Ethiopia Day 3 and 4

Debra Zeit  - Saturday  November 19, 2011

Right now I am lounging at Kuriftu Resort viewing a crater lake in Debra Zeit.

We had another great breakfast at BJoes.  Crepes and eggs.  They make wonderful coffee on the stove top and add cinnamon, coriander and cloves.  Sugar is offered but there is no cream.  I brought my powdered creamer from home :)

We wished Mollie well before we left.  Her son was being brought to her today around 11 am.  So excited for her.

It was about an hour and a half drive to Debra Zeit.  Crazy drive, lots of fumes, felt car sick.  We passed the federal prison on the way - did not look very secure at all.

So many people walking, so many cars and no traffic signals, goats, horses and donkeys walking in between cars, and lots of fumes!  We drove with Becca and Kirk and their driver Solomon.

The farther away from Addis the more horse drawn taxis.  Market stands line the sides of the streets.  Donkeys are used to carry heavy loads for their owners.  Men were selling fresh honey still in honey comb on the road side.  Solomon stopped and bought honey for everyone to try.  You suck the honey and spit out the comb.  Frank, Becca and Kirk all tried it and said it was very sweet.  I was feeling very car sick.  Solomon also bought chick pea pods.  Pop the chick pea from the pod right into your mouth - Frank said it was good.

We saw a man with a bag of green leaves and Solomon explained "chat" to us.  He said it's like a legal marijuana here in Ethiopia.  Keeps you wide awake and "kills hungry."  You chew it.  Sounds more like the effects of cocaine.  He said people drink lots of beer to help get to sleep after chat.

We saw one room mud homes on the road sides.  Solomon said they last about 20 years.

When we arrived at Kuriftu Resort we were all amazed at such beauty.  We just drove miles on bumpy dirt roads and then come upon this beautiful resort.  The resort is owned by an American.  The rooms start at around $150 USD and there is kayaking and a spa.

We all purchased a day pass which included a lunch buffet and 30 minute kayaking, and a 25% off coupon for a spa treatment.

We sat overlooking the crater lake and enjoyed a wonderful buffet of Ethiopian food, lamb, beef and veal stews, tilapia, veges and injera.  There was a lady performing a coffee ceremony.  The ceremony is traditional and coffee is served with popcorn.  Koen had spaghetti and they hand-squeezed a glass of apple juice for him.  I think about this now and I should not have allowed him a fresh apple.  Thankfully he did not get sick.  (p.s. he does get sick 2 days later - not sure if the apple is the culprit or not)

Frank and Koen, Becca and Kirk, went kayaking while I took pictures and wrote in my journal.  It was such a beautiful day to hang out and relax.  Someone suggested to do this resort early in the trip before visiting the government orphanages because we may not feel like pampering ourselves after that.

At 5 pm Becca and I got a massage.  It cost $11 - crazy.  The massage included full tush, stomach and breasts - much to our surprise.  They used straight-up olive oil - we slid right on out of there :)

(Laura - if you're reading this I know you had a massage in ET - did you forget to tell us something about your massage? :)

Not much for Koen to do at this resort so we let him pretend this dirt pile was a sand box.  A family was walking by laughing at Koen and asked me if they could take a picture - probably thinking "crazy Americans".

We all napped on our way back to BJoes.  Took dramamine this time.  We picked up pizza and wine and all had dinner together.  We met Mollie's little B when we got back!  Mollie was ready to take him to bed but introduced us to him first.  He is so sweet!! 

It is so nice to have other families to hang out with; share this journey.

We went to bed around 10:30 pm.  Around 1 am the dogs barking woke me up.  We plugged my little travel fan into the converter and within 2 minutes it blew up.  So I blew up my hair dryer and fan now.  Just glad I haven't burned the place down.

Sunday  November 20, 2011

We all got to take a warm shower this morning.  Some mornings the hot water is a little hard to come by so when I managed to get some all 3 of us crammed into the shower real quick.

Another great breakfast this morning; pancakes and eggs.  We met Frank, CEO of Gladney, over breakfast.  He is here for only 48 hours for business.  He was very nice.

We had time to check emails and Facebook and enjoyed reading everyones' nice comments about our meeting Beza.  Koen keeps asking to see Beza and really wants us to bring her home.

It's a down time kind of day.  Not much open on Sundays here.  Koen is catching up on DS and wishing for Wii.  Frank is trying to upload photos so we can share in emails.

Another mom arrived today to take placement of her little girl.  It's so great to see families united.

Our plan is to do a walking tour today.  We were told to prepare ourselves on how we will deal with children begging for food.  Need to buy bananas and granola bars.

We walked to a grocery market today and were confronted with our first children beggars.  I wanted to cry.  We had taken a few fruit snacks with us.  The children smiled from ear to ear when handed the snack.  My heart felt like breaking when a young girl I guess to be about 13 or 14, with a baby strapped to her back, approached us motioning her fingers to her mouth.  We didn't have anything to give her.

We bought a bunch of cookies so we would have something to hand out next time.

As we were walking to the market a loose bull was charging the street.  Men were trying to catch him with a lasso, unsuccessfully.  Crazy sight.

When we returned home from grocery shopping it was around 2 pm.  So we decided to just wait until about 5:30 and have an early dinner.  We went with Becca and Kirk to Top View - a restaurant on top of the mountain overlooking the city.  Frank and I ate a European version of Ethiopian food.  Not nearly as good as Lancaster's Addissu :)  Koen slept through dinner for the 4th night in a row.  We had a real nice time talking adoption, about our girls, and court for the next day.

It has been an emotional day for me.  I don't feel very well - blaming it on the high altitude.

It was a wonderful moment to see Leda take placement of her daughter today.  B was living in the same room as Beza.  We saw her on Thursday and she and Beza were a lot alike; shy, reserved, clinging to their caretakers.

When the driver arrived at Bjoes he handed B to Leda.  We were all standing around witnessing this most special moment.  It was wonderful and hard at the same time to see.  I was so happy for Leda imagining that will be me in a month or two - finally holding my daughter in my arms and knowing it's forever.  Hard to see the uncertainty and fear in B's eyes imagining that will be Beza in a month or two.  I really need to pray for strength.  I think about all that these babies have been through in their short lives.  Their parents disappear, their roommates disappear, then their caretakers disappear.  Makes me sad.  (p.s. B is loving her momma, and her red shoes :)  and was smiling and laughing a few days later. So very glad to have seen the transition.  She is a beautiful, beautiful little girl.  Hoping and praying for such a transition for Beza and me.)