Well, we left Grand Rapids at about 11:30 and I was beyond anxious. My best friend Tara picked us up at home and we headed off to the airport. For some crazy reason I was convinced that one of our planes was going to crash. For those of you who know me, I'm not someone who thinks that things won't ever happen to me, I'm someone who thinks that if it can, it WILL happen to me. However, we got on the plane and all was well. we had a quick jump to Chicago where we enjoyed dinner at Chile's and boarded our 2nd of 3 flights that would get us to Eli. As you can see by the picture, we were shoved right in the middle on our first flight to Germany, but honestly, looking back now, without a baby on your lap, this is not as big of a deal as it seemed at the time. A few hours later we made friends with our neighbor on the plane and had a couple glasses of wine. (Hey, wine is free on international flights, and I make it a personal policy not to turn down free drinks, so I was forced to consume.) Looking back now, I really should have enjoyed those drinks a little bit more because I don't think I've had more than 2 glasses of wine since that day.... hmmmm, this must be corrected soon.
After arriving in Frankfurt we were pretty tired so Mark and I slept in the airport there while we awaited our trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Again, we should have enjoyed this situation a little more at the time since on the way back to the states, that was not as easy to do.) When we boarded our final flight for Addis I couldn't have been more thrilled, we had a practically empty plane! So, we got some much needed sleep. I don't even remember taking off.
We arrived in Addis at 6:30 their time. I will admit, it was a little eery because the sun goes down there VERY early, and it looked like it was midnight. It was raining and the airport is very different than the airports in the states, but nonetheless, we were prepared to just "expect the unexpected" so we just pushed along through the lines and tried not to look as foreign as we knew we appeared to look. We met our driver and headed to our guest house, The Sadula.
Just so you all know, this is considered some of the best accomodations available in Ethiopia. Not that I am saying we didn't like it, but it is very simplistic. Your basic needs met. By the end of the 8 days I was SO READY to get out of these 2 rooms. However, after you see how most of the people in Ethiopia live, you do realize how fabulous these accommodations really are.
That evening we met with our agency rep and went out for Pizza. We had no idea this was the last time we would go to bed with a full belly. (We are not big fans of Ethiopian food. It's a bummer I know, but true. And it's practically all you can eat there) After the pizza, we went back to the Sadula to rest up for our trip 5 hours south to Eli's Village of Alabba in the morning.
Our trip South is very alarming and emotional, but I will have a little more about it in my next post...
That evening we met with our agency rep and went out for Pizza. We had no idea this was the last time we would go to bed with a full belly. (We are not big fans of Ethiopian food. It's a bummer I know, but true. And it's practically all you can eat there) After the pizza, we went back to the Sadula to rest up for our trip 5 hours south to Eli's Village of Alabba in the morning.
Our trip South is very alarming and emotional, but I will have a little more about it in my next post...
