You are going to have an incredible time. Ethiopia is amazing and wonderful and you won’t come back the same. Here are some random things that you might find helpful as you get ready to go.
Letting go
When you get on the plane, let go. Let go of your worries, your expectations, your to-do lists. Be open to the experience you are about to have.
Sight-seeing
Go out and do stuff. Ethiopia is incredible! I felt like I owed it to Buturo to learn all I could about his country and culture. If your agency offers caretakers, use them . These gals have been taking care of your kid for months. They know what to do (this is their job.) I think it was good for Buturo to be around familiar people and language. Most days we would feed him breakfast, play, leave for the afternoon and come home in time for dinner and bedtime. He fussed the first few days when his caretaker left, but later in the week he was happy to see us when we got back.
Packing
Take out 1/3 of your and your partner's stuff. I packed all sorts of snacks, books, clothes, drugs for Jose & me and they came back untouched. (The baby stuff I packed, however, all came in handy) On the plane, I only used my earphones to watch movies and I read a little. If you have a long layover in Dubai, it was nice to have a change clothes and basics for freshening up a bit at the hotel. The hotel had soap and shampoo. At the guest house, they did our laundry twice. I didn’t pack very much clothing and was fine. And they have stores in Addis for food items you might need. I wouldn’t have packed as much food. (I did, however, enjoy the peanut butter I brought for a few late night snacks.) Plus we still ended up buying pasta, cookies, bread, injera, nutella, water, eggs and powered milk in Addis. And take lots of large ziplock bags (this was a tip from another family and it came in handy for lots of stuff)
Begging
People will come up to you on the street and it is tough. We asked our driver about handling this situation and he suggested giving out food. We ended up passing out our snacks to people who came up to the car as we drove around.
Tummy issues
I have a super sensitive stomach, so I was very nervous about eating in Ethiopia. On the advice of others, I took priobiotics every night starting a week before the trip, and I took two pepto tablets with every meal. We ate at the restaurants our agency suggested, and I had no stomach issues at all while we there. I couldn’t believe it.
Your driver
Utilize your driver. Ours rocked! He had the scoop on the interesting places and knew all sorts of stuff about Ethiopia. Make sure to ask lots of questions. Ethiopians are proud of their country and seemed eager to share with others.
This moment is all there is
You only get to meet your child for the first time once. You will only visit the birth country of your child for the first time once. Release all the other stuff and savor the experience.
Our first family photo
(1.5 hours after we landed)
5 comments:
I am so glad you had an amazing trip! It truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Even if we go back to Ethiopia (as I hope), it will not be the same trip.
I am glad you three are home!!!
Rebecca
Thank you for such wonderful tips. Our agency pretty much keeps us in the Union Hotel and at their orphanage the entire time we are there...with a couple of quick trips out to eat and for shopping....so I don't think we get much travel and sight-see time. So, we have been discussing going over a couple of days early to sight-see but that is huge...finding a reputable driver, guide, whatnot. Once we are at the Union Hotel with our agency we are required to abide by their schedule...because it is a small orphanage and one director and she doesn't have the time to hunt everyone when it's time to complete paperwork, etc. She is fabulous and I love our agency so I have no problem with that. BUT, I want to SEE Ethiopia too. Anyway, so happy that you are HOME with your SON! Your video makes me cry. I love it.
Don't you just love him? He is so cute and fun! I am so glad to hear that things went well and you've made it home safely! Welcome home family of 3!!!
That's such a helpful list! Thanks for writing it while it was all still so fresh on your mind!
I know you have to rest, but I can't wait to read more about your trip and see your pictures. I especially love your advice on "letting go" and just enjoy the experience of your child's birth country. Thanks Family!
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