Shopping and Cultural Dinner

Thursday 1/15/09

We had a very busy day today, with a variety of activities. We left the house about 10:15 to go shopping. We wanted to get several gifts to take back with us. First, our driver took us to an outdoor shopping area. It was similar to an American flea market, but not really. We found all kinds of interesting items and the prices were ridiculously low. We were told we needed to haggle with them, but that’s hard to do when you feel like you’re already committing highway robbery. Ryan was much better than I, so I let him pay for almost all of the transactions.

We visited a third government orphanage after we finished our lunch and shopping. This orphanage housed children aged 0-10. The children were so sweet! They really wanted to have their pictures made and so Ryan took dozens of photos of kids and then let them look into the screen to see themselves. They really liked it when I turned the video camera on and flipped the screen around while I filmed them. There was one that totally captured my heart. She waited for me as I walked in and out of the buildings and would grab my hand each time. 

I have to say that orphanages are actually much worse than I pictured. I think every other part of the experience has been less intense than I expected, except the orphanages. The children are “loosely” supervised, to say the least. There appears to be very little for them to do all day long and their appearance is pitiful. I’m sure the fact that Ryan and I have such a heart for children probably makes it that much harder for us. I looked at Ryan as we pulled away today and I said, “If the people in our church could see what we just saw, I truly believe every one of these children would have a home!” But, according to our agency, most have them will never have a home. We were told tonight that 80% of the adoption requests are for 2 and under and 90% are for 4 and under. That means that most of those faces I saw today will not ever have someone to call mom and dad. It’s heartbreaking! They are such precious, beautiful children.

Tonight we attended a cultural dinner with traditional dancing and food. Those of you who know me well know that I am NOT an adventurous eater. However, I did at least taste part of the meal. The staple food here in Ethiopia is injera. It’s like a large spongy sourdough pancake. It’s served with a variety of foods all spread out on a common table. Then, everyone tears off a piece of injera and dips it in the stew or meat of choice. I have to say- I didn’t love it, BUT, I did try the chicken, the goat, and the lamb. The chicken was probably the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. Thirty minutes and a bottle of water later, I was still trying to wash away the heat. I did however enjoy the dancing- it was amazing. Of course, we forgot to take the camera to dinner! Overall, it was a great day and I think we got to see a large slice of Ethiopian culture.

The photos I've posted at the top are of our shopping time, these were taken at the market where we shopped.  The photos at the bottom were all taken at the last government orphanage we went to.  I wish I could show you the precious faces that belong to those beautiful hands and feet, but it's against the rules!