Traveling out of the city

We spent two days of our trip outside of the city, which I must say was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was so beautiful to see the scenery in the southern area of Ethiopia. We took a five hour van ride to Awassa, and we couldn't capture enough of the scenery. It was just gorgeous....much more what I pictured when I thought of Ethiopia. We saw farm-land, lots of animals -cows, goats, donkeys and chickens. We saw green lush land, fields of crops, gorgeous trees, massive termite hills, fields being plowed with oxen, and children herding animals. We saw grass homes, rolling hills and beautiful people.


We arrived in Awassa and visited the orphanage where Olivia was originally taken by her birth mom. We got a brief tour and were able to see some of the other children who are there still waiting to be matched with their adoptive families. We saw many babies -from just a few days old to older babies and toddlers primarily. When we visited the area where the toddlers were, as they poured out of the room, each one of them greeted us with amazing hugs and kisses. It was just heart-breaking. These children were longing for love. Some of them gave brief hugs and moved on and others held on much longer, with a tight grip. It was overwhelming to me to see these children and see their huge need for a family.

This is Esther, who was Olivia's nanny while she was at this orphanage. Look how tall Sean and I look next to her!!!

In this picture Esther is standing next to the bed which was Olivia's while she was there, which was just a few days more than a month.

After our tour of the facility, we waited to meet Olivia's birth mom. It was a bit awkward. Afterall, what do you really say to a woman who gave birth to your daughter? Other than, "Thank you for the amazing gift you've given to our family" of course. We had the opportunity, via two interpreters (to cover three languages) to ask her some questions about herself, her family and the brief time she was able to spend with Olivia. It was a bit surreal and a bit impersonal with so many people involved in the conversation, but we were so grateful that she was willing and strong enough to travel to meet us and share information with us, which will be so special to Olivia as she grows up. This was an amazing experience.

After the emotional birth parent meetings, we visited a nearby park, which was a much needed break from the intensity of the day. I was so excited to see monkeys!!! We were able to feed them from our hands and they enjoyed getting on our laps too. I am a huge monkey fan, so this was an especially special treat for me. We also saw the beautiful Lake Awassa, in which the town is named after. We did a bit of shopping before heading to our hotel for the night.

Lake Awassa!

The following day, after purchasing some raw coffee beans, per Sean's special request, we traveled back to the city, another five hour trip through the beautiful southern part of Ethiopia. That evening we were taken to an authentic Ethiopian restaurant which included some live entertainment with singers and dancers.

At the market. The local kids surrounded us. I guess they weren't used to seeing tourists.