Tuesday May 13th - Shopping and Bubbles

Tuesday morning we got up early (Eyob wakes up at 6:30) and went downstairs for breakfast. Afterward we went to Hanna's Hope and then to do some shopping. Almaz felt it would be better for the preschoolers to stay at Hanna's Hope since they weren't use to being out and having to stay with a parent. Also it might be too long a day for them. Looking back I wished we would have taken him even if we didn't get to do much shopping but we did what we thought was best. We were able to get some great souviners and enjoyed our time. As usual though we were approached by many people asing for money. It was so hard to say but we were told we really weren't helping them and it could cause us to be mobbed by many people expecting money or food. One little boy though followed our van for about a mile up a long alley. When we stopped he again asked for food. I couldn't say no anymore and gave him two bananas that I had in my bag. A little girl soon joined him and we gave her a banana and our leftover food from lunch. The other familes also gave the children their left overs. They were so cute. I wish we culd have done more for them. When we got back to Hanna's Hope all the children were excited to see us. We had brought bubbles for the kids and other families brought some cool outside toys, so the kids greatly enjoyed their new treasures until it started to rain. This resulted in the great bubble incident and the reason I am probably banned from Hanna's Hope forever. All the spilled bubbles turned to soap and the playarea became very slippery. The staff then had to try to clean up the mess. I can imagine what they said in Amharic about us. Almaz thought it was great as long as the kids had fun, of course she wasn't cleaning up the mess. Eyob happily came back to the hotel with us. We had dinner and went straight to bed. I actually slept that night despite what we had planned for the next morning.

A store selling traditional Ethiopian clothes The kids we met, aren't they adorable Kevin's favorite Addis picture The town square celebrating the Ethiopian Millenium (they use a different calender) A typical street in Addis

Eyob playing at Hannah's Hope Eyob playing at the hotel