From America to Amharic-a: Day 1

We landed in the Ethiopian airport around 8:00 p.m. and after obtaining our visas and some Ethiopian Birr we met several other couples who would be picking up their children as well. The airport was filled with visitors waiting right at the entrance gate - just staring in the distance for familiar faces. It was quite overwhelming as we didn't know who to look for and we couldn't understand the Amharic dialogue. Our bags went through customs - which was basically a mass of people throwing their bags up onto a conveyor belt to be checked by security. We were passed over many times, people stepped on us, bumped us out of line; I've never felt so "out of place" in all my life. All social norms we had assimilated in the U.S. were quickly tucked away.

Our driver took us to the house where we were staying, and I must admit, that it was an uneasy feeling. It was dark and dusty, but these two elements did not prevent us from witnessing the immense poverty. Everywhere you looked, there were people. It was almost as if they had no place to go and nothing to do. The small-town girl in me clung tightly to the bus seat hoping the fear would dissipate the next day when I could actually see my surroundings.

We stopped at a local grocery store to pick up water - and when I say grocery store -please understand that it is only stocked with mere essentials. No formal rows and very few choices. We quickly learned that you must be aggressive in line. If you exude patience and "wait your turn" you will get passed over by the people behind you. The custom is to quickly place your items on the check out counter and and aggressively seek the clerk's attention to pay out.

The guest house was located in a place called Ayat - a quaint little village on the outskirts of town. The air was clean there - Ethiopia does not regulate emissions and everyone uses diesel. Put two and two together and you understand that we felt as though we were sucking fumes all week. It was not unusual to see animals along the roadside and we were told not to be out after dark for fear of hyenas. Seriously...hyenas?

Although the house was only 5 years old, it felt much like a hundred year old house in the U.S. The walls were plastered, the kitchen was bare and the rooms contained only the essentials. The owner, Mr. Wolde we called him, took great pride in showing us around and I felt completely humbled by the simplicity of his home. After brushing our teeth with our bottled water, we fell asleep with anxiety of meeting Samuel; we fell asleep in a foreign land, with foreign thoughts and wondered how we were going to "fit in" with this new culture.