Thoughts for Families Traveling to Ethiopia

I had so many questions as we prepared for our trip. Here are a bunch of random thoughts that might be helpful to other traveling families:

• Safety- I was a little nervous before we left, and definitely questioned myself more than once about what the heck I was doing bringing my kids to a place that just recently got over a civil war and still has pockets of civil unrest. I added my friend to our family circle on Life 360 and told people where they could find all our trust documents. That being said, I felt 100% safe the entire time we were here. Not even one scary moment, but we were smart travelers. We were rarely outside after dark. We kept our money and phones close by (no phones in back pocket!) We were almost always with our guide and driver. We had zero issues. We stayed in Addis. We probably would have been safe traveling elsewhere- except Amhara region- but since the US State Department still rates other areas as 4 (do not travel) and we had kids with us, we did not want to chance it. Things can change quickly and the potential risks outweighed the benefits for us.

• Guides- Speaking of guides- find yourself a good one! Happy to share my contact if you’d like. Sammy was the absolute best. 10/10 recommend. He seems to know everyone all across town. He negotiated us good rates (let your guide book your hotel and driver) and then people were eager to please us because of their relationship with him. He was nimble with changes, highly responsive, and pleasant to work with. He was not with us 100% of the time, but he made sure we were taken care of when he was not around. He also handled all of our birth family arrangements- including getting them to Addis and figuring out their accommodations. When we were with the birth family, he was never intrusive but his ears were always tuned in to jump in with any translation help. He was also always quick to grab pictures! I think the selection of a guide is probably the number one most important decision we made. It’s because of Sammy that our trip went so smoothly.

• Travel Vaccinations- None are required- unless you are traveling from an area with yellow fever, and then yellow fever is required. No one asked to see proof of vaccination. Allow time to figure out vaccinations as in our big city only 3 places offered the recommended shots and price varied by quite a bit. Also, they like to give them at least 2+ weeks ahead of time to monitor for side effects. Our Children’s Hospital has a really great international travel clinic that was incredibly helpful- they printed off a customized book for us and spent about an hour going through everything with me.  A few worth mentioning:
  • Yellow Fever- After reading about yellow fever I elected to get our family vaccinated. It is from mosquitos (can’t avoid it) and can be deadly. It is expensive, around $200 per shot, but lasts a lifetime…Mark and I received it 10+ years ago and did not need a booster.
  • Malaria- This is a prescription, not a shot The clinic explained that malaria is from mosquitos that bite at nighttime. Since we were staying in a multiple story hotel and not planning to be out at night, we went without. If we were staying in more rural areas or a guesthouse that might have windows/doors open often we might have chosen differently.
  • Typhoid- This is one that is recommended but we elected not to get it. We felt our risk was low.
  • Besides that just normal travel stuff- we brought stuff for diarrhea, motion sickness (helpful for traffic), allergic reactions, headaches, etc. 

• Money- We exchanged $200 USD for Birr at the airport. We later exchanged $300 more and that was enough for our 7 days in country. We could exchange money at the hotel which was really nice. You may need more if you plan to do a lot of local shopping or travel to rural areas. Most of the places we went took credit cards. We used birr mostly for tipping (even if you pay with credit, they don’t have tip lines) and also for local shopping. And for bottled water! Their water isn’t safe to drink so you must buy water. You can get it at the hotel but it is about ¼ the price from the street vendors.

• Airline Seat Reservations- We had 6 total legs, round trip, to our flight. I questioned if I should pay for assigned seats, especially since I was traveling with kids. I didn’t want my kids to have to sit alone- especially on the long 13 hour flight. But assigning seats was going to add about $1500 in costs. I decided to chance it and it worked out; we ended up sitting together on all of our flights.

• Phones- The Ethiopian government runs their cell network so US phones do not work here, at least not without very expensive charges. Stop at Ethio Telecom at the airport- open 24 hours- and figure it out there. We bought a SIM card for $30 that gave us 30 days of unlimited data/text/calls. I have heard it does not work with newer iphones, but we are Android users so I can’t say that for sure. We chose to do this for only one phone. Sammy also would have had a simple phone for us to use if we did not figure this out. As a side note- it was so nice that our kids didn’t have their phones to distract themselves with. They had their phones and could use them with wifi at the hotel, but they didn’t work when we were out and about. Without a device to check constantly they were much more present; I loved it.

• Visas- You need one. They are $82/person. Google it and apply at least a few weeks before you travel. I have heard of people having issues with this, but ours were quick and easy. Print it out and bring it with you; we were asked to show hard copies.

• Food Budget- Our hotel had breakfast. We ate out every day for lunch and it seemed to always be $100 regardless if it was just us or if we were with the birth family. We ordered room service most nights and that was around $30-50. Plus whatever other drinks/snacks/ice cream we got…this added maybe another $10-$20/day. All in we were <$200/day for 5 people, including birth family days. Food is still fairly reasonably priced but is much more expensive than it was 10 years ago when we were there.

• Packing List- Don’t forget outlet converters (side note- we had converters from previous trips years ago but bought a couple more for this- the new ones are WAY better! Smaller, you can plug multiple things in, and they have USB/USBC ports. And they are cheap! So if you haven’t bought any recently maybe look into this). Pens- I had my kids journal every night, but we lost all the pens except one and couldn’t find more, and the hotel didn’t really have any extra! Tampons- we could only find pads. Stuff to do in the evenings- we got back to the hotel around 7pm most nights. After dinner, showers, work/school we still had some time before bed. We ended up playing either Yahtzee or Poker every night! We also brought stuff to do with our birth family, but we stayed so busy we didn’t need it. If you will have downtime with a birth family you might bring things like balloons, fingernail polish, or simple games that don’t require English like Memory, Kerplunk, Crocodile Dentist, Simon, etc.

• Sights- If you’re reading this you’ve probably traveled to Ethiopia before so this won’t be news- but prepare your kids to see….lots of things. Kind of funny things like donkeys standing in the middle of busy roads. Different things like 20 people stuffed in a van meant for 8. And sad things like kids with dirty, hole filled clothes walking alongside you begging for money, or nursing mothers (like, actively nursing) catching your eye from the van and standing directly outside your window staring at you while you’re stopped in traffic. Have a plan in place for how you’re going to handle this and help your kids process.

• Laundry- We were planning on doing some laundry there and were told our hotel had it available, but what they had was a laundry service that was $2-3/item. We had a big bag so that wasn’t a good option. Our guide Sammy said there are not really laundry mats like in the US but that they do have laundry services that charge by the kilo. We went without.

• Birth Family Gifts- In addition to all the stuff you donated, we bought life straws and a solar charger. We packed picture frames from Target and had Sammy print off photos while we were there. There’s more that I’m happy to talk about in a private setting, please message me if you have questions.

• Travel Insurance- This one gave me a lot of heartburn. There are companies that offer emergency evacuation but you have to read the fine print. This is usually for medical emergencies, but some will evacuate you at your choice and others require a doctor to recommend it. Some offer evacuation in the event of civil unrest, but some countries are excluded. I called a few companies and most excluded Ethiopia; the one that didn’t was very pricy. My take away- if you are concerned about this spend some time on the phone figuring out what exactly the policies cover. You can’t really tell from their high level online descriptions and I found it easy to get to helpful people. I ended up going with Travel Guard; I paid $272 for our trip. It wasn’t the best insurance, but if something bad ended up happening we’d at least have some coverage. Thankfully it didn’t!

That’s all I can think of. If you are traveling and have questions or want to talk budget, feel free to reach out to me directly!

Ethiopian Spa and Shopping Day

Our last day. We didn’t really have any plans today, and had done all of the things we came to do, so we had some free time to play with. Sammy suggested we go to the spa! The girls headed there while the boys went to a museum.

We got dropped off at Boston Spa. Sammy had booked a massage for me and a nail appointment for Yo. As I was waiting for them to call my name I realized I had literally no idea what to expect. How much did it cost? How long was it? Am I expected to undress? *shrug*

We took Yo upstairs. Her nails took close to 2 hours but they looked great! She said it took them a long time to get everything together.

They led me down a hallway and down some stairs; it felt like a castle.

I think she asked me what type of massage and what type of oil I wanted, but I really am not sure. She beckoned for me to sit in a chair and put my feet in a little basin. She filled it with warm water and washed them off…I felt like a disciple. There are lots of dirt streets here, people walk a lot, and they often wear sandals so this is probably a necessary step.

She then walked out. She locked the door, but it was one of those sliding chain locks so it stayed open several inches. I guessed I was supposed to undress, so I did, but I left my underwear on.

She came back in and used A LOT of oil. I think it was baby oil. I was more slippery than a bar of soap, and she kept adding more and more oil. She did not care that I had left my panties on; she pulled them right down and went to work on my booty….and then left it exposed as she did more work on my back! When I rolled over she gave me an awesome head and face massage….and then pulled down the sheet and massaged my tummy. All with lots and lots and lots of oil. Overall it was a great massage and I felt amazing afterwards.

The grand total for Yo’s nails and my one-hour massage? $70 including tip. I need to schedule more massages next time I’m here!

Maclin had wanted to go to the National Museum. I had heard it wasn’t a great museum, but he has a school assignment on ancient civilizations in Ethiopia and thought it would be helpful. Unfortunately it is closed Mondays. Instead they went to a museum at Addis Ababa University. Mac reports that it was interesting but did not have anything about ancient times so was not helpful after all.

From there we grabbed lunch at a fancy Italian place. It was very good! I wanted to do some shopping. Sammy took us to a very nice place but it was too fancy for me; I wanted to shop at the little shanty shops. Unfortunately there weren’t really any in the area. The van took us back to the hotel around 3:00. We walked around the hotel a bit- we are finally confident enough to venture out on our own! We got some ice cream and then walked to the Pizza Hut that is very close to our hotel that we had not tried at all yet.

Our flight leaves at 1:30 am. Given the trouble we had getting here I requested the shuttle for 9:30 PM. We had several hours that we burned by packing, resting, catching up on school work, and just enjoying our last few hours in Ethiopia. We’ve had a great trip but are looking forward to being back home!

Church in Ethiopia

Today was Sunday, and it really wasn’t that different from a Sunday at home! We got picked up, went out to coffee, and then went to church. Our guide Sammy invited us to his International Church.

The service was in English, and there were more white people there than we’ve seen in the rest of our time here, but it was still probably 95% Ethiopian. Despite this, Yordanos and I were the only ones in our Ethiopian dresses!

The service was very similar to American church. There was a worship band, we passed an offering plate, there were announcements and a message and then more worship.

We prayed for Christians being persecuted around the world and that hit differently here than it would have at home.

The church had flags from all the different nations

Ethiopia is an interesting country in that they have large populations of both Christians and Muslims, however for the most part they live peacefully together. But that is not the case in some of the surrounding nations. These nations that are literally halfway around the world in the US are neighbors here. The Christians in Ethiopia are split between Orthodox Christians and Protestant Christians. Sammy has been a part of this church since he was a child and sometimes leads worship. The church is really more of a compound with a courtyard between buildings, a seminary school, and a youth center that is under construction. Most of the people we have come across here have spoken of their religion very openly.

Youth Center that should be open soon

Courtyard between buildings

Kids classroom- the kids go to Sunday school during service

After church we went to lunch- our third time going to Kategna! Sammy said it’s his favorite place to go for a wide variety of Ethiopian dishes. Sammy and his three adorable daughters joined us.

After lunch we went to Sammy’s house. He lives about an hour or so south of the city. We again enjoyed the pretty mountain views and we were all entertained when multiple times during the drive there was a cow or a horse or a donkey just standing in the middle of a busy street.

Sammy lives in a very nice condo- it is skinny but four stories tall! The first story had the living area and kitchen, the second and third stories had two bedrooms, and the fourth story had a playroom.

Road to Sammy’s condo

Sammy had explained that many families have a nanny live with them. His wife works long hours in town so the nanny helps with childcare, cooking, and house work. In exchange she gets to live with them expense free. He said many women come in from the rural areas to work as nannies; it is a win-win situation. We enjoyed coffee, tea, and snacks with his family.

Maclin really enjoyed feeding a stray cat popcorn outside their door.

His girls are adorable and they were so friendly and outgoing! We have noticed that Ethiopian culture revolves less around children than American culture does. The children are expected to kind of go along with whatever the adults are doing and for the most part, they do! Even children as young as 3 or 4 years old sit quietly through a long meal. The culture is really more about community and family and way less individualistic than what we’re accustomed to.

Sammy’s daughter helping serve coffee

Kids have way less toys than American children do and even in home environments just kind of hang out while the grown ups are talking, maybe helping to serve some food. We asked Sammy if many children had phones in Ethiopia and if so, what age they got them at. His 11-year-old daughter said a few people in her class have them but Sammy said most kids do not- and that his kids would not be getting one until they are 18! Oh how I wish this was the culture in America!

After we chatted for awhile we headed back home. We made a quick stop to see the birth family as they wanted to give us a small gift, but that was short and sweet. When we made it back to the hotel we found out that our beloved driver Yili won’t be with us tomorrow so we had to tell him good-bye ☹ Fun fact about Yili- today he was wearing a Chiefs Super Bowl shirt! He had no idea that was our home team!

One thing I haven’t written about yet is our conversations with multiple folks here. We will ask if they have ever traveled outside of Ethiopia and for the most part the answer is ‘no’. (Yili has been to Dubai once, and Sammy is planning a trip there later this month.) Nearly everyone wants to come to America and sees it as the promise land. America is very much respected and admired. In order to come to America you have to get a visa. I had to get a visa to come to Ethiopia and it was very easy. I filled out a form online, submitted a picture of myself along with a picture of my passport, and paid my fee. Multiple Ethiopians we have talked to have had their visa applications to America denied. They are not given a clear reason, but they suspect it is because the American government is afraid they will not return to their country. Yili is hoping to visit a loved one in DC next year and we are all praying his visa gets approved this time!

That’s it for today. Tomorrow is our last full day here!

Our Last Day With Our Birth Family

What. A. Day.

First of all, two of my closest friends share a birthday and they turn 40 today! Happy birthday Jenn and Lainey! I am so sad to not celebrate with you tonight!

We had a lazy morning. We slept in and got around slowly. Yili picked us up around 11 and we went shopping to get Yordanos a traditional Ethiopian dress. We went to a little market where all of the vendors beckoned us in. Yo went into one of the shops and tried on several of the dresses, but none were quite right. She went into a second shop and tried on a few more, finding one she did like but wasn’t quite convicted on. She went into a third shop to try on a few more but decided she liked the one from the second shop the best!

Maclin was excited because he found a ballcap and a wooden hippo. He loves hippos and has one from KC, San Diego, Paris, and now Ethiopia!

After shopping we went out to lunch. We’ve had either burgers, Ethiopian food, or pizza for pretty much every meal here and we were ready for something else. We went to a Mexican restaurant and it was great!

Then we drove across town to visit Uncle Hailay’s house. We got dropped off on the side of the road and walked through a little hole in the sheet metal fence. There was an alley way with a goat tied up- after some goat pets we walked down the alley and into his house. There was a narrow hallway leading to his living room, where the family was waiting for us. We parked ourselves on the couches, where we would remain for the next several hours.

Entrance to Uncle Hailey’s house

Hailay’s wife had a baby less than two weeks ago and we were able to meet him today! In Ethiopia children are truly considered to be blessing and it is so obvious this baby is loved. They made us a porridge called genfo, which is made of several grains including barley and is said to help the mother regain her strength. We learned that C-Sections are quite popular here to avoid labor pains, but his wife had this baby all natural!

What great conversation we had! We were able to ask many more questions. When you adopt children you usually get very limited information about their backgrounds- and very often the things you do get told aren’t even correct. There have been things we have always wondered, like where their scars came from, what their dad was like, why Marig is so afraid of doctors, what their experience during the war was like, and so on. It was so powerful and so important that our kids have these questions about their past answered. I am so thankful for this opportunity and for the fact that our birth family is so, so great.

We sat and talked for quite some time while they fed us lots of yummy food and coffee.

We then stepped outside to play. There were probably a dozen or so neighborhood kids and they weren’t sure what to think of a white lady! Every time they saw me they would scream and run away- not in a rude way but in a funny way. It turned into a giant game of peek-a-boo and then I shook their hands- quite the novelty! Maclin brought out his football and we had a lot of fun throwing it around. Of course American football isn’t a thing here so no one knew how to throw the ball properly! We really had a lot of fun playing with them.

We went back inside where we ate some more traditional food.  Ethiopians are known for their hospitality and that was definitely on display! Their mom got to feed them, which was so sweet.

I thought we were all going to go to a place called Freedom Park, but as we stood up to get going I realized that the family was not going to go with us….so it was time for good-bye.

Good-byes are always hard, and especially hard when you don’t know the next time you’re going to see each other again. There were lots of hugs, lots of kisses, and a few tears. We took a few last pictures and then it was time to go.

A family reunited

It was dark as we drove to Freedom Park. They had a fountain show that started at 7:00 and we just barely made it! It was too bad we didn’t get there a little earlier; we couldn’t really see much of the park but what we did see was beautiful. There are lots of flowers, a playground, and a lake. The show was great; it reminded us of the Bellagio fountains in Vegas. The best part of the city is on display behind it and it looks really pretty. Marig said “it’s amazing how a country with so many issues can have something like this.”

And a random horse just because the random animals make me feel happy

Kuriftu Water Park

Today we got picked up before the birth family. We drove for a bit and then picked them from the side of the road, they must have walked there from their house. We then headed about 90 minutes southeast to the town of Bishoftu. Bishoftu is just barely in the Oromo region and is known for its lakes and hotels. And Ethiopia’s first water park opened here a couple of years ago!

We weren’t looking forward to the drive- traffic here is crazy. At one point we were on a highway that could fit 4 or 5 cars across but there are no lane markers, so you just drive where you want to drive. The cars and people and donkeys and wild dogs weave in and out of traffic with little regard for what’s around them.

Typical traffic

That got better when we got out of the city. Ethiopia has beautiful scenery and mountains and it was great to see all of that.

It was hard to get a good picture from the window, but it was so pretty

Unfortunately Maclin got car sick when we were just a few minutes away from our destination. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence for passengers in Ethiopia. The van has bags and he made it all in the bag.

We stopped by a roadside stand on the way in to buy the kids’ swimsuits. We were told we should have stayed in the van as they charge white people more!

The park itself is very nice, but small by western standards. There are two children’s play areas, 2 big water slides, and a wave pool. We were told the place gets packed on the weekends, but it was pretty quiet today. We found it interesting that when no one seemed to be using an area they would just shut it off completely. So the kids would think a slide was closed, but if you hovered around and a lifeguard noticed you then they would open it up!

The little girls put on their swimsuits and hesitantly went towards the water. I haven’t written much about Marig and Yordanos’s sister Shawhet but she is a real little spitfire! She is always being goofy and trying to make you laugh and has no problem getting her point across. I am pretty sure she cusses at us regularly in Tigrinya. She is full of energy and spunk and it is quite clear that she is the boss. She kept splashing the water on her face and giggling. The cousin Hermilia is more reserved and follows Shawhet’s lead. She wasn’t sure about getting in at first but soon enjoyed splashing too. The water was ice cold so they didn’t stay in for too long.

The kids’ cousin

And their very spunky sister

The real highlight of the day was watching their brother Sammy play. He had said he likes to swim and he was just loving all the slides and fun- goosebumps and all. He was all smiles all day and it really warmed our hearts. Their Uncle Hailay also seemed to really enjoy himself!

We had lunch at the park and then swam some more. The bad thing about the park is that it is spread out so we didn’t get a chance to talk with our family much. I would say the park is best for mid-age kids…maybe 8-12 years old. There’s a lot for younger kids but they got too cold too fast. There’s not a ton of stuff for older kids and they are too boring to push through the cold. But Maclin and Sammy had a blast!

The boys were so cute. They would be standing there with goosebumps, teeth chattering, but I only had one towel with me- so I gave it to Sammy, who promptly opened it up and shared with Maclin.

The drive back was uneventful. Tomorrow is our last day with the family and we are really looking forward to it- We will be visiting Uncle Hailay’s house and then going to another park!

Spending Time With Family at Entoto Park

November 9^th 2023

We got up and around this morning- I think we’re finally adjusted to this time change!

The family was already in the van when we got downstairs. We went to Entoto Park. Entoto Park is a great way to get away from the hustle and bustle of Addis without actually leaving Addis. Built into the Entoto Mountain and surrounded by eucalyptus trees, it offers lots of different things to do. We only did a small portion of them.

We started off playing in the open air trampoline park! Our family had never been on trampolines before so that was a really fun experience. It was so entertaining to watch them discover the bounce to the trampoline and figure out how to jump with it. We had fun jousting and shooting hoops and just being silly for a bit. No words are needed at the trampoline park!

There were “go-carts” next to the trampoline park, but something was wrong with them so the only option was pedal bikes. That was kind of lame; we could only go for a lap. We probably wouldn’t do that again.

From there we went on the zipline! The zipline goes over the mountain and opens you up to the beautiful views. Mark and Yordanos did it first, and while Yordanos’s mom didn’t resist you could see she was visually worried. She probably thought us Americans are nuts! Then Maclin decided he wanted to do it, and the little brother joined in too! I was surprised he wanted to go but he was a brave little dude!

After the zipline we grabbed lunch. There are several restaurants in the park and we had Ethiopian food again. We had great conversation over lunch. I asked a lot of questions about things we have always been curious about- things like what time of day they were born, how many aunts and uncles they have, what they were like as babies, and so on. I made sure to write everything down so we wouldn’t forget. It was a really powerful and important time.

After lunch our guide Sammy had to leave because he had an important work meeting. We stuck around and went to a children’s play ground for a couple of hours. We had a lot of fun here! It gave the little kids a chance to just be kids while the older kids talked, played a toss the ring game, threw the football around, and just hung out.

The park was free to enter and had pretty views. However, pretty much everything at the park has a charge- even the playground! The prices are reasonable, though. The trampolines were around $5pp and the zipline was $15pp. There is also horseback riding (but Sammy said it’s lame), a climbing wall, paintball, massage, and archery!

We headed back to the hotel right around 5:00 which ended up being terrible timing. Traffic was even more awful than it usually is and it took forever to get back. We had originally planned to walk to Pizza Hut when we got back, but it took so long that it was starting to get dark so we thought we’d order it instead. The staff at the hotel is really friendly and Mark asked for their help ordering it. They obliged and 30 minutes later there was a knock on the door…but it wasn’t Pizza Hut! They thought he wanted room service…so we got some Ethiopian pizza! We were a little skeptical at first but it was really good!

Meeting the Birth Family for the First Time

November 8, 2023

What a day. It started off as what a night! We are still jet lagged. Marig and Yordanos slept okay, but Mark, Maclin, and I barely got any sleep at all last night. Luckly we had a late start this morning.

Sammy and Yili were bringing the family to our hotel at noon. It was a good crowd- their mom, 4-year old sister, 11-year-old brother, uncle, 3-year-old cousin, and an aunt. We were waiting in the lobby for them and saw them pull up in the van.

I struggle a bit with how to tell the rest of this story because it’s not really mine to tell. There are obviously big and complicated emotions. Can you imagine seeing your mom for the first time in 10 years? Or hugging your babies for the first time in a decade? We have sat and talked and processed and prayed for this moment for months. I think I’m going to stick to telling the facts and leave it up to Marig and Yo to share any other details when and if they want to.

The family arrived, we all hugged, I cried, and we sat around the couches in the lobby awkwardly for a bit. Everything we said had to go through two translators- English to Amharic, and then Amharic to Tigrinya. We covered the basics and then got in the van to go to Unity Park.

The van ride was also quiet and awkward, but it was short. There is security to get into Unity Park- our bags were searched, we walked through metal detectors, and our family had to show their IDs to qualify for the lower resident price. That didn’t really take that long and helped us feel safe inside the park. Unity Park was built in 2019 and covers 40 acres around the Grand Palace, which was built in the 1800s. The prime minister’s office and residence are still there. There is a lot to the park! There are museums about Ethiopian history, artifacts, and a zoo.

Unity Park was a great thing to do on our first day with the birth family. It gave us something to do and things to look at so that we weren’t just sitting around awkwardly. As we walked through you could feel the nerves begin to loosen and soon we were all pretty comfortable with each other. There’s an Ethiopian restaurant on property that we ate at. While we were waiting for their food Yordanos and I went next door and made some injera! That was a quick experience but a cool one. They seemed to really only ask the girls to do that and I had to quiet my feminist voice that wanted to push my sons up there too. 😊

We had a chance to talk over lunch but I didn’t want to interrogate them when we had just met so we kept it pretty surface level. After the conversation died down I noticed the brother sitting there. I got my phone out and introduced him to Subway Surfer. He was interested but never really got the hang of it, but the phone along with the orange Fanta seemed to wake the kids right up!

Again, I’ll let Marig and Yo share their experiences but I took a liking to the two little girls! They were shy at first but really latched on to me later in the day. The sister is very ornery and silly and the cousin is very smart and sweet. We had a lot of fun together, those girls and I!

The zoo was small but sweet. It was nicer than I was expecting. The animals seemed to be pretty active. We saw a black-mane lion, meerkats, baboons, lions, cheetahs, and so much more!

Throughout the day the birth family kept facetiming with other people they knew to show off the kids.

Yo and her mom walked everywhere hand-in-hand.

We got the kids some ice cream but that was a mixed review. The 11-year-old felt like his tongue was numb and didn’t finish!

The park really had a ton of information in it, you could come back on your own and spend several hours here. It would be a really great place to brush up on your Ethiopian history. You could even spend a few extra bucks for a tour guide. We didn’t need that since we were with Sammy- and since our focus was on the family- but if I came here without my own guide it might be worth it. We spent four hours here but to be honest, I didn’t really pay attention to much of anything at the park. I just wanted to get to know the family and to help them be comfortable around us.

We left the park and went back to the hotel. The family came in to the lobby again while we brought down the suitcases and duffel bags full of the clothing and items that so many of our friends- you guys- had passed along for them. We didn’t really want to make a big spectacle out of it so we did not take pictures or go through the items, but it was abundantly clear that they were very thankful!

We have another family day tomorrow.

Getting Acclimated in Ethiopia

November 7, 2023

We had hoped to get up for breakfast today- We went to bed very late last night, but breakfast went until 10 am so we felt pretty good about waking up. Imagine my surprise when I rolled over, looked at my phone, and it said 1:47 PM! Ooops. Jet lag is real!

I intentionally didn’t make plans for today. I knew we would need the day to adjust to the time change and get our bearings. I sheepishly replied to our guide’s message from 3 hours ago and confessed that we had just woken up. We got around and Sammy and Yili came to pick us up. They took us across town- just watching the sights go by is an adventure in itself!

View out the window

An alleyway we drove by

We went to a place called Sishu Burger. My kids were dying to eat Ethiopian food, but Sammy said we would be eating a lot of Ethiopian food with the family over the next few days and advised we go with something else. We enjoyed our late lunch and then went right next door to a coffee place. I was thinking it would be a traditional coffee ceremony type of thing but it was more similar to an American coffee shop! Over lunch and coffee we got to know each other better. We really like both Sammy and Yili a lot. They have made us feel very comfortable.

Marig and Yo with our driver Yili

Next Yordanos wanted to walk around, so that’s what we did! We walked by so many little shanty shops and just took it all in. The biggest surprise was when we walked by the herd of goats on the road- we had seen the goats on the way in, but as we walked by we walked right past goat heads and guts laying on the ground!

You’re welcome for not including the goat heads

Later in the evening I interviewed all the kids and asked them what they were surprised about- all three of them said something about the severed goat heads. Overall we felt safe walking around, but mostly because Sammy was with us. Small crimes such as pickpocketing have been on the rise lately. We were very much in the minority and don’t speak the language, so it was nice to have someone there who knew the culture.

We walked several blocks and then Yili picked us up. He took us back to the hotel. It gets dark around 6:30 here and we like to be back to the hotel room by dark. So, we had several hours to burn after getting home. My good friend Lainey gave each of the kids a journal and I am having them each spend about 10-15 minutes a day journaling. After that they caught up on homework, we ordered room service, we played Yahtzee, and enjoyed some downtime. Tomorrow is the day we are meeting their family!

Journey to Ethiopia

Our travel day did not start off smoothly, at all. Our flight was supposed to be at 9am but had been moved up to 6am a couple months ago. This caused a lot of trouble as while I knew the flight had been changed, that change didn’t seem to feed backwards to the travel agency site we booked on, and I had spent hours and hours on the phone trying to get it corrected. I was assured I finally did, and received confirmations about the early flight. I was told that I needed to deal directly with the airline from then on, and it appeared correctly on their site, but it never really did look right on the travel agency site.

We booked a van to pick us up at 3:30 am. We went outside as the van pulled up and found…a minivan. There was no way we could fit in there with all our stuff. Luckily the shuttle company was able to quickly resolve that and sent over our sprinter van about 15 minutes later. Not really a big deal.

It shouldn’t have been a big deal, anyways. When we got to the airport the check in kiosks didn’t like us- I figured it was because we were on an international trip and they needed to check our papers.

Before we knew there was an issue

We stood in line and when we got up to the ticket agent I could tell something was wrong. She wouldn’t tell us what, but called someone over and I heard them whispering about how they had never seen that before. She then got on the phone with someone who couldn’t seem to help. I still am not sure exactly what was wrong- something about our tickets being reissued a lot of times but never confirmed- but we stood there for a LONG time. At around 4:45 am they gave us a deadline of 5:21 to figure it out. I was on the phone with Qatar Airlines trying to get some resolution, the ticket agents were trying to get it resolved….nothing. Mark’s ticket was okay so he went on while I stayed with the kids and prayed. And prayed and prayed. I learned that most of our trip looked okay, it was just the KC-Philly leg that was an issue- the one with the time change 2 months ago.

I went through options in my head. I didn’t have time to drive to Philly. We could maybe take another flight, but that was uncertain and we had plans in Philly that I was excited about. I was about ready to just buy that flight, again. That sucked because not only would I be paying a lot of money for something I had already paid for, but I would also have to pay to check all 10 of our bags, AND we would have to get them off and then recheck them again in Philly. A pain all the way around but I had my credit card out ready to swipe.

At 5:19 I was still on the phone with Qatar. The guy was very nice and really thought he would be able to help but we were running out of time. At 5:20 a different ticket agent suddenly did some kind of magic and said “I’m just going to confirm them here.” He started printing off boarding passes and bag tags. I thought he was processing my purchase of new tickets and handed him my credit card, but he said no, he confirmed our original tickets. I am not sure why he was able to do that when no one else could, but I wanted to jump across the counter and kiss him! I asked him how I could tell him boss how great he was, but he said “Weeellll….I’m not sure I was really supposed to do that so we can just keep it between us.” You who shall remain nameless at the American Airlines ticket counter, know that you are an angel straight from heaven. I truly believe God was shining down on us at that moment. Can you imagine what a pain it would have been if we started off our 34 hour trip with a missed flight?!

The flight was starting to board and we were still at the ticket counter. We ran to security and got through relatively quickly, and then sprinted to our gate- it was the furthest away you could possibly get. We got there just as they called our boarding group, the last group. We had no time to fill our water bottles or use the restroom, but we made it on that darned plane! I’ve never had a call that close and my heart continued to pound throughout the flight.

We had an 11 hour layover in Philly. After a quick breakfast at the airport we Ubered to Fairmount Bikes and met our tour guide Joe.

The cutest little bike shop

The weather could not have been more perfect, 70 and sunny. We got to see the steps from the Rocky scene,

Mac running up the steps!

learn about the murals around Philly, see the Magic Garden made of trash,

Yo at Magic Gardens

admire the adorable $4M row homes in the Rittenhouse neighborhood, see and learn about the Liberty Bell- though we couldn’t go through the museum because someone had pulled the fire alarm-

see the building that was the original US capitol building and where the Declaration of Independence was signed,

Our nation’s first capitol!

and see the first hospital, which Ben Franklin founded- this had lots of interesting stories including that they only did surgeries between 10-2 on sunny days because they needed the light from the skylight as there was no electricity, and they sold tickets to see surgeries!

A lot of people died here as they used the hospital to train doctors.

Joe was full of knowledge and it was a great reset from a crazy morning. It was really nice to break up the travel and move our bodies.

After the tour we got lunch at the Reading Terminal Market- Mark described this as a “mall of food”- and went back to the airport.

We had to check in again at the airport- this wasn’t exactly smooth, but not nearly the issue we had earlier that day.  After one long phone call we got our boarding tickets and got on the plane. Our 13 hour flight for Qatar left at 9PM. After boarding we watched a movie, ate, and then slept as much as we could. The flight was smooth and passed by relatively quickly.

We landed in Doha, Qatar around 5:30 PM local time and it was already dark! We had been told to dress modestly as we passed through here. The airport was very modern and nice, with lots of high end stores. Our layover here was relatively quick and we did not really have time to walk around. I was a little disappointed that we couldn’t really experience the country, but also excited to get to Ethiopia!

The flight was almost all Ethiopian people and the plane was big, even bigger than our overseas flight! It was only about a 4.5 hour flight but was international, so the plane had 10 seats across. It was another smooth flight and when we landed in Ethiopia we exited the plane via the stairs and took a bus to the terminal.

We got through the visa area relatively quickly but it took FOREVER for our bags to come out. I had been worried about our bags since we checked into our KC flight so late and wondered if they had been left behind. Finally after about an hour they came out.

It took some time to get through customs but we finally made it outside and met our guide Sammy and our driver Yili! I felt badly that they had been waiting for us for so long, but they were friendly and helped us with our bags. The took us to our hotel- The Cassiopeia- and we got settled in.

The last two times we were in Ethiopia we stayed in guest houses, which are sort of like bed and breakfasts. They are more like houses and locally run. While I like the idea of that, I actually did not enjoy the experience at all. The guests houses lacked modern conveniences, the wifi was not reliable or nonexistent, and they’re not in commercial areas. The hotel we are staying in is pretty comparable to an American hotel. We have two adjoining rooms, showers with hot water, toilets with lids, refrigerators, a gym, and there are some walkable amenities nearby. It’s a much more comfortable environment. When we got to the hotel it was 2am local time, but only 5PM Kansas City time, so we weren’t that tired. We got unpacked and settled in and made it to bed around 4am local time. We didn’t make any plans for the next day, but we hoped to get up for breakfast.

Preparing for our Ethiopia Trip

Our trip to Ethiopia has been years in the making. When we brought the kids home in 2014 we planned to return to Ethiopia in 5 years. Come 2019 we were planning a trip for the following year. Then covid happened, and in November 2020 Ethiopia broke out in a civil war.

The war did not have international implications so it was never really covered in the headlines, but it was a terrible, deadly war. My kids are from a region in northern Ethiopia called Tigray and that’s where the worst of the fighting was. An estimated 600,000 people died and starvation and rape were common. We worried a lot about their family and I often sought out headlines to stay up to date; you can read more about it here.

Luckily the fighting stopped in November 2022 and after about six months of peace we started the trip planning process again. We bought tickets in May of 2023 and hoped to visit Tigray. We had visited on previous trips and liked that area much better than the busy capital city, Addis Ababa. However, as the trip ticked closer it remained unadvisable to travel to Tigray. We made a hard decision to still go on the trip, but to stay in Addis. Not exactly the trip we dreamed of, but better than nothing. I would liken it to if you grew up in Kansas City, lived in another country for 10 years, and then finally came home…only you couldn’t quite make it to Kansas City. Rather than KC you visit New York. You get some aspects of American culture in New York, but it’s a far cry from home.

With that major decision out of the way, it was time to plan for the rest of the trip…or was it? You can’t really plan that far ahead in Ethiopia, and one month out we had made virtually zero plans. I had a slight breakdown and then went into turbo planning mode. Planning a trip like this is different than planning a family trip to Disney World. There are so many things to think about. SO MANY THINGS. What travel vaccinations do we need? (yellow fever). Do we need visas? (Yes). What about visas for Qatar, the country we’re laying over in? (No, because we’re there for <24 hours). Should we stay in a hotel or a guest house? (Hotel). Will my phone work? (No, but you can buy a sim card at the airport). Will the birth family be able to travel to Addis? (YES!) How will they get there? (flights). What should we bring the family? (lots!) What do I need to do to keep the kids from falling too far behind at school? (thank goodness for awesome teachers!) I could go on and on.

I got to work. I connected with a guide a friend had previously used, Sammy. He has been AMAZING. I don’t think he ever sleeps; he always answers my (many) questions so quickly. Did I sign a contract with Sammy? Nope. Did I put down a deposit with him? Nope. Things just don’t work like that here. Sammy used his own money to book our hotel and purchase airfare for our family. He booked us a driver, found us a translator, had coffee with an uncle who lives in Addis, and figured out how to get our birth family IDs so that they can fly. In return we purchased him Brooks tennis shoes, Adidas sneakers, Children’s Place clothes, Vaseline chapstick, Versace perfume, and iPhones. We’ll settle the difference later. All of our correspondence was over Facebook Messenger. Seems like it shouldn’t work but it just does. That’s how a lot of things go over here.

The day before our trip I took Amara to the airport. She is staying with my sister in Virgina. We will miss her, but I just felt she wasn’t quite ready. She is only 9 years old and it is 34+ hours to get to Ethiopia (about 20 actually on an airplane), a 9 hour time difference, and then just a totally different culture without a lot of the comforts that we’re used to. Also, that girl has a lot of personality that I adore, but I thought it would be distracting on a trip to meet the birth family. She is bffs with her cousins so she was thrilled to spend some time with them. Her flight was uneventful- there was actually another girl her age traveling alone, so that was nice- but they did have an issue when she arrived! My sister had booked a hotel in DC. They planned to stay the night there and go to the zoo the next day. What no one knew is that a massive protest over the Israel/Hamas war was happening in DC. There were tens of thousands of people and many roads were shut down. My poor sister couldn’t get to the hotel that was 5 minutes from the airport. Finally after about 3 hours of driving around with 4 kids they arrived! I know they are going to have a blast.

Back to our trip- I was told that clothing and basic toiletries like deodorant and chapstick are hard to come by in Ethiopia, so we put out a call to our friends and did they deliver! We spent the last two weekends sorting and packing dozens of trash bags of clothes and goodies. Some folks gave generous amounts of money that we used to buy necessities, and we had enough left over that were also able to buy life straws and a solar flashlight/charging bank. Come travel day we had six giant suitcases, 4 enormous duffel bags, 5 backpacks, and an oversized tote. Over 500 pounds of stuff! It was so much stuff that it wouldn’t all fit in my minivan, so we booked a 10 passenger van to take us to the airport. With all of our bags packed and our youngest halfway across the country, we went to bed early so we could wake up in the middle of the night for our journey!