Sep
10
We’ve arrived.
We are currently shaking off the incredible tired of a nap after our nearly 2-day journey to Ethiopia. The trip was a good one — 13 hours in the air to Dubai, 13 hours layover spent largely at a hotel in Dubai where we got a precious several hours of sleep, and another 4 hour flight to Addis. The trip was made so much easier by flying Emirates Airlines, quite possibly the best airline in terms of staff, service, amenities and planes that I have ever experienced. Honestly, it was fantastic.
But still, our days and nights are turned almost upside down, as we are on the other side of the planet, so we are tired. VERY tired. I think after a good night’s sleep tonight we will be ready for our big day tomorrow: the day we have waited for since I don’t know when. The day we finally get to hold our little girl.
The people we have met so far have been unbelievably lovely. Barring the usual idiots you meet while travelling, who we have decided to just ignore, we have come into contact with fantastic people right from the minute we stepped out onto our front porch to meet our driver for the airport transit service.
The staff of Emirates have been, without exception, wonderful — two of the staff on our last flight from Dubai to Addis even took our picture and put it in a little souvenir card with a note of good wishes while meeting our daughter, and both of them are hoping to be on the flight back to meet her.
Our agency liaison here in Addis, Solomon, met us at the airport with a smile, a hug of welcome, and bouquets of roses, and is one of the kindest, gentlest men you could ever want guiding you through an experience like this. And the staff at the Hilton have been accomodating and gracious and we feel comfortable here in our home for the next 8 days.
And so, we sit in the city of our daughter’s birth, where it is New Year’s Eve, and realize how blessed we are to be here, safe and sound, with such wonderful people helping us along the way. And tomorrow, we start a new year with the country of Ethiopia and we start a new life with our daughter (who may or may not think meeting two frankly pale and tired-looking strangers is the best way to ring in a new year).
New day, new year, new family. All in a country as old as humanity itself.
I did not know we could be so blessed.
