Ethiopia Days 1 and 2 (Friday and Saturday)

Day 1 of our travels was Friday, January 30th. We woke up very early to get to the airport around 6am. Neither Brian nor I slept much at all the night before. We loaded up my Dad’s truck with 8 checked bags, 2 carry-ons, and 2 personal bags. My Mom drove us to the airport. Despite the lack of sleep the adrenaline was pumping and we couldn’t be any more excited! We flew from San Diego to Chicago to London to Damascus and finally to Addis Ababa.

Saying Good Bye

A clear day over San Diego

Surprisingly I slept a huge part of each leg of the trip. Brian watched every movie imaginable. (We realized this last night when we were trying to rent a movie and every title suggested was interrupted with an, “I saw that on the plane.”)

Somewhere along the way Day 1 turned into Day 2. We had a long layover in London. I indulged in a vanilla latte and some fresh fruit knowing it might be a while before I got either again. Once we got to our gate we spotted the other families we were traveling with. Thanks to blog profile pictures we quickly spotted Traci and Scott who were already chatting with Steve and Shawn. We were all tired but excited!! This leg of the journey went surprisingly quick for me. Actually the whole trip over went by way faster than I had imagined. We sat next to a really fun family who were moving to Ethiopia and had 3 young girls. They all really liked to talk to Brian and kept us entertained.

Emailing in London

The plane taking us to Addis Ababa!

Almost there!!!!

Next thing you know the plane had landed and we were in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!! Scott and Traci had been here a few times so they knew exactly which lines to get in. We quickly got our visas and then passed through immigration. One by one each of our 8 bags arrived safe and sound. As Brian was pulling them off I was praying that if anything got lost it wouldn’t be the bag with our stuff in it. As we walked through the exit doors I spotted Johannes, the AGCI family coordinator who was picking us up. I felt bad that the poor guy was up and waiting for our late plane at 3:30am. He greeted us and the first thing I asked was “When can we see our baby? We don’t have to wait until tomorrow do we?” Johannes laughed and said nothing. I don’t know if he understood my fast, excited and slightly delirious version of English. I asked for a picture and we waited for the other families. We took an eventful trek down to the van where bags were piled high on top. Scott asked Johannes if he needed to borrow rope…he said no as if he had his own; however, he had no intention of using any. Steve held lookout from the side and Brian from the back. Shockingly in the 20 minute drive over bumpy roads we didn’t lose a single bag. As we pulled up to the Union Hotel I couldn’t believe that it was actually our turn. After 13 months of reading about traveling it was finally our turn! Amazing. We checked in and hiked the stairs to our room. The first thing I had Brian do was plug in the hot water heater (that ended up being an excellent decision) as we had piping hot water in the morning and for the rest of our stay. There really was nothing comparable to a hot shower during this trip (even if there was no shower curtain). Scott and Traci brought a shower curtain because that is what experienced Ethiopian travelers do, and since they had an amazing bathroom they let us borrow it. Unfortunately I ended up having to use it as a curtain so that the guys roofing across the street couldn’t watch me shower. I probably would have had to duck each morning in the shower otherwise.

By this time it was 5am. Brian and I drifted off to sleep but it didn’t last. Two hours later we were wide awake - ready to see my sister, meet my brothers, and finally hold Elias!