Trip to ET Day 3
Day 3 - it’s only 2:30pm and I’m already exhausted again. My biological clock is so out of whack. I was up at 4am since I went to bed last night at 4pm. The Muslim prayers were loud this a.m so I couldn’t really get back to sleep. I hired a wonderful driver for the day (he’s friends with Alazar, his name is something like Ewantu) and he took me shopping and to AHOPE as well as an orphanage that he started. At his orphanage, there were FIVE baby girls and all were beautiful! I could hardly tear my eyes off of them but they all have families already. It was a bittersweet thing to hear b/c I so wanted to adopt one of them that I just was so drawn to.
AHOPE will break your heart, but everyone HAS to come here. It has been one of my favorite parts of this trip. Maybe it’s because I have such a heart for those living with HIV, but also b/c he kids have soooo much personality and are so vibrant. I got some great video of a couple of them doing traditional Ethiopian dancing! The kids are super sweet and very active. You really wouldn’t know they were sick except some of them have growths on their faces, patches of hair loss, and green puss filled ears. There were several babies there with HIV which just broke my heart. They are beautiful and so smiley. The facility was very nice, they have lots of enrichment, the nannies are VERY loving. And they had really good playground equipment. The hardest part is seeing the little kids be pushed/smacked around by the older children there. When I got out of the car they immediately started asking my driver which kid I sponsor ( I don’t sponsor a child at AHOPE). I guess they associate a “ferenge” as sponsor with goodies J I did however have cereal bars and lots of candy so I handed that stuff out to them and it was like a riot of children. There weren’t as many kids there as I thought would be which is GREAT. Their English is quite good so I was encouraged at their schooling.
The shopping was okay… I’m having trouble finding things to keep for Ezra to give at his birthdays, so hopefully Mekele and Lalibela will have more unique stuff to offer. My nausea meds are kicking butt! So far I’ve only eaten at Metro Pizza since I’ve been there before and know it to be safe. I didn’t feel sick at all today and I’m thrilled about that. I fly out to Mekele tomorrow and I’m anxious to see how that works out with teaching, etc.
AHOPE will break your heart, but everyone HAS to come here. It has been one of my favorite parts of this trip. Maybe it’s because I have such a heart for those living with HIV, but also b/c he kids have soooo much personality and are so vibrant. I got some great video of a couple of them doing traditional Ethiopian dancing! The kids are super sweet and very active. You really wouldn’t know they were sick except some of them have growths on their faces, patches of hair loss, and green puss filled ears. There were several babies there with HIV which just broke my heart. They are beautiful and so smiley. The facility was very nice, they have lots of enrichment, the nannies are VERY loving. And they had really good playground equipment. The hardest part is seeing the little kids be pushed/smacked around by the older children there. When I got out of the car they immediately started asking my driver which kid I sponsor ( I don’t sponsor a child at AHOPE). I guess they associate a “ferenge” as sponsor with goodies J I did however have cereal bars and lots of candy so I handed that stuff out to them and it was like a riot of children. There weren’t as many kids there as I thought would be which is GREAT. Their English is quite good so I was encouraged at their schooling.
The shopping was okay… I’m having trouble finding things to keep for Ezra to give at his birthdays, so hopefully Mekele and Lalibela will have more unique stuff to offer. My nausea meds are kicking butt! So far I’ve only eaten at Metro Pizza since I’ve been there before and know it to be safe. I didn’t feel sick at all today and I’m thrilled about that. I fly out to Mekele tomorrow and I’m anxious to see how that works out with teaching, etc.
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