Day 1 - Friday
(Written from a laptop on the plane)
Wow! I never knew how tiring international travel could be! We woke up at 2:45 am. As I type this on my laptop it’s 8:30 pm Ohio time. We’ve been on a plane of some sort since 6:30 am – 14 hours. Only 5 more hours to go till we’re in Addis Ababa.
Bethany and Kailey are doing great! No problems at all. Bethany gets a hint of motion sickness every now and then but all in all we’ve had no problems.
There’s the cutest little Ethiopian girl sitting in the row behind us. She’s probably about Meke’s age. We’re getting a vision of what international travel with a toddler might be like. She’s been a trooper. However, there’s only so much sitting a toddler can do before they get restless. I don’t blame her. I’m getting restless myself!
Ethiopia Air is not for tall guys. Their planes seem to have less legroom than even the small “puddle-jumper” commuter planes we’re accustomed to in the U.S. As I type my legs are straddling the seat in front of me and the keyboard of my laptop is jammed into my gut just so I can get the right angle. When the person in front decides to recline (which is 95% of the time) it adds to the misery. Our original tickets were in row 30 – the exit row with plenty of leg room. However, when we checked in we were told that children were not allowed to sit in this row. Every now and then I’ve taken a short stroll to envy the people in that row. They’re all sprawled out and sleeping away with plenty of room to spare. I’ve gotten maybe a few hours of sleep, mostly 10-15 minutes at a time. Usually my legs, feet, and knees wake me up. They can only take being crammed in a corner for so long before I have to adjust. All said, though, Ethiopia Air has been great – they’re just not built to handle guys 6’4” and over.
Someone noticed my Iowa Hawkeye shirt in Washington Dulles airport and approached me (there are Hawkeye fans everywhere). Long story short, a couple from Sioux City, Iowa, is adopting two boys from Ethiopia. They named them Levi and Jesse. Their family will be sharing our return flight home. We seem to have a lot in common (including our faith). Here's a picture in the airport.
Bethany and Kailey are doing great! No problems at all. Bethany gets a hint of motion sickness every now and then but all in all we’ve had no problems.
There’s the cutest little Ethiopian girl sitting in the row behind us. She’s probably about Meke’s age. We’re getting a vision of what international travel with a toddler might be like. She’s been a trooper. However, there’s only so much sitting a toddler can do before they get restless. I don’t blame her. I’m getting restless myself!
Ethiopia Air is not for tall guys. Their planes seem to have less legroom than even the small “puddle-jumper” commuter planes we’re accustomed to in the U.S. As I type my legs are straddling the seat in front of me and the keyboard of my laptop is jammed into my gut just so I can get the right angle. When the person in front decides to recline (which is 95% of the time) it adds to the misery. Our original tickets were in row 30 – the exit row with plenty of leg room. However, when we checked in we were told that children were not allowed to sit in this row. Every now and then I’ve taken a short stroll to envy the people in that row. They’re all sprawled out and sleeping away with plenty of room to spare. I’ve gotten maybe a few hours of sleep, mostly 10-15 minutes at a time. Usually my legs, feet, and knees wake me up. They can only take being crammed in a corner for so long before I have to adjust. All said, though, Ethiopia Air has been great – they’re just not built to handle guys 6’4” and over.
Someone noticed my Iowa Hawkeye shirt in Washington Dulles airport and approached me (there are Hawkeye fans everywhere). Long story short, a couple from Sioux City, Iowa, is adopting two boys from Ethiopia. They named them Levi and Jesse. Their family will be sharing our return flight home. We seem to have a lot in common (including our faith). Here's a picture in the airport.
I think tomorrow will primarily be a recovery day. We need some sleep before the adoption process begins (we’re supposed to meet the girls on Monday!!!)
posted by HawkOsky @ 4:15 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
How wonderful to meet other traveling buddies and to come home on the same flight! We're glad that you got there safely and all went well. We'll be praying that the rest of the trip goes well. Thanks for the updates. It's great to get to experience a little of the trip even if it is via the internet. God bless.
~Penelope
Tracy,
Its Good to know that there are hawkeyes everywhere... It gives us buckeyes a bench mark of just how many of yopu there are... so we dont get over run. Im just messing with ya. I hope you enjoy your trip and tell your black and gold bretheren I said Good Luck.
See ya soon.
A concerned Buckeye
Kyle
This comment has been removed by the author.
A friend directed me to your blog as my husband is 6'4" and we're preparing to travel to Ethiopia soon. She thought we'd enjoy your short video clip. :-) He's not looking forward to the flight.
Anyway, I saw this photo and about flipped because my husband and I met this same couple at the Children Desiring God conference earlier this year. What a small world!
Congratulations on getting your precious girls!
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