Day 1 in Ethiopia

Today was our first full day in Ethiopia.  We both took an Ambien last night.  After I took mine, I broke my toe on the bed, fell onto the bed, and I couldn't get up!  I slept soundly until 5:30 am.  William says I was talking in my sleep.

We met our group for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  It was very good AND included with our room.  We left the hotel at 10 am (or so) and met Rachel, the transition home director, at the Ethiopian version of Starbucks for a meeting, and then had lunch at some Garden restaurant.  William and I both got Ethiopian dishes.  The injera was much more sour than at home.

After lunch was the moment we came for!  We went to the transition home to meet our children!  It was very surreal.  Meteku (Beniah) was fine with being handed off.  He did not make eye contact with us at first.  William and I passed him back and forth and told him about his big brother and big sisters.  After about 15 minutes, he fell asleep in my arms. 

We really enjoyed all of the children at the transition home.  I know those of you waiting to go are just dying.  Your children are precious!  I was especially smitten with the Laughner's little one.  He is a sweet heart!  Of course, they are all wonderful!  The bigger kids are lots of fun, and the girls liked to show me how well they jump rope and enjoyed the praise they received.  We delivered the care package to the Forrests' adorable little guy.  He really likes his car!  We know you all are dying for more photos, but the connection here is SO SLOW that we cannot load that many photos.  The Lusses alone took over 700 photos today! 

We were really please to see that the photo book and the lovey that we sent for Meteku months and months ago were in his little bed!  When we handed him his lovey, he grasped onto it and gnawed on the tags.  We both got to feed him bottles, and he gazed into our faces and even grabbed my nose and William's mouth.  Ouch. 

The VanWettens were so blessed today to meet their older daughter's birth mother.  It was very emotional and a strong spiritual experience for them.  You'll have to check their blog whenever she gets a chance to share their story.

We went out for an Ethiopian cultural experience for dinner.  It was traditional Ethiopian food including the hand washing and dancers.  We loved it!

We went to a store after dinner and stocked up on water and got some bebere spice and one can of the formula that Meteku is eating now.  It was expensive -$9 for a small can. 

William is feeling a little ill in the tummy.  He thinks that part of it is motion sickness from riding in the van.  The roads here or lack of roads here are getting to him.  Riding around is a true experience!! 

The hotel is nice.  We have a lot of room.  We bought the noise machine that KP recommended and were not woken by the call to prayer at 6 am or whenever it was.