Mt. Entoto

Today started off really well. This morning we were ready earlier than the schedule said to cover our bases with Ethiopian time.

Our activity for the day was a trip to Mt. Entoto and then a visit to a new school / orphanage or something we are not quite sure about. On the way to Mt. Enoto, we took the opportunity to snap a few pictures along the way. One thing that we felt compelled to take pictures of was the construction activities taking place everywhere. Of particular interest / amazement is the scaffolding used during construction. Yes, that's wood scaffolding, maybe 3 inches in diameter.

Mt. Entoto is the original town site for Addis Ababa and was founded in the early to mid 1800's. The elevation is approximately 10,000 feet, sufficient to get us above the horrible smog. We visited a small museum attached to the first Orthodox church in Addis and the Emperor's palace.

The museum was the best by far. This was due to the museum tour guide. He was an older fellow with a good sense of humor. He asked if we (the 4 of us and 4 other families) wanted the tour in Amharic or English. I asked if he could do both. He gladly obliged and the girls seemed very engaged. Rediet even asked some questions and the tour guide seemed to enjoy that interaction.

The palace was small. It was three buildings all built out of mud with a thatched roof. The walls are constructed as one continuous element like a poured concrete wall. The mud is strengthened with straw and sticks that functioned like rebar. Amazing that it was still standing given the amount of rain they can get here. The first building was a reception "hall". There are 4 rooms totalling maybe 1,500 sq. feet; the main reception room, two food stores and one public viewing gallery. The most interesting thing about the reception hall was the food stores. One was for the Emperor and his wife and the other was for everyone else. Embedded in the walls are horns. The horns are used to hang slabs of raw meat. That way, during receptions when you get hungry you can get a snack of raw meat. Eating raw meat is still quite common. After the museum tour we started noticing small shops selling raw meat all around Addis. Ethiopia's version of fast food?

The second building was the royal bedroom. It was two stories. The top floor was the bedroom itself. On the ground floor was the "treasury" and the royal guards station. The third building was a guest house for visiting dignitary.

After several years of living on the mountain, the Empress became tired of always being cold and moved down to the valley. Eventually, a new palace was built in the valley. Over the years, all the trees on the mountain, surrounding hillsides and valley were cut down to clear way for the growing population and also to support the people. And, I mean all the trees. At this point the Emperor began plans to move the city to a new location. Then the French stepped in and introduced the Eucalyptus Tree, a fast growing tree. Today the entire mountain and surrounding hillsides are covered with Eucalyptus, but the evidence of massive erosion that occurred once the forest was cleared is still present. Most of the valley is now urbanized or in agriculture, but in some areas pockets of Mesquite trees have managed to reestablish and out compete the Eucalyptus.

After the tour, the day seemed to fall apart. There was a great deal of confusion about going to the school / orphanage or whatever it is. Some families wanted to go back to their guest houses. For whatever reason, we got left at the HOH while the 4 other families were either taken to their guest house or to the school. The way they were doing it made no sense logistically, but hey it's Ethiopia. So for the next hour or so we got to see a small snippet in the daily life for the kids at HOH. This actually was a good thing. While we were just hanging out, one of the staff came up to us and told us how much he loved the girls and how happy he was for them. He then gave a book to us which he used to read from to the girls. It is a lecture / interpretation of the book of Romans. We accepted the book and promised to continue reading from it. Later, the same fellow and one of the nanny's was leading the older kids in some songs. It was a lot of fun and Stephanie and I joined in.

Shortly after that the van came back but had only dropped off two of the families and still needed to take us and another family back to our guest house and then the last family to the school. But, at this point is was already 5 p.m. Several of us had dinner plans that evening and we were concerned that there would not be enough time to drop everyone else off, get the family to the school and back again. Remember, this is Ethiopia. So, grudgingly, we abandoned that plan and just went to dinner.

Dinner was at a touristy place with traditional food, music and dancing. The adults enjoyed it, but the kids were not impressed. We got back to the guest house around 10 p.m. and hit the hay. Sleep didn't come though. The ever present nighttime chorus of barking dogs and nervousness for tomorrow, meeting the birth mother kept us awake.

Visa Appointment

The driver was supposed to pick us up at 9 a.m. to take us to the HOH and then to the Embassy. In true Ethiopian fashion he did not. Uncharacteristically, he came early. When we arrived at HOH and met up with all the other families, we reshuffled into various vehicles. We road with the director of the HOH. Up until then, we had been riding around in Toyota minivans with fairly poor visibility for the passengers. This is a good thing given the Ethiopian driving habits, traffic and pedestrian congestion. This time, I got to ride up front in a small car, an opportunity I prefer not to happen again!

The good thing about the ride was learning a few important tidbits of information about the girls. They very much like music and in particular Christian music. The Director had a CD playing of a very popular Ethiopian signer and the girls were signing along especially Mihret.

The Visa appointment was everything we were told it would be, anti climatic. When we arrived at the Embassy, we were surprised..."This is it?". No flag, no military guard, just some small buildings behind some barricades. Apparently, the "real" Embassy was just beyond these buildings in a large walled off compound. When we all arrived (10 set of parents, 12 kids and 2 HOH staff) we sat on benches outside the building. There was some sort of process for clearing the first of two security checks but whatever that was, was a mystery to me. For some reason, I set off the security alarm at the first check, but they let me through without any question. At the second check we left our cell phones, batteries and other items of which we had only batteries for the camera (which was allowed!). I did not set of the alarm this time.

Once through security, we (all 34 of us) jammed into a small waiting room with another 30 or so Ethiopians. We waited for about 30 minutes until the first family was called upstairs to the "Clerk's" office (Clerk is just a name I'm using for descriptive purposes as I really don't know what the official title is). The Clerk's office really wasn't an office at all. Instead it was another waiting room with about 20 or so people. The room was lined with bank teller like windows. We were called to Window 7. We gave the clerks our forms, which she didn't even look at. We were only asked a few of the questions we were told to expect. Right in the middle of the process, the Window 7 woman started arguing with the Window 8 guy about proper protocol for copying others in e-mails. This lasted for about 5 minutes. Once she felt content the argument was done, she simply proceeded on with our paperwork without explanation or apology. One question we were asked at least 3 times was if the girls were siblings. No idea why three times though. She also asked us twice if we knew what happened to the birth father. Again no idea why twice. All other questions, like our citizenship, the girls citizenship, she only asked once. Then, after a brief period she stated there was something unusual about our files. Panic immediately set in and I managed to babble something the Clerk correctly translated into a question about the problem. The only explanation she offered was that there there were two of something in the file. For siblings, there is only supposed to be one of that something. Again, I'm sure everything will be fine??? With that said, there was a very vigorous flurry of various stamps that she placed all over the documents and then she stuffed them through the window and said the passports would be ready by 10 am Friday (two days away).

By the time all 10 families were finished, it was time for lunch. Lunch consisted of injera (the spongy, vinegary bread I mentioned before), spicy beans and salad. The salad was delicious.

After lunch we split into two groups. Our group went to the Ethiopian Cultural Museum. The museum is located on the Addis Ababa University campus. I enjoyed this more than the National Museum. The girls also got more out of it. The exhibits on display were items of every day use from past to present for many of the different cultural groups in Ethiopia. Many of the items on display were things that the girls were very familiar with. However, more important than that, the HOH assistant director in Ethiopia (who was leading our group) told us something Rediet had told him. Apparently Rediet was disappointed that we didn't pray before meals. This explained why the girls would just sit and look at me before starting to eat. Another useful tidbit for bonding with the girls.

On the way back from the museum we stopped at the Hilton Hotel. There I exchanged some more money. The Ethiopian currency is called the Birr. The exchange rate is 10 Birr for 1 US Dollar. We also took the opportunity to confirm our flight reservation home at the Ethiopian Air desk in the hotel. This was a very confusing event. When the Ethiopian Air agent confirmed our reservation, I asked if he could check the availability for the Friday flight (just in case we wanted to leave early). After a few moments, he announced that our flight had been changed with no additional charge and we were confirmed for two passengers. After some back and forth miss communications, I think we got everything set back the original schedule leaving on Sunday. It's our hope that it is safer to keep to the original plan....

By the time we got back to the Guest House dinner was already being served. We dropped our stuff and dug into a tasty rice dish (chicken carrots and a few other things). After saying Grace! We all went to bed happy.

Ethiopia - Day 2

We all showered and ate a waffle breakfast. The girls really didn't like it though. Rediet's cough was still bothering her. One of the guests here with us is a pediatrician and recommended a cough medicine that could be purchased at the local pharmacy a short walk away. It cost 25 birr, that's about $2.50.

At 10:00 we headed to the HOH to go over our Visa paperwork (we were supposed to leave at 9:00 a.m.). Our Visa appointment has been pushed forward to Wednesday, so the scheduled has changed a bit.

The air is pretty clear today. The smog in Addis can be horrible. Our Guest House is a fair distance away from the city center and across from a fairly large river valley. The valley is quite lush from all the rain received this year. Apparently, this has been a "good" year in terms of rainfall. We are lucky in that the rainy season has just ended. In the river valley you can see a number of apartment buildings under construction. These apartment buildings are a part of an aggressive subsidised housing project for the extremely poor of Addis Ababa that the government has embarked on.

When we arrived at the HOH, several staff were there that we didn't see yesterday. One woman saw us arrive and pulled Rediet aside to say good bye and give her a big hug. She was crying. Later I saw her sitting in the courtyard looking very blue. I went to her, thanked her and gave her a hug. I think Rediet, being older, was probably very helpful to the nanny's and also perhaps offered a different level of interaction then the rest of the children there.

The paperwork review process was the last step before the Visa appointment. There were three forms we were to fill out and present to the Embassy. There was a fair amount of confusion about those forms and not just with us. As we were reviewing the forms with the assistant administrator at the HOH, he pulled one set out and said it wasn't needed. This was not the case with other families that we compared "notes" with. I'm sure everything will be fine???

With the paperwork review done, it was back to the Guest House for lunch; fried chicken and rice. It was excellent. Mihret wolfed it down. Rediet just picked at it. She must be starving. But, maybe her cold is effecting her appetite.

After lunch we visited the National Museum. We were broken up into two groups of 5 families. The other group of 5 did the museum in the morning and the paperwork in the afternoon. Lucy, as it turns out, wasn't there. Only a cast. The "real" Lucy was on loan, some where in the U.S., I think. Leading us through the museum was the assistant director. He is very knowledgeable and did an excellent job fielding our questions. The girls seemed bored, but the rest of us enjoyed it.

At 6:30 p.m. we came back to the Guest House and dinner was ready for us. This time it was my and Steph's turn to pick at it. It was a traditional meal consisting of spicy beans and a wet spongy bread. The girls powered that down. The bread is called injera. Follow the link to Wikipedia to learn more...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Injera

Now it's 7:30 p.m. here and time for Mihret to hit the hay. Once we get her tucked in, Rediet and I will come down to the family room area and read a bible study book one of the staff at HOH had given her.

Meeting the Girls

Our first day in Ethiopia really starts on our last day (Sunday the 13th) in Paris. We had to check out of the hotel by 11:00 a.m. but our flight did not leave until 10:00 p.m. Once we woke up and showered we decided to check out and spend the day milling around.



We went to Notre Dame first. When we got there mass was just starting. We went in and hung out for most of the service. The choir was outstanding. It was very calming, and combined with the sense of history of the cathedral I felt transported back hundreds of years into the past. Regrettably, our time there was short and we headed off for lunch and then to the natural history museum. Time seemed to stand still. Finally, we gave in around 4 p.m. and went back to the hotel to get our luggage and make our way on the metro to the airport.


The Paris metro was really easy to navigate and we got to Charles De Gaulle Airport without any trouble. First thing we had to do though before we left was confirm that we were to depart from De Gaulle since we arrived at Orley.


We arrive at the airport very early, obviously. There was no one at the baggage check for Ethiopian Air. In fact, there wasn't even a dedicated desk for Ethiopian Air, so we waited. At about 6:30 p.m. we went to find the baggage check and discovered that we were pretty much the last ones with a reservation to do so. Despite a very unclear service process, the line moved along fairly quickly. Once through security, we eat dinner and waited out the last 90 minutes.


The 7 hour flight to Addis was brutal. The flight was packed, not an empty seat on the plane. They literally had us jammed in like sardines. Sitting next to me was a very large fellow; over 6 feet and 300 pounds. I was completely squished. The good news is that I did not get sick! At De Gaulle, I bought two bands that suppress motion sickness by depressing the nerve endings in your arm, between the two tendons just below the wrist. I can't say for certain that the bands worked or if it was any number of other factors, but I was just glad for it.


Customs and the entry visa process in Ethiopia was a breeze. We grabbed our bags and headed to the arrival area to meet our driver. The only problem was no driver. We waited and waited, but nothing. Finally some local man, also waiting for someone over heard us talking and offered us his cell phone. We got through and 40 minutes later the driver showed up. While we were waiting, the fellow that lent us his cell phone came over to us and asked if everything was OK.


Finally, at 9:00 a.m. we dropped our bags at the Ethiopian Guest House. The staff is exceptionally helpful. They called the House of Hope (HOH) for us and arranged for the driver to pick us up at 2:00 p.m. We took the opportunity to take a short nap. At noon, lunch was prepared for us that mostly consisted of spicy beef and was quite tasty.


At 2:00 the driver arrived and everyone at the Guest House, staff and other guests shook our hands and wished us well. When we got to the HOH, Rediet and Mihret were waiting in the courtyard for us. You could see the excitement in their whole bodies and their faces were absolutely beaming. The joy we felt getting those two big hugs and hearing "hello Mommy and Daddy" was indescribable.


The girls took us by the hand and led us to a sitting room where some of the other families were playing with their children. The girls showed us the albums we sent them and introduced us to their friends. They also immediately went through all our stuff looking for things we brought for them.


Rediet (pronounced very quickly as Rahdeyet) impressed us mightily with her English. She is clearly very bright and as by far the oldest at HOH the leader of the group. She quickly discovered Stephanie's camera and how to use it and began taking loads of pictures. She is most definitely older than 7. My guess is 10 or 11. She is also more than ready to leave for America and I think is very confused why we haven't left yet.


We tried passing some time kicking a soccer ball around and riding a tricycle, but all Rediet wanted to do was go around and say goodbye to everyone and take their picture.


Mihret is very sweet and like her sister older than 4. My guess for her is 6 or possibly even 7. Also like her sister she is anxious to leave for America but cannot express it as well.


The 4 of us went for a quick tour of Addis. It was a good diversion. By the time we got back, dinner was ready. Dinner was at the HOH Guest House and we met most of the other families. There are 10 families in total traveling at the same time as us. The HOH Guest House is set up similar to the Ethiopian Guest House and the HOH. The Guest House and / or other buildings are surrounded by a wall forming a courtyard. At the Ethiopian Guest House there is a grassy area. At the HOH and HOH Guest House it is all concrete. The walls are topped with razor wire and there is a large gate that is manned with a staff worker. Dinner was excellent; tomato soup with rice, stewed beef, salad and veggies. And yes Mom, I was a good boy and ate my veggies. The kids played a little bit in the courtyard and then it was time to go back to our guest house. More hugs, good byes and pictures. The girls clearly do not understand that we will be back tomorrow.


Both girls seem very healthy, though Rediet is coming down with a cold. She could not sleep and neither could I so at 1 a.m. I came down to the dinning area and wrote all this down. She finally fell asleep around 3:00 a.m. or so and we all woke up around 6:30 a.m.

End of Phase 1

Yesterday and today were spent "adjusting to the time differential" by walking the streets of Paris and the halls of the Louvre and Military Museums. It has been very relaxing and we have enjoyed our time together.

At the Louvre, the English audio tour was excellent. We followed along through two different rooms. First, we went through the Louvre History and Antiquities (Egyptian section) rooms. After lunch we did pre-programed tours. The first tour was of the "master pieces" (Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo and Winged Victory). This tour took about 45 minutes. The second tour was the "Italian Collection" which included paintings and sculptures. The tour was listed as approximately 2 hours. We didn't do the whole thing.

Dinner was a simple afair. We found a nice restaurant on a side street, more of a local joint with very little English spoken. It seriously tested my limited French vocabulary, but we muttled through just fine and didn't end up with raw meat and asparagus. If we had been more adventurous we could have eat a meat with a unique atmosphere and a good view of the city. Just off from the Louvre is a one-of-a-kind restaurant. It is suspended from a crane.

The Military Museum was interesting, but there was no audio tour in the main parts. We were surprised though how much English descriptions there were for the exhibits. The first room we visited was a history of Knight's armor. I can't image how anyone could move in that stuff not to mention fight some one else or worse ride a horse. The last room we visited was all about Charles De Gaulle. It was interesting in that it was really designed as an audio visual experience. The audio part would kick on automatically as you approach each exhibit. It seemed to work pretty well, but there were a few glitches. There was a nice video documentary of De Gaulle's life. We found these great ways to pass the time. You could sit comfortably, pay attention and learn something or let your mind drift off.

This evening we worked on basic Amharic phrases while we ate pizza in the Eiffel Tower Park. It's been very windy so far and a bit cool, but the view was worth it. However, despite the relaxation, the complex jumble of emotions (excitement, nervousness, uncertainty, etc.) has been ever present and growing. We have taken very few pictures while here even though we have seen many spectacular sights. Our hearts and thoughts are obviously elsewhere. I'm not going to post the few pictures we have taken because the laptop battery is very low and I have now way to charge it. I'd much rather save it for Ethiopia.

I expect tomorrow to be a very long day. We have to check out of the hotel by 11:00 a.m. but our flight does not leave until 10:00 p.m. Hopefully I won't get sick this time! We fully expect to be spending most of the day we arrive in Ethiopia with the girls.

Phase 1 - Day 1

Phase 1 of our trip to Ethiopia is well underway. It started off really well. Our flight from New York to Paris was excellent. We flew on OpenSkies which is operated by British Airways. It is an all business class airline except for a few first class seats. The airplane we were on was a 757-200 with only 4 seats per row. I could just barely touch the seat infront of me when I streatched my legs out. The aisles were wide enough that two people could pass each other without stepping into someone's seat. We had full reclining seats with foot rests and champagne delivered to us as soon as we sat down. The food was decent and we even got some sleep.

Regrettably it went downhill fast after breakfast. Specifically, my breakfast decided it wanted to come uphill. I was able to struggle through the landing and customs, but the tram ride to the metro did me in. Even after getting sick (into a bag at the station), the metro ride was difficult. I had to get off several stops prior to where we were supposed to just so I could get some air. But we eventually made it and the metro navigation aspect was really quite simple.

The hotel is nice and the staff is very friendly, thanks Greg! After a quick nap, we took off for a scenic walk. The hotel desk clerk recommended a nearby cafe for a simple lunch and that combined with the fresh air and walking helped me start feeling better. No picture we could take of the traffic around the Arc de Triomphe can do it justice.

The Eiffel Tower is spectacular. Particularly when seen at night such as what we can see from our hotel room.

Why Ethiopia?

By far the most common question we have been asked is why Ethiopia?

Early on, we wanted to explore an international adoption. At the orientation meeting for Children's Hope International (CHI), the local adoption agent briefly covered some basic info about each of their programs. CHI works with several countries; China, Columbia, Ethiopia, Korea, Russia, Kazakhstan and possibly a few more. Of the countries CHI works with, the typical duration of the Ethiopia program was the shortest. This was important to us, because we wanted to complete the process while Gregg and Ben were still relatively young. For example, China adoptions can take as long as 5 years and that's after you complete all the paperwork. Ethiopia, on the other hand usually only takes 18 months once the paperwork has been completed. One risk with the Columbia and Korea programs is that, for political reasons, the programs can close without much warning and without regard to where adoptive families are in the process. In Ethiopia, the extreme poverty, short life expectancy, disease (particularly HIV) leaves children without parents or other family to take them in. In Russia and Kazakhstan, on the other hand, parents loose custody of their children due to drug / alcohol abuse and other reasons. Many of the children therefore suffer from emotional and / or developmental difficulties. We felt that adopting a child with emotional / developmental challenges would be too much for us.

All for now, got to board our flight!

Officially, our journey began in January 2008 when Stephanie attended an orientation meeting for Children's Hope International. Prior to that, the subject of adoption had come up a few times over the course of a few years, but only in passing. But then, late in 2007 (I can't remember the exact date) while at Gregg and Ben's swim lesson the subject came up again.

I don't think I'll ever forget the moment. It was the usual chaos; kids screaming and/or crying, coaches yelling instructions in an attempt to be heard and water splashing everywhere. Enjoying the moment watching our kids swimming hard and having fun, my mind drifted into thoughts of more kids. As if reading my mind, Stephanie asks me if I'm still serious about adopting. For the next few seconds it was just the two of us, in perfect harmony with each other.