Mom and me!

This is the only picture, other than the group pic, that was taken at the Mercado. This is what a market looks like. Sheep, goats, cows, donkeys and horses roam freely. It had been raining this particular morning so what looks like fairly stable ground behind us is poop and mud. We had such a great time! I hope we can go back with Marren so she can see it all too!

Here we are at Lake Awassa! This is before we got in the rickety water filled boat! Oh- it may seem like I am dogging it, but I am definitely not. It was super fun and the attitude was like, "so what the boat leaks".

The Lucy museum was pretty cool!

Here we are at the resort. Can't you hear some eerie spooky music being played?

Here we are at the coffee/false banana farm. Mom didn't make it the whole way. The mosquitos were eating her alive!

Marren's nannies

Unlike other kids who are moved here a few weeks before they go home, this was Marren's home since she was 5 days old. The nannies have such love for the kids you could see what an impact they have on all the children. I was concerned about how Marren would attach to me since she spent all of her 6 months in the Enat Alem orphanage but the love and attention the nannies showed her helped her to be the happy and content child she is today. These women are special to me. Even after she was placed in my arms that day, each nanny came up to me and asked to hold her again and hugged her and made her laugh.

The Enat Alem nurse is on the left. Her husband did his post graduate work at OU! (Small world)

This is the over-night nanny. She is in high school and sleeps in the baby room at Enat Alem.

Marren fell asleep in my arms within 5 minutes of her being placed in my arms.

She is dressed differently because she was in charge of the coffee ceremony.

This is Marren's favorite nanny.

It made me cry to see her cry over Marren. She loved her very much. I am happy that I got a picture of her smiling for Marren.

Trees

The Resort: I can't remember the name....

The resort was fairly modern. I am not sure how many people were there. It seemed deserted. The road off the main road to get here was only 3 miles but it took us 25 minutes because the road is not paved and extremely bumpy. I felt like I was some sort of ride. One small mistake and Sammy would have put us in a hole.


This is the driveway leading up to the resort and it is flat.


Activities in Amharic. I personally wouldn't want to go horseback riding. The horses here seem to be primarily for work. They are smaller than the horses I have seen in Oklahoma and very skinny. I didn't see the horses from the resort so I don't know if they were in better shape.


I have never been a self proclaimed arbor lover, but the trees here are so pretty. This is another tree that can't be found in Oklahoma and it is lovely!


This is the beach area. From this view, the water is to the right. Straight on in the background are cliffs. The beach is more rock based than sand based.


This is a close-up of the cliffs. Unlike Lake Awassa, this area is more desolate and the idea that this is a vacation spot seems strange. Of course, you couldn't pay me to get in with the alligators and hippos that Awassa has to offer but this was a scary place to me. I don't mean in an unclean way, just a lonely place. It didn't scream FUN to me.


This picture is a view I took by turning a quarter to the right. The water was clear and warm and brown. It was very mirror-like on the day we were there.


On the way out of the resort mom spotted monkeys! There were two of them but we couldn't get them in the same shot. They did enjoy the wheat thins they were thrown!

Kids at the coffee farm and the farmhouse

The coffee farm proprietor's home up close. It is one large room that has partitions to divide the space into a kitchen area and a sleeping area.


This is a dark picture but you can see how even the wood beams are spaced from one another.


This is a false banana tree. The leaves are very strong and can be used for the foundation of a roof.


These kids loved seeing their pictures on a digital screen. These are the neighborhood kids.


The three taller boys on the right hand side in the back are sons of the the man who owns the land.

Huts

Outside of the city the housing changes dramatically! I really liked seeing the huts. It's amazing what people can do with the materials they are given. Some huts would have a cross or a crescent moon and star to signify what religion the house practiced. Natural vegetation would also be used for fencing a yard. I was able to go in one of the huts when we visited the coffee and false banana farm. The symmetry in the roof was perfect. Each circular band of wood that supports the hay roof was equal distance to the previous and next "rebar" of wood.

Our Group!

Mom and I traveled with some great families! Our group consisted of 4 families total. I was the only first time mom and the only single chick in our party. Everyone was friendly and they made my experience in Africa better. It was somewhat of a relief to know that my fears were their fears too. This group of people seem like an extended part of my family with what we all experienced together.


This was taken on the way to Awassa. You can't tell from the picture, but all of the restaurants had an open patio area shaded by what I can only describe as draped sheets. It was always great to eat outside. Also there weren't any bugs to deal with which I found bizarre because here in Oklahoma you can say, "Patio Dining" and find 10 flies instantly buzzing around your head.


This is a pic from the leaky boat we rode in to see the hippos! I am taking the photo, and later during our excursion, one of the guides switched places with me to scoop out water from our "safe from the people-hungry hippo" boat. Look how pretty the scenery is in the background. Everything around Lake Awassa was green and fertile.


The largest outdoor market in all of Africa is the Mercado and it's in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The men in green are our body guards. It cost us 300 birr for their services and they led us through the market. I am not a easily fearful person and I was very thankful for their presence. One guy even got to jab his club in a person's side for spitting on Lindsay's shoe! Mom bought a beautiful hand made injera basket and I bought a self strung musical instrument to hang on Marren's wall.


This is everyone: Nannies, the orphanage director, AA staff, the nurse! A nanny is holding Marren. The afternoon we spent at Enat Alem was a great afternoon!

Scenes around Addis

Sheet metal roofing seemed to be the standard. Notice the satellite dish in the lower left corner. Most housing areas had communal water but we saw tons of satellite dishes in the city.


I don't think I could be a construction worker here. The scaffolding looks rickety.


This was the outside entrance to the Univeristy of Addis Ababa. We were not allowed to take pictures of the palace, or the Prime Minister residence or any "official" building. The federal police are on foot. They wear blue camo and carry AK-47's. Sammy always reminded us to put our cameras down when we were near these places.


This is the view from the Friendship Building. We ate here often. Who would have thought that I would enjoy something called "Fish Goulash" but it is delicious! We mostly had American type meals here but on the first night I ate Gorer Gorer which is raw cubes of beef eaten with "data" and injera. YUMMMMMY!


This is a shot of a spice dealer outside the Mercado. Africa has a distinct smell that isn't exactly pleasant, but the smell of the pungent spices made my mouth water.


This is a field that is near a school. My picture doesn't show it but kids play soccer here.

Views around the Sadula

This is the Embassy of Lesotho. This embassy tosses out goat heads which feed the feral pack of dogs that live outside it's walls.


The dogs sleep all day! These were the healthiest looking dogs we saw. I didn't take a picture of the goat heads. :)


The building with the blue glass was very pretty. The sun would hit the window's just right and it looked awesome!


I am not sure which embassy this is but it was being renovated.