Getting to Addis Ababa and Jonah's Gotcha Day
We left Princeton Thursday at 2ish and about 24 hours later made it to our hotel in Addis Ababa. Leaving Holly, Kai, and Catherine was sad.....but knowing they are well and happy and having fun makes it a little better :) Mike, Ciara, Hunter, Ruby, Sophie, Mahlia and I are here in Ethiopia though, and thrilled to be here!
So after a bit of a comedy of errors on the second half of our trip including them ditching our seat assignments and trying to split us up all over the aircraft, 3 children throwing up on the plane due to a wild thunderstorm over the Mediterranean, and Mike's bag going MIA, AND the 2 hours it took to deal with the very nice and EXTREMELY mellow gentleman in charge of lost luggage, we made it outside the airport and into the first wonderful evening in Addis Ababa. Thankfully we realized in the parking lot that we had left the diaper bag in the baggage claim and although that about put Mike over the proverbial edge, I was able to get to it before it was detonated :) In Ethiopia, time is not regarded in nearly the same way as it is in the rest of the world. Here they believe that it is much more important to finish what you are doing and be considerate to the person you are with, and not be so caught up in the rush and timelines of the rest of the world.... A challenging adjustment for those of us considered "planners", but I get so mellow when I'm here. I love the effect Ethiopia has on me :) So much to learn here....I love the smell of Africa. I love the people. I just plain love Africa..... Such a magical place. Anyway, we finally made it back to the Hilton and after a quick room service dinner the kids and Mike we asleep in minutes! It took me a while longer, but I followed suite eventually :)
This morning we had to drag the kids out of bed at 9:30ish as we were to meet Biniam in the lobby at 10:30 so he could take us to the Thomas Center to meet Jonah. Well, in typical Ethiopian fashion 10:30 became 11:30, and we amused ourselves taking a tour of the hotel and pools (which are natural hot springs!) and shops, and planning a day trip for later in the week to The Blue Nile Gorge. Biniam showed up eventually and we were off to the Thomas Center. This time I knew what to expect since I did this last year with Mahlia. Jonah and Abdissa's wonderful wife were waiting outside holding the traditional sparkly roses.... He looked rather horrified...! Understandably so....
We all stayed at the Thomas Center for about an hour, playing soccer with Jonah and some other little guys, and hanging out. It was good to be back there, it really is a wonderful place. The nannies were SO excited to see Mahlia (aka. Kidist). They could NOT believe how big she is :) They kept running up and kissing her, but she finally told them to please stop (peeees sop!) which they thought was super funny. Jonah played with our other kids a bit, and Hunter managed to get some smiles out of him (Hunter is always the best in these transitions), but he was still pretty wary. I think he knew what was coming... During all this our wonderful driver from the last trip Adunye showed up. I greeted him with an inside joke greeting we made up when I was here last year and he jumped out and I got the biggest hug. Ethiopian people greet each other so much more genuinely then Americans, another thing to learn from being here.... (And Kim, Adunye sends you the same greeting:) Anyway, it was soon time to head back to the hotel with Jonah, and he wanted no part of that. Poor little guy bolted back inside and up the stairs quick a flash...I had to go extricate him, which he did not appreciate. He was sp scared, it was pretty heart breaking....
Jonah fell asleep in my lap on the way back to the hotel so we thought we should try a nap back at the hotel as he was obviously tired.... After a quick lunch of peanut butter crackers and gold fish (thought we'd break him into American food right of the bat...:) we attempted nap time. FAIL!!! FAIL!!! FAIL!!! After 45 minuted of screaming like he was on fire and climbing out of his crib like a very agile little monkey :) we decided to bail on that plan... and have a second lunch during which Jonah decided that Sprite is the best invention ever.....thanks Hunter..... I called the Thomas Center and asked how he usually naps, and they said nicely in his crib. Yeah right! That guy is a pro crib climber outer I tell you! Oh, and the weekly notes that said potty trained? Ummm, not so much! And what memories it was to change a little one with Giardia, ahh the special aroma of Giardia....LOL. But... we are pleasantly surprised that Jonah comes to us lice free. Score! Especially since all the lice shampoo I brought "just in case" is in Mike's suitcase that is still MIA.... oh and my friend the very nice and extremely mellow luggage man who I had the pleasure of speaking with again today continued to reassure me that "this is not a problem madame, ok?", but still has no idea where the bag is and when and if we will see it again... Ok.... ;-)
After a period of crying and grief where I just held him and rocked him for about 1/2 an hour, things seemed to turn around. We got out the play doh set I brought and all the kids started to play with it, including Jonah. He figured out the scissors and little play doh hair cutting kit and then his fun little personality started to come out. He is quick as a whip, and super funny. He has figured out how to turn on and off all the lights and open, close, and lock all the doors..... He is really coordinated and is speaking up a storm....only its in Amharic so he is sure he has joined a low IQ family due to the somewhat blank stares he gets when he speaks to us ;) He calls me Mama and everyone else Hunter :) He is currently blazing around the room with his new Cars jammies on and Sophie's pink argyl headband as his accessory! Last I saw he was pouring water into the play doh.....I better go....or who knows what havoc he will get into.... Not sure he will ever sleep, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!
Lots of love to all from Addis!
Jennifer
ps, pic's on FB....
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