The Veltema Family Blog: Ethiopia

We woke up at 6:00am and the sun was already shining. We immediately looked out the window to see Addis in the daylight. Here is the view from our guesthouse window.

After getting ready for the day, we went downstairs to find freshly made pancakes and freshly squeezed juice for breakfast. Birtukan does an excellent job of preparing food that is easy on American taste buds and stomachs. We also got our first dose of fresh Ethiopian coffee. It is STRONG, but doesn't have the bitter aftertaste that you would expect. Ethiopian coffee is smooth and SOOOOOOO good! I drink about 2 cups of coffee everyday at home, but only 1 cup of Birtukan's coffee made me jittery. It was great! :)

We woke up at 6:00am and the sun was already shining. We immediately looked out the window to see Addis in the daylight. Here is the view from our guesthouse window. After getting ready for the day, we went downstairs to find freshly made pancakes and freshly squeezed juice for breakfast. Birtukan does an excellent job of preparing food that is easy on American taste buds and stomachs. We also got our first dose of fresh Ethiopian coffee. It is STRONG, but doesn't have the bitter aftertaste that you would expect. Ethiopian coffee is smooth and SOOOOOOO good! I drink about 2 cups of coffee everyday at home, but only 1 cup of Birtukan's coffee made me jittery. It was great! :) When we finished with breakfast, Abel picked us up for church. We went to the International Church in Addis Ababa. There were people of many ethnicities in attendance that morning. The worship and sermon were in English. It was a good experience, but I really would have liked to attend one of the Ethiopian Orthodox churches. I've heard that their services are incredible, and I was really looking forward to experiencing it. Putting that on my wish list for our next trip. (I feel so blessed that we get to make two trips to Ethiopia!) We were brought back to Morning Coffee Guest House for lunch. Birtukan made us our first authentic Ethiopian food. She made Doro Wat and some other side dishes (didn't catch the names of the other ones. Maybe someone can look at the picture and tell me.) All of this was served with injera, which is a staple food. Injera is a spongy flat bread that is used to scoop up the food. No utensils needed! Brandon and I have eaten at our local Ethiopian restaurant a lot, so we knew what to expect. We LOVE Ethiopian food. And Birtukan's was the best we've ever had. It was so good! After lunch, we had our first coffee ceremony. We had heard so many wonderful things about coffee ceremony, and I was particularly looking forward to it. A 3 hour ceremony devoted to drinking freshly brewed coffee and spending time with friends and family...what could be better than that? :) The room was filled with the scent of freshly roasted coffee beans and incense. We watched as Birtukan roasted the beans, crushed them into grounds, and poured them into the hot water. Once the coffee has finished brewing, it is served in little cups. It is customary to drink 3 cups of coffee during the ceremony. The third cup is believed to bestow a blessing. Birtukan served our coffee with sugar, but the sugar really wasn't needed. It was strong like an espresso, but so much smoother than I am used to. Abel came and picked us up again in the afternoon. It was supposed to be his day off, but he came and picked us up anyway so we could see more of Addis and visit Mount Entoto. Driving around Addis that day was so amazing. It is a beautiful city with beautiful people. We have so many pictures of the city, but I will only share a few here. There are little stores on every street, and lots of people walking everywhere. Most people walk to get where they're going. I think Abel told us that there are only 350,000 cars in Ethiopia, and the population of Addis Ababa alone is about 2 million. Abel has a wealth of knowledge about Ethiopia's rich history. We were so fortunate to have him as our guide because we learned so much from him. He actually wrote a book, that is in the process of being published, about Ethiopian history and culture. The book is written in English. We're hoping it will be finished when we go back to Ethiopia for our Embassy appointment. We want a signed copy. ;) Mount Entoto was so beautiful. It overlooks Addis Ababa and gives a very picturesque view of the city. When we stopped to take some pictures, we met some children. They were trying to sell things to us. One little boy had an American quarter that he wanted to trade us for birr. Brandon and I thought that was a fair enough request, so he took some birr out of his pocket. When the money came out, the children swarmed him, and we think at least one of them swiped some birr out of his hand. Lesson learned. It was a heartbreaking moment for us. :( We enjoyed spending time with these kids, and even raced some of them up the hill. At about 10,000 feet, none of us were used to the elevation. The kids easily beat us, and we were left huffing and puffing. :) At the top of Mount Entoto is a museum and a palace. I believe this was the first palace that was built when the king settled in Ethiopia. (I really need a copy of Abel's book!) We were able to take pictures outside of the palace, but not inside. After touring the palace, we toured the museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures there either, but the museum was filled with historical artifacts. Abel told us so much about each artifact as we walked through the museum. He is such a good tour guide, other people touring the museum started following him too. Back at the guesthouse that night, Birtukan served us her version of pizza. It was so good! She also made a fresh salad with a spicy dressing. Everything she cooks is amazing! We were also treated that night to a performance by Birtukan's kids. Birukan has 4 beautiful children. The youngest is Dylan's age, and he is such a ham! They sang what I would call "Sunday school songs", with all the motions. So cute! :) That night, we went to bed very anxious about the next day. We knew that we would be meeting our daughter first thing in the morning. I was surprised at how easily I fell asleep, and I think I would have slept pretty well all night if it wasn't for the loud dog fight. Around midnight, we were awakened by the sound of loud barking, growling, squealing, and metal crashing. Brandon looked out the window and said he could see about 30 dogs rolling down the alley, all in a big brawl. They were crashing into the metal security gates, and it was LOUD. It woke up pretty much everyone in the guest house. Makes for a great story though! <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97u3WAET4kt2Ww4FzmZiBhtjWTAm9FHq6vhWozamsmcnUZiLoFvqFoBJJGJ0KgjmAyDpO5RzgGUhRc3jJFUAkgF5Nic5WoKltWG0RWZu2wwl3hpSX28AUwAjFsk5Zpax3Ic2XOIyJBDg/s1600/SAM_0468.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh97u3WAET4kt2Ww4FzmZiBhtjWTAm9FHq6vhWozamsmcnUZiLoFvqFoBJJGJ0KgjmAyDpO5RzgGUhRc3jJFUAkgF5Nic5WoKltWG0RWZu2wwl3hpSX28AUwAjFsk5Zpax3Ic2XOIyJBDg/s400/SAM_0468.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535366764103488066" border="0" /></a>"Dog fight alley" </div>

When we finished with breakfast, Abel picked us up for church. We went to the International Church in Addis Ababa. There were people of many ethnicity's in attendance that morning. The worship and sermon were in English. It was a good experience, but I really would have liked to attend one of the Ethiopian Orthodox churches. I've heard that their services are incredible, and I was really looking forward to experiencing it. Putting that on my wish list for our next trip. (I feel so blessed that we get to make two trips to Ethiopia!)

International Church

We were brought back to Morning Coffee Guest House for lunch. Birtukan made us our first authentic Ethiopian food. She made Doro Wat and some other side dishes (didn't catch the names of the other ones. Maybe someone can look at the picture and tell me.) All of this was served with injera, which is a staple food. Injera is a spongy flat bread that is used to scoop up the food. No utensils needed! Brandon and I have eaten at our local Ethiopian restaurant a lot, so we knew what to expect. We LOVE Ethiopian food. And Birtukan's was the best we've ever had. It was so good!

After lunch, we had our first coffee ceremony. We had heard so many wonderful things about coffee ceremony, and I was particularly looking forward to it. A 3 hour ceremony devoted to drinking freshly brewed coffee and spending time with friends and family...what could be better than that? :) The room was filled with the scent of freshly roasted coffee beans and incense. We watched as Birtukan roasted the beans, crushed them into grounds, and poured them into the hot water. Once the coffee has finished brewing, it is served in little cups. It is customary to drink 3 cups of coffee during the ceremony. The third cup is believed to bestow a blessing. Birtukan served our coffee with sugar, but the sugar really wasn't needed. It was strong like an espresso, but so much smoother than I am used to.

Roasting the coffee beans

Crushing the beans

Ready to drink!

Abel came and picked us up again in the afternoon. It was supposed to be his day off, but he came and picked us up anyway so we could see more of Addis and visit Mount Entoto. Driving around Addis that day was so amazing. It is a beautiful city with beautiful people. We have so many pictures of the city, but I will only share a few here. There are little stores on every street, and lots of people walking everywhere. Most people walk to get where they're going. I think Abel told us that there are only 350,000 cars in Ethiopia, and the population of Addis Ababa alone is about 2 million.

Abel teaching us about Ethiopia as we drove

Addis Ababa

Abel has a wealth of knowledge about Ethiopia's rich history. We were so fortunate to have him as our guide because we learned so much from him. He actually wrote a book, that is in the process of being published, about Ethiopian history and culture. The book is written in English. We're hoping it will be finished when we go back to Ethiopia for our Embassy appointment. We want a signed copy. ;)

Mount Entoto was so beautiful. It overlooks Addis Ababa and gives a very picturesque view of the city.

When we stopped to take some pictures, we met some children. They were trying to sell things to us. One little boy had an American quarter that he wanted to trade us for birr. Brandon and I thought that was a fair enough request, so he took some birr out of his pocket. When the money came out, the children swarmed him, and we think at least one of them swiped some birr out of his hand. Lesson learned. It was a heartbreaking moment for us. :( We enjoyed spending time with these kids, and even raced some of them up the hill. At about 10,000 feet, none of us were used to the elevation. The kids easily beat us, and we were left huffing and puffing. :)

Out of breath after my race

Our group of adoptive parents

At the top of Mount Entoto is a museum and a palace. I believe this was the first palace that was built when the king settled in Ethiopia. (I really need a copy of Abel's book!) We were able to take pictures outside of the palace, but not inside. After touring the palace, we toured the museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures there either, but the museum was filled with historical artifacts. Abel told us so much about each artifact as we walked through the museum. He is such a good tour guide, other people touring the museum started following him too.

One of the buildings that is part of the palace

A Eucalyptus tree, planted by a king

Back at the guesthouse that night, Birtukan served us her version of pizza. It was so good! She also made a fresh salad with a spicy dressing. Everything she cooks is amazing! We were also treated that night to a performance by Birtukan's kids. Birukan has 4 beautiful children. The youngest is Dylan's age, and he is such a ham! They sang what I would call "Sunday school songs", with all the motions. So cute! :)

That night, we went to bed very anxious about the next day. We knew that we would be meeting our daughter first thing in the morning. I was surprised at how easily I fell asleep, and I think I would have slept pretty well all night if it wasn't for the loud dog fight. Around midnight, we were awakened by the sound of loud barking, growling, squealing, and metal crashing. Brandon looked out the window and said he could see about 30 dogs rolling down the alley, all in a big brawl. They were crashing into the metal security gates, and it was LOUD. It woke up pretty much everyone in the guest house. Makes for a great story though!

"Dog fight alley"

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Ethiopia - Day 2

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