Sunday!

What a time we have had. I hope I can describe. First, the electricity is intermittent here, and the internet is a bit iffy, so this is the first time I have been able to blog.

Sunday night--we arrived about 8pm, spent about 1.5 hours going through to get a visa, customs,luggage, changing money, etc. We met up with another adoptive family on the plane, Charlie and Becca, very nice folks from Oregon. We have been with them since. "T", an AWAA employee, was waiting to pick us up. He loaded all our stuff on top of a little mini bus, and David, the driver, and he took us to the guest house, which is like half hotel/half bed/breakfast. We had to drive down bumpy dirt roads and crowded highways to get there, and then go through a gate with guards into the ocurtyard. There were lots of guys trying to carry our baggage at the airport, trying to get tips. Kinda crazy, kinda sad, kinda irritating. There were lots of people on the streets manning little shops, even at 10pm. The guest house is nice. There is a little living room and kitchen, and 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. The beds are soft and low, and you can't drink the water, and there is a little dog that yaps all night outside, but otherwise it is really really nice. I hear people singing outside now as I type. Oops, there went the electricity! Thank goodness for laptop batteries! I hope I can do more soon, but we are about to go to dinner.

Here's the brief in case I can't get back on: Monday: paperwork and lunch at a covered picnic table at a resort hotel. very nice! In the afternoon, we met the kids at the AWAA transition home, and hung out there 3 hours. Then us girls when for massages and pedicures, then we went out for a traditional Ethiopian dinner with dancing. Very cool! Tuesday: shopping in the little traditional souveniour markets, lunch at a great pizza place, and then back to the transition home to get Micah and hand out donations. I'll try to post more details and pictures soon.