#1
Ethiopia
What could I say about Ethiopia? I didn't plan on making it to Africa even by the time I was 60, let alone the week after my 30th birthday.
Three months after coming home, I still have trouble writing or talking about the trip. Is it because it brings back memories of the orphan's face? Or the sick and abandoned? The beggar?
Maybe it's because I cannot explain how people in Ethiopia are happier than people in America. Maybe that makes me too ashamed to talk about it. Maybe.
Still, I'll never be the same after Ethiopia. I miss you most this New Year's Eve.
It is so true! People in Ethiopia are always smiling! I just returned a few week ago and just today was writing how their smiles touched me! Kim P.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that--you explained EXACTLY how I feel about Ethiopia. There are no words to describe the place or the people, or maybe it's just that the American mindset doesn't easily allow for words that might describe the sort of happiness that puts our own to shame AND flourishes amid profound material poverty and abject suffering. Like you, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would go to Africa, and I never wanted to. Now, I miss it every single day.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I found your blog through the Ethiopian Adoption Blogroll. Your family is beautiful, and your daughter reminds me a lot of mine. Congratulations on becoming a father!