After arriving last Wednesday evening it took a few days to figure out things like the internet, sleep schedules, getting food, and getting around. I think we are getting the hang of it now. We (Robert, Dianna, Elizabeth, Elias, & Jack) will be living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for about the next 3 – 4 months. Grace and Ada stayed behind in our home outside of Philly to help our housesitting family get used to our animals and adjust to living there for the next year or so while we are gone. On Monday, June 30, the girls will fly to the UK to spend time with family friends for a month before joining us in Addis on Aug. 1 (more from the girls once they get going).
As some of our FB friends already know, the hardest initial adjustment for Jack was the slight difference between our toilets at home and our toilet here. After refusing to poop in the bathrooms on the plane and at the airport, he could not wait to arrive at our house here. However, it took only a quick glance for him to beg us to take him back home, “I can’t poop here, we have to go home right now so that I can poop on the potty.” After some reassurances that he could use this potty just fine, his desperation won out and he found it quite possible to use the bathrooms here.
Otherwise, both he and Elias (as well as the rest of us) are adjusting to the slower pace of life, the food, and new friends. We are staying in the outskirts of Addis Ababa in a newer area called Ayat. There are kiosks with all sorts of foods and other items within a couple of blocks, and also a small grocery store (that also sells wine!) within walking distance. Just this morning the boys were able to run down to the bakery to buy bread for breakfast.
As Ramadan began the day after we arrived, we join our friends each evening for Iftar (breaking of the fast at sunset). We start with dates, milk, and quawah – a special coffee made from ground up coffee husks, ginger, and other spices. This is followed by a porridge like bowl of oats, meat, water, and spices. After this, everyone chooses from a myriad of Arabic, Ethiopian, and American dishes – samosas, rice or pasta with a variety of meats, breads or small sandwiches – everything is delicious. Sitting on the floor enjoying our meals with fresh squeezed juice (mango, orange, carrot, or lime) offers a relaxing end to the day and the beginning of the several hours of prayer that Gassan and his family attend for most of the night. After dinner is dessert (again a diverse selection) and tea or coffee (or both!).
We did venture out without our friends on Wednesday to the heart of the city known as the Mercato (after the Italian for market). There were so many disjointed images of stacked mattresses, shoes, and people everywhere that it was almost impossible to register it all. Jack mostly focused on the things right around him (the lines in the sidewalk that he likes to avoid), but Elias tried very hard to take it all in, and he found it emotionally exhausting. As Americans, we are not used to seeing people with extreme deformities out in our world. We know they exist, but we like to assume that they are being taken care of in a hospital or home somewhere else. Here, especially when you are the only white faces in a sea of Ethiopians (and you are at least a foot taller than almost everyone), you are bombarded by beggars, even small children, asking for money. The boys weren’t sure what or how to think about everything and everyone that they saw.
The highlight of the mercato was the Spice Maket -our adopted guide Kebrom was excited to barter for us (we have no idea about the going rate for pretty much anything), and we bought some fun items. Later in the evening, once we were home, there was a lot of discussion and questions about the mercato.
Friday evening took us to Gassan’s brother, who is a restauranteur in Addis, Yasser’s house for Iftar. We enjoyed seeing all of Gassan’s brothers, their wives, and their children, and the meal was wonderful!
More to come, I am sure…