Making the Rounds

I have fabulous Ethiopian friends! They were so excited to meet Amber and warmly welcomed her. It mattered not in the least that Amber understood hardly anything that they said (and I must admit that I did not do a good job of translation….either I forgot that she couldn't understand or was experiencing translation fatigue). We spent so much time with Gigi, Tambarat and their siblings that we should have just moved in for the week. They are so good to me and were also so good to her. I'm truly blessed by their friendship!



Igigiyew (Gigi for short) gifted Amber with a jabena (traditional coffee pot).


I thought we were coming to share in a simple lunch and instead we found the Ethiopian equivalent to Thanksgiving!


Amber and Gigi's sis-in-law, Israel, found a creative solution to being caught in the rain without an umbrella.


Both Amber and I love this picture. My bunna ceremony presentation was great…my bunna, not so great.


Enjoying a little friendly game of Uno


Amber and Muluken (my co-worker)

Walking in My Shoes

I think Amber and I would both agree that the best part of her visit was simply hanging out. It was fun to show her my world and all of its quirks. Amber learned the art of washing bunna (would you believe that you use AJAX!?)…I learned how to be patient cooking for two on a single kerosene burner…we perfected baking chocolate chip zucchini bread in a dutch oven…Amber introduced Abi to the concept of kool-aid…we had multiple "movie nights" crowded around my laptop and got to share in Hapti and Abi's first animated movie—RATATOUILLE (Abi literally squealed with delight watching the antics of a cooking mouse while Hapti wrestled with whether or not this was real or imaginary. We wandered the market…screamed in unison over frustrations with internet…witnessed lamb butchering…drank cup after cup of very strong bunna…and thoroughly just enjoyed being able to spend time with each other.



Why is this little guy so darn cute!?!


I've concluded that sheep are truly dumb. This is the one that wasn't butchered (at least not yet). He managed to get himself in a jam and when I couldn't handle the strangled bleating sound any longer, I had to come to the rescue.

Amber (with Souwnet's help) washed and roasted a full kilo of bunna…a time consuming process.

Meet AVA

There has been a new arrival on our compound. My landlady's daughter, Genet, is settling into her role as a new mom and Aselef is enjoying being a first-time grandma. I had been invited to attend the birth (how interesting would that have been?), but this little one decided to arrive while I was in Addis. I returned home to find a beautiful little girl with a mop of curly black hair and was given the honor of naming her! Can you believe that?!? At first I thought I misunderstood (which is pretty much a given for me), but I hadn't. Genet wanted her daughter to have an American name and Amber and I were more than happy to oblige her. We hemmed and hawed, argued and debated, and ultimately realized that we were grossly unprepared to name a human. Neither one of us have named anything other than creatures belonging to the genus I like to call "furry and four-legged" with the exception of one chicken and 2 hermit crabs. We have always been great "namers", but this was different. The pressure was intense. It's one thing for a daughter to be upset with a mom for saddling her with an atrocious moniker, but this little one could hold a grudge against "farenjis" that may have rippling effects for years to come. Ok….perhaps I'm being a bit dramatic…but this was serious business. After mulling it over for the evening, trialing a host of names and taking into consideration the level of difficulty with pronunciation and spelling using the Amharic script, we both came up with the same idea at the same time. AVA! We love the name as well as the fabulous little girl (our 2nd cousin) that is our "original" Ava.

Proud As A Peacock

There are moments in life that are so precious that you want to just bottle them and enjoy them forever. This was one of those moments. I had put out the word to my ex-pat friends in Addis that I was in need of little boys' clothes and they came through for me. Amber and I returned home with an assortment of pants, shoes, shirts, socks, and even a stuffed animal or two. We arrived on the compound…were greeted with a squeal from Abi as he came charging from the back…and promptly gave him a bath. We then spent the next hour playing dress-up. I've never had so much fun and the joy in his eyes as he tried on this motley assortment of used, sometimes stained clothes is something that I will never forget. Each "new" little outfit was promptly shown off to his mother and anyone else who found themselves on the compound during Abi's fashion show. The biggest hit…the single shoe that blinked when you stomped down hard and the fabulous orange ELMO hat.

My Sis Arrives!

My blog posts are always a bit behind the times. So I must tell you that Amber has already departed! Our time together went by too quickly. She was here a total of 14 jam-packed, experience filled, and totally wonderful days. And for those of you considering a visit… I want to assure you that she left here without bodily harm, was well fed, and as far as I know is parasite free! So…now I shall do a little backtracking in order that you can share in our adventure.

Amber arrived completely exhausted and spouting something about a total of 10 hours of sleep in the preceding 4 days. We had intended on leaving for my town the following day, but knowing that she would likely sleep the entire way and miss all of the amazing sites, we postponed our travel by one day. I should have known better….Amber + Vehicle= SLEEP…always!

I had been so looking forward to Amber's visit as she is the first family member or friend that I've seen in 10 months, but also because it was finally my turn to be the "free-loader." When she served as a PCV in Romania, I was working and subsequently subsidized our adventures together. I can't tell you how great it was to hear her say, "Oh, I'll pay for that."

The greatest luxury that she paid for was a private vehicle to transport us from Addis to my town. What normally is a long, hot, and sometimes harrowing ride was instead a comfortable, smooth-sailing excursion. Our driver was willing to stop anywhere along the way even if it was just to capture "the perfect shot." Now that I've experienced traveling in this manner, how will I ever go back to public transportation!?!
















Amber and I treated ourselves to pedicures at the Boston Day Spa in Addis. This place is amazing and revivals any spa in the States. The only difference is the price…wouldn't you love to pay 13USD for a pedicure?!














On the road north. It was great to be able to stop along the way and snap pictures of sights that normally are a blur when traveling by bus.




Amber and I at the edge of the Blue Nile Gorge



This is how Amber spent the majority of our road trip.



Traveling by private vehicle is such a treat!