Last Week

It's hard to believe we will be flying to Greece this time next week!  I remember when the countdown was at 50-some days...crazy.  I'm going to be glad to be home and see friends and family and kiss Harley's snout, but believe it or not, there will be some things I will miss about Addis.  

I will miss the people... the funny, the friendly, the sometimes annoying, but always smiling people.  The "Hey! You, you,you!" - "Hey Miss.. Where you go??!" -"Welcome to Addis" or the people you pull up beside in the public van taxis who are laughing hysterically at the 3 white girls squished in with 22 people in what's supposed to be a 12 seater van.  I will miss the busyness  of the streets and the fact that there are always people out and about greeting and talking to each other.  

When we first got here all I could see was the pollution, the begging and the cultural differences I wasn't used to,  we eventually just started  saying "hey... it's Addis" and were able to see past most undesirable things. The three most important things that I packed for this trip were 1) A sense of humor 2) Positivity and 3) Jenn.  They made this trip fun, hilarious and in the end very worth while.  We had a chance to teach at the school, help at the orphanage, fly to different parts of Ethiopia, meet some really cool people and learn a lot about ourselves (this sounds an awful lot like a reflection paper...) Anyway just wanted to say thanks to everyone who read this and who supported me in different ways throughout the trip....I survived!  See you soon! Xoxo

Home Again

We are now back to the guest home after a fabulous weekend away.  Yesterday we arranged a drive to see the Blue Nile falls.  We had to take a boat across the lake and walk for a few minutes before reaching the beautiful waterfalls.  Despite going sans tour guide,  we were immediately met by 5 locals who insisted on showing us where to go.  We were equally as insistent on telling them to get lost... It didn't work... and they continued to follow our every move (seems to be a pattern at every tourist spot... A shame really).  After trying to "enjoy" the falls, we headed back to the land cruiser for our bumpy ride back to the resort.  Our unwanted "tour guides" insisted on being tipped because we were "happy"with their help.... Jenn and I had a good laugh.   Even though there were a couple nuisances, our trip to Bahir Dar was wonderful and probably our favorite spot in Ethiopia thus far.  Here are some pictures! 

Bahir Dar

We arrived in Bahir Dar after a quick 45 minute flight and a questionable airplane sandwich with ethiopian mystery meat.  Jennifer and I walked to a beautiful little restaurant right on Lake Tana, while we waited for our noon check-in time.  The resort we are staying at is absolutely dynamite.  We spent the the better part of the day alternating between laying by the pool and swimming in it.  After our exhausting  afternoon we managed to make our way to the spa for our complimentary foot massages....Oh how the days of Entoto Guesthouse seem so long ago.  

We decided to take a walk around the city in search of a snack, but instead found a husband looking for a "foreign wife"..match made in Heaven.  After trying to lose Summer-teeth, we headed back to the resort and enjoyed a 3 course meal (breakfast and supper are included woo woo).  The spa prices are unbelievable (about 100 Birr for a pedicure and nail polish = under $5) so we shamelessly went back for pedicures.  We are currently requesting that someone come to our room to start the fireplace on our terrace.  

Besides this awesome resort, we are completely in love with Bahir Dar... It's so much cleaner and greener than Addis.  I haven't seen 1 person begging on the street yet... Crazy!  Anyway,  Jenn and I are heading for a night time swim then will get to bed early... Don't want to be tired for our morning massage....

Beads & Babies

Mission Ethiopia was one of the neatest things we've seen since being in Addis.  It employs around 200 woman who are either HIV positive, single-mothers or have leprosy and otherwise would be begging on the street.  This organization gives them a full-time job making beaded jewelry, scarves and bags.  We got a chance to see the main building they work from and picked out some beautiful necklaces.

After school today, Henok (who works for The Ethiopian Guest Home) took us to one of the orphanages they work with.  They had the most precious little tiny babies I have ever seen.  As Jenn and Leanne were cradling little angels for an hour, I had the privilege of being a human jungle gym for the toddlers haha....it was awesome.  The people that work there are so loving and good to the children... and when Henok showed up, it wasn't hard to tell how much the kids adore him.  It's pretty cool to see a guy our age with such a passion for helping children. 

Tomorrow he is taking us to the other orphanage that specializes in taking care of HIV positive children.  It's so nice to spend time with the kids, but you can't help but get a huge lump in your throat when you look around at the huge room of children and babies with no mommies or daddies.... The women who work there must be doing a pretty incredible job though, as every child had a huge smile on their face.

Sunday Funday

Today we woke up and had oatmeal and fruit for breakfast. We lazed around (Jenn and I watched episodes of 90210) until lunch time.  After  lunch, we caught the public taxis to Mexico Square to meet our friend Amar and then headed to the stadium for a soccer game.

Ethiopia definitely has some of the most dedicated fans I've seen and it was really neat to be right in the action!  Today was a nice ending to a great week .....hard to believe tomorrow is Monday already.

Things at the school have been going really well, we LOVE the students and teachers.  We actually went to one of the teachers houses last week for lunch and a coffee ceremony which was very nice!

Sometimes communication can be challenging, but we've been able to figure out what each other is saying for the most part.  One thing I'm still  uncomfortable with is their way of punishing the kids (which is usually a swift smack to the head)... It's a tough situation because I'm the new person coming into their school.  The principal mentioned getting the three of us to give a presentation on teaching in Canada to the teachings and what sort of techniques/ strategies we use... I was thinking it might be a good opportunity to talk a little bit about how we go about disciplining our students.

these a the bathrooms found in most homes.. a hole in the floor

Tomorrow we are taking a tour of the Mission Ethiopia workshop that Dave ( the owner of the Ethiopia Guest Home) founded.  It employs hundreds if Ethiopian women through making beautiful jewelry, scarves, bags etc.  He is a truly amazing person and a big portion of the money that people spend on accommodations at this guest home goes back into Mission Ethiopia.  We are also hoping to volunteer at one of the orphanages for our last 3 weeks in the afternoons, we've just been waiting to here back from the coordinator.  

I guess there isn't much else to update!  We are doing great and are excited to go to Bahir Dar on Friday ...I miss everyone at home very much, but time seems to be flying! Xoxo

See Ya Never Entoto GuestHouse

There comes a time in every woman's life when she must pin point the dollar value of a clean flushable toilet... Today, we are moving to the new guesthouse and could not be more excited!  We get picked up at 2:00 (8:00 local time) and will spend the rest of our trip in our beautiful new, cockroach free, clean guesthouse.  It includes its own kitchen, living room, breakfast and lunch everyday as well as the friendliest staff ever!  And did I mention we have our own shower with HOT water that isn't shared by a community or strangers/bugs! Couldn't be happier right now... I will update later with some pictures.

Easter Sunday

Today we decided to give Bole (also known as spit city) another shot.  We went to a little place we found on TripAdvisor called Cupcake Delights for breakfast.  We both got the most delicious french toast with bananas, icing sugar and maple syrup.  Next we visited the Friendship Mall, but most things are closed on Sundays.  We decided it might be fun to go to the movies this afternoon, so we are currently having a coffee at kaldi's (Ethiopia's Starbucks) waiting for the 2:00 showtime.  It is very hot out today... Im guessing around 26 degrees, but Im not minding it at all.  Jenn, leanne and I are all pretty excited to go to the new guesthouse this Friday... Especially after our roomates across the hall have been sick, and the toilet decided it didn't want to flush for 2 days (TMI). 

 Jenn and I are thinking about taking a trip to our Ethiopian friend, Ameroux's, home town of Bahir Dar.  It is located near the Blue Nile falls and has boating excursions, hippos, crocodiles and tons of stuff to see.

Anyway, we are going to keep exploring Bole.  Not a bad way to spent a Sunday.  Happy Easter xoxo!