Leaving Ethiopia and the trip home



One happy little traveler!!!

     We shared one last meal together at The Riviera Hotel.  I had my favorite Shiro and we got an extra order of injera for Kewogo to make it on the trip home in case she wouldn't eat anything on the plane.  We were sad to say goodbye to all of the familiar faces at The Riviera.  We will just have to go back someday.  AS soon as we were all packed up and ready to go Kewogo became so hyper!  She kept talking about getting on the airplane and going to America to see Andrew, Luke, and Brooke.  She was literally bouncing off the walls with excitement.  On the way to the airport my type A husband is stressing out because we were 10 minutes late leaving.  A favorite phrase of Ethiopians is "No worries, no problem." I kept saying this to Matt as well because he gets so anxious when we travel.  His response is, "Yes, but what happens when there is a problem?"  So we get to the airport and every person we encountered kept telling him, "No worries, no problem." It was hilarious!  And, of course, we had no problems.  They were right!

Kewogo had a great time exploring the airport.  She thought the escalator was a thrill and she shrieked with delight as she rode it for the first time. She was a little concerned going through security but did great. Matt and I thought it was funny because everyone kept thinking she was a boy! She did have pants on but they were pastel colored and she had floral shoes on.  By the end of the trip we weren't amused anymore and were annoyed.  I guess I will need to get this child some headbands with bows!  She already has her ears pierced so that is a plus. Before we boarded the plane Kewogo turned to look back at the airport and said, "Ciao!" (which means good-bye).  She did is with such happiness and with a huge smile on her face.  She was ready to go and did not appear at all scared or concerned.  This made me happy and sad all at the same time.  Happy because we were finally going home, but sad because she was leaving all she has known in her tender five years and I know she can't fully comprehend what it means to leave behind everything she has ever known.  It was 10:15 when our flight departed and well past her bedtime.  I thought she would sleep immediately and she might have if someone didn't make the ridiculous choice to leave the lights on and serve a meal!  Who wants to eat at 10:15??!! We want to sleep, people!! The flight attendants continued to serve dinner for what seemed an eternity.  It was also the most disgusting food I have ever seen (notice I used the word seen because it was barely tasted except for the stale roll) in my life!  I really don't think it was real food.  When they FINALLY turned the lights off she fell asleep and so did Matt but I didn't.  In fact, I hardly slept any during the past week.  On our first trip in April I slept great.  This trip was a different story. I also simply cannot sleep on airplanes.  The lights came on again a couple hours later when we landed in Rome to refuel.  Great.  I finally dozed off after Rome when Matt told me when I awoke that he had been sick for the past two hours.  Oh.no.  My poor Matt continued to be sick for the rest of the nine hour plane ride to DC. It is the worst feeling as a wife to feel so utterly helpless.  There was nothing at all anyone could do.  When the plane touched the ground Kewogo said, "America. Andrew. Luke. Brooke." Precious.   As we deboarded all of these strangers kept coming up to me saying, "I am so sorry about your husband."  Everyone had so much compassion for him. We had a very long customs line and a four hour layover in DC and his sickness continued all the way home to Columbus.  I truly can't imagine anything more miserable!!  Luckily at least Kewogo did very well on the flight and slept for half and then played for half.  (I also watched a very good movie called 7 days in Utopia for anyone who is interested in a good family movie (10 and up and is centered around golf).
While Matt made a bed for himself on a bench in DC I took Kewogo to get some lunch.  Now what on earth am I going to feed her for her first meal in America?  I found a pizza place that served spaghetti which I know she eats but when I pointed to it she shook her head and pointed to a chicken breast instead!  OK then! This tiny little girl sat down and polished off an entire chicken breast. Even more amusing than that was her reaction to her water.  They don't serve ice in ET and I forgot to request no ice.  Keowog thought it was hilarious that her cup was so cold and kept wanting me to feel it. Then, when she took a drink of it she would laugh at how it felt in her mouth. I love watching her senses come alive during these little new discoveries. We reconnected with Matt who had been able to get some sleep and I changed Kewogo into an Ethiopian dress I had bought on our first trip.  I had bought Brooke a similar one which she was going to wear to the airport. We were thrilled as we boarded the plane to Columbus as we couldn't wait to see the kids and get Matt taken care of.