Experiencing Ethiopia

We hope we never forget our experiences from Ethiopia.  From the culture to the food to the coffee…everything is so rich and everyone is so friendly!  

Our morning coffee at our hotel (oh, how we miss it already!)…

We loved seeing words spelled in Amharic! (and the old school Coke bottles)

We were blessed to be sharing our “first trip” experience with another AGCI family.  We met the G family on our second morning (their first morning) in the hotel dining room.  They were traveling with their two beautiful daughters who we got to know quickly and had a blast with!  They were there to meet their two newest additions to the family—a boy and a girl (siblings).  How fun!  We truly enjoyed sharing our experiences with them.  This journey can be quite an emotional roller coaster, and it was nice to have them there to encourage us, hug us, laugh with us through it all!

We got to share some fun “outings” with them as well!

Shopping

On the afternoon of day 2, we went to an Italian restaurant/art gallery and then shopping.  We were blessed to have the AGCI Ethiopian staff be our personal tour guides and chauffeurs!  We picked up some Ethiopian coffee and spices, as well as a Bible in Amharic for Eden when she gets older.  We also bought three beautiful dresses for her to wear (various sizes), along with some souvenir items.

The view from inside the van…

Cultural Dinner
The evening after our court appointment and birth other meeting, we went to an Ethiopian Cultural Restaurant.  It was a very fun time and was just what we needed after such an emotional day!

Washing our hands before dinner (since everything is eaten by hand)…

Enjoying the music and entertainment…

Eating traditional Ethiopian food (we really do think it is VERY yummy!)...

Tasting the local brew...

Learning from Waas how to do the “shoulder shake” dance…

Finishing the night off with very strong Ethiopian coffee…

Kaldi’s

We are so glad that we didn’t pass up the opportunity to go to Kaldi’s for lunch with the AGCI group on our last day in Ethiopia.  Starbucks ain’t got nothin’ on Kaldi’s!

A yummy pastry!

Lauren's chai latte...

We are so happy to be incorporating such amazing culture into our lives!  There is so much history in Ethiopia and we'll say it again--the people are SO friendly!  We can't wait to share our experiences with Eden as she grows up.  And we hope to be able to bring her back to Ethiopia several times throughout her life to experience it first-hand!