Updates Finally

I am so sorry that it has been this long since I have been able to update. We thought that the Internet in Africa might be less than reliable and we were right. It worked, but only when it wanted to and only for the websites it wanted to. Of course Blogger was not one of the websites that we could get to work.

Enough about that. Since the last update everything has happened. I don't even know how to begin. When we got on the plane in Washington DC we were very excited to say the least. The plane was very large and there were lots of people. It was very tight quarters, my knees touched the seat in front of me. The food on the plane was OK but certainly not corn dogs and Cheetos.

It took a long time. I got to see some things that I had never seen before; France, the Mediterranean Sea, Rome. I was awed by the size the the Sahara Desert. I took a picture of the sand dunes then went to sleep and woke up to find we were still over the desert more than an hour later.

When we landed we went through immigration where they gave us visas. Immediately you could see the differences between Ethiopia and USA. They hand wrote each visa. We waited on our bags and then met Aki from the guest house where we would be staying. He would help us get there.

Outside the airport it was dark and there were people swarming everywhere. Aki helped with the bags and had to tell more than one person that we didn't need help. They try to "help" then ask you to pay them. Without Aki I don't know what we would have done. He hailed a taxi and away we went.

This was our first chance to experience the driving in Addis. There are no rules. Everyone fends for them self and just does what they please. There are lanes but they seem to be just suggestions. Addis is very large and has lots of people and zero traffic lights. Very exciting.

We stayed the night and woke up the next morning. We left after breakfast to go meet Diesel. After more of the driving we got close to the orphanage. We called to get better directions and they told us to just wait. They sent a person out to "check us out." When she was satisfied that we were who we said she joined us in the car and gave directions to the house. When we went in they immediately came to greet us. I'm not sure when is the best time to say something about the hospitality. I have never been met with such open arms, ever. Anyway we went in the house and then the infant room. This is when we first got to meet Diesel. Emotions were high. After big hugs and a few tears. they put him in our arms and said "OK see you tomorrow for paper work." Insert first family photo here.

There is so much more but no time now.