Wow. Time sure does fly. We leave for Ethiopia this Thursday, March 14th. For the last week and a half, we have been darting around like crazy people trying to organize everything for work, kids, packing, and our house renovations. We have about fifteen lists floating around the kitchen counter. I think I might even have a list of lists. Just kidding.
One of the major items we have been attempting to check off our "Travel Plans List" is to piece together our itinerary. We decided to take additional time to travel for this trip - it is quiet at the inn and grandparents have stepped up to the plate to care for the girls, so we are taking advantage and exploring our son's country. On Thursday, we fly from Boston to D.C. where we will spend the night at an airport hotel. Friday morning, we fly direct from D.C. to Addis and will arrive there early Saturday morning (a thirteen hour flight). We'll spend the day in a state of total jet-lag and culture shock and on Sunday afternoon fly to the remote Omo Valley in the southern region of the country. Originally, we had planned to travel the northern historic route - an itinerary many people opt for when exploring Ethiopia. But after researching some alternatives, we discovered the Omo Valley where there is tons of wildlife and African tribes still remain. In ten years, the area will likely become more modernized and tribe life will gradually phase out. There is no place like this in Africa and it is the epitome of Ethiopia. It will likely be rugged travel and running water may be a novelty, but this, for us, will be the trip of a lifetime. We couldn't pass up the opportunity.
After our adventures with tribes, we return to Addis on March 24th and then head down to the care center where Kaleb is on the 25th. We will finally meet our little guy and spend the day with him. We will also get to meet with a pediatrician and ask any questions about health, etc. On the 26th, we return, once again, to Addis where we will meet with a lawyer who will walk us through the court procedure. There is a shopping excursion, I believe to the famous Mercado Market on the 27th, and on the 28th, we have a free day - not sure, yet how we will spend it. The 29th is our big day - court - when, if all goes smoothly, Kaleb will become legally ours.
We chose to stay through the weekend just in case there are any glitches with court and we need to reappear on the Monday. So on Saturday morning, we will fly up to Lalibella, the highlight of the north historic route and spend two days exploring the region and checking out the rock churches before flying out of Addis on Monday night and returning to Boston on April 2nd.
I'm kind of exhausted just writing this! So between now and Thursday, we will be tying up lose ends and continuing to check things off those lists. It has been challenging trying to pack since we are not living at our house, so some of the items on those many lists are things like "Pick up bug spray from "real" house" and "Grab black capris from attic." I'm not exactly sure where anything actually is - we packed up our kitchen last week and the food from our pantry is now living in our bath tub while our pots and pans are in the garage. Our bedroom floor is littered with small appliances like our toaster oven and coffee maker, so wading through the mess to get to my dresser to "grab green tee shirt" is tricky. But this is all good stuff and we are having fun with our lists and plans. Soon enough, those lists will turn into reality - can't wait!
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