Fourth Ethiopian Entry...

Monday was a great day because FINALLY we got to take pictures of Belly Boy. We got up and then we left for the Care Center. It’s always funny because the nannies just let you go in the kids’ rooms even during naps and take your child out. The only reasons they might stop you are if the child needs a diaper change or bath. So Mom went in Belly Boy’s room to get him. We weren’t able to see him the day before because of the Hosanna trip, (which was hard and sad), and Belly Boy didn’t reach out for Mom until she turned away. Then he lunged for her. But the nanny had to go change his diaper, so we had to wait FOREVER! Then we finally got him. He was very sweet, but quiet as usual.


The social worker came over a bit later with Belly Boy’s nanny. Mom asked tons of questions to the nanny through the social worker interpreting. She asked a lot of questions like, “What’s his schedule like?” and “Is he being potty trained?” (YES!) That was great, except the social worker had to go on with the other families. After they left, we played some more with Belly Boy.

Next came the part we’d been waiting for. Taking Belly Boy home to the guest house. Oh, that was great. Well, not the ride there.. Belly Boy has never been on a bus so he clung to us on the way back. I took videos thinking that he was going to be fine and cute as usual, but he was so nervous!

When we got to the guest house, Belly Boy was so cute. It was like being alone with him, brought out his real character. He was crazy!!!! He crawled around on the bed being goofy. I took a lot of video!

We got to feed Belly Boy his lunch which usually doesn’t go very well as he doesn’t have a good appetite, but today he ate it all. I taped the whole thing basically. I was hoping to get his face when he teasingly shows he done eating, but he never did it. 

Afterwards, we took the kids back to the Care Center for the LAST time. Belly Boy was asleep, but when Dad put him down in his bed, he woke up. Mom said he had a sad face on his face when they left.

We next went to the Turkish airlines to drop off a family who had to check their flight. So we waited in the bus for them. And who came to visit us? The Beggars. :( First they’d begin by poking their head in the bus door and then they’d circle the bus pleading for money. An old woman was persistent! She came to my window, but I had to ignore her. I had no money and she wouldn’t be able to understand me if I tried to tell her! So she went to the person behind me who also ignored her. And slowly the woman went around the bus calling sister to all the women. Finally the woman made it to Mom’s window. I was looking the other way when suddenly I heard a scream. And then people in the bus were laughing and Mom was too. Finally I understood what happened. Mom had been in her own world when suddenly the beggar called to her outside her window. Mom wasn’t expecting it and screamed!!!! It was hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing!

Next we went to a museum. It was actually the one where Lucy is. This museum- “The National Museum of Ethiopia” had very few signs on the exhibits. It was hard to know what things were. There were crowns and capes and thrones and chairs and lots of things. The skeleton exhibit was in English which was kind of amusing since we were in a foreign country.

We next went to the market and bought more stuff. One store gave me a discount cause Mom bought so many things last time. I think we got a lot of things, but I wish we still had more time to buy stuff. It is so crazy trying to bargain. I wasn’t in the mood, so I just paid whatever they said. I guess that’s considered rude. Oh well. I got stuff for my friends and another Ethiopian traditional dress. It’s cool. It looks better on Ethiopian women though!!!

After the market, which we stayed past time at, we rushed home to freshen up for a cultural dinner. I REALLY didn’t want to go, but did go. When we got there, a guard actually used his metal detector thingy on the men entering the restaurant. It has been crazy going through security places everywhere. It’s kind of funny cuz I told my friend that the only thing I was nervous about was going through security at the airport. Well, we’ve gone through a lot of security now. I’ve been patted down twice!!! Ughh..

The restaurant was set up really cool. It was painted and decorated to look like it was outdoors and the “tables” were set under a thatched roof sticking out of the wall. The tables were tiny circles with basket type “hats” on them. There was also a stage with some musicians and dancers. It was difficult ordering because we didn’t want anything spicy. A man helping us told us what to do, what we might want to order and so on. Then we got our drinks. The drinks are funny because you either get bottled water or soda in a glass bottle with a cap.

The seating was really weird. It was basically a bunch of chairs with a couple teensy circular tables in front. When we were seated, they pulled off the “hats” to the tables. After we ordered, a man came with a pitcher of water and soap. He put down the bowl and we took turns putting our hands over it while he poured water on them and squirted soap. It wasn’t too bad except we had no towel to wipe our hands afterwards. They were soaking wet. I had wiped my hands on my skirt before Mom offered me a napkin.

We watched the dancing while we waited and while we ate. The music is so different over here! I can’t catch the “catchy” part, just cause I’m not used to their kind of music! Sometimes singers came out, but it was hard because we couldn’t understand the language. The dancers were amazing. It was so cool how they could keep moving constantly. Some of the men were getting sweaty. They had one dance and in the middle, the man dancer fell. The music stopped and everyone was shocked it looked like. Someone asked if he was okay and he just grinned. I still don’t know whether it was fake or if he really did lose his balance. I thought it looked fake, but I dunno..

There was also one part when during a dance, a man dancer kissed a woman dancer. I assume this was part of the dance because it just seemed to be set up like a play! The woman dancer was mad and the other women were helping her get up from the ground. The man dancer was agitated and the men dancers were trying to calm him down. At the end, they get the couple to hold hands. Once again, it was hard to understand what was happening cause we couldn’t understand the singer!

This one dancer kept doing these weird neck moves. (By the way, I kept thinking of Sports Dude as I watched these talented, flexible dancers). At different points in her dance, it seemed like she was waiting for applause, but we weren’t sure what to do, so we didn’t clap and then she’d look angry and start dancing again.

At one point, the men dancers “chased” the women off the stage. A bit later I saw one of the women dancing in front of someone’s table. Then I looked on stage and one of the men dancers was talking to another and nodding towards our table. When he came over I tried looking away, but he came to my table and motioned toward me. I didn’t get what he wanted. Mom told me he wanted me to dance with him. So I smiled and shook my head no. He kept asking. Finally, he turned to a 12 year old boy in our group and pulled him in front of our table to dance. He would do a move and then the boy would copy him. It was so funny. I was laughing! He danced with someone else in our group too, and that was REALLY funny! I’m still glad I refused to dance with him, but I had a lot of fun watching other people!

For our food, Mom got this “sample” dish full of many kinds of sauces and also a big bowl of meat. They delivered our food by placing a round dish, the size of the table, on our table. Inside was injera rolled out, and injera rolled by the side. Then the waitress, hurryingly and messily spooned the sauces and meat onto the injera. Some of the food was TOUCHING!  Then we pulled off injera from the rolled part and pinched the meat or sauce into it. Some of the sauces were good. Some were very spicy and the meat was kind of chewy.

After dinner, we went home tired. I think it was the latest many of us had ever stayed up over here.

But I was looking forward to the next day!! Embassy and bringing Belly Boy home to the Guest House!