Monday, October 10, 2011

Two months, and planning a trip

Two months today doing the 10% challenge. This month's amount was less than last month's because both Buki and the car have been on their best behavior. This time the contribution went to Unicef, because I'm tired of the bad rap they get for saying that inter-country adoption should be a last resort for children in need of families.
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Some exciting news - we've connected with two families who are appearing in court the same day as us, who also have accepted referrals from Burji (from the same orphanage?), and who also live on the East coast. If all our referred children end up coming to the U.S., it will be such a comfort to them to see familiar faces in their new, unfamiliar environment. I hope we can maintain and strengthen this connection as we go forward.
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We are working on getting our tickets to Ethiopia. We had hoped to have a stop in Greece on the way because we haven't been there in over five years. But with news like this coming out of Greece, we can't afford to take the chance that the airport would be shut down, so we are not going.
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We've planned a tentative trip to southern Ethiopia to see the area where the boys are from. We're trying to decide if we should rent a car or if we should hire a driver. On the one hand, a driver would make things easier and could also be an interpreter and a source of information. On the other hand, it feels like a driver would put some unwanted distance between us and the people around us. Any advice on the matter?

13 comments:

  1. Hire a driver! We traveled south to Sidama where Ashagre is from (the area around Yirga Alem) and hired a driver. I would argue that the driver actually will bring you closer to the people around you. Our driver had never seen some of the places we wanted to see and joined us as a fellow traveler in our adventures. He was a great interpreter, when needed, and was happy to take things at the pace we set (pretty go with the flow) and recommend some sights we probably would have missed without him. He was reluctant at first to join in, as I think he had driven for people in the past that just expected him to drive, but once we convinced him that we were serious, I truly believe we had a more intimate travel experience and were more approachable with our driver. Check out our court trip blog posts here, if you feel like it http://ourperfectspace.blogspot.com/p/ethiopian-court-trip-nov-7-27.html and I would be happy to pass along contact info. for our driver if you like.

    Oh, and, yes, that's awesome that you are connecting with other families with children that share background and timing with your boys. These connections will likely prove priceless once everyone's home. Just this weekend, we skyped with a friend that Asahgre hadn't seen since he left Ethiopia. Both boys were so happy to see each other.

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  2. I agree, hire a driver. Unless you have experience in dodging pedestrians, donkeys, goats, cattle, dogs, bicycles and motorcycles while you drive...oh, and you will also have to watch out for overloaded trucks steered by chat-chewing drivers - the locals call them al-qaeda, because you never know when they are going to explode! Seriously, driving in Ethiopia is a major adventure of its own...

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  3. I do have experience dodging donkeys, goats, cattle and dogs from living in rural Namibia for three years (I owned a car for two of those years). And I have experience dodging motorcycles and pedestrians from driving in Greece (I took to Athens traffic like a duck to water, much to my husband's dismay). So I'm not too worried about the physical act of driving in Ethiopia. I'm more wondering about finding our way (is there really a road where Google maps shows a road?) and about communicating (Tabb says it will force us to use our Amharic, but I say what Amharic? I can barely get a sentence out). And on the one hand, striking out on our own would be a fun adventure, but on the other hand, like dcorey said, we'd miss out on a lot. Still deciding...

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  4. Kyra, our experience was that the roads in Ethiopia are much better than any of the most current travel books will tell you they are. The Chinese are building roads like crazy in Ethiopia and the condition of the roads is improving rapidly. With that said, it depends how far off the beaten path you want to get. On our second trip, when we went to visit our son's family we traveled on a maze of roads that are certainly not mapped. They are dirt, highly rutted, often overgrown, and zig-zag through the countryside as needed to link villages. I certainly wouldn't have wanted to try and navigate those roads without someone that knew where they were going, but a driver probably wouldn't have known anyway unless he/she grew up in the area. We had our social worker with us who both grew up in and works in the area.

    In terms of getting by language wise, we did do some traveling using public transportation and no guide/driver in the Oromo/Sidama region. We had no problem getting by. There was always someone that spoke enough basic English to help us figure out what we needed to be doing. With your study in Amharic you would be better equipped than we were. Like you, we were comfortable, seasoned travelers in the developing world. I think this comfort level and the understanding that things just work differently in the developing world is the most important trait to have for a successful trip.

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  5. Thank you! We're seeing our tutors tonight, and we'll pick their brains as well.

    I can't wait - I'm so excited!

    (Update: Our tutor completely agrees that we need a driver. He's making some phone calls to arrange it. How awesome is that?!)

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  6. Hi Kyra! I just found your blog and have read it with great interest. I am, myself, from Northern Europe and adopting from Ethiopia with my husband. We actually got a referral almost at the same time as you but are still waiting for the court date. Who knows, we might be in Addis at the same time :)
    I have followed many American blogs and have been amazed of the importance that religion seems to have in the adoption process and in the profile of the agencies over there. Needless to say it is not the case here. It is also interesting to compare the processes between countries.
    Sorry, this was of the topic to this post but you have many good points in your blog. I relate to many of your thoughts. :) I hope you can organize a trip to the southern part of the country!

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  7. Hi Salla,
    Yes, religion is a big deal here. I find the "God told me to adopt" theme very strange.
    Good luck on getting a court date! I would definitely be interested to hear how the process is different where you are.
    --Kyra

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  8. I would be happy to tell you how things work here. Perhaps we could discuss through e-mail?

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  9. Salla, my email is yiothetisi@yahoo.com.

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  10. Kyra - sorry to assume the driving in Ethiopia would be a problem for you! I do agree with dcorey that the main roads are better then you might expect in terms of being well paved, but things could get dicey once you go further into the countryside. We drove for two hours straight up a mountain on a dirt road to visit Elfe's birth family, and that was to get to the main town in the area, where they met us - I know of other families that had to leave the dirt road and walk some distance to get to where the birth family lived. Also, the only time I felt like I was going to get car sick was in Addis, when we had to drive through an area where they were doing some kind of construction on the road - we essentially drove through and on the part that was under construction!

    Have a fabulous trip, and I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back!

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  11. Thank you, Liz! I can't wait! We've decided to go with a driver. Every single person we've talked to has said it's the better option.

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  12. have a great trip! We traveled to southern Eth for our birth family visit and agree with Liz that a driver may be best. The road to Hawassa is fine, but we were over 3 hours of mountain dirt roads beyond Hawassa to get to our kids' village. yes, it is harrowing to drive those roads but you will also want to enjoy the scenery. It's beautiful and having a driver will allow you to take it all in!

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