Move on over! Blue taxi buses bursting at the seams with riders, including us.
Most AAI adoptive families seem to travel to and from Ethiopia on Saturdays. By Sunday (day 8) we were the only folks left, which meant we were free to move into the guesthouse. I think we may have skipped out of that dank room and kissed the carpeted floor of our new room complete with light fixtures and a bathroom. It felt so glamorous. But we didn't need to spend much time in the room any longer. Sosi was feeling much better by this time and she was permitted to return to Layla House to visit her buddies. So...Donovan and I arranged to spend some time touring Addis while Sosi played with her friends in her old nursery (since we were not able to take her with us).
Our new friend, Yemamu
Sunday and Monday were spent riding taxis and buses with our new friend, Yemamu, all over the city in an attempt to squeeze in as much of Addis as possible. Yemamu is a social worker for another adoption agency, but genuinely loves spending time showing people around his hometown. We went to the palace of Haile Selassie, which is now the Ethnological Museum, and did lots of shopping on the street and at Merkato, Africa's largest market. By the end of the two days I had inhaled more car fumes and stepped on more donkey poo than I care to remember. Nothing beats a good pair of walking shoes while trekking through the muddy and rocky streets of Merkato. I'm still in shock that my ankles stayed in place. But anyone who knows Donovan and me knows that we live for this stuff! For me, it's a feast of the senses. For Donovan, it's an opportunity to play with his cameras.
Shopping in the Merkato.
One of the endless, bustling streets. We would have been lost without Yemamu!
Anyone hoping for chicken for dinner?
Some vegetables to go with your chicken?
One of our goals was to buy one gift for Noemi for the next 18 years. We plan on celebrating June 30th, the day Noemi passed court and we legally adopted her, as a day to celebrate her Ethiopian heritage and would like to present her with one gift each year. I tried to find a variety of treasures that represent Ethiopia's diversity. We bought her an adorable traditional Ethiopian dress and head scarf, an Amharic Bible, some toys, jewelry (I mean, she IS this mamma's girl), paintings, linens, etc. Throughout the two days Yemamu served as our unofficial guide and interpretor, helping us negotiate prices making sure that we experienced all things local. Though I consider myself to have a pretty adventurous palette, I insisted on drawing the line at consuming raw meat. While Yemamu and our driver chowed on the local faire of tasty raw beef (the fatty pieces are the best, apparently) Donovan and I asked to have ours cooked. American whimps we are.
I just fell in love with these small, traditional iconic paintings.
Silver cross pendants--I couldn't resist.
The carver and his meat at our lunch hot spot.
Yemamu's single serving of yummy.
One of the highlights of our trip was going to the humble home of our new friend, Charkol, to meet his family. Charkol is one of the guards at the Ritmo guesthouse and graciously invited us and Yemamu to his house for his wife to perform a traditional coffee ceremony for us, which was incredibly beautiful and touching. What a treat to watch the steam roll out of the coffee pot as cups were passed around the circle of new friends and to be able to experience it in an authentic environment.
Charkol on the front steps of his home with his mother and wife.
The pouring of our first cup of coffee.
Another highlight was visiting the ALERT compound (All African Leprosy Tuberculosis and Rehabilitation and Training Center) where Yemamu grew up with his family. For those of you planning on traveling to Ethiopia in the future, I would highly recommend spending some time in this incredible place. We met men and women (including Yemamu's mother) who have been affected by Leprosy or Tuberculosis and who choose live in community together. They have formed a work group of over 186 members, known as the Birhan Taye Leprosy Disabled Persons Work Group. Rather than begging on the streets (which is what would commonly be the only way to earn money for someone with such socially taboo diseases), the residents of this community work together to make and sell linens, woodcrafts and more. For those of you interested in connecting with Yemamu to be an unofficial guide or gaining more information about supporting ALERT, please email me privately at julie at robertswitmer dot com for more information. I can't say enough good things about this young man who has a genuine heart for the people of Ethiopia.
Yemamu with his mother. She, along with a group of women, was working on embroidering bed linens and decorative pillow covers.
A resident weaving a jute rug by hand.
All of the cotton is hand spun before made into the thread used for embroidery and woven into linens.
Many crocheted items can be purchased, including decorative linens and clothing.
The store in the compound.
We bought (amongst many other things) this hand carved Ethiopian Orthodox processional cross to give to our home congregation. It would traditionally be mounted on top of a tall pole and carried into the sanctuary by the priest.
By then end of both of the two days, we were pooped and pleased. We made new friends, bought many beautiful things to slowly surprise Noemi with through the years and made images in our mind's eye of a richly diverse Ethiopia. The caregivers were thrilled to have been able to spend some remaining time with Sosina and we were thankful that they were able to so kindly watch her. It was a treat for us to linger in the nursery, having much anticipated play time with the other babies and getting to know the environemnt where our daughter had lived for the last 6 months (sorry--can't post pics). The three of us returned to Ritmo Guesthouse Monday night alone, happy and sad that it was our last night in Addis.
