Ethiopia: August 4

We’ve checked the babies out of the orphanage to play the last couple days, but today we took full possession of them! I’m not sure M+M realized what a milestone this was, but they were sure excited to be back in the taxi with us.

Yesterday we went to Entonto Hill, one of the highest points in Addis. The drive was beautiful, and the view from the top was nice. (Though the smog here sort of thickens the air, a bit.) The road to the top was a steep and curvy one, and since we have been riding with another (more aggressive) driver, named Frew, we were bracing ourselves with the twins in tow.

As I mentioned before, the streets of Addis are a bit nuts. Oncoming cars drive so close to our vehicle, that I don’t feel safe putting my arm out the window. In fact, as we were headed up the mountain to the lookout point, an oncoming van drove so close to us, that it knocked our sideview mirror off! Frew stopped the car, got out, threw his hands up in the air, and then got back into the car and kept driving. Everyday event, I guess? Anyway, the drive was still nice, and we enjoyed the view at Entonto Hill. At around 10,000 ft above sea level, you get a little winded walking only about 200 yards. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that before. I imagined maybe this is how the fatties in my neighborhood feel when they’re walking to the city bus. Awful, I tell you!

There was an art gallery at the top, and the artist who worked there also gave us the official tour of the lookout site. Afterwards, we checked out his paintings…which I would describe as somewhat Picasso-esque. Bright colors, funky/modern interpretations of everyday life in Ethiopia. We decided on one that pictured an Ethiopian mother and her twins. (How could we pass it up, especially considering the artist said because we have twins, he would give “good discount” ha)

This afternoon, we had our interview at the embassy, and except for Mamenesh’s small diaper explosion, things went very smoothly. Due to the horrendous odor coming from Mammy’s diaper, and the high-pitched squeals from Melese, I think the embassy rep may have rushed through the questions as quickly as possible. I guess sometimes those things will work to our advantage! We left the embassy with our little immigrants, and went back to relax at the guest house. Woo hoo! One step closer to sweet home, USA.

As I type, they are both sleeping. Hopefully for the rest of the night. Realistically, for the next 30 minutes. We’ll see how this goes. It has been an awesome but exhausting day. I feel completely disorganized and disoriented. Craziness! Even with both of us caring for them, we have our hands full all the time. (Dear husband, can you please not go back to work? ...ever?) I can hardly wait to be home, not living out of suitcases, and with some order in our lives. Right now the mess in our room is making me a little crazy, so I’m gonna go attempt some cleaning. OH, and as if right on cue, I hear a baby snorting herself awake. Hopefully temporarily. Likely not.