Just showing off my photos from our 4th day in Ethiopia! Maybe by the time I’m done this little series, it will be time to go pick up our girl. Then I will show you her face!
So, with two days to prepare for our trip to Africa, we left our house in PA on Thursday morning, February 19th, with a direct flight to Addis on Friday morning.
Day 4 was Monday, February 23rd, and once again we were looking forward to getting caught up with sleep. We were surprised when, once again like Sunday morning, the live singing started over the loud speaker in the town and woke us up starting around 1 a.m. It continued throughout the morning. When we asked the guesthouse staff why there was singing on a Monday, we learned it was a holy day for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. We said — does this mean there will be no singing tomorrow morning?! We were assured not! Whew!
Peering out of our guest home windows on the second floor, we could also see a man in the streets with a curved horn, stopping at every side road and path, also “singing”. We learned he was the town crier, and he was announcing a funeral that would happen that afternoon.
Today’s visit was the best ever — complete with belly laugh! And the best fun? No toys or stuffed animals or even bubbles could compare with the game of emptying out mommy’s purse and filling it up again. Hey, whatever works.
After our morning visit with our girl, we headed out to do some shopping! Our driver went with us and helped with the language barrier and also with the bargaining.
I really wanted to get some items for our daughter to have from her birth country. I hope I bought enough keepsakes to give her one each year on her “gotcha day” (the day when she will leave the orphanage!). Then, when she has a home of her own, she will have some special items from Ethiopia.
Day 5 would be the whole reason for this trip — Court!
