Our flight to Addis seemed long, but was only 3 1/2 hours. I finished watching The Informant and watched about 1/2 of Michael Jackson's This Is It. Once we arrived, we went to the Visa area and then through more security and then got our bags. I am happy to report that 100% of the bags we checked in Dubai made it to Addis safely. (Blue tub location remains a mystery.) There were several other adoptive families in line with us. One of them was the Millet's. It's fun to finally meet the people from the Yahoo group that I've been chatting with for awhile now. Here's some pictures coming into Addis and a picture of our Henna hands before they start to fade. Katie's is really nice, I think.


We checked into the Yebsabi Guest House, which is very nice. There's a common living room and kitchen and then separate bedrooms, like a suite, as well.





My room had this waiting for me. Just one very important thing missing.


We unpacked a little and walked to the Zebra Grill for lunch. Patty had fish and fries, Katie had tibbs (small pieces of very yummy beef) and I had a hamburger. The lunch was good and we will certainly go back.

After that we all went back to the Guest House and fell asleep. It was around 3:00 and I slept over 5 hours! Yeah! it was much needed and I slept very soundly. I am soooo happy that I brought my fan from home. It drowns out a lot of unfamiliar sounds, dogs barking, morning prayers, music from the streets, roosters, etc. I am a light sleeper, so it is VERY helpful for me.

We got up after it was dark and were awake for a few hours. I skyped Mark, but Ella was asleep and then I went back to bed around Midnight. I woke up around 5:30 and got ready. Now, we are heading down to breakfast and then off to Debre Birhan, my daughter's birthplace.

Everything is going very well to this point. :)