October 13, 2009

I have a little extra time to write while I am waiting for my bucket of water to get hot so I can take a bath. A usual thing for me, but one of the fun things of having Carolyn here is to remember how exotic and sometimes difficult to understand, this culture and life can be.

We had a GREAT time in Bahir Dar. We stayed at a brand new luxury hotel that is not quite complete yet. It was beautiful! Our best view was from a big bed on a large veranda with a fireplace overlooking Lake Tana. We spent hours laughing at all the crazy things from our past. (By the way don’t believe her about anything that she says happened in Jr High School.) It was a good thing that we were the only guests or we might have been in trouble.

In eighth grade her mother and my mother met with the school principal. My mother was sure that Carolyn was a bad influence on me and her mother was sure it was me that was the bad influence on her. So….. we were not allowed to take any classes together, our lockers were separated, and the overnight stays were canceled. The funny thing is that now both of our mothers love us and think we are each wonderful. But, we did decide that it is truly me that is the bad influence (sorry mom).

We had a chance to visit the Blue Nile Falls. It was the prettiest I had ever seen it. It was late in the afternoon and the sun was getting ready to set. The mist from the falls reflected every sun beam. Then we had a chance to let Carolyn experience local music. She loved it!

The next day we went to the monasteries on the Islands. This is the place the Orthodox Church believes Mary, Joseph, and Jesus crossed on their way back to Israel from their exile in Egypt. We had a chance to participate in a prayer service and Carolyn even got her cross blessed by the priest.

We got home LATE last night. Poor Carolyn experienced the Ethiopian revenge. But she is better now.

Now we are back to work. I just finished a salary survey and a grant. Lots to do before Melanie gets here Thursday.