Awassa - many days of family gatherings

On Tuesday we went to a Family reunion at home of Uncle T. Many people were gathered from Adanach's Mother's side along with her Aunt from her Father's side.

The family is protestant, so no alcohol is served (and supposedly no dancing, although we saw evidence to the contrary). The typical greeting is kiss to one side of cheek, kiss to the other, and then a third for good measure followed by a sturdy hand shake. Lots and lots of germs, the good kind!

The aunties set out a loaf of the giant, round homemade bread containing the as yet unidentified seeds. Also set out were injera, potatoes, vegetables, salad, a wat and more. Again we ate until full and beyond on the mostly starchy food. 

Hawassa and the Way to Hawassa

We are in North Africa where many people still dress in Biblical clothing and goats and pack animals share the road with cars and trucks. 

Our journey from Addis to Hawassa was slow going with many detours and traffic issues (read: donkeys, goats, cows in the road). People pretty much live outside and the landscape is filled with farms (lots of corn), children, fields being plowed with the help of brahma bulls, and so on.

We stopped outside of Awassa at Peggy's friend Saba sister's house (did I get the punctuation right?) They live in a solid concrete house with tile floors -- they are wealthy Ethiopians because he is a pharmacist and she is a nurse.

They immediately plied us with St. George beer and soft drinks. As soon as your class was only half full, they opened another beer....happy happy!

They then served an Ethiopian meal with injera, false palm bread, and a huge homemade Ethiopian bread made from wheat and seeds (need to look up name of seed). 

Peggy had dropped off a suitcase and given Etenesh and Deme money and in exchange Peggy will be bringing 15 kilos of spices back to Seattle. That's a lot of spices! After a few hours we waddled into the car and made our way to the resort...started by two Olympiads. 

Reunion of Adanech's Family

 Today I was a voyeur to a family reunion. Abraham picked us up at 10 to begin the search for Adanech's family. Truthfully I was skeptical...Peggy had a full report from a PI that they commissioned 10 years ago, I must say I was skeptical....a needle in a haystack. 

But no, thankfully I was wrong, Ninety minutes in, working with the detective's papers, the family was found and Adanech was united with her Aunt Senayt. 

How can this be? Senayt kept saying Thank you Jesus, they had tried to find her, the family had been thinking of her, but they had no news. 

We were very curious why the detective hadn't provided the family with Peggy's information, or provided Peggy with theirs, but it turns out that the government (or AAI?) discouraged contact between birth families and adoptees. 

Later that day all the family members that could be gathered on short notice (11) came to our hotel for a late lunch. I took names and pictures...hopefully I can put them together.

Later, we drove back to Shashomene where her little brother lived. We went to the restaurant that his aunt owned. All the neighbors dropped by to see the miracle. 

Even later we went to see the house Adanech was born in and the grandmother's house. 

Sightseeing in Addis Ababa

Today we toured Addis with our guide Abraham who was recommended by the adoption community in Seattle. He is indeed a treasure.

He took us up to Mount Entoto where King Melelik, the founder of Addis, lived.

The palace was very modest, built the traditional way with adobe (mud and straw) although the building was quite large. 

There were also two Eastern Orthodox churches and many nuns sitting around the periphery. We only knew they were nuns because of Abraham....they were dressed like Mary, but not in a uniform.

We toured the museum which contained Melelik crowns, thrones, old bibles in Amharic, and so on.

Abraham took us shopping to the fabric market and helped us negotiate a few purchases, and to a pottery shop run by former Ethiopian Jews.

Apparently these folks were descendents of the original Jew, but have since converted to Ethiopian Orthodox.

We each bought a few pieces of pottery.

The Ethopian National Museum (??) was very interesting with an exhibit showing Lucy and the There were also tribal costumes and Haile Salassie's throne.

Our final stop on this day was a visit to the Sod Abyssinia nightclub where the food was fabulous and the entertainment even better .... a dance and music group demonstrated many traditional Ethiopian dances.

One of the most interesting aspects was that the customers were mostly Ethiopian with a few Chinese, European and of course Americans. Makes you feel more like you're having an authentic experience!

Another Day at Sele Enat

Today was orphanage day again, but first we travelled to the Piazza (I believe shops built during the Mussolini occupation) to buy balls...soccer and volley. No Walmart here, everything small vendor. We are told by Lee (guest house host) that everything is cheaply made and doesn't last as long as in the states. We will never know, but the orphanage was filled with deflated balls, which is why we bought them.

Peggy, who works in a school, organized arts and crafts activities and I made some attempt to help, although as a non-teacher, this task was a bit beyond me. At the end there were crayons everywhere and markers with missing tops! 

Adanach was very attached to a two-year-old in the toddler room who was not yet walking. 

I attempted to play volleyball, but was quite rusty and almost immediately sprained my poor thumb. Peggy claims to have funny pictures of me attempting volleyball which I will not share here.

We had lunch at a little cafe, no sign, a block from the orphanage. This cafe was run by former Nannies of Layla House -- who were let go (as were all the staff) due to a problem (unknown). At that time Layla became Sele Enat.

At any rate, the nannies welcomed us and one thought she remembered Adanech. This was a real local cafe where workmen went for a quick lunch. The food was very good..Messer Wat? I need to learn the names of the dishes! They also had a lady in the corner making coffee and tea on a little brazier. The coffee was delicious! 

Driving and walking through Addis is a trip! Today we saw large cows, donkeys, and I think the same goats. No land planning here. As I look out from our kitchen, I see houses with small amounts of land surrounded by tall buildings, many unfinished. Everywhere there are cranes to building shells that look like they've been there for years. Walking so far has been either in dirt/mud or on sidewalks that have been dug up with many holes all around. Mind you there are areas that are city-like and stable such as the piazza, but it seems that there is quite a bit of the country inside of Addis.

Today we go to the ethnological museum where Lucy lives and to a fabric market. 

First Full Day Ethiopia

Tom booked an amazing suite for us at GT Guesthouse in Addis Ababa with three bedrooms, 3 baths, a living room, and kitchen. We are spoiled and I can assure you it makes going out very difficult.

Our first foray onto Addis soil was to get a SIM card was somewhat successful...no nanosims, so a two step process. Our walk to the sim-cutting store (which we never found) entailed walking around giant pits in the ground. No looking at your cell phone and waling here! 

People are very kind and helpful.

Our guest house manager Lewam is very competetent and helpful. And, because she lived in the U.S., her English is perfect with no gaps. I swear I hear a tinge of spanglish in her accent, which is non-existent...I thought she was American...Valley Girl meets New Jersey? No? She said she lived in Boston.

We finally made it to Sele Enat orphanage via the guest house driver (whose name must be written down for me in order to remember it). Modern buildings sit next to shells of modern buildings sit next to dirt roads. People are leading calfs through the dirt roads and we see a flock of goats, again on a dirt road. Just a few feet from our guest house are lean-tos made with sticks and plastic where people congregate for cups of tea....there were six of these in a row. Also, in the streets, lots of women wearing beautiful colors and headscarves, the occasional man with cloth draped over his head (Adanech claims this is not so, but I swear).

Mittin (probably spelled wrong) tooks us on a tour of Sele Enat. The orphanage was previously called Layla House and is where Adanech and Manyahashel lived before their adoptions. It is a sprawling complex of sleeping rooms, courtyards, and classrooms. The toddlers first, maybe six or eight in a room, were going down for a nap...there were a few rooms of them. Also there were a few rooms of babies..some of these babies were waiting to be picked up by adoptive parents. I had heard that there were no more Ethiopian adoptions, but in fact they have slowed down, but not stopped.

Peggy, Adanech, and I ended up holding several of the babies for a time..the ones who were awake that is...their swaddling is very cute..they wrap the blanket over the back of their heads so they are wearing little blanket headdresses.

Next we saw empty classrooms that were being painted by volunteers--terrible toxic smells! And then the room of developmentally disabled kids. These were maybe 8-14 year-old boys..did not see a comprable classroom of girls. Although there was no language, we managed to have a good time with them. Peggy had brought a bag of toys...stickers, balls, bubbles, and everyone was overjoyed to receive these little gifts.

Finally we went to the dorm of the older girls who were hanging in their bunks...rest time. Everyone is off school because of summer and the rainy season. One of the girls..Y____ began speaking to us in English and the next thing we knew, we were out in the yard hanging out with them and the parachute Peggy brought. 

Many children of all ages joined us for an afternoon of picture-taking, parachute playing, balloon blowing and popping and English practice. All of the pictures are from this time. 

Today we go back...for another day with the kids. 

The orphanage has several volunteers from Europe...high school girls who come   for one or two weeks to play with the children. 

Shompoo Cruise - Huay Xai

We were treated this morning to a view of the elephant camp across the river. The Mahouts were taking the elephants down for a bath. So exciting to see these magnificent creatures even from far away. I've decided I must go back to Pakbeng and participate in one of the elephant care programs. I don't care to ride them, but would enjoy an opportunity to be closer and to learn more about them. And Pakbeng is a beautiful little village with a few lodging choices and a lovely view of the Mekong.

The second day of the cruise was as lovely as the first. We stopped at a Kamu village...very poor. My only point of comparison is a Karen village in Thailand and I must say this was much poorer. I had nothing to give the children, so donated to the school. 

The cruise had nine passengers -- two groups of four--Russians and Germans. I thought perhaps someone would take me under their wing, but instead I was solo the entire time--all meals ALONE! It was a good experience I guess. I am learning very well how to eat ALONE at a restaurant. 

Last night at the Pakbeng lodge, I had cocktails with a group of French people who were on a tour of Laos. They were super nice! However, again, I dined ALONE at this relatively posh restaurant with courses served one at a time. It was all I could do to wait for all the courses to be served. But again, this is good practice

I've met many long-term travelers on this trip, which is inspirational. I definitely want to do a three-month trip when I retire, while I am still healthy enough to deal with a difficult place. 

Among those I've met:

1) German woman traveling alone for four months

2) two swiss ladies, my age, traveling together for 6 months

3) a brit guy traveling alone for 3 months

4) a Swiss (French) woman, 40, traveling for 6 months

5) A Quebecoise couple traveling for 4 months (and telling me about Yunnan China!)

I don't know if I have what it takes to travel   alone for months... I am told the internet makes it all possible, and certainly being able to install a simm crd from each country simplifies the world.

I had planned to stay three more days, but clipped my plans. I was going to do the one-night Gibbon Experience, but when I went to book, the lady told me I was too old. Well, not in so many words, but she said the age range was 12-50, and me at 65 am over the age limit. She said that it is a two mile climb up a mountain. Well, wait, she said it was a two-hour climb, which could be only a kilometer. Given that I have no recent experience climbing mountains, and given that everyone else there was in their twenties, I backed down. I am not proud of it, but then I am a pretty risk-averse person. There is another three-day program that does not involve the steep climb, but I was unwilling to forego Thailand and wait around in Huay Xai three more days. Also, the program is extremely expensive for the region ($200 for one night!) so I hesitated to throw that away in the event I couldn't make the climb.

Perhaps next time...after or before I visit the elephant camp, which is close by.

On a note of humor, when I got back to my hotel, the receptionist was laughing that they turned me away for being too old. He said, "you in good shape! I saw you walking up hill really fast!" He also said he had seen them take people much worse off than me. But aah, I hate to hold anyone up.

On my last morning in Laos, I contemplate this country. I would definitely come back to see more. It is very poor, but as a result, relatively unspoiled. Oh, I don't mention the garbage in the Mekong -- tons of it, or the trash heaps in the backyards of people whose houses back the Mekong. 

The country is not that well set up for tourism, which is part of its charm. There are surprises! Vietnam was so set up...mid-level hotels would almost qualify as luxury in the states with amazing service. For example, our hotel sent someone to actually get on the train with us to make sure we found our berths...and then kicked out a squatter! In Laos, if they had a train (??) we would have been on our own.

One reason I disliked my hotel in Luang Prabang was a somewhat surly attitude by the management. Only one person spoke English, but she was so reserved. 

I did hear a few other tourists mention this reserve...it must be a cultural personality trait, or perhaps the result of poverty or Buddhism? One woman I met (Swiss French, 40, traveling alone six months) was particularly struck by this and said the people in Nepal were amazing and always giving giant smiles. I hope to get there next trip.

One more thing: I don't really like Laotian food as much as Vietnamese and Thai. After Vietnam, disappointing. I am sure I have not tried the signature dishes that would change my mind. I do have the cookbook and will try to see if I can make something to enjoy when I get home.