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We arrived at Addis Ababa and went through the security/immigration/customs section of the airport before we collected our bags, and each of us had a different immigration form. Some were in English, some were in French and no two were alike. When we went through and got our passports stamped, there wasn’t anyone who wanted to collect our forms after we figured out how to fill them in! Lol
Waiting for us were our two drivers, Ketama and Gaetu who expertly navigated through the three lane roads that were being driven four cars wide. There are roundabouts galore, horns tooting, pollution so thick you could chew it at times, cars burning bunker oil and pedestrians who knew that they didn’t have the right of way. There were herds of goats spray painted with pink paint to mark them for their owners in lieu of branding. The goats have ears and tails that perk up and the sheep have ears and tail that flop down. These herds are usually contained along the more major roads, however, along with the horses that have been abandoned once they are too nag-like and need more care than they are worth investing in anymore, they roam the streets finally in charge of their own destiny.
We arrived at the home we are staying at after a twenty minute drive to be greeted with a lovely two story stucco house with marble floors and red hardwood. There was an immediate nap mandated, and three hours later I was roused. The rule of outside and inside shoes to reduce the transmission of e-Coli etc due to the lack of sanitation here was instituted right away. We quickly unpacked and sorted our donation bags and then set about inventorying all the medical and dental supplies so that we have greater ability to dispense what is needed when the time comes. Soon enough it was ten o’clock and everyone hit the hay!