The Last Days

The bread that Zimmet made us. We lived off of it for days! It was SOOOO good.

Saturday and Sunday went by in a blur. We spent an ugly 3 hours in traffic going to this beautiful crater on Saturday. That was totally traumatic. At one point it was so hot I took Sam's shirt off in the car and apparantly that is a no-no in Ethiopia. Spent some great times at the Hill Bottom relaxing and drinking AMAZING 50 cent macchiatos.

Sam hanging with some other kids at the crater.

Sam trying his first beer. Just kidding! But he did love the feel of the glass on his lips.

Part of the traffic problem??

Yes, this is a carseat in Ethiopia. In fast, seatbelts were a luxury.

I wanted to share pictures of the coffee ceremony that Wegayu and Zimmet had for us. They also cooked an Ethiopian meal for us and it was SO good. We all (Sam included) ate the entire thing.

Zimmet and her mom decided they trusted us enough to share their homemade liquor with the women. They gave it to us during the times we would share coffee together. This stuff was STRONG! Like shivers all up and down your body strong. They thought it was hilarious as we sat there making sounds after taking a shot of it. They gave us even stronger stuff the next day. My goodness!

One thing Pete and I did which was hilarious was play tennis on Sunday. There were two clay courts at the Hill Bottom and we decided to get some exercise. Well, playing when you are exhausted at 8,000 feet on clay courts makes us even worse than normal. The funniest thing was that they insisted we have two ball boys. These guys were so cute (like 8 years and 12 years old) and thought our lack of talent was hilarious. We made sure to tip generously afterwards. The tennis guy came up to us and suggested we have lessons in the future. We laughed so hard.

Sunday we also took off on a long long journey home. That was an experience (like child birth I imagine) that I'd just like to forget. It was rough. 4 planes and about 36 hours straight of traveling. Considering all the new things he was seeing and experiencing, I'm glad he did as well as he did.

As we left on Sunday I was glad. I missed the comforts of home and the emotional toll that the trip had taken on me. However, as we said goodbye to Zimmet, Wegayu, Macha the dog, and Binyam, I was so sad. I wanted to remain in their presence. I still miss the gorgeous garden and beautiful floors in Ayat House, hearing Zimmet chatter in the background as she washed dishes or cleaned the house, watching Wegayu throw the ball to Macha, having cocktail hour, the shiro wot (chickpea stew), those incredible dancers at Fasika, seeing Binyam's smile every day when he saw Sam, Hill Bottom Cafe and Restaurant, Travis our local Gladney staff and his hilarious remarks, and of course that moment when I saw my son for the first time. I hope to be back someday soon.

Sam on the airplane home....