Day 12 - Going Home

Ethiopian Trip Blog Day 12

Going Home

The flight from Addis to Frankfurt was uneventful, if a little long. We were delayed somewhat getting off the ground and stopped again in Khartoum, but we got to Frankfurt easily on time and took busses to the Main Terminal. We said our good-byes to Tom at this point as his flight left in two hours and ours in seven hours. One thing we had to do was to find some more formula as we made a slight miscalculation and did not bring enough. Whoops.

We walked around a little bit and found a spot for Lori to sit with Sela while I went and found some formula. I had only one idea of where to get it, and that was outside security and Immigration. I entered Germany once again (for the 4th or 5th time in less than a month with my 4-day unintended stopover in December) and made my way toward the shop I thought might have formula.

When I got there, I found that they did not, in fact, sell baby formula. This fact made me really nervous because we would need it for sure during the next 16 hours of waiting and flying. As I walking around, worried, I saw a sign for a pharmacy. They would have formula for sure!! For those of you who have been overseas…well, they do things a little different and sell things in odd places. Not that your average Walgreens or Rite-Aid would not have formula, but most people probably get it at Target, K-Mart, Walmart or Babies’R’Us. Anyway, the pharmacy would not open for about 20 minutes, so I walked around some more, feeling much better about things.

The pharmacy opened promptly at 7AM and I went in and talked to the tech. He sold me some 5-month plus formula and I re-entered Germany, went through security and then found Lori and Sela again. I showed Lori the formula and she seemed very happy about it. We then walked toward the final security to get to the US departure gates and were told that we were too early. I said we were going to the Business Class lounge and they let us through. RHIP.

In the lounge we found seats, the best in the house based on the number of people who kept coming by and looking at them, and set up to wait. About 9 IT happened. I rushed to the little boys’ room and kept going back and regular intervals. It was not pretty. Lori had to visit the little girls’ room a couple of times but not as many as me. I kept having to visit on the plane, too, after it took off. At one point I feel asleep and Lori said I lost all color in my face. Lori said later that she was really concerned about me at this time. After I woke up, I felt a little better but not great. The feeling did not stop.

At DIA, we got to Immigration and gave the guy our packet. He stamped Lori and my passports and took the packet to a room we had never seen before. We waited there for what seemed like an eternity until the lady helped us, but it was probably only about 15 minutes. She helped us, told us what to expect and stamped Sela’s passport. Then we left and went outside to the baggage belts to find our luggage. Once we had it, we went outside to find Brendan, my mom and Kate waiting for us. As planned, we gave Sela to my mom to hold and then held Brendan for a while. Eventually, we found our way to the exit (after another trip for me…) and left the airport. On the way out, it was decided that Lori would ride with Kate, Brendan and Sela in our car and that my mom would take me to the hospital to get checked out. Yes, the hospital. I spent a good part of my first night home at the hospital. Luckily, nothing serious was wrong, no strange (or not strange) African diseases, just a bug that I picked up somewhere. Not much fun, but not dangerous, either. After the hospital, I finally went home and got to sleep in my own bed.

Day 11 - Timkat and our last day in Ethiopia

Ethiopian Trip Day 11 Blog

Timkat and our last day in Ethiopia

We started the day early, getting up at 6am so we could shower and be ready to eat at 7am so we could be downstairs to be picked up at 7:30 by Mulat for the Timkat celebration. Timkat, for those who do not know, is the Ethiopian Celebration of Epiphany, which is Christ’s Baptism.

During this celebration, which is held in most every city in Ethiopia, people gather to hear sermons, renew their baptism, dance, pray and just have fun. From what we have heard, Addis Ababa is the second best place to experience Timkat behind only Gondor, a city in the north that is supposed to be THE resting place for the Ark of the Covenant (contains the tablets of The Ten Commandments and Aaron’s Rod among other things). The story is thus: the Queen of Sheba was given the Ark for safe keeping and she had it moved to a Church in Gondor. The Church is inhabited full-time by only one priest, whose sole job is the guard the Ark. He is not allowed to speak to anyone nor anyone to him. Food is left on a tray outside the church and the priest takes it. When he stops taking it, it is assumed he has passed and the next priest in line is called to guard the Ark. No mortal may look at the Ark or they will be turned into a pillar of fire. Now, each Church in Ethiopia has its own replica of The Ark of the Covenant and these are taken to a central location each year on Timkat.

The celebration begins early in the morning, much earlier than when we got there and parking is a mess around the grounds. It is probably a good thing that most everyone walks to the Festival. We found a place to park and made our way inside the gates. At first, it looked like there were a lot of people and there probably were, but it was nothing compared to what we experienced later.

We started making our way toward a building which was broadcasting messages and had people on the roof, filming everything. We went around to the left of the building and got caught up in the crush of the people. I am talking Times’ Square New Years Eve crush of people. We were told to only bring a camera, as small as possible, no money, no wallet and no passport. Now I can see why. Everywhere we looked, there were people in either white or bright colors. Every church had its own color scheme and usually a drummer. Each church did its own dance, I think, but we were not there early enough to see them all. There was also one section where guys with hoses were baptizing people. We kind of guessed this was merely a symbolic baptism, but it was pretty fun to watch. Most of the happenings were taking place in a central area that was roped off from the crowd. We weren’t sure exactly why (we were told because we had never been to Ethiopia before?) but we were given special access to this inner area and were allowed to take pictures of everything. We took a ton of pictures in here and watched the dances. After a while, the talking finished and all of the Ark replicas moved off towards one corner of the field. Mulat said it was time to go so we went.

Here is a short video of some of the singing at Timkat.

We finally all made it back to the truck and headed towards one of the churches in town. Mulat said we could go inside, so most of our group did just that. After they came back outside, Mulat said that we could wait for the Ark that belonged to that church to show up. We listened to a story of something or other, it was all in Amharic, and so we did not understand. But the priest was very passionate about it, so it must have been a good story. Finally, the Ark showed up and there were more speeches and then the Ark went back inside the church and we left.

Back at Horizon House, we said HI to Sela, had some lunch of Ethiopian food and waited for the Coffee Ceremony. Oh, and Brian fixed the pants he ripped in Frankfurt on the way here. We passed the time talking to our new friends and we took a short nap.

The Coffee Ceremony

The Coffee Ceremony was very moving. In general, the Coffee Ceremony is something that is done as a regular part of Ethiopian culture. They roast green coffee beans and then take the roasting container around so everyone can smell the roasted beans. Then the beans are ground up and the coffee made. When it is done, it is served in small coffee cups with sugar, if you want.

For this Ceremony, all of the infants who are going home go with their parents to the older children’s home just around the corner. All of the older children get to participate. We spent the first little bit, waiting for Dr. Tsegaye, just talking and watching the kids. The nannies and other staff took this opportunity to spend as much time as possible with the kids who would be going to their new homes. When Dr. Tsegaye arrived, things got a bit more organized while he said a few words. The things I remember he said include:

Children are a gift from God – whether through birth or adoption
The children end up in the family they were meant to have – many often share a characteristic, birthday, or other special quality with someone in their new family – and this is not by human design!
There are 5 million orphans in Ethiopia alone, 2 million of which have HIV/AIDS

One of the women who helped start the Ethiopia program through Wide Horizons happened to be visiting during our time and she then said a few things. One of the things that struck me the most is that when the program finally got off the ground (after several setbacks) 5 or so years ago, their goal was to get 25 families a year to adopt from this country. Our group was the 32nd group of families to come through and there were 9 of us in that one alone. Two more groups have already been scheduled before the end of February. The expectations have far been exceeded.

We then all received our packets for immigration. Actually, one packet was a sealed one with documents for immigration. We were not allowed to open these under any circumstances or risk not being able to bring our children into the United States. A second packet contained a copy of all those same documents – actual court documents of adoption from the Ethiopian courts, vaccination records, birth certificate and passport with visa. Really cool and important stuff. Mind you, I had already been crying a good deal by this point.

After all of the parents received these packets one of the moms cut a cake for us. Brian thinks the lady who was chosen was the oldest person in the room, but that can neither be confirmed nor denied. The cake was kind of just like a slightly sweet bread. It was really yummy. We were then actually given our coffee and some popcorn and more socializing ensued.

The other thing that happened at this point was that the older kids and nannies started to sing and dance with the babies and other children who would be leaving. This is a VERY emotional time for everyone. The caregivers and other staff are so very loving and kind that they are attached to each of these dear children. So, they are terribly sad to see them go. Yet, at the same time, these same people are overjoyed to know that these dear ones will be with families and are embarking on a new life and journey full of hope and promise. Really hard not to get TOTALLY choked up. During one of the songs/dances, Sela was being held by Solomon and in the middle of the action. I asked one of the women what was being sung. She said that the words were “I’m not going to say God can’t, because I’ve seen that he can.” They sing it to the babies because their lives have been saved by God. I completely lost it. It is actually more than a week later and I am crying as I write this. Dang.

After things wound down, we walked back to the guest house for supper. After supper, we said our good-byes to most of the group and loaded the van with all of our stuff. We were joined by our friend Thom and his daughter as we headed to the airport.

Many people we talked with at the adoption agency said when they traveled to Ethiopia they were changed by it. I understood that, but it isn’t something I actually internalized until our own trip. I left a piece of my heart in the little clearing where Sela was born. I can’t look around at the richness of our country without thinking about the extreme poverty that others in this world live with every day. I can’t think about how easily we can get things like groceries, water, health care, clean facilities, and the list goes one, without thinking about the people who work for $10 (US dollars) a month. I am not sure exactly how this will affect the way I live, but I know that it has to. I can’t let it not. At the same time, when I think about Ethiopia, I also see a land that is full of beauty and teeming with wildlife. I remember the people who are so proud and open-hearted with smiles on their faces just to see you. I am awed by the rich cultural history that is a part of the history of all people. What an incredible place, what an amazing journey.

Day 10 - Rest Day

Ethiopia Trip Day 10

Rest Day

Today we did a whole lot of nothing. Sela spent the night with us, and she was up every 2-3 hours for food. We all got up about 7:30 and Lori and I showered and we all went up for breakfast.

Lori then suggested that we pack. So, after some discussion of what to leave out and carry-on and what to pack where, we started. I won’t bore you to tears with all the gory details (you can all thank me later) but I will say that when we arrived in Addis Ababa, we had 2 large hard side suitcases, 1 rolling duffel bag and one backpack as checked luggage. Our carry-ons were another backpack, my computer case, our camera case and a rolling bag with our clothes from Germany. Leaving Addis Ababa, we would check both large hard-sides, the rolling bag and a backpack. Our carry-ons were a backpack for Lori and my stuff, a backpack with Sela’s stuff, our camera case and my computer bag. We left with less than we came with, mostly because of the generosity of our friends who gave us so many donations for Horizon House.



That night, about 5:30, we went down-stairs to find a snack and wait for Gail Amare to pick us up for Feast. Gail arrived about 6:10 and off we went. Upon arriving at Feast, we were introduced to pretty much everyone there, including the Chairman of the NSA of Ethiopia. They held a by-election first and then came Devotions. Most of the readings were in Amharic, so I did not understand a word of them, but they were still beautiful. Gail read one in English and so did one other gentleman. After Devotions came the business section and they all talked about Devotional gatherings and such and study circles that were either on-going or in need of tutors. It was during this part that we left because Gail had a conference call for work and Sela was getting fussy.

When we got back to the hotel, we found a message on our phone that the remainder of the people at Horizon House were going to have dinner at the hotel tonight and we could join them if we wished. The message was only about 40 minutes earlier, so we headed downstairs and had dinner and conversation with Tom, Stu, Holly, Nick, Marianne and Troy. It was a great way to end the day.

Day 9 - Shopping and Museum

Ethiopia Trip Day 9

Shopping and Museum

Brian here – I am writing this in the Frankfurt Airport while Lori holds Sela, who is fast asleep. We are waiting for our final plane, the one that will take us home to Denver. Today’s blog is not about our trip home, it is about the day we spent after the Embassy. So, without further adieu, let me start the telling.

If you recall (that is, if we wrote it) from last night, we had made tentative plans to go shopping today. Lori and I woke up fairly late, probably around 7:00 or so and showered. Then we called Mulat and asked him the plan. He said that if there was room, we could go with the main car to the shopping at around 9am. If there was not enough room, he would call Yonus, another driver, to take us to meet there. So Lori and I went upstairs to eat breakfast and then went downstairs to meet the group.

We found several members of our group in the lobby of the hotel; some of them had to change money. We learned that there would be enough room in the van for us, so after a short while we went out, got in the van and left.

The first shopping center is nothing to really write about, it was essentially a mall with four or five levels. There were some shops selling Ethiopian handicrafts, and the prices seemed pretty good, but we decided to wait and buy at the bargain area, where we went next.

The bargain shopping area is just a line a shops selling stuff. No prices are marked on anything, so bargaining is possible. Lori and I bought a whole lot of stuff to give to friends and family, trying to bargain along the way. I pretty much stink at it, but later in the day I did manage to get a good deal on a Manchester United jersey with Ronaldo on the back with his number. There were a good number of people begging around this area, probably because there were also a number of Western-looking faces.

We left the shopping area after only one hour; believe me, we could not have taken any more of it, and headed back to Horizon House for lunch. Lori and I learned that the group was going to at least one of the museums in the city after lunch and up the mountain and to a place to buy coffee. We decided to stick with them since we really did not have other plans.

After lunch, we decided (the group, that is) to only hit one museum, but that it should be the one with “Lucy” in it. Lucy is the name of the skeleton of the oldest known human fossil. This exhibit is located at the National Museum in Addis Ababa, since Lucy was found in Ethiopia. In order to get into the Museum, we had to be searched, which wasn’t a really big deal. Then Mulat told us to go in and he would meet us later, he had to get gas for the van.

The entrance fee for the Museum is 10 Birr. For those of you not current on exchange rates, that is about $1.11. Pretty inexpensive to see the skeleton of the oldest known human, if you ask me. The ground floor of the museum is dedicated to the garments and trappings of some of the emperors of Ethiopia. The basement houses the fossils and other ancient artifacts. To get to Lucy, you have to walk past every other fossil and exhibit in the place. Which makes sense, since Lucy is the big attraction here. I would have to admit, though, that one skeleton we saw, which was probably a 2.5ft diameter spheroid, was also very impressive. Just to think about the size of the animal this thing came out of…amazing. There are also other fossils from some dangerous-looking creatures three times the size of a man.

When you first walk into the room with Lucy, the first thing you see is her standing up. Not that her skeleton is really standing up, but scientists have pieced together what was left and what the rest would look like to make a standing skeleton. At first glance, she is about as tall as I am…until you realize that the case she is in is standing on about a 2 foot pedestal. I took some pictures of Lucy, no flash allowed, so they are not great, and we looked around the room at the rest of the explanations. The whole room has only to do with Lucy, so after looking, we moved on.

The first floor (the first above the ground) is dedicated to art, both old and new. A couple of the pieces were very striking, so I took some pictures of these. The top floor of the museum contains exhibits of old religious artifacts and games and section dedicated to the greatest runner in Ethiopian history, Haile. Of note on this floor, I thought, were the hand carved Mancala game, the Quran and the Bible. Normally, a Quran and a Bible would not attract attention, but there were hand-written on goat-skin paper. Two rather long books, hand written. Both were stunning articles. After looking around the top floor, we left the museum and Lori shared some thoughts after we went outside.

She felt it was heartbreaking to see these items: the skeleton of the oldest human found, some of the other ancient items from a country which has played a part in world history for millions of years, kept in a building that is somewhat shabby compared to some other great museums we have seen. What just a little bit of money could do…but is it more important than survival, than feeding the people or providing medical care?

Ok, so we left the museum and started up the hill. By hill I mean one of the several hills that surrounds the city of Addis Ababa and supposedly provides a great view. Prior to getting there, we stopped at a weavers shop to watch workers weaving some of the fantastic patterns. We took some pictures and some of our group bought a couple of items. After the weaving shop, our next stop was another museum, (which was rather uninteresting, so much so I am not even going to describe it) the outside of an Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the first palace of Emperor Haile Sellasie. The palace was very basic, but it was obvious that at the time it would have much better than anything else around, plus it was on a hill. It was from this location that Sellasie’s wife picked out the spot of the real palace, which is very grand and opulent, although we didn’t see this one.



We left this area and finally drove up the top of the hill. We paid our entrance fee, not surprising here to have pay to get to see something, even if it is only a view. Lori impressed some Koreans that were also up there by saying hello in Korean and we took some photos of the city and a group shot. Since there is nothing else there, we left and went to find the coffee shop to buy some coffee. At the coffee shop, of course Lori and I got coffee from the Sidamo region of Ethiopia…the very same region where Sela is from. We got 3 pounds of washed coffee, un-ground, so we will have to acquire a grinder to brew it. After the coffee shop, we finally headed back to Horizon House. While there, Lori and I decided to take Sela “home” with us that night.

At the hotel, everyone was very happy to see our new daughter. Everyone smiled at her and tried to tickle her. She is not very ticklish, so this did not work so well, but everyone still loved her. The girls on the 12th floor thought she was especially cute and spent quite a bit of time holding her.

The night was interesting, Sela still wakes up every 2-3 hours for food, but we made it through ok. The sleeper we brought was too hot for Ethiopia, so at one point we changed her out of that and into a onesie. Other than those two things, we slept ok for our first night together.

Day 8 - The Embassy

Ethiopia Trip – Day 8

The Embassy

Yesterday was our scheduled trip to the US Embassy. After we ate breakfast we waited for the driver, Mulat, to come collect us and our gear and take us to Horizon House. He also took all of the donations our dear friends sent with us. We had one VERY full suitcase and 7 cans of powdered formula. Thank you to everyone for such generocity.

We spent more time with Sela and then Brian went to the main guest house to finish filling out our paperwork. I played with Sela a bit more and then decided to join him. When I walked in, Brian told me of the HUGE coincidence in our family group. Turns out that one of the adoptive mothers is the former wife of one of the men who started the company Brian used to work for. What are the chances?!?!

So, everyone worked to finish paperwork and then we ate a fabulous lunch prepared by the cook at Horizon House. Then we were off to the Embassy.

We all crammed into two vehicles, children and all. There are no baby car seats here. As a concerned parent you just have to realize that this is the way it is done here and hold on tight! Sela had a bottle and then fell asleep on the way over. Once we got there, we had to sit outside and wait our turn to even go inside. Finally, we got to go through security and head up to wait some more. The place we waited was hot and crowded, but only crowed by seats – they wouldn’t let anyone stand.

While waiting to be called, I met a nice gentleman from Chicago. He is originally from Ethiopia, then married a girl from the U.S. He was there adopting their second baby from Ethiopia. He was very nice. Finally we were called up to the window. We had to answer a bunch of questions about our daughter’s background and how she seemed to be interacting and we were done. The paperwork was given to a representative from the orphanage so he can finish getting the visas, but for all intents and purposes, we are done. Oh, in case you were wondering, we are not allowed to bring any electronics into the Embassy, so we couldn’t take any pictures.

We headed back outside to wait for the rest of our group to finish, got back into the van and the driver dropped the three of us off at the hotel. Sela spent most of the rest of the afternoon sleeping and Brian and I played on the internet. It was great – finally starting to feel totally real.

We were collected around 7:30 to go to dinner. Brian had to go back up to the room to get something one of us forgot, so I just sat and watched people come and go. (The driver hadn’t arrived just yet, either.) While I was waiting a man came out of the hotel. His hair was pretty wild, he had on a striped button-up shirt, jeans and low-top Converse shoes (Brian says they are Chuck Taylors, but that means nothing to me!). I had NO idea who he was, but he just LOOKED like someone famous, like a rock star. I didn’t think too much more about it and didn’t even tell Brian at that point.

The driver (Solomon) and Brian both finally go there and went to drop Sela with the nanny and join the other families. We all piled into the vehicles again and headed to dinner. The place that we went is much like the orphanage – a beautiful place situated behind a gate in a neighborhood you would NEVER guess housed such a place. It seemed like it was in a back-alley slum, but turned into this terrific spot.

Remember when I said I didn’t tell Brian at the time about my “rock star” sighting? Well, the guy was at this restaurant!! Turns out he was actually on a flight with two of the families and someone ELSE on their flight thought he was Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones. Well, someone in our group (I am not going to name names, Brian) thought he was Nikki Sixx and someone else thought he was Ron Wood. After Brian and I returned to the hotel that night, we looked up both and pretty much decided that he is Ron Wood, bassist for The Rolling Stones. But, we can neither confirm nor deny that as we have not talked to him.

So, the dinner was a traditional dinner with tons of food – some of it spicy – that was brought out in huge round containers. While we ate there were dancers and musicians to entertain. Each of the dances had an outfit and style to represent the region of Ethiopia that it came from. The moves were absolutely impressive and athletic. At one point one of the singers went around to each table and tried to get someone at the table get up and dance with her. I tried to make my dancing friend, Soo-Jin, proud of me by getting up and doing my part. After the meal, we had STRONG Ethiopian coffee and headed back to the hotel. We made plan to go shopping the next day and said good night.

We have two more days (plus the flights) to tell you about, but we won’t have access to the internet to make any posts. We will do our best to complete our blog as soon as possible after we return.

Lori

Day 5, 6 & 7 - Uganda and the Journey to Awassa

Ethiopia Trip – Days 5, 6 & 7

First, I would like to warn you that this blog entry is going to be LONG. Not only have we been without the internet for approximately 3 days, but so very much has happened in those days that we have a lot of ground to cover. To help make this easy, I am going to try to separate by days, if not further by things we did. So, grab some popcorn, a mug of cocoa (or another favorite drink) and a comfy seat and sit back and enjoy.

Uganda to Addis Ababa – 13 January

We had intended to spend our last morning in Uganda doing some exploring and shopping in the city of Kampala, but were waylaid by having to write a letter. Before the internet went down at the hotel (just after we had posted the previous blog), we got an email letting us know that we were going to meet Sela’s birth family the very next day. Yup, nothing like letting us know at the last minute! Our bad for not having written the letter to the birth family sooner, but we didn’t, so that is what we did for a little bit in the morning. We had a little bit of time after we wrote the letter and we were in luck as far as shopping – there was a shopping mall just a 15 minute walk from the hotel!

Yes, a shopping mall. Honest to goodness. It had 4 floors and a food court and the Ugandan version of a Wal-Mart! Brian found some good Manchester United paraphernalia (football/soccer club in England for those not in the “know”), and we found a great shop for a few souvenirs from Uganda. It was a fun way to spend our last few hours.

The flight from Uganda to Addis was without much interest, EXCEPT for the gentleman I sat next to. This man is a Ugandan policeman serving time as a peacekeeper in Darfur. Just that was enough to humble me. He has been a policeman for 23 years and has a wife and children in Uganda – the youngest of the children is going to enter university next year. Talking to this man was extremely interesting. He said that things are getting better, but there is still so much yet to be done. The job that the policemen do is to protect the women so they can gather firewood and water without getting raped by other factions. However, they are also working to help the women to form councils of their own and to bring these women information and knowledge from the rest of the world – to teach them that women in the rest of the world are not required to live the way these women do. Apparently, the husbands do nothing in Darfur but wait for the women to take care of them. I shared with this man the analogy of men and women being two wings of a bird – that the wings have to work together and be equal or the bird cannot fly. He smiled! The other part of this man’s job that gave me so much respect for he and his fellows is that they only get to go home once every 3 months – and then they have to pay for their own way home. What a sacrifice. He did say with the UN coming in that they will have flights to Uganda that they can utilize, BUT the coming of the UN could also mean they have to stay even longer in the area. As it is, this particular gentleman is scheduled to remain in Darfur until October. I don’t know his name, but those peacekeepers deserve our respect and prayers.

Upon arriving at the airport in Addis, we met another interesting person. Again, I am horrible at remembering names, but this young lady (in her early 20s) is as fair as I am and very petite. She is from Santa Fe and traveling in Africa, just to travel in Africa. She had spent some time in Uganda and met a nice woman who is going to put her up her in Addis for a while. The girl is spending 6 weeks here – by herself and with no real plan. That really amazes me. Both that a single young woman has the chutzpah to travel alone in a foreign land, but that she is doing it without a plan. Wow.

We made it to our hotel around 10 and were pleased to receive a phone call from the guy who is the right-hand man at the orphanage. Seems, a driver was going to pick us up at the dreary hour of 6:30! Ugh. We spent some time packing for the two day trip we would embark on the very next day. No rest for the wicked or the weary!!

Addis to Awassa – 14 January

The driver was VERY prompt in picking us up. A very nice young man named Solomon. He took us directly to the orphanage to meet our daughter for the very first time.

For those of you who aren’t parents, there is just no describing the feeling of seeing your child for the first time. I wish I could share it with you. Just know it is wonderful.

We took a few pictures with the Polaroid camera they have – a few pictures for the nannies to keep, but a few to put in our picture book we put together for the birth family. Sela is in a room with about 7 other 6-12 month-olds. They are all amazing. We got to play with a few of them while we sat with Sela. Way too cool.

And then we were off. We traveled with Thom, a dad from New York. His wife and 3 ½ year old daughter stayed home and are waiting anxiously for the return of Dad and their new baby sister. Thom’s a pretty cool guy. The same driver that picked us up was the one to drive is to Awassa. The drive to Awassa itself wasn’t too bad – about 4 hours.

This is a good enough time as any to share with you one of the funnier parts of driving in Africa, at least both in Uganda and Ethiopia. There is a plethora of farm animals on the road. Literally. There are goats munching grass on the sides, cows, donkeys, a few camels and dogs. But they don’t stay on the sides of the road. And at times, they will be in the middle of the road just staring at the vehicle like “What? You want me to move?!” We got some good giggles out of it. It isn’t that farm animals are funny; it is just that we are SO conditioned to see all animals either in fenced areas or tied up. Some of the animals were simply wandering – no attendant in sight.

On the way to Awassa, we did catch sight of a few baboons, too. Right next to the road, crossing the road, completely unconcerned about cars and people.

Once we got to Awassa we thought our trip was nearly completed. We were in for a rude shock. We went to meet Thom’s birth family first. The road was less than perfectly paved or groomed. Still not terrible, though. The family met us at a place that is “no less than 15 kilometers” from their home. The social worker we picked up in Awassa told us that the family had walked to meet Thom. The house we met in was a “nice” house – concrete and relatively clean. With maybe three things on the walls – small things, one wooden table, a few wooden benches and chairs. There were shelves in one area, but they were completely bare. The birth family was there, but we also had many spectators, too. Some of them were additional family, but not all of them. Outside the house was a small crowd of children who seemed enthralled with us – the light skin and, I think, my crazy hair. They just smiled and stared. It was kind of embarrassing to be the center of so much attention.

When this meeting concluded, we were told we were headed back to Awassa to meet Sela’s birth family. We THOUGHT this meant we were going to be back in the city itself. We were mistaken. We turned off the paved road a bit before we reached the city. And traveled for about 30 minutes on a VERY rough dirt road. We didn’t see another motorized vehicle the entire time. We got to one point and the social worker had to ask where to go. The gentleman that he asked agreed to ride his bike to show us how to continue. We then turned off the dirt road onto a trail, for lack of a better word. I don’t know that I have ever been so jostled in a vehicle before. We went like that for about 10-15 minutes before we reached the path to the home. Then we had to get out and walk the rest of the way.

You can maybe imagine that Brian and I were just a bit nervous of this meeting. We didn’t know what to write in the letter, we didn’t know which pictures to give them, we had no idea how they would react to us. Would they be upset and regret their decision? The walk was good for helping me to calm a bit. We passed Sela’s mom’s grave. The social worker said that the people like to bury the family near where they lived. It was SO peaceful on the walk. There were no city sounds, no motorized sounds. Just the breeze and birds. Good meditative atmosphere.

Brian here – I just wanted to also say a few words about our walk. For those of you who have been to Haifa, specifically to The Shrine of Baha’u’llah in Bahji and the walk down the path, this was the closest I have felt to that. This is not to say the path we walked was straight, or holy, or well kept, but I was just as full of trepidation as I was in Bahji. I did not know what I was walking into and I spent much of the trip in quiet thought.

Lori back – The clearing we stopped in was really beautiful. So peaceful, neatly kept, mountains on one side, clear blue skies above. The family brought out a bench and seats into a shaded area so we could all sit. Two uncles and three siblings were there and one man, who we believe to be a friend of the family who is able to read and speak English. The social worker looked at our letter and lamented it was too long. Leave it to us to be too verbose!! The friend was given the task of actually translating it at a later time. We then showed them our picture book. They really liked the picture we took of Brian, Brendan and myself on the day Brendan came home. They also thought the two baby pictures of Brian and I were pretty funny and they seemed impressed by the picture of Brendan, Brian, his mom and grandmother. 4 generations in one picture. They also were impressed with my Dad and thought he looked strong. Then we got the chance to ask some questions.



It seems Selamawit was a fat baby and was named “peaceful” because at the time of her birth the family and the home and the area were at peace. Her father was younger than the two uncles we met, but looked much like the younger of those two (he is in the red shirt in the picture). The mother was from far away, but we weren’t told what that meant. She was a housewife, and from what the social worker said and the way the family talked about her, she seemed very much loved by the family and the neighbors. The social worker actually came to collect Sela very shortly after her mother died and everyone was still “sharing their sorrows.” He said the neighbors tried to convince the uncle not to let the baby go, but he knew something of the adoption process. Meaning, he knew he was giving her over to people who could give her what he could not. Having someone place THAT kind of trust in you, even if they didn’t know it would specifically Brian and I, is about the most humble I have ever felt.

We took some pictures of the surrounding area, the house (Sela was actually born there – and it is a cement house, not the mud or grass style), and the family. It was hard to leave. We also took a picture of the mother’s grave on our walk back to the car. I did pretty good to not cry very much. Thom described it very well when he said you are in a state of some shock after a meeting like that.

We then took the grueling drive back to Awassa and went to our hotel. It is on beautiful grounds – covered with trees and flowering bushes. It is really close to Lake Awassa, but we couldn’t see or get to it because of a government fence. We ate dinner, and tried to stay awake long enough that it was late enough to go to bed. We weren’t really keen on the accommodations, but the bed was actually more comfortable that we thought it would be and we slept better than we expected. The shower the next morning was only luke-warm, and only for a very short time!

Awassa to Addis – 15 January

While we were waiting for our driver to come collect us, the three of us walked around the grounds of the hotel. There were Colobus monkeys hanging out in the trees right above the rooms we stayed in. They had created quite a cacophony fairly early in the morning as they played and chased one another right outside of our bedroom windows. We got some great shots of these guys.

Our driver picked us up and asked if we made it to the lake. When we said no, he took us to a local fish market. People went out to fish and brought them to the shores to be purchased right away. Talk about fresh! There was a slight fishy aroma, but it isn’t nearly as pungent as I had expected. There are some very persistent sales boys here, too! They carry around cut up fish bits that they offer to throw to these birds so they will get close enough you can take some great pictures. And they followed us the entire time we were there! We walked up to a vantage point where we took pictures of this Rift Valley lake. Then we walked to an area where other industrious young men use bread to entice monkeys out of trees. Brian and I both fed the monkeys – they take the bread right out of your hand. I normally don’t advocate feeding wildlife and maybe it isn’t the most sanitary or safe thing to do, but I just couldn’t resist this time. It was really neat! The monkeys are still wild enough to be shy and take some coaxing, but used to people enough they just come right up to get that bread. After this we headed out again.


I want to make another aside at this point. I am an animal lover. Brian is too. It has been VERY hard for me to deal with the condition of some of these animals. I have had to concentrate at “not seeing” some things. I took a few pictures, but could only handle so many. Yes, it is distressing to see people in such dire straights, but animals have always seemed more helpless. At the same time, if you only have enough means to care for either your family or your animal, family will and should win out every time. It is the reality of the situation. This whole subject – the conditions in which we saw people and animals – could cause me to talk for days, so let me stop myself here and now.

A little ways outside of Awassa we stopped at a national park. This national park surrounds two lakes in this region. Both are salt water and part of the Rift Valley. One of them has been calculated to have more water than any other in Ethiopia. We saw flamingoes, gazelles, the shadows of some very fast warthogs, and ostriches. We also took some amazing pictures of the landscape. It is amazing to me that people have lived here and survived here for thousands of years. I wouldn’t last two days. These people have my deep respect.

After that side trip, we headed back to Addis. The three of us passengers all ended up sleeping. Once back in Addis, we got to spend some more time with Sela before she took a nap and we headed back to the hotel. We were just exhausted emotionally and physically. Needless to say we slept pretty well!

Today we are going to the US Embassy. Our driver should be calling soon. It will be another busy day, so look back here for the next entry!

Day 4 - Lunch on the Nile

Ethiopia Trip Day 4 – Lunch on the Nile

What another incredible day! It started by us figuring out why we are getting a good deal on this hotel. Cold showers are not something I tend to CHOOSE to do! It is quite funny – after the fact.

For the day we hired a car and driver (with a 4x4 Landcruiser) to take us to Jinja. This drive can be anywhere from 1-2 hours. Ours was closer to the latter. Again, we saw incredible poverty, but also fantastic beauty. At several points along the road there are rows of stands where people sell everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to gorgeous wooden furniture and metal doors to roasted chicken or beef. Also on the road to Jinja are sugar and tea plantations. Right next to one another – because you just can’t have tea without sugar! :) This from our driver, Fred. (Fred is a very nice gentleman from the middle of Uganda. He has a wife and three children – he thinks that is enough wives and children for one him!)

Along the way I also noticed several women and some children bent over in such a way as to be in half, doing something on the ground with their faces almost touching their knees. THAT is a lifetime of working to be flexible. Even if it is done by necessity, it is quite impressive. The other thing I noticed a lot of are small motorcycles/mopeds that serve as transportation for one. First, this just seems folly on such pothole prone roads, (Fred apologized for “dancing without music” through all the potholes and told us the speed bumps are “sleeping policemen”) but the other interesting part is that all women ride behind the driver sideways. I thought maybe this was to preserve modesty if wearing a skirt, but I have seen women in all manner of dress riding side-saddle. I fear that my lack of balance would cause a serious wreck were I to ask for the services of one of these! Two interesting vehicles were on the road to Jinja. One was one of the many minivan-sized busses we see everywhere. Many have signs in the back window, much like our bumper stickers. This one gave me great pause: “The rich also cry.” The other interesting one was a very large truck labeled UN World Food Program. We have seen many vehicles (including airplanes) labeled as UN. Not something I would have even considered. So many things just don’t occur to me.

Another thing we talked about with Fred was the schools. It seems every other minute there is a sign for a school – nursery on up to college and trade. Turns out, these are all private schools. The state schools are not well funded and not much care is given to them. So, up pop these schools, many of which are run by all manner of religious organizations. Schools have become a business here. Fred says if you want to earn money here in Uganda, come and open your own education center.

When I asked our guide what he wanted people to know about his home country, he said he wants them to know how friendly Ugandans are. They will wave and talk to you everywhere. He also said that many people don’t find work in the cities, so they do something to become self-employed. Which I think explains many of the little shops along the side of the road. Fred also said Ugandans and Africans in general have a relaxed attitude – they walk leisurely and don’t adhere to strict timetables. Seems to me I know a few non-Africans like that! 

So, the reason for heading to Jinja is that it is the “Source of the Nile.” There is a spot we went that you can look across the river and see the spot that the Englishman who “discovered” this place stood and stared at the river for a few hours. From this point, the river travels north 4,000 miles through Uganda, Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean. It takes 3 months for the water to make it that far. Kind of a trip to think about. A panorama of the view north from this point is below. At this little area we also saw a bust and monument to Gandhi. (We took a picture for our friend Travis!) I didn’t realize that he had his ashes scattered in the Nile. While standing at this monument we also saw monkeys. I got a few pictures.



From this point we went to the Bujagali Falls. This is further up the Nile, on a REALLY bumpy dirt road. People go white water rafting here when the water is higher. We didn’t realize that it is the hottest and driest time of the year here. So, business was slow. Still, it was amazingly beautiful. There were young men who called themselves the Bujagali Swimmers and Divers there who would go to the start of the falls and swim/dive down them while doing acrobatic-like moves for a small fee. We didn’t take them up on it! We did take several pictures, including the ones to make the panorama below. We also watched people fill their water jugs from the river, fish and boat. (The gathering of water here at least seems somewhat more sanitary than several of the other places we saw people filling their jugs. One place had three trucks in the water with a guy rinsing the motor off. Ugh.) Brian also laughed at me because I worked at getting a picture of one of the cranes landing on the water.


We then trekked to a very nice luxury resort for a fabulous lunch while watching the Nile flow by. What beauty. After lunch we took a few pictures and then decided to leave – right behind a police escorted convoy that had been greeted by the Ugandan Olympic Committee. Hhhmm….going to have to look up if Uganda is going to make a bid for an upcoming Olympic Games. At this point we were pretty tired and just headed back to Kampala. Lots to process about what have seen today – and lots of pictures to go through!

Until tomorrow,

Lori

Postscript – Last night before we headed to bed, Brian and I were talking when I was startled by a little visitor! A harmless little dude came to check us out for a little while. Then, this morning we have been awakened by a most incredible rainstorm. We don’t get rain (and just the little bit of lightening) in Colorado like it is doing here – and this isn’t even the rainy season! I love the sound of it, but hope it quits before too long so we can go do a bit more exploring. Hope you like the pictures.




p.p.s. - The Blogger was not playing nice today and did not let us upload any more than the one image. Keep checking back, we will try again later to upload them.

p.p.p.s - The blogger is working today, so we added the images we had thought to add the other day.

Day 3 - Uganda, House of Worship

Ethiopia Trip – Day 3

Uganda

Wow. We are actually in Uganda. Brian and I have been talking all day about how very strange that seems. Who would have thought this of us? Certainly not us! But it is wonderous.

The flight was somewhat funny. We got through the airport in Addis just fine and then were bussed to the plane. There, it seems people just sat where they wanted to without regard to seat assignments. The flight attendants had quite a time trying to straighten that out! Fortunately, not too many people were disgruntled. The other really interesting part was that here we were, Baha’is, sitting with several beautifully dressed Muslims from Uganda (I saw their passports), and in the seats in front of and behind us were Italians – including a priest. What a nifty place to be.

The drive from the Entebbe airport was, well, interesting. Brian and I have both seen extreme poverty in third world countries, he more than I. Today’s sights went beyond our previous experiences. It isn’t that we are naïve enough to think this kind of poverty, and worse, exists in our world. But seeing it firsthand is quite a different thing. The smells were quite another matter, too. Almost constantly was the acrid scent of burning. The other thing was the AWEFUL condition of the roads! The road from the airport wasn’t so bad. When we went to the House of Worship, our driver drove half the time in the other lane to avoid potholes that would swallow a good-sized dog! On the road up to the House, there were humps intentionally placed in the road that caused our car to bottom out – almost every time. Craziness!



The African Baha’i House of Worship is another world altogether. We began our visit there by going inside to pray. The only sound was of the birds outside. Peaceful doesn’t even begin to describe it. The grounds are expansive, quiet and peaceful in a way that you forget you are in the city. Brian said it is reminiscent of Haifa in that way. One young man is doing a year of service there while he waits for results from his educational testing. He walked us all around the grounds so we could see the House from every angle and see the span of the grounds themselves. He said it is 70 acres. And it is on the top of a hill so the view is breathtaking.

After our guided tour, we met with Mehari, Aqsan, Ridvan and Mehret – the director (I think) of the House of Worship and his family. We did the Baha’i game of how many people can we name until we find mutual friends! Turns out that they know our Ethiopian Baha’i friends in Denver and Ridvan is dear friends with Luna. I don’t think I will ever cease to be amazed at how closely knit the worldwide Baha’i community is! The family treated us to wonderful treats – including some of the best tea and coffee we have ever had! – and terrific conversation.

A bit into our visit another Baha’i stopped by – “Auntie” Vi Walkup-Gilbert. What an interesting lady. She came from a Baha’i community in Alaska, but has lived in Africa for longer than I have been alive. And for more than 25 years she has been in Uganda. We talked about her family and her teaching nutrition – and trying to implement it in her own house! So, it seems that the admonition to “eat your vegetables” is heard by kids the world around!

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the House of Worship (which does also include the Ugandan National Center) and meeting so many wonderful people. It is very humbling to be a part of this community of such loving, giving people. Wow only tips the iceberg of how today made us feel.

Lori

Day 2 - Flying to Addis Ababa

Ethiopia Trip Day 2 – Flying to Addis Ababa

Well, friends, here we are, on an airplane again, flying from Khartoum, Sudan to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We had a short stopover in Khartoum, about an hour I would guess and we did not even get off the airplane. Good thing we could move around, both Lori and I needed to move after the 5 and a half hour flight from Frankfurt. Yes, this is Brian writing this time, I hijacked the computer from Lori. ;)
At this point, we have about 48 minutes left in the flight, of which I can probably expect to type for about 18 or so. It is probably a good thing that there is not really a whole lot to tell about today.
We both woke up early…well; I woke up early and ended up waking Lori, too. We both showered and waited a little while before we could go eat breakfast. Breakfast was about the same as any other Holiday Inn Express in Europe that we have stayed at; cold meat and cheese, with bread, some yoghurt and plenty of good coffee. After breakfast, we headed back to our room to repack our “luggage” and head to the airport. I say luggage in quotes because we did not retrieve all of our bags (checked baggage) for the day in Frankfurt; this made it much easier to move around and get in and out of the airport.
At the airport we had to wait for a short while before the security line we were in opened for business. Security was really quick, it usually is in Frankfurt, and we were on our way to the Business Class lounge. We are not traveling Business Class; I have sufficient status with United to be allowed access to Star Alliance Lounges. One of the small perks of my having to travel so much. In the lounge I was completely frustrated by the lady on the phone at Mileage Plus (United frequent flier program) who did not tell me what I wanted to hear at all. The long and short of it is that we will probably not be able to upgrade to Business Class for our return trip to Denver on the 19th/20th. We drank a little coffee, Lori read her book and we played some cribbage in the lounge. She has beaten me every game on this trip. We headed down to the gate about 9:40 to board the plane.
When we told everyone about the adoption, we said that our daughter’s name was going to be Alexa. After careful reflection on the subject, we have decided not to name her Alexa but to keep her name Selamawit. We will call her Sela for short. Sela means rock in Hebrew. This is not how Ethiopians would shorten her name, their way would normally be Selam, but we felt that could invite too much ridicule on the playground and at school. Since we both like the name Sela, that is what we decided on. We decided to keep the name Selamawit because, rather than being named by a monk (like Brendan was), Sela was named by her parents and we feel that it is right to honor their choice and judgment in her name. Her name is also in honor of them as they have both passed away. So, when all is said and done, her full name will be Selamawit Marie Whittam.

Day 1 - Franfurt

Ethiopia Trip, Day 1 – Frankfurt

It has been a long day, but a good start to our journey. The flight left Denver more than ½ an hour late, but we easily made that up in the air. Brian and I both slept a precious little bit, did a little bit of reading, a lot of listening to music, and some talking. An average flight without much out of the ordinary.

In Frankfurt, we easily got the hotel shuttle and made it to the hotel without incident. Brian was stuck in this airport and a few of its hotels just a few short weeks ago when he couldn’t make it home to Denver due to snow. He is now intimately familiar with the Frankfurt airport making it much easier to navigate!

After we checked into our room and dropped off our carry-ons (our other luggage is checked all the way to Addis), we went to the front desk to find out about getting to the European Baha’i House of Worship. The young lady at the front desk had NO idea where it was – even WITH the address and directions we printed from the website! Nonetheless, we decided to call a taxi. The taxi driver had a GPS which couldn’t find the exact address, either. So, she put in the street and doubtfully set out.

The GPS got us there quite handily, even if our trusty driver had no idea about where we were going. She asked if “Baha’i” was a restaurant. We smiled and tried to tell her it was our faith. We did see some signs along the way, so that helped a bit. Once we finally reached our destination and she saw the building, she seemed rather impressed. She asked, again, what it was, and I made the motion of praying and tried to tell her that everyone was welcome to come pray there. Who knows if she understood the words or meaning, but maybe she will be intrigued enough to come back some day.

We arrived ½ an hour before the visitor/information center reopened after lunch, so we decided to see if the actual House of Worship was open. It was, so we simply circumambulated this amazing building – both from the outside and the inside that surrounds the inner “sanctuary.” I apologize for my lack of knowledge about the proper terms, so hopefully you will get the idea. The building is round; with the very inside being a circular room with chairs set up for prayers. There are 9 entrances to this inner area from a walkway that goes completely around the building. Then, there are 9 entrances to the outside from there. It is seemingly simple, but also elegant.

We meandered down to the information center to meet the custodians at 2. They were both very nice and offered us coffee and water. Brian told them why we were there and what we were up to. Then we perused their bookstore, buying a few different items, including a picture book of Brendan’s favorite prayer and another prayer book with English, German and Arabic. After making our purchases, we headed back to the House of Worship to say some prayers.

I have to say it was a new experience to be in a place of meditation and prayers with only one other person. At least a place like that. It was cold, but peaceful and serene. And because it was empty except for Brian, I sang a few prayers just to hear the acoustics. Talk about cool. Focusing my mind through prayer and meditation this way was a really wonderful way to spend the first day of this adventure.

Once we were done there, we decided to take public transportation to Frankfurt itself. We walked, took a bus, rode a train, and then walked some more. We stopped for a Starbucks and then found our way to a place for dinner. Now, we are back at the hotel, exhausted but happy. We leave the hotel around 7:30 to move on to Addis.

Until next time,

Lori