Ethopia Update 9

Well we are officially checked out of the guest house and have moved to the Hilton until tomorrow night. We already miss it there and the friends we have made. We promised to get together in three years to see our children again. Shawn and I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend the week with.



I will try to catch you up on yesterday’s travels as well as today’s. Yesterday we awoke and got our little Girum back to the care center. The nannies were surprised to see him as we could keep our children full-time after Wed. Afternoon. However, she was happy to see him. They had already brought in another 8 babies that morning and had given away his crib. I told the nannie that we were planning on leaving him one last time while we toured Addis. She smiled and took Girum and said, “ Go, go he be fine.” I have to admit that I found my self getting a little teary-eyed leaving him.



After leaving the care center we left with our driver. We had hired the same company that we had gone with to Hosanna with on Sunday to take us on a tour of Addis and up into the mountains called Entoto. It was absolutely beautiful.



Our first stop was the Ehtiopian National Museum. This was the second museum we’d been to, the first being the Institute for Ethiopian History at the Addis Ababa University. This, too, was very interesting and it gave us a further appreciation for the rich history and heritage of this ancient country. In addition to many interesting things such as art and sculpture, the National Museum also contained a replica of the ancient bones of “Lucy”, the oldest fossils of upright-walking humans. The original Lucy bones are temporarily on loan in the United States.



After the museum, we went to see one of the most famous Ethiopian orthodox churches in the city called Eternity Cathedral. It was very interesting, especially as we learned some of the reasons why the church was founded and how it differentiates itself from other churches such as Catholicism the Eastern Orthodox. In Ethiopia about 60% of the country is Eastern Orthodox. In Addis, the driver said that the number goes to 90%. One thing that we have really gained appreciation for is how deeply religious this country is. Our driver told us that many of Ethiopians spend hours worshipping everyday. Most of the women wear crosses around their neck. This is unlike most African counties were the religion is primarily Muslim. Our driver told us that many Ethiopians believe deeply in the scripture that states that a rich man can not get into heaven. This is what sees them through their daily lives. They worship daily and believe that they will live with God due to the fact that they are poor, humble and religious.



We then stopped by the office of Abbysinian Tours and Travel to meet Tsagae, the owner of the company that took us to Hosanna on Sunday. Shawn has struck up a friendship with him. I think they both enjoyed talking politics together on Sunday. It is amazing that someone in Ethiopia would share so many of the same ideas as my husband. Shawn said they are kindred spirits. He had invited us to lunch with he and his wife. Our driver joined us as well. He took us to a beautiful restaurant, even by American standards. We were amazed as we looked at the menu and read the prices. At first I thought it must be in US prices as there was no way that Filet Mignon with button mushrooms, julienne zucchini and eggplant with new potatoes could only cost 22.50 Birr (equivalent to about $3.00 US) But indeed it was in Birr. It has been experiences like this that have given us a better understanding at how well someone with money can live in Ethiopia. Our meal for five all eating steak, lamb kabobs and the like came to $20.00 US that included the tip and two beautiful pastries as well. We so enjoyed our visit with Tsagae and feel ourselves blessed to have met him and gained a new friend. The Ethiopian people are so beautiful and hospitable.



After lunch our driver took us to see the huge Jumbotron in the middle of the city with a big terraced hill so that the people can sit and watch the soccer games as they are played. Soccer is a huge sport here and you are able to see all of the taxis with their local and international favorites. They all follow the English teams such as Arsenal and Manchester United. They hadn’t really heard of Real Salt Lake. This has been a big ice breaker with people for Shawn. He loves to ask people that we meet who their favorite team is. It always starts a conversation. We also visited the Ethiopian Tourist Center to pick up a few brochures and such.



After we left there we headed up to the Entoto mountains that are surrounding the city of Addis. It began as a beautiful drive up the hill side leaving the hustle and bustle of the busy city. However, the poverty which I thought was horrific to see in the city became quickly almost too much to bear as we drove up the mountain in our LandCruiser. In Addis the poorest people are known as “the woodcutters”. These are always women. They walk up the road to Entoto to the forest that lies at the top. They cut down the branches and trees and then bundle them together and then put them on their backs to walk all the way back down 5 to 10 miles to sell the wood for about $1.50 or 15 birr, if they are fortunate enough to sell it. As we begun this ride the women were walking down the road with their bundles at first I thought the first one or two were quaint and stopped to take a picture, always tipping them for the ability to do so. You can tell they count on the money as they have their hands out and as soon as you give them the money they stand up and smile for you to take their picture. All the way up their hands were outstretched at the cars and they knew the English word for money. However, after we had been driving a few more miles and the women kept coming it became to sobering thought for me to realize the harsh life and existence that they live with everyday. As we arrived at the top, we visited the oldest Orthodox Church in this area. Along with the Palace (I use that term only because they used it). It was more like an old stucco house. It was the Palace of Menelek II, the king of Ethiopia. It was beautiful and by the end I of the tour I had quite the following of beautiful children that loved having their picture taken. I would take their picture and then show them on the back of the digital camera and then they would laugh and laugh. It was so fun. At the top we were able to overlook the entire city of Addis and it was beautiful! After this, we returned to our car and drove down the hill. It was at the end of our drive when I was just overcome with the poverty. We had just left as the rain started it was coming down at a good rate. It made the beautiful scenery even more beautiful. The trees were lush and beautiful. As we headed down the hill we started passing the woodcutters again. I asked the driver if he could stop and so I might better get a picture. As he stopped and I got out of the car and reached into my purse to get some Birr to tip the women began bowing at me as she could tell I was going to give her some bir. Customary is to give them two birr about 20 cents US as I got nearer to her I realized that she had a bundle on her front as well as the 70 lbs of wood on her back that caused her to hunch over forward to carry them. As I got closer to her and handed her the money she pulled down the blanket on her bundle and I discovered that it was a baby. She was uncovering her sweet baby so that I could photograph him as well. It was the last straw for me. What is this world coming to? I could not leave her there with 20 cents in the rain. I was not prepared for this. I reached in and gave her more money to which she started crying and bowing. Then I started crying and bowed to her and jumped into my car and started crying. It was silent ride down the rest of the hill. The driver asked if I would like to take more pictures and I declined as I could not capture the hard life of these women without sobbing. I will never forget this woman. The driver left this area and drove us back to the care center were we picked up our little Girum, who was of course being played with and loved by the Nannies. His nanny got him ready for me to take and then said, “ Little Girumy is going to America!, Little Girumy is going to America!” Indeed, he was with little to no understanding of this beautiful country he was leaving or what his life holds in front of him and what lay behind.



We thanked the Nanny again! We left with big hugs and lots of tears and then ran down the stairs with our sweet little boy as we left for the last time his home of three months.