I don't think a trip to Ethiopia would be complete without a few adventures. These are the stories that we will remember when we think back on our court trip. Somehow we are always involved in such strange events. Maybe it's God's way of helping us to relax, trust Him, and enjoy our time.
As most of you know, I am a control freak. I don't like to admit this, but it's so true. For this reason, things like delayed flights freak me out. Our first adventure happened before we even left Minnesota. As I mentioned before, our flight was delayed and we would have missed our connecting flight to Germany had we not been able to get on the earlier flight. Thank God we got on. We made all our connecting flights. We decided to take the route with several stops because they were the cheapest tickets. I don't think we'll be doing that when we go next time to get the kids. Talk about exhausting! We went from Minneapolis to Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany to Khartoum, Sudan (fuel stop only - we stayed on the plane), to Ethiopia. Our flights home followed the same sequence in reverse.
Our next adventure was on our in-country flight from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa. I already mentioned that when we got to the airport the ticket agent said we didn't have seats reserved and that there was only one seat left on the plane. After much discussion, we did get on the flight. When we finally boarded the plane, we had to walk outside to get to the plane and board. We were super excited about the flight because we were flying in Business class. It was a small airplane (two seats, aisle, two seats), so it didn't have first class. We were feeling so fancy up there in business class. Finally the plane was boarded and we looked around and realized the plane was not full. There were plenty of open seats. Strange.
Once we had taken off, the flight attendants brought table cloths for our tray tables. Then they served us our drinks in real glasses. We were feeling so fancy. I looked behind to see if the economy class was being served as well. They weren't. We were the only ones to get drinks and a meal. Oh, how fancy.... especially because it was only a 50 minute flight! As we were waiting for our meal to come (which, by the way, was probably the best plane food we had the entire trip), we decided we should throw our gum away. As I was reaching down to my backpack to get a piece of paper, Matt spilled his drink all over the tray table (thank goodness for the table cloth), his seat, and his pants. As I was going to help him, I spilled my drink all over the place as well. Well, I guess we weren't so fancy after all. :(
Our third adventure was probably my favorite. On our way to Harar on Saturday, I told the staff person traveling with us (Saeda) that we wanted to buy a goat for the care center. Here was our conversation:
Me: Saeda, can we buy a goat for the care center today on the way there?
Saeda: A goat?
Me: Yes, a goat. I talked to Abel (director at the care center) yesterday and he said it would be okay.
Saeda: Okay, yes, we can buy a goat.
--a few minutes later after Saeda talked to Abel about buying a goat for the care center--
Saeda: Becca, do you want to buy goat just for Sara (our daughter) or for everyone at the care center?
Me: For everyone at the care center. Will we be able to drive with it in the van?
Saeda: *strange look on her face* Yes, we can drive with it in the van.
Me: It will fit okay? (there was no trunk, the seats went all the way to the back... I was afraid it might bite me)
Saeda: *another strange look* Yes, it will fit.
--a few moments later we stop at a shop and get out to buy the goat--
Saeda: What kind of goat do you want?
Me: I don't know, I've never bought a goat before.
--As we walk into the shop, I see we are in a jewelry store. I find it strange that you would buy a goat at a jewelry store--
Saeda: *pointing to the gold rings* Here's the gold. What do you want to get?
Me: Not gold. A goat. *enunciate the 't' sound* I want to buy a goat.
Seriously, everything made so much more sense after that. We got a good chuckle out of our miscommunication. :)
After we finally bought the goat, one of the Ethiopians with us asked if we got a good price. I said I didn't know because I had never bought a goat before. He laughed and said, "I guess you don't really have a market for buying goats in your country." No, we really don't. But, now we can say we've bought a goat. And watched it get skinned too. Bleh! And, in case you are curious, it did fit in the van. They lifted the back seat up and smooshed the pour thing under the seat. They left his head out from under the seat, between the back seat and the back doors. The entire way to the care center it was bleating like crazy. It was so sad...but then I thought, "You've got worse things coming, buddy. Enjoy the ride."
Our final adventure was while we were in Harar *trying* to buy coffee. We were told that the coffee in Harar is the best in the world. We set out to buy the coffee, but all the coffee shops were closed because the day before was a Muslim holy day. At the coffee shop, we ran into some self-professed tour guides. Abel hired them to show us where we can buy coffee. Our quick coffee run turned into an hour plus escapade around Harar. We searched high and low for that coffee. I really hope it tastes like the best in the world!
As most of you know, I am a control freak. I don't like to admit this, but it's so true. For this reason, things like delayed flights freak me out. Our first adventure happened before we even left Minnesota. As I mentioned before, our flight was delayed and we would have missed our connecting flight to Germany had we not been able to get on the earlier flight. Thank God we got on. We made all our connecting flights. We decided to take the route with several stops because they were the cheapest tickets. I don't think we'll be doing that when we go next time to get the kids. Talk about exhausting! We went from Minneapolis to Chicago to Frankfurt, Germany to Khartoum, Sudan (fuel stop only - we stayed on the plane), to Ethiopia. Our flights home followed the same sequence in reverse.
Our next adventure was on our in-country flight from Addis Ababa to Dire Dawa. I already mentioned that when we got to the airport the ticket agent said we didn't have seats reserved and that there was only one seat left on the plane. After much discussion, we did get on the flight. When we finally boarded the plane, we had to walk outside to get to the plane and board. We were super excited about the flight because we were flying in Business class. It was a small airplane (two seats, aisle, two seats), so it didn't have first class. We were feeling so fancy up there in business class. Finally the plane was boarded and we looked around and realized the plane was not full. There were plenty of open seats. Strange.
Once we had taken off, the flight attendants brought table cloths for our tray tables. Then they served us our drinks in real glasses. We were feeling so fancy. I looked behind to see if the economy class was being served as well. They weren't. We were the only ones to get drinks and a meal. Oh, how fancy.... especially because it was only a 50 minute flight! As we were waiting for our meal to come (which, by the way, was probably the best plane food we had the entire trip), we decided we should throw our gum away. As I was reaching down to my backpack to get a piece of paper, Matt spilled his drink all over the tray table (thank goodness for the table cloth), his seat, and his pants. As I was going to help him, I spilled my drink all over the place as well. Well, I guess we weren't so fancy after all. :(
Our third adventure was probably my favorite. On our way to Harar on Saturday, I told the staff person traveling with us (Saeda) that we wanted to buy a goat for the care center. Here was our conversation:
Me: Saeda, can we buy a goat for the care center today on the way there?
Saeda: A goat?
Me: Yes, a goat. I talked to Abel (director at the care center) yesterday and he said it would be okay.
Saeda: Okay, yes, we can buy a goat.
--a few minutes later after Saeda talked to Abel about buying a goat for the care center--
Saeda: Becca, do you want to buy goat just for Sara (our daughter) or for everyone at the care center?
Me: For everyone at the care center. Will we be able to drive with it in the van?
Saeda: *strange look on her face* Yes, we can drive with it in the van.
Me: It will fit okay? (there was no trunk, the seats went all the way to the back... I was afraid it might bite me)
Saeda: *another strange look* Yes, it will fit.
--a few moments later we stop at a shop and get out to buy the goat--
Saeda: What kind of goat do you want?
Me: I don't know, I've never bought a goat before.
--As we walk into the shop, I see we are in a jewelry store. I find it strange that you would buy a goat at a jewelry store--
Saeda: *pointing to the gold rings* Here's the gold. What do you want to get?
Me: Not gold. A goat. *enunciate the 't' sound* I want to buy a goat.
Seriously, everything made so much more sense after that. We got a good chuckle out of our miscommunication. :)
After we finally bought the goat, one of the Ethiopians with us asked if we got a good price. I said I didn't know because I had never bought a goat before. He laughed and said, "I guess you don't really have a market for buying goats in your country." No, we really don't. But, now we can say we've bought a goat. And watched it get skinned too. Bleh! And, in case you are curious, it did fit in the van. They lifted the back seat up and smooshed the pour thing under the seat. They left his head out from under the seat, between the back seat and the back doors. The entire way to the care center it was bleating like crazy. It was so sad...but then I thought, "You've got worse things coming, buddy. Enjoy the ride."
Our final adventure was while we were in Harar *trying* to buy coffee. We were told that the coffee in Harar is the best in the world. We set out to buy the coffee, but all the coffee shops were closed because the day before was a Muslim holy day. At the coffee shop, we ran into some self-professed tour guides. Abel hired them to show us where we can buy coffee. Our quick coffee run turned into an hour plus escapade around Harar. We searched high and low for that coffee. I really hope it tastes like the best in the world!
View of the Ethiopian landscape from our fancy business class seat.
View of the countryside on the way to Harar from Dire Dawa. Stunning.
Matt buying fruit from a local vendor on the way to Harar on Friday morning. Notice the crowd gathering around him.
The goat smooshed under the seat.
He was so happy to be let out.
Abel walking the goat into the care center. In front of him is Saeda.
On our search for coffee, we stopped to see a few historic sights in Harar. With us are Abel and Zeg (or Zet, we aren't quite sure), one of the care center's social workers
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