Ethiopia Day 8 (Friday)

Day 8 in Ethiopia was jammed packed with schedules, plans and meetings. We started off by heading to Bingham Academy. Although it wasn't too far from the Union Hotel by U.S. standards, it takes a long time to get anywhere in Addis. We called a driver who said he knew were to go. It turns out he didn't. Luckily Emily had been there before as one of her missionary friends sends her children to this school. Between asking people on the side of the road and Emily's memory of which alley looked familiar we made it to Bingham on time.

The drive there was interesting. We listened to Christian music since Heptamu the driver knew we were Christians which was made laugh. It was a tape of some old school Christian Southern gospel music. I don't know who excatly but think along the lines of the Gaithers. It was about a 40 minute drive :). Now mind you my guess would be we are talking a distance of 10 miles. Ethiopia is a whole mess of roundabouts. We were on the "highway" but probably never topped 30mph. It was early in the morning so the traffic wasn't too bad. The only people who were out were those who had government jobs. The smog and pollution was so bad by the time we got to Bingham I had a raging headache. Black boogers are commonplace in Ethiopia. Gross, I know. I really enjoyed checking out the city on our drive. To get to Bingham we went through a very poor muslim neighborhood. We passed large building, outdoor markets, second hand clothing shopping centers, and churches. We drove on the highway, roundabouts, and back alleys. We experienced paved roads and dry dirt roads. We got to experience a new part of Addis Ababa.

When we pulled up to the gate at Bingham the guards let us in with little trouble. Even though they didn't know we had a meeting we were white...which means you can get in anywhere in Ethiopia. Our schedule was packed full of meetings. Brian and I went to chapel with the kids and then went separate ways. I met with some ladies who talked to me about life in Ethiopia, life at Bingham, raising kids in Addis Ababa, and volunteering off campus. Meanwhile Brian visited classrooms, talked cirriculum and work visas, and met the kids. We then had lunch at the headmaster's house. We loved everyone we met at Bingham and were very excited to picture ourselves there. Emily was drooling over lunch because it involved butter and cheese...two things she hadn't had since living in Addis. Murray, the headmaster loved Elias and asked to hold him for me while I enjoyed lunch. Then, Dawn, my personal tour guide bounced Elias to sleep once Murray had to get back to work. Our experience at Bingham just felt right. Everyone was so loving, kind and excited for us. After lunch we all toured the campus. We loved learning the history of Bingham. We had a little bit of time to kill so we headed to the teacher's lounge which was equipped with "cable" and cold sodas. We then had a meeting at "our house" to see where we would be living. The house was part of a tri-plex and one of the few with a small yard. There was a vegetable garden, BBQ, picnic tables and laundry room just outside the door. The house was about the same size as our condo here and was the same 2 bedrooms, 1 bath. The bathroom was way nicer than I had expected.

We left Bingham very excited to see what the Lord had planned for us and with plans to meet up at Dawn's house Saturday morning. We then headed back to the CCI transition house to play with the kids. I took hundreds of pictures but unfortunately can only post the ones of Brian, Elias and Alemu.

We took all the "big kids" (toddler and older) down the street to an open "field" to play. It was more like a grazing pasture for the horses. There was lots of garbage, animal poop and some barbed wire fences but the kids didn't know any different. They were just happy to be running around outside. Brian, Emily and I took the kids and gave the rest of the nannies about an hour long break away from the big kids. We had a lot of fun playing soccer and having races.

I took some photos of Alemu for my parents. Now he knows me well enough to tell me "no" but in Ethiopia he was still unsure of me so he always smiled for the camera whenever I asked him to.

This was one end of the field which bumped up to the neighborhood.

I don't have any photos of Israel because he didn't come. On our way to the field he started banging on all the neighbor's doors and got scolded by Emily. He then through a tantrum in the middle of the street (luckily no one in that neighborhood had cars so although he was laying the middle of the road there was no real danger. After Emily, Alemu, Brian and myself all tried to get him to get up and come play he wouldn't move. Finally one of the other nannies came and got him and he got "punishment." It's crazy for me to think back to this day and Israel's behavior. In just a few short months he is already turning into a different little boy. Although he can still have his pouting and stubborn moments he can have days worth of no flare ups and when he does they are never close to the level they were in Ethiopia. I guess a lot of love, a little discipline and a really big family :) can make all the difference in the world...even in a few short months. The best part is we are the ones who are blessed to have these three boys in our lives!