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.

The Sadula!

We stayed at the Sadula Lodge. It is located in the Bole, or financial district. The hotel is surrounded by embassies and diplomat housing. This is us outside on the steps! In Addis, all nicer housing has a gate and a guard to let you in the courtyard which is kind of cool. I didn't take a picture of the guards but they are all big about wearing uniforms.


This is a view from the door looking in the living area. The portable bed wasn't used until we picked up Marren, then it was used as a changing station. :)


This is the bedroom area. It has a desk and a dresser with a TV and a safe. Mom slept in here. I preferred sleeping in the living room so I could read!


This view is taken from the roll-a-way bed. You will notice the snacks! We were warned that snacks were necessary because the food was bad. I am telling you that it is all junk! I loved the food and I even had raw food occasionally and everything was delicious! Any way, it was nice to have a sink and refrigerator and microwave.


This is where I slept! The gift bags are all the gift we gave to the people who helped bring Marren home. I think our gifts were the most awesome! (Even here I can't suppress my competitive nature!)

When I go back to Ethiopia, I will stay here!

Views from the plane

Surprisingly I am pretty happy with the photos that my phone took from the window. The first picture is sunrise. The second picture is the Libyan Desert. The third picture is the coast off Rome. The fourth picture is of a random island leaving Rome.

Finally, an update: FROM THE BEGINNING

We started on a good foot! My dad took us to the airport!


This is the ET Air sign at Dulles airport. Our layover was 6 hours!!! GAG!


This is a pic of the TV screen. The movies didn't really work well but I thought it was pretty. The flight crew was the nicest crew that I have ever come across.


This was taken before the monster 17 hours in the air. See---- we are still smiling!

Message From Africa

Hello Everyone! This is Jessica and I am in charge of the blog while Aubrey is gone! This is a message she sent me to post so i couldn't screw anything up!

Africa is great! The countryside is beautiful and sad all at the same time. It's amazing. We are in the town of Awassa which is 250 km or 190ish miles southeast from the capital (Addis Ababa) We visited the EVADO orphanage and it was so great. The nannies take good care of the children. It was a comfort to see how much they love the children. I will get to meet Marren on Wednesday afternoon. I hope to meet her mom also but it's never a guarantee.

The food is awesome, I have had raw meat twice. The spices are hot and delicious. The weather has been great. Surpisingly it rained sporadically but the average temp so far has been around 78. It is hotter in the south but it's in the valley.

Going to the bathroom has been interesting.... I will have to take a picture.

I can't post pics until we get back to Addis Ababa.

Love you all

AUBREY AND MOM (tracy)