We have arrived

Hello everyone from Addis!! We have some free time this morning and I have been journalling so I am going to catch you up on our travels so far. Depending how busy we are and the Internet connection we will have to see how day to day online journalling will work. May 25 1330 (Bismarck time) Well all the packing and preparation is done (I hope) and we are sitting in the airport in Bismarck. Check in and security was thankfully uneventuful. My mom dropped us off at after saying good bye to Teha and my dad at our house. Bill and Janie came to see us off at the airport which made my day. We received a phone call while checking in from Aneata (our coordinator) informing us that our court date was switched from Tuesday to Thursday. Yeah, kinda last night but doesn't really change much of our plans thankfully. Just trying not to panic. Feeling a little overwhelmed today. We get to meet our boys!! May 25th (who ok owns what time, 2 hours into the 8 hour flight between Chicago and Frankfurt) Flight from BIS to CHI was smooth and uneventful. Arrived in Chicago found our gate, ate pizza and a salad and made some phone calls. Flight from Chicago to Frankfurt is packed and by far the largest plane I have ever been on. It's a 747. Nice guy sitting next to Karl. We are in the middle seats in the middle row. At least we can sit together. Just watched "one for the money". It was ok. Little boy a few rows up is in the middle of a meltdown. Fight attendants not impressed. Makes me worried about flying home with our boys. I am sharing my seat with the lady next to me unfortunately. May 26th (4 hours in) Just watched "the vow" pretty sure Karl almost died twitching it. Had an ok meal. Flight attendants are horrible!! Tried unsuccessfully to sleep. May 26th (0955, Frankfurt time) Arrival in Frankfurt. Land, get on bus, go through security (don't have to take shoes off here), hurry through airport (don't even get a chance to send off an email), onto another bus (pretty sure you need to board via bus here, ha), onto Lufthansa plane. Sit next to a really nice woman from CO, her first teaching job was in Brookings, SD. Once she found out Karl was on the. Plane she practically forced us to sit together. Nce lady, preferred Karl's company but she would have been a decent seat-mate, far better than the encroacher. Flight attendants are much better (Karl points out that our standard has been set pretty low from the last flight though). He is right, as long as they don't swear at the passengers they are already better. Seats are better and we have our own tvs. Boo yeah! Happy birthday mom and grandma Ruth!! One. More flight and we will be in the same city as out boys!! (1830, Khartoum Sudan time) Let me tell you, Lufthansa is the way to fly. Good entertainment and food, more comfortable seats and great flight attendants. We just flew over the Nile! We have landed in Khartoum Sudan to drop off some passengers, we don't get off the plane. Khartoum is in the middle of the desert. It is currently 41 degrees C, surrounded by red sand, palm trees in the city, and wide expanses of nothingness outside the city. Hve never seen such a barren land. You can see the haze of the heat in the air. This part of the journey has been the best. It may eke excited to get to Ethiopia because the other people on the plane have such a pleasant demeanor compared to all the other flights. People are happy and friendly. Can't wait for this last leg to get to our hotel. I haven't brushed my teeth or washed my face since leaving Bismarck yesterday. Gross. May 27th (midnight Addis time, afternoon is Bismarck) Well Khartoum was cool until we had to sit in the plan for 2 hours to let a dust storm pass. Watched "big miracle", " we bought a zoo" and "Sherlock Holmes". "zoo" was really good. I was feeling very anxious that we were going to be stuck in Sudan but we eventually got the go ahead. Dark outside with not much to see but scary turbulence at the beginning. Towards Addis, while still above the clouds in the distance we watched a beautiful thunderstorm! Finally land and get through customs and immmigration with no problems. Small confusion with our bags but they did arrive. Phew! We expected our hotel driver to meet us inside the airport but he wasn't there and we weren't thrilled about walking out to the parking lot at night so for three dollars I borrowed a cell phone and called the hotel. He was waiting in the parking lot after all. Nice guy, doesn't speak a lot of English. Hard to tell but from the car ride at night Addis is much better put together than any part of Haiti we have seen. Weather was beautiful. About 65 degrees with a slight breeze. Hotel is nice. $65 per night with free breakfast. Karl was a bit concerned with th water heaer plugged in INSIDE the shower. Hope we don't get electrocuted. Ordered bottled water from room service to drink and brush our teeth. Ate dried fruit and jerky for dinner. Got to Skype with Bill!! Quick but oh so refreshing shower and now, finally a nights rest. Forgot to write about my airport bathroom story: sweet older lady attendant ( I thought she was cleaning not attending the bathroom). Anyway had to pee so bad and didn't bother to check for TP. Bad decision. Thank God I had wet ones in my purse. S then I'm trying to get soap from the dispenser and it is empty but I do notice an used water bottle with pink stuff in it. This is where my attendant stepped in. She shook the goo out onto my hands and I washed and then she handed my TP to dry my hands. Left the bathroom looking like a paper mâché project but she was so sweet I wish I had tipped her. May 27 (1030 addis time, middle of the night Bismarck) Sleep is so wonderful!! Awake this morning to the wonderful smell of addis. Don't really know how to describe it, it smells like spices. It is a hazy sunny day which I think is the normal here. W have a beautiful view overlooking addis. We woke up at 0830 so we had breakfast. The restaurant is at the top of our hotel and we if we thought the view from our room was great than this view blows it away. Vultures are hovering in the sky. Children are playing soccer on a field of dirt. Women wearing beautiful head scarves walk down the street. There is a strange juxtaposition here. It is as if the third world and "first" world are blending into one. I.e. a man is herding his goats down the sidewalk which is made from beautiful pavers. There are no sidewalks in Haiti. Other example are the tin homes compete with satellite dishes on their rooftops. I love it here so far. People are quick to smile and are so friendly. Breakfast consisted of fresh papaya juice (thick, didn't like how it smell but liked the taste), toast with amazing jellies, cheese omelet, and the most fantastic coffee. All the rumors are true, the coffee here is incredible. I ordered a coffee with milk (milk was thick as cream and filled most of the cup with a shot of coffee to too it off). Karl ordered his plain and the lady kinda laughed at him. Although the coffee is creamy and smooth it is really strong so karl ended up using some of my milk. The coffee is the reason I have the wakefulness to write all of this write now. While eating the Rackaways arrived right off their flight. They seem like great people and am looking forward to expereincing Ethiopia with them. Back in our room and I am gonna nap. I feel good here.