Trip 1 - Day 7 - Shopping

I think I mentioned previously that Kansas City arranged to have Daniel take the four of us shopping today.  We actually didn't wake up until after the sun came up, which was a miracle, but also a curse because this is our last day in Ethiopia - fine time to adjust to the time difference.

We had a quick breakfast in the dining room, and I actually ate more this morning than I had eaten since Dubai.  I was actually beginning to feel a little better overall, praise the Lord!  Just in time to go home.

We met Daniel in the lobby and he had an entire itinerary ready for us, which was a pleasant surprise.  We hopped in his Toyota compact sedan (not an American brand - think much older Corolla) and he drove us all over the city.  We drove by the US Embassy - by far the nicest, most modern building that we saw while in Ethiopia, the United Nations building - the UN headquarters for Africa is in Ethiopia, the University of Addis A, and then stopped at the National History Museum.  Daddy thought this was the best thing ever - HISTORY!!  It was interesting, for a minute, but then quite boring, if you ask me.  Daddy REALLY enjoyed talking to Daniel about EVERYTHING.

Addis Ababa University

U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa

United Nations in Addis Ababa

National History Museum

"Selam" - the earliest child. 3.3-million-year-old bones found in Ethiopia!
Or something.

While Daddy thought the history museum was really cool, the best part for both of us was being greeted by a bunch of children on a school field trip.  While we said "Selam," they said "Good morning!" in the sweetest little voices.  We shook hands and gladly did over and over again around every corner. 

A random note about the day - it was raining.  HARD.  Like I've never seen it rain before.  As in buckets of rain!  Ethiopia has its designated rainy seasons, and this was not one of them, yet it was raining so hard!!  I can't even imagine what it must be like during the actual rainy seasons, but I realize now why everything shuts down.  I'm not sure that I've ever seen it rain that hard in Northern California.  I actually took a picture.  Everyone else thought I was nuts.

Doesn't do it justice.

I think it was at this point that we drove through (or around) the Merkato - the largest open-air marketplace in Africa.  We were told that more than two million people visit this market EVERY DAY.  As we pulled onto one of the busy streets, Daniel told us to lock our doors, and then laughed at us as we did so quite frantically.  Apparently, it would not be very safe for Americans to walk through this market, and I know of some Ethiopians who try to avoid it as well.  It was complete madness.  People EVERYWHERE.  Animals (goats, donkeys, sheep, wild dogs) EVERYWHERE.  It was muddy, crowded, chaotic, and somewhere that was really fun to look at, but not be a part of.

We then did some more shopping at the "post office," and I actually saw the post office this time!!  Daniel knew the right shops to go into to find the specific things we wanted to bring home.  I bought a traditional dress that I am excited about wearing for Ty's baptism.  Daddy REALLY wanted an Ethiopian soccer jersey, but we couldn't find one.  Since being home, Daniel has told us that he found the perfect place to get one and we'll go there on our next trip.  Phew!

When we were leaving the "post office" shopping area, a parking attendant (woman in an orange vest) approached the car and held out her hand.  "How much?" Daniel asked, and he threw some change in her hand.  I'm fairly certain she just made up an amount.  There were no parking rates posted, there was no parking garage, there were no meters.  We were parked on the side of the road, and she was fortunate enough to catch us before we drove away.  Our friend Daniel is very generous.  He handed change to many people while we were there.  I love that about him.

After "post office" shopping, we headed to a store to buy coffee.  I'm pretty sure it was called Tamoca.  It was VERY hard to find somewhere to park, but we finally did and had a short distance to walk to THE coffee store.  It was similar to playing frogger and lots of fun.  There were people all over the place, cars all over the place, animals all over the place.  We made our way into a pretty nice coffee house.  There were tall tables that you could stand at, prepackaged coffee, fresh coffee, etc.  It smelled heavenly and reminded me of a store in San Francisco.  We bought lots of coffee.  Lots.

Tamoca is in an area called the "Piazza"

I told Daniel before we left the car that I had to use a restroom.  He wasn't sure if there would be one at the coffee shop, but said he would check for me, which he did.  They told him that it was outside, and he said he would check it out before sending me out there.  When he came back in he looked at me kind of funny and said, "Well, there is a toilet, but I don't know if you want to use it.  Daddy (He didn't really say "daddy."  He actually used his name.), you will want to go with her."  We left the store and made a sharp left down an alley of sorts.  We got about half way down and a dog started barking FIERCELY!!  I thought at that point that my need for a toilet might be no longer.  Thankfully, the dog was caged and we tip-toed by the ferocious beast with no touch, no talk, no eye contact (thank you, Cesar Milan) to a corrugated tin door.  I opened the door to find a hole in the ground.  Now I see why Daniel was so apprehensive.  It is a porcelain hole in the ground with skids for me to put my feet on.  Here goes nuthin'!  Without going into too much detail, I can tell you that it actually went very well and I was very happy to have hand sanitizer and toilet paper in my bag! Gonna have to work on those quads though.

I think it was after this that we went for lunch.  Daniel had tried to get us to stop for some "hot stuffs" all day, but we were worried that we wouldn't have enough time to get all of our shopping done and time to pack up before our flight that night.  We did, however, stop for a very nice lunch at the Ghion Hotel.  The courtyard of this hotel was luscious and fresh and a beautiful sight for sore eyes.  It was the freshest air that I had breathed on the entire trip.  The rain made everything that much fresher and I couldn't soak in enough of it.  While the Ghion restaurant was VERY nice, the decor was still very outdated, as was the case at most places.  I ordered some pasta with tomato and basil sauce and it was VERY good, but I still had little to no appetite and the portion was HUGE.  I only ate a few bites, much to the manager's dismay.  He actually came over and asked me what was wrong with my food.  Why wasn't I eating it?  I asked Daniel to please stress to the man that it was VERY good, but I just didn't feel well.  I'm not sure he bought it.  Matt ordered a porterhouse steak.  It came out on a HUGE platter with rice and potatoes and vegetables and was apparently very good.  Porterhouse steak with three side dishes + two beers = Five American dollars.  No joke.

We really enjoyed getting to know Daniel better during our lunch and can't wait to see him on our next trip.  We're hoping to go to church with him and possibly have dinner at his family's home.  He is a strong Christian (and was quite surprised to hear that not everyone in America believes in God) and has a great heart.  He is going to be quite successful some day.

After lunch, much to Daniel's dismay (he was on African time, after all), we had him drop us off at the guesthouse so that we could pack up and catch our flight.  It was easier to say goodbye knowing that we would see him again, but sad nonetheless.

Random pictures from the day:



Look at that scaffolding!! 





Ethiopian Olympic Headquarters





Without these bananas, I may have starved to death.



TUPAC!!!