Ethiopia, long version
On April 14th we headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We were a little nervous for several reasons. This was the first time a Public affairs couple had gone to Ethiopia, and we were not sure what to expect. Amy was due to give birth any day and we didn’t know if she could get hold of us. My work permit for Kenya has been denied and I have been told to leave the country so we weren’t sure I would get back in. So with those thoughts on our minds we flew to Ethiopia.
Elder and Sister Whiting (missionary couple) were there to pick us up and we were happy to see their smiling faces. They drove us to the hotel, The Gheon, in its day it was nice, and appeared to be okay when we drove up. They said they only had suites left and that was where they were going to put us. We figured that wouldn’t be so bad. Then they took our bags back out to the car and told us to follow the bell boy as he ran down the hill and to another building. It was even older and looked like a rundown apartment building. He took us inside and up the stairs. The room was probably an apartment at one time but now it was a suite. They had redone the bathroom and it was pretty good but the rest looked like early 1950’s, but we thought we can do this.
We spent the rest of the day tagging along with the Whitings. We met the acting public affairs national director, Haptu Biru. He is a really sharp guy and we expect big things from him.
We also met Elder Batt again, we had met him the first time in Uganda, he was on his way to Ethiopia then. He and another elder we met in Uganda, Elder Ray are related to Dad, on the Luke side. Elder Ray even attended the big Luke reunion in Manti a few summers ago. Dad also found out that he is related to Elder Whiting through the Cox line. They are both descended from Frederick Cox.
That afternoon, the Whitings dropped us off at the hotel and we were on our own. We were really thirsty so we decided to order a soda at the pool bar and sit there to drink it. It really sounds better than it was. There was a huge nice pool and tables to sit there but they were very old and run down. In its day I am sure it was very nice. After that we went for a walk and checked out our options for dinner that night.
The Hotel had an Ethiopian restaurant that served Ethiopian food and western style food. Dad wanted to walk to a Chinese restaurant down the street from the motel. On our way there we were approached by beggars and street salesmen. The restaurant wasn’t open yet but I had had enough of the activity on the street and we headed back to the safety of the motel. I did slip a beggar child a package of cookies and he finally left us alone. There are so many beggars there, children, disabled and mothers with babies. It is hard not to give them something but we are told not to.
We ate at the Ethiopian restaurant but had western meals (I know, not very adventurous) I just couldn’t bring my self to eat cow tongue or mutton. (mutton sometimes is goat) when we finished dinner the waitress told us there would be a show with dancing. We saw a guy getting an accordion ready so we decided to stay. He sang and played his accordion a while, we never saw the dancers.
Back at the motel room (suite) we got ready for bed and of course I checked all the doors and windows to make sure they were locked. There were two large sliding glass doors and I succeeded after much effort to get one locked but the other wouldn’t. So I put a chair in front of it. That way if someone came in I might wake up and wouldn’t be murdered in my sleep. (I’d be awake for it)
The phone service was bad but Dad figured out how to call and we couldn’t get hold of anyone but Andrea. She told us Amy was in the hospital and about to deliver. She relayed to Brooks and Amy how they could call us and we did get the news when Parker arrived.
In the morning there was no hot water. When we asked them about it they said just let it run for 10 minutes it comes from a natural hot water spring. After 45 minutes we figured we weren’t going to get any hot water and gave up.
Breakfast was included with the room, luckily I left my glasses in the room and couldn’t see what I was eating. The breakfast buffet had (we think) left over dinner items such as mutton, beef tongue, and fish, which I thought was fried potatoes. I chose some fresh pineapple, a boiled egg and some little sausages and the fish that I thought was potatoes. They had lots of good breads but I am trying to cut down on the white flour things. The boiled egg was green and soggy, but I ate it anyway, because I couldn’t really see it and I couldn’t believe a boiled egg could be soggy.
The Whitings invited us to stay with them, so after the experience in the motel we decided to take them up on it. Dad went to check out and after 45 minutes and figuring out that they wouldn’t take his Ethiopian burr because he didn’t have a receipt from the bank to show where he got it, he succeeded. He used his American money (that we have learned to always carry with us) to pay the bill.
We spent the day training Bro. Biru and the Branch presidents. We hope they learned a lot, we felt it was a great experience. The chapel where we met is very beautiful. The grounds were landscaped as nice as any temple I have seen. We found out that one of the branch presidents does the grounds.
After the training the Whitings and the Woodruffs took us to the Leper’s hospital. We wanted to meet Bro Getachew Biru who is supposed to be the NDPA, but is to busy to do the job. He works long hours at the hospital. He showed us around where the lepers who had been treated so they did not have “germs” (that’s what he told us) were making crafts to sell. By hand they were spinning cotton into thread. Then they wove the thread into cloth or crocheted it into tablecloths and doilies. They also embroidered on the cloth and made all kinds of beautiful things. I bought a few to help out, (as Bro. Biru put it)
After that we took the Whitings and Woodruffs to dinner at the Sheridon. They like to go there because it makes them think they are back in the USA.
The next day we tagged along with the couples as they looked for a house to move to and picked up a new car, then they took us to the airport. We ate lunch at the airport and then flew back to Kenya. We made it though immigration, we only had to buy a new visa, ($50. each) and we were back home. Because the traffic was terrible, the ride from the airport to our flat took as long as the plane trip from Ethiopia.