastern time) - we 'lost' 8 hours of our life!!! ; )
The drive to our Lodge was pleasant weather, flowers lining airport lot, palm trees swaying. Just gorgeous. There are NO stoplights or stop signs on streets...being indoctrinated into Ethiopian driving 'techniques' - including dodging donkeys, dogs, cats, people. We checked into our 2nd floor room with balcony overlooking an Embassy, mountains to SE, palm trees framing our view. After re-packing 6 suitcases that had been intermixed due to weight limits, I opened our room cooler for water bottle. It also contained 2 Ethiopian Lagers. Nice opportunity for a toast, John said it all in one word: "Unbelievable."
Today was breakfast of fruit, omelet, hard roll, beef/tomato/jalapeno mix, papaya juice...all superb. We then met 2 other families with our Agency group - from Indiana and Mississippi. Went to museum and learned about Ethiopian culture, birth through death. I learned so much about Addison's heritage. I was overwhelmed with how deep and beautiful it is. Next stop to National Museum containing "Lucy" - oldest recorded human skeleton, found ~3.2 million years ago in Eastern Ethiopia as well as 1st recorded remains of elephants, crocs, etc from various 'million' years after Lucy. The country is so rich in culture and history. Just an honor to be here and be 'given' a citizen from this world so foreign to all we know.
Tomorrow we head to southern region for boat ride among wild hippos and monkeys. May be priveledged to meet any available members of her birth family. I can't fathom how that experience might be. Sunday is visit to coffee farm...did you know - coffee was named after area of 'Kassa' where coffee was first cultivated.
All of the families in our group are friendly, funny, and don't take things too seriously. We all realize we're going to have to sit back and 'roll with it' over the next 9 days.
Your descriptions are so vivid I can smell the humidity. They are giving you the Grand Tour and you can store up memories to share with Addison. AND it sounds as if there will be time for shopping (!!). Maybe you can find an outfit for Addison that she can wear when she is older, like 5 or 6. I cannot begin to imagine all the new experiences you have in store. God is certainly blessing you! Love, Aunt Susan
ReplyDeleteSo excited for you both, and love the way we can all keep updated on your happenings there!
ReplyDeleteSo very excited for you all. It brings back precious memories of the beginning of our Adventure with Angie 32 years ago this week!! Take care and know you are surrounded by our prayers. Judy/Bill
ReplyDeleteSo happy to learn how well organized the program is So great to be able to share thoughts across the world
ReplyDeleteMay your good fortunes continue
Hug Addison for us
Brings back memories of when we were there! Savor every moment, the time will fly by! Can't wait to see you guys at the airport.
ReplyDeleteDoug,Shannon, and family
Thanks for giving our little Tara a big kiss and feeding her. I could not have hoped for more...Thanks for keeping us all in the loop.
ReplyDeleteKristie