Saturday, April 05, 2008

Sleep Will Not Come

So here I am, 1:50am in Addis. Zach and I woke up at about 12:30am when the dogs started barking, a house alarm went off and kamakaze bugs were making their way near our ears. He is so good at shaking that off and dozing once more but here I sit. Supposedly the sleeper of the pair of us, I have been unable to find my "gift" here in Ethiopia. Surprisingly enough, I don't feel tired at all. Must be all this altitude (which is also what I'm blaming for constant light headedness).
 
For those who have went here before and are commenting that I blog a lot. I do that because you all downright pissed me off when I didn't hear from you all the time. :) Plus, I'm awake all the time so that helps as well. We also have a couple at a hotel and another family at the old guesthouse so we're not sharing computers a lot.
 
I remembered something else quickly. We got to see Tariku eat lunch. Talk about joy! This kid can eat. I'm telling you. It was fascinating watching the nannies get them all ready. They sit at the table, first was a bowl of soup. Then came the meat course, which Tariku was obviously most excited about (yay for beef!) They gave them all HUGE spoons and Tariku would fill the entire thing up and stuff it down his mouth. Then look at us, smile, take another huge bite. It was great. We taught him the art of saying, "mmmm" after bites of beef and "ahhhh" after a refreshing gulp of water (which he drinks more than any other human on this earth).
 
We also witnessed the first potty break. After a bit of "wee wee" on his and Zach's hands, we've learned we're going to have to teach him to "shake it off" a bit more before he pulls his pants up or mom will be doing more laundry than I care to think about and daddy will be "that guy" that always smells like little kid's urine. Tariku was good about washing his hands right afterwards, though so that's something.
 
So I'm scheduled to get up in approximately 2 hours. The trip to Hossanna is about 4 hours from what I hear so I'm hoping I can sleep some in the car. It doesn't help that I wake up starving every few hours. Apparently Ethiopians don't starch or fatten their meals as much as Americans do because the Ethiopian food is just not sticking to my belly at all (not that that's a bad thing) so I'm left rummaging the kitchen for PBJs at 2am. Brings me back to my college days but there's less beer and more clarity.
 
Getting updates from my sister-in-law on our kids has been soo great (thanks, Leslie!) I did cry a bit when I talked to them the other day but overall we're doing fairly well. I miss them immensly but know they are being taken care of very well so that helps out more than I can say. I really think once we get home, settled, teach Tariku a bit about sharing, and catch up on some sleep, my kids are going to get along famously! Please, God, don't let those be famous last words.
 
On that note, must go either keep my eyes closed until sleep arrives or move around so much Zach wakes up to talk to me. :) I'm sure he prefers the former.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tesi -
I am following your blog very closely this week and I love the udpates and the pictures. Tariku is such a cutie - and what a smile! I will be praying for safe travels home, and for a smooth transition for you all at home.
And, I myself wrote words like yours 2 years ago in describing the Ethiopian people. They are filled with such joy and love, even though they have so little. We can all learn so much from them.
God bless!
Cindy (from the forum!)

Chatter said...

I was up super early the day we went to Hosanna. I think it's nerves. I love the updates too! It takes me back and makes me miss Ethiopia. Hope you have a safe trip south. We had the fastest driver and they LOVE to drive on the wrong side of the road when taking curves and going up hills. enjoy :)