Frankfurt to Ethiopia

The plane ride from Frankfurt - Addis was not the same comforts as the previous ones. Apparently, the plane was supposed to be changed to domestic flights and so they took out all the movie screens and radios. The food was good though - actually, that depends on what you like to eat. I made the mistake of having lamb curry. I suspect it was delicious. Me, I don't like lamb, so I don't know what I was thinking ordering it!! But the rest had beef and potato and said it was delicious.

I think Ray enjoyed the German service because he could have a beer with his lunch and a glass of wine with his dinner - all free of charge! They served Camembert, Havarti cheeses, plus fancy salads with Feta cheese. The Germans definitely know how to take care of their customers!

The United Nations was on board. They were disembarking at Kartoum, Sudan (sp). They were the messengers between the United Nations that were already there and the people who had signed a peace agreement. There were about 20 of them. As soon as they got off the plane we grabbed their seats. Unfortunately it was too late!! Earlier we had flown over a stunning piece of land; it was the Mediterranean Sea and African coastline. By the time we traded with them, we were flying back up into the air over Sudan. We could see the city and then we changed direction and couldn't get any good footage. After that, it quickly became too dark to see anything. When we arrived in Addis, it was black night.

At one point during the flight the turbulence was so bad that my head swung and lightly hit the side wall. We were flying through a thunder and lightning storm. It was quite neat; I got pictures on my way through.

On the plane we saw a variety of people. It was clear that this was not your typical flight. We had UN people, Ethiopians going home, a number of white people. I eyed them all suspiciously, wondering what each of their story was. One young girl and her mother were heading to Ethiopia because they had lived here for years. They had been back in Richmond, Virginia for a furlough. Now the mother and her daughter were flying in for the next ten months to begin a ministry called http://www.bridge2ethiopia.org/. So check it out. It sound intriguing. The girl will begin school next week, entering grade 11. I was envious of her. It was something that I, as a young girl, would have loved to have done! Hopefully, this is just the beginning of our African adventures! God knows my heart of travel, adventure, warm cultured people, the children, and helping Him. We shall just have to buckle up and see where it takes us!!



Once we arrived at the airport we kind of wandered slowly through not knowing where to go. I suddenly saw a sign that said VISA, so I knew we had to go in there. It was a slim little office with a number of desks. We pulled in and got out our passports and landing cards, that we had been handed on the airplane. For a number of minutes, the woman filled in the information and then passed the cards back to us for Ray to hand to the cashier. Once done, we left the office and headed out for the next step in our journey.

I have to tell you the most blatant things I noticed on the airplane. I have already spoken to the young Abebe, who lives in our guest house, about it. He is 19 and a wonderful, friendly, well-spoken young man.. When I was on the plane I noticed how clearly well off the Ethiopian travelers were. I wondered how these people felt knowing that their own countrymen were dying, babies starving, just outside the city, and of course, throughout the city.

As I walked through the areas of the airport I studied the people and found it fascinating. I would see beautiful men and women, and trust me, Ethiopians are stunning! And I would see them with their fancy clothes and their jewelry, and I would wonder what went on in their heads, knowing that they were the more fortunate ones. But for the grace of God, their go I. You know? Just like us. They could have been born in the rural poor farming areas, or they could be the ones that weren't fortunate enough to be able to afford to go to school, thus allowing them to get an education and then later, a good job.

Well, later, I spoke to Abebe, and I asked him, "Are there basically two classes of people? The Haves and the Have-Nots? And he instantly firmly agreed. I told him my wonderings about how it felt to be in the Have crowd, knowing the others were out there. His answer was so wonderful and something we are raising our boys to understand. He can live comfortably (as can anyone) if they "GIVE BACK" to their own people. If they give from what they have, then they don't feel bad, because they are doing what they can, and then also, they are not looked down upon by other people, including their own people.

So, backing up to when we arrived. We finished with Visas and headed out to picking up our luggage. That done, we headed through Customs. There was this guy that was telling us to load it on the conveyor belt. Once it got through there, he would choose what was to be inspected and what was to go through. Ray, being Mr. Nice Guy, did what he was told. Of course! What else would you do. The guy was quite stern looking. So Ray put up the box on the table. Then the guy pointed to another random two suitcases to go on the table. Ray had not yet put them up, because there was a backlog in front of us.

There were these two guys with medical supplies and soccer balls. They were from SIM - I can't remember what it stands for. Well, you should have seen the rigmarole that they went through. They wanted to tax them for the supplies they brought in. It seemed very odd to me since they were bringing in materials to help the Ethiopians. They were actually going to a hospital. These guys were only about 25 years old, but they had such a purpose that it excited me! That is the way to live!! Who wants to retire comfortably and become an old fart?!! LOL

I was prayerfully watching these guys and thinking, "Oh, God, don't let us go through that!" Shortly thereafter, another worker came in front the other side of us and told us to get the bags off the conveyor belt and 'go'. I looked at the boys and said, MOVE! This was our chance to avoid the INQUISITION!!! The boys quickly grabbed all 15 of our others and hustled them onto the luggage carts and then moved quickly and quietly out of the inspection area. I was thanking God for that second immigration guy telling us to move on!

Poor Ray was left standing there. The guys in front of us asked us what was in the box. I told him it was toys. He knew we were adopting so he told us to say the toys were for the orphanage, which was true - just not for the one they know about. We didn't want to mention we were helping establish a new orphanage.

When it came to our turn we had to open ALL the tape on the box. It was 2' square and I had taped every square inch. The woman opened the box and pulled things out. She talked to the guy and showed him the world puzzle that was for little ones to play with on the floor. He responded and we were VERY quickly let off. Praise God!!! Those poor guys in front of us got tax paperwork and were there about 10 minutes! We grabbed our box and skedaddled!

After we got through there we saw lines of people waiting for arrivals. We wandered aimlessly for a while. I knew we were looking for Solomon and Gertischew (sp).

We waited about 10 minutes and I got out my phone list to see if I would have to call. Then over Dane's shoulder I saw this guy approaching that I thought I recognized. I looked at him and he was looking directly at me. I started to walk towards him and as I spoke to him: "Are you... " (going to say Solomon) and he smiled and said simultaneously, "You wouldn't be..." And I replied, "Yes!" And he immediately reached out and gave me a hug and then handed me a bouquet of flower. He then proceeded to hug the rest and give them all flower too. A nice quiet man, named Gertichew (sp) also said hello.

He told us that where we were staying was 30 minutes out. We said we knew. So off we went. We all piled into the van and headed out. It was fascinating to see the people all over the roads when it was late at night. The little tiny corrugated tin shacks on the side of the road held all kinds of vendors - food, trinkets etc. Very cool! We saw a pack of dog running ahead of our van at one time. I knew that Ethiopian children were often fearful of dogs, and perhaps that is why.

When we got to our Bed and Breakfast a young man came out of a gated entrance and let us in. The entrance was very narrow and the wall had razor wire over it. This young man was Abebe. He is the most delightful guy!! He is 19, has an Ethio/Australian accent and is so incredibly cheerful and helpful! His mother and sisters, who were amazingly gorgeous! Came out to greet us. They are 10 and 15. They helped bring our bags upstairs and then showed us to the table. Abebe's mum had prepared a meal for us. It was delicious!!! It was pasta with an onion, tomato, and potato with oil dish. Yummy! Colt had three platefuls!

After this we sat and chatted with Abebe, who seems to be the family business manager. He is great. He listened to our plans and made phone calls to arrange a driver. He had already had a call from SSCM - where Ray is going to teach construction tomorrow. So we called him back and arranged to have a driver pick up Ray and Colt in the morning at 7:30. The class runs from 8:30 - 12:00 and so Ray will work then . The taxi will cost $8 to go for a forty minute ride. Abebe gave Ray his cell phone so that he can call a taxi driver to get a ride home. We shall see how that works! *Grin*

We laughed a lot last night. When we were trying to figure out where the LIGA school was, Abebe reached for his phone. Ray said, "Don't people sleep around here?" Abebe laughed. It reminded me of Mexico. People are up all night! He just said, No, they just are up.

Later, when he found a phone was turned off, we laughed. I guess they have gone to bed!! LOL!

We then headed to bed. Colt has a tiny little room, and Dane another. We have a larger room with a double bed, bathroom, and two cots.