8.25

a normal Saturday in addis.
a day off.  a day to breathe, to have fun, to be pampered.
kaldis coffee before a big outdoor shopping bazar at a International Church with the girls followed by mani/pedi’s at our favorite hang out in bole (Boston!)
I feel normal today & I know that days like today are so important.
the weeks can be long & exhausting, and time with friends on Saturdays always lifts my spirits.

I would like to think that I have become sort of an adventurer this summer.
I would like to think that I’ve become brave.
I have loved experiencing the Ethiopian culture to the full & get upset when our korah boys call the rest of our friends “abasha” (ethiopian) and me “fringe” (foreigner).
I guess I can’t blame em when I order American food at almost every place we go…
but today!  today was the day I became “abasha”.
I took 3 “mini bus” taxi’s (imagine a 12 passenger van with about 22 people in it) by myself to Korah.
I get to Korah & much to my dismay, the cell phone network is down & no one was there to greet me.
I was meeting the Gibsons at a graduation party & had no idea where it was.  I just prayed and prayed that I would find someone & find them fast.
I saw a familiar face from the P61 program & asked if I could walk with him.
thankfully he took me to the pool bait (pool house, like the game pool) and then my sweet David saved the day & took me to meet up with the Gibsons.
upon arrival & the telling of my near-crying adventure, the boys dubbed me abasha!
(did I mention that during this whole adventure I was in a long skirt & flip flops with a half broken toe?)

after that adventure, we left Korah & headed to yet another fun filled adventure of my choosing: bowling!
you should have seen the joy and laughter that was going on.
most of the boys had never been bowling (a few of them went earlier in the summer with the gibsons) and there was a mixture of laughter + frustration that they weren’t very good bowling yet.
but after some encouragement & a high five for all after each bowl, they got their courage up and did awesome!
It woudln’t be right if I didn’t mention that I won the first round with a whopping score of 104.
roger blew my score out of the water game 2…but thats enough about that 🙂

The boys that have been with us all summer are amazing.
they have become my brothers.
I was telling Mama Kiki tonight that it’s not fair that I feel like I’m JUST NOW really breaking through with the few of them I hadn’t been bff with yet.
that is the difference between short & longer than short term trips.
It took me a few weeks at the Yates home to even learn all the boys names….
& just now – on week 8 are the boys calling me sister. 
They are so much fun to laugh with, joke with, and just be with.
I was looking at them all tonight & just thinking about how much I’m going to miss it.
I’m not going to know what to do not having a van full of 15 people every day to go & have fun with.
but I know these relationships will never go away.
we are stuck together for life.
and I’m so very thankful & grateful for every day that I got to spend with the Gibson’s and our big crazy family !!!!