Ethiopia Day 1

A few of the sights we took in today:
*dozens of beautiful women wearing white head coverings walking home from church
*a gaggle of goats crossing through the middle of traffic
*an old bearded white guy (think Santa Claus) driving down the middle of the street on a beat-up tractor
*a flowering tree with the most delicate lavender colored flowers
*hundreds of shanties lining the road
*hundreds of people in the road, on the side of the road, crossing the road, in the middle of the road (I swear we almost hit at least 25 people today)
*three men carrying a dead dog upside down by its feet (at least I think it was dead. And I think it was a dog)
*two cows grazing on two blades of grass on the median of a busy highway
*two men digging a grave
*majestic mountains ranges rising out of the jumble of mismatched, vibrant city structures
*the most beautiful children you'll ever see

I leaned over to Andy in the car today and said, "We have to take pictures or video while we're driving.  This is just unreal.  There's no way we're going to be able to explain this to people."  I'm not even sure the pictures will do it justice.  You have to see it for yourself.  

This city is so vast and so diverse it catches your breath.  You can scarcely take it all in.  As we were driving to our guest house I kept thinking, "I'm so small.  I'm one person in this sea of humanity."

Our flight was completely uneventful.  We read, we slept, we read, we ate, we read.  Oh, and watched an episode of Friends, of course.

The lines for visas and customs were l-o-n-g.  But we met the two most adorable little girls who played Rock, Paper, Scissors and some other hand clapping game with us the entire time we were waiting.  I think we annoyed all the other grumpy people in line but their mom seemed relieved that they were talking to someone other than her for half an hour.  :)  She gave us her name and number when she left and told us to call her if we needed anything while we were in Addis.  She grew up here, and now lives in D.C.

Sammy was waiting for us and thus began our crazy car ride!  Anyone who has been overseas (or even to Mexico) knows that the rules of the road are ... well, there are no rules.  Basically just trust your driver and be glad you're not the one driving. ;)

After changing and resting a little bit, we were off to a wonderfully lively church service (think jazz concert during the offering) and then to lunch with Sammy and his wife and the cutest baby on the planet. It was our first full meal in 24 hours and wow, was it good - cheeseburgers, fries, and Coke.  Not very Ethiopian, I know, but it was Sammy's request and we were happy to oblige!  We had such fun talking with them over lunch, exchanging questions about cultural differences and life in general.

Right now I'm sitting in our room, gazing at this:

 A bunch of little kids are running up and down the hallways, playing hide and seek, being cute.  I feel right at home.  :)

We are completely and utterly exhausted, but incredibly grateful for the opportunity to experience this beautiful land and this incredibly welcoming culture.  Going to get to bed early tonight and try to catch up on the hours we missed!  Much love to you all!

~Katie