Sunday Valentines Day

It's Valentines day. When I got home the gifts for my grandchildren and niece and nephew for V Day were still there. Speed forgot to give them to them. Got up and checked facebook. We are still at the hotel. No Hot Water even with the hot water heater turned on. I guess later Bill got hot water. I tried again let it run for 10 minutes, nothing but cold. Then it started changing the valves are so sensitive that just the tiniest movement changed it from boiling to ice. We talked about that Greg guy when we got back to the room last night. He was making fun of Abraham, insinuating that they breed like dogs/rabbits and when he asked Abraham what his degree was Abraham answered Sociology, that Greg guy said "Your a smart one." The Bethany people wanted to make sure that he had nothing to do with the orphanage. I guess that's what you get for talking to someone who was sitting at the next table. Beware in the future of who you talk too.

That night we stood in the parking lot talking it was very dark and Abraham pointed out the moon. It was really a hotel sign in the shape of the moon with a triangle in the center.

We talked at dinner about children. Abraham wants 1 maybe 2, have one wait 5 years then another, then done. Mahi wants 6, 2 girls and 4 boys. I wonder if that will ever happen. Mahi is about a size -2, negative 2, what would she look like after 6 kids? Mahi laughed when Abraham only said 2 kids.

When we were at the Hilton on Tues the fridg was taped shut you paid for everything. Here we had beer/wine/soda/ water. Remember you have to buy bottled water and carry it with you. NO DRINKING THE WATER FROM THE TAP In the lobby the bell boy opened the elevator and placed a key on the floor pushed the button of the floor someone was waiting for it on and away it went.

We had breakfast again at the hotel. Buffet, ethnic food, donuts, pancakes, thick french toast, mango and pineapple juice. Got on the internet and asked Ill if they had had snow. Twila answered yes 6-8 inches, and no school one day. Summer got on just as I was getting off it was 11:30pm in the states.

People just walk in the street here, even if there is a sidewalk or a large dirt area on the side of the road. We would pass by people sitting there within inches of the van. People were holding hands, girl/ girl, guy/ guy and I don't think they were all gay. I just think it is something they do here. Not much guy/girl hand holding. Maybe they are prepared to pull a friend out of the way of an on coming bus.

The monkeys here are smart, at the park Gretchen had a few nuts in her hand and offered one to a monkey. She was going to give the rest to another monkey but the first one opened her hand to get the last nut.

I know that these paragraphs are all over the place but I wrote them as I remembered them.

There was a garden surrounded by a fence of brushy sticks, to keep the animals out.

We saw a Humvee (sp) last night $60,000 US dollars, 2 million birr. Abraham used his cell as a calculator. He kept redoing it because he thought it had to be wrong. Bill had to say, 6----0-----0-----0-----0. Unbelievable.

The beds had coverlets on them, like a top sheet and a bottom sheet tied in several places and fluffy stuff in the center.

Our driver listens to American music, Bonjovi, Chirstian, Rock, God of this City, Give Me Your Eyes, the Beatles. Don't ever think I will ever hear them again and not think of Africa. Was almost in tears thinking of how appropriate God of this City is here and how it describes this place.

Kids are selling lottery tickets, they cost 1 to 20 birr. They were attached to a long piece of paper and each piece was torn off. There are daily, weekly and monthly drawings, the numbers are broadcast over the TV. Mahi asked if I wanted to buy one. Now I wish I had just for the souvenior.

Getting back to Addis the alltitude is changing so your ears pop. Gretchen is tired again. We talked about lots of things and explained to Mahi about cow catchers on trains and the orphan trains that headed from the east to the west, history of US. I think I mentioned that Mahi wants to come to the states to eat turkey.

We passed a square hay bailer. Water jugs, like our gas cans, hung on poles along the road. Some were wrapped in baskets.

Elliott is dressed in a Valentines Day outfit.with a matching bib.

How many days a week do kids go to school? 5 but they only go to school for 1/2 a day.
Do you have a summer vacation? No 2 months in the winter rainy season which is really our summer.
How early do kids start school? Depends on family situation, maybe age 3.

Each religious center has their own cemetary that is named after a saint. We saw one. Each monument had a fence around it. In the country there were shrines of 2 - 6 stones some brightly colored or with a design or statue. One was of a man riding his horse, they were always in the shelter of trees.

When we got back to Addis our driver announced, one of the few times he spoke english, Welcome to Addis"

Mahi asked if we should get Yohanna and then have lunch. Gretchen didn't have a bottle so we went to lunch first at the Lime Tree a pizza place. It was sweet but very good, each of us ordered one I think two people could have eaten one and been satisfied. They had green olives not black, and peas. We sat and talked to Mahi about American stuff again. We tried to explain Chili. She asked about eggnog and now to make it. About taking classes over the internet, "Like correspondance?" We talked about the grandkids and how Laural and I had gotten our nails done for her birthday. "Your a Cool Grandma"- Mahi. We then went to Shalom and got Yohanna. When we got there they took her upstairs and changed her into the clothes she came in on Friday. Gretchen checked out what size one of the kids wore. That little girl will soon go home with one of Gretchen's friends. It would have been nice to know exactly what size Yohanna wore. Gretchen had to take several sizes of clothing.