A First Lady and Much More

It's Emma again. We've had a full last couple of days. We met up with the Lewis family and visited various places on Monday. Tuesday, we taught in the morning like always, ate pizza at Passion Burger, saw Jimmy Carter's wife at Salem's shop, visted Sabahar Silk, and ate supper at Top View. It was pretty cool to see Mrs. Carter with Salem and several people in our group said hi to her right after I left. To make it even better, when we went to the Hilton to exchange money, she walked in. She was following us. Sabahar Silk was interesting. We got to see the whole cycle of the worm's life and how the silk was made. Rachel and I bought a beautiful red silk scarf there. Supper wasn't quite as funny as a couple nights ago, but it was still great.

Today, Aunt Judy helped me teach English and it was awesome to see her with the kids. She had tons of fun ideas and things went well. Also, at the school today I was excited to find out that I can sponsor a girl named Bethlehem. I'll have to share her story another time, but she is so sweet and I love her. Konjit and Ermias took us around to all of the Youth Impact homes this afternoon and it was cool to hear some of the stories. Two of the boys who used to live on the street shared their testimonies and it was really moving. It's awesome what God is doing in those places. When we got back to the house we made chocolate chip cookies, then Tsegaye and his son Estefanos took us to a delicious Texan restaurant called Rodeo. Our time here in Ethiopia has been amazing and I'm excited for the days to come.

Sunday night, after we returned from Etoto, was the funniest thing I've experienced in a long time. We decided to go to the Zebra Grill for supper and then go see Knight and Day again because Uncle Dennis and Aunt Judy hadn't seen it yet. Rachel, Lori, and Jessica rode in a taxi to get tickets for the movie and I rode with Uncle Dennis and Aunt Judy straight to the restaurant. On the way, Aunt Judy kept falling asleep and acting weird. I said, "Look how many people are out tonight." She said, "Oh, are you talking about Jane Eyre?" I got really confused and then she started saying random words like "dog." I tried too wake her up when we got to the restaurant and she acted normal for a minute and then fell back to sleep. I woke her up again and she got out of the car, but she couldn't walk well so Helped her onto to the elevator to ride up to Zebra Grill on the 9th floor. She fell asleep on the elevator too. Uncle Dennis and I didn't know what was going on and I was kind of worried until we sat down at the table and she said something about a sleeping pill. After we knew the cause of her crazy behavior, we just sat back and enjoyed it. Apparently she took a sleeping pill before we left for supper. I have no idea why. She tried to explain, but it was just funny. We laughed so much. I think she asked Uncle Dennis what he ordered about five times and we laughed every time. Pretty much nothing she said or did made since and she kept laying her head on the table and saying "goodnight." When the others finally joined us, it took them a second to figure out what was going on and then we had a dinner of endless laughter. On the way out Aunt Judy looked at the guard and said, "Hello, I'm being abducted!" It was hilarious. Uncle Dennis took her back to the guest house and then came to the movie with us. We decided that if we ever want some entertainment we should just give someone a sleeping pill.
Emma

(7-11-10) So the mountain we went to this afternoon was called Entoto. Tesh and DJ, two guys who we have become friends with went with us. It was one of the prettiest places that I've ever seen. It was really nice to get out of the big, crowded city for a while and see some green. There is a small town on the mountain and all of the people we met where very nice and welcoming. We gave some of the kids silly bands and they seemed to like it. I even saw a boy wearing a UK sweatshirt! The landscape up there is indescribable. Looking out from the mountain we saw lush, green valleys and hills with grazing donkeys, sheep, and cows. There was also a spectacular view of Addis. It's a huge place. On the back side of the mountain there was a giant forest of eucalyptus trees so dense and beautiful that it felt like another world. We hiked down the steep slope through the woods to find another great view and when we stopped, Rachel got swarmed with ants. There were ants everywhere and she freaked out. She took off her pants and long sleeve shirt and jumped around and stuff. Don't worry, she had shorts on because we were running on the mountain too. Running at Entoto was quite an experience. It is the highest elevation I've ever been at and breathing while running puts major pressure on your lungs. It is where the Ethiopian marathoners go to train. No wonder they're so fast! Despite the altitude, I loved it up there. I think it would be awesome to live in a place like that one day.
Emma

(7-11-10) Hey! Sorry we haven't posted anything in a while. At the end of the day, no one really wants to write stuff and most of the time we cant get internet anyway. Over the last couple of days we have seen two movies at the cinema, gone to the Cherokee house for taco night, visited Dr. Rick Hodes' house, shopped for souvenirs, baked cookies, and taught more English. Uncle Dennis and Aunt Judy arrived Friday morning. It's nice to have them here. We have shown them around and yesterday we all attended Parent's Day at Destiny. All of the kids from nursery to 8th grade performed and the kindergarten graduated. It was long and extremely crowded, but it was cool to watch the kids sing and dance. Today, we are going to IEC with Abraham then going on some mountain that I can't spell so I'll tell you all about that later. We have had a lot of good experiences and it is eye opening to see the way the majority of the world lives. One thing that is very hard for me to comprehend is all of the people that just sleep on the side walk covered in plastic bags. We walk past them when we go out at night and it is a difficult sight to see. I can't imagine life like that. There are so many beggars that swarm us and ask for money. Some are disabled and don't really have another option, but a lot of them seem like they should be working or trying something besides begging. There are tons of women who come up to our van holding babies. They use their babies as a way to cause people to give them more money. Our driver, Haile, gave us some meal tickets for a feeding program to offer people when they beg. It is really annoying when people just walk away when you try to give them one and they walk away because that means they aren't hungry. Addis is a big change from the little town of Danville and I think all of our lives will be different after this trip.

Movie Night and More

Last night we were able to see the movie Knight and Day at the cinemas with four boys that Jessica met during her last trip to Ethiopia. The cinema was just as nice or nicer than cinemas back in the U.S. We found it odd that there were assigned seats though. This morning we came to Destiny for our second day of English class. Everything went better today than yesterday and I felt like our kids were actually learning something. For lunch we went to Esti's again to eat spaghetti with vegetables and meat sauce. Italian food makes up most of our diet. After lunch Rachel, Lori, and I went for a walk down the street and got lots of comments as we passed by. A lot of people stare at us crazy Forenjis. We are about to go have coffee at Hareg's house and then on to Abraham's to run and eat supper. We really enjoy being with him and his family. Good bye for now!

Emma

First Day of English Class (and wild hair)

This morning we woke up early and headed to Destiny for our first day of English class. Jessica and I taught the first graders and Rachel and Lori taught the second graders. There were five boy in my class. They were enthusiastic and loved to run up to the chalk board even when we told them to sit down. I hope they will remember most of what we went over. We all have a lot more respect for teachers now. Rachel says that she is pretty sure she can cross that occupation off of her list. No matter how crazy the kids can be, we love to be with them, maybe not teaching though. Once class was over, I decided to take out my braids because I was tired of them hurting my head. I don't think I've ever had so much volume in my life! Rachel and Lori took their's out too and we looked like we were from the 80s. We have tons of pictures to show you. If people thought we looked funny with braided hair, then I'm sure they think we look ridiculous now! Emma

The Joy Home

Hey!Today we went to the Joy Girl's Home and had a blast. The home is run by Konjit, a lady who stayed at our house last summer. There are twelve girls between the ages of 14 and 19 living there. We gave each girl a bag of gifts which they seemed to really appreciate. Also, we made bandanna bracelets. Some of the girls braided the bracelets and then decided to braid our hair too. The girls did a great job considering how slick and thick our hair is. Now we feel bald because every bit of our hair is braided. While our hair was being done, we talked to the girls and they tried to teach us Amharic. Unfortunately, I've forgotten pretty much everything that they taught me except that Rachel is an aile (turtle) haha. They are so loving, accepting, and full of joy. I hope we can spend a lot more time with them. Emma

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Sorry we haven’t been able to update our blog very often! We haven’t been able to get on the internet much…but it’s Africa…you never know. The weekend was relaxing but we also got to do a lot. We made dinner one night, went to watch a soccer game, shopped a little, went to church, ate some good burgers (but not as good as the clubhouse), ran a little, and much more! We wrote the following blog on Friday and haven’t had the chance to post it until now.

7/2/10

Alright, I’m going to try to update you all about what we’ve been doing if I can remember. We’ve kind of gotten behind on our blogging, so we need to catch you up on what has been going on.
On Wednesday morning we woke up around 8, ate breakfast, and went to Destiny School for the first time. It is about a 30 minute drive from our house. Jessica worked there when she was in Ethiopia 3 years ago so we were excited to see it and get to play with the kids. We arrived around 9:30 and took a tour of the school. I was very impressed with the children and teachers. They were all so polite and friendly. Thankfully they can speak some English because we are having major trouble with Amharic! I thought it was funny that one of the first things the girls said to me was what a nice president we have. It is very difficult to pronounce their names, but they are patient with us and just laugh when we say something wrong. We will be teaching an English class staring next week with some of the students. I’m sure that will be interesting! Just like in Guatemala, the kids love having their pictures taken! They like to make poses and funny faces…just like us! They are beautiful kids and we have already had tons of fun with them. We left the school around 3, went home to change, and then went to the Lime Tree. Emma wasn’t feeling the best so she ate soup and the rest of us had pasta. I wasn’t expecting to eat so much Italian food in Africa!! After eating and trying to get online but having no success, we went home and went to bed.
Thursday we went back to Destiny. The kids weren’t there because they are out for summer break so we organized books and graduation gowns. For lunch we went to a restaurant down the street called Esti’s. Once again we ate pasta, but it was delicious! It was spaghetti with meat sauce and vegetables. The bread there was also very good. After working a while longer we headed back to the house to get ready for dinner with Tsegaye. He picked us up at 6 and gave us a tour of the city. We went in several jewelry stores and saw all kinds of crosses and other things. Then we went to Yod Abyssinia, an authentic Ethiopian restaurant, for dinner. What an experience! Tsegaye ordered for us and we ended up with a ton of food…we had no idea what most of it was. The food wasn’t our favorite, but it was fun to try some of it. We sat at little tables and watched people dance while we ate. We had a good time and it was a great experience. We got home around 11, did some exercises, and went to bed very tired after a full day.
This morning we came back to Destiny and the kids were here to practice for their graduation. We had tons of fun trying to talk to the kids and taking more pictures. We are extremely glad that they can speak some English. We would be completely lost if they couldn’t understand some of what we say. Some of the girls decided to play with our hair. It probably looks and feel quite odd to them. There was one little girl named Eyersalem that we talked to for a long time. She taught us some words in Amharic… I hope we can remember them all. She will be coming to the English class we are going to teach the next two weeks so hopefully we can spend more time with her. For lunch we went back to Esti’s, but we just got bread and made peanut butter sandwiches. While we were waiting for the bread, a lady did the coffee ceremony for us. I like it black, but Lori and Emma prefer sugar in their coffee. Lori bought a Miranda (a really good orange soda) at a local store and she wants to keep the bottle, but in Ethiopia you are supposed to return it. She will just have to pay for it I guess. Right now we are sitting in the office at Destiny. Lori is putting grade on the computer and Emma is grading papers. This morning was one of the prettiest so far, but it is raining and cloudy now. Storms almost always come in the afternoon here. Tonight we are probably going to buy some broccoli, rice, and stuff to make chocolate chip cookies. We want to make an American meal because we miss our food. The food here is good, but it’s not the same.
We hope to get some internet access soon so we can post this blog. Chao!
Rachel (and Emma)

Wifi to the rescue!

Hey everybody! So we just got home for the evening and we are pretty tired…really hoping we will sleep good tonight. We started our day off with a big breakfast consisting of muffins, fruit, pancakes, cereal, tea and coffee. The cook is wonderful. After breakfast we ventured out onto the streets for the first time. First we went to a couple different cafes in search of an internet connection. We tried at Munch, the German bakery and then we tried at the Swiss Café. We tried…and failed. So we decided to return home and see what was going on here. We finally got an internet connection at the house! Which means that now, hopefully, we’ll be keeping up with our blogs. No promises though haha. Abraham has arranged a driver for us while we stay here with them and today he took us on a tour of the city. It was a great experience. We ate lunch at Blue Tops restaurant, saw some awesome animals [and big lions!] at a small zoo, visited the Sheraton Hotel and just drove around to simply get a feel for Addis. The contrast between rich and poor here is very extreme. For instance the very elaborate Sheraton Hotel, the nicest hotel in Africa, is surrounded by poverty and homes covered with tin roofs. It’s crazy though because it seems as if the people who are out on the streets, the people with no food and no home, hold the most joy, love and happiness. The people living in luxury are missing that happiness and that joy in their lives. Happiness, joy and love don’t come from anything the world has to offer. It’s like we talked about on Monday night during the Bible study. It’s all about fellowship, being together with one another and relying upon God. We had our first official Ethiopian meal tonight at the Cherokee House and we met many more friends from different places. We felt a little more at home being round people from North Carolina haha. We also had a lot of fun talking to Abraham’s son after dinner. We had a lot of fun today. Tomorrow we go to Destiny school! It’s ten o clock here so we’re going to be getting ready for bed soon. Goodnight everyone! Hopefully more updates tomorrow!

Hello everyone! Our severe jet lag has hindered our ability to blog the last couple of days, but we have had a great time. The plane ride was extremely long. When we finally made it to Ethiopia there were four people waiting for us t the airport. Tsegaye, Konjit, Ermias, and Abraham welcomed us to the country. The morning after we arrived, we accidentally slept until 1:30 P.M. Ethiopian time! (That’s 6:30 A.M. for all you Americans back home.) Currently, we are sitting in the Swiss Café trying to connect to blogger. We all four got a drink for less than two dollars. We drink tea or coffee a lot throughout the day. We have made lots of new friends the last couple of days. All the people here are so beautiful! They are all so friendly and sweet. Last night we went with Abraham to the Monday night Bible study with all of the ministry leaders. It was an amazing experience to listen in on their study of fellowship. Their love and joy for God and one another was very evident in all that they did. The Bible study was at the girl’s home an we were able to meet a few of the girl’s, but we didn’t get to spend time with them. Today, we are exploring the area and getting used to life here in Addis. Tomorrow, we will go to Destiny, the school Jessica worked at during her last visit. We'll update more later! Miss you all!

FIrst Blog: Airport in Cinci!

Hey! This is Lori typing! Emma and I are currently watching Rachel chase a bird around the Cincinnati airport. We are rather bored, but we're doing okay...because Rae is very entertaining. Rachel says "Emma says hey!" Hahaha. We're kind of tired and slap happy at the moment, but we'll have plenty of time to sleep with our glorious neck pillows! Rachel's is hand-quilted!! I can't wait for that cranapple juice and we like Luna bars. They make us feel happy. We're going to find Zebra's in Africa, but that will be tomorrow...because we are not getting there today. We can't wait to meet everyone and get out of airports! However, we made a new friend! We don't know his name, but he let us check a 60 lb. bag with no extra charge! He was fun and we miss him because they won't let us go back where we came from, but we'll see him at our next family gathering! Hahaha, funny? Are you laughing yet? By the way, this is not just Lori. Rachel came up with most of it. Hahaha. So we'll leave you with something fun to think about: are zebras black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?(: Haha? Our next post will be more serious...maybe. Haha.