One memorable feature about both of my previous flights to Ethiopia was a long layover in an unfamiliar airport. Since then I've found some helpful websites where travelers share tips about ways to best spend a loathsomely long layover in airports around the world. In this post I'll share some of the features travelers might find helpful about the airport in Frankfurt, Germany.

Activities for Children

One great feature of the airport in Frankfurt is a McDonald's with a kids play area. The food is more expensive than you'll pay in the U.S., and you'll... more

Since we’re traveling to Ethiopia with two children (5 and 2) and returning from Ethiopia with 4 kids, I’ve been giving this topic some serious thought.

My husband says I’m overthinking this-- maybe so. But I have a three-part plan for occupying the little girls on the way there. Our first flight is only a couple hours. I’ll be bringing fanny packs loaded with goodies for the girls, and plan to keep them in my own bag until after take-off. Hopefully we can get through at least the first half hour just with windows and tray tables and the novelty of flying. But when restlessness sets in, I’ll hand each little girl her own fanny pack filled with goodies.

Each fanny... more

I wrote awhile back about the Ethiopia distance runner Meseret Defar. She won medal at the Olympics in 2004, and continues to have much success in her athletic career.

This year she set a world record for two miles at the Adidas Track Classic in Carson, California. Days later in Oslo, Norway, she broke the 5,000 meter world record that she herself set in the U.S. in 2006. She is now training for the World Athletics Championships in Osaka, Japan at the end of August.

Meseret recently moved into a mansion... more

As a part of my ongoing effort to help provide Ethiopian adoptees with a fuller picture of the positive aspects of Ethiopia, here is another installment in my series about notable Ethiopians.

Addisu Gessese is the manager for the music giant Ziggy Marley and has held concerts all over the world. He was in charge of the Africa United music concert at Meskal Square in Addis in 2005, and took the concert all over Africa.

Addisu left Ethiopia in 1972 when he was 18, and has lived in the U.S. for 30 years. Along with his work in the music industry, Addisu has a long history of investing in Ethiopia. He built over 20 schools in Oromia region with money he had raised. He plans... more

One of the things that American tourists may not be familiar with is the practice of bargaining while shopping. Except in the case of yard sales or big ticket items, in America most people assume that prices are non-negotiable. But in Ethiopia no shopkeeper will be suprised if you haggle over prices. In fact recently I read somewhere that in Africa a person is sometimes insulted if you don't bargain a little. Bargaining in Africa is a form of sociability and the feeling is, 'What? You don't want to talk with me?'

However, there are definitely two schools of thought among tourists. The... more

When waiting for the referral of a child or for news that finally they can travel to get their child, many parents like to spend some time learning a little bit more about Addis. Recently I found a website called What's Up, Addis? that is a nice resource for adoptive families.

The website features pages about many different topics. There's a page of frequently used phone numbers. Here are some of the ones most likely to be useful to adoptive families.

HOSPITALS (in case of illness) Black Lion 001-5511211 Hayat Hospital 001-6624488 (This... more

Sometimes, despite your best efforts at caution in Addis, you succumb to the dreaded stomach crud. Because of this, it is wise to come to Ethiopia prepared.

When your stomach starts rumbling, your first line of defense should probably be something like Pepto-bismol or Tums. If the stomach upset is mild, this treatment along with very cautious eating and maybe some lemon-lime soda will probably get you back to normal within a few hours.

Imodium?

If... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. I've included a summary of each piece. You can click on the title of each story to go read the full story. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service.

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Ethiopia releases protest leaders

The biggest news out of Ethiopia this week is the report from the BBC that 30 protest leaders have been released. Just days after being given life sentences over the June 2005 election protests, the group has now reportedly confessed... more

Along with all the normal moments that parents treasure, like seeing our kids for the first time, catching first smiles, first steps, first ice cream cones, and first days of school, we're also visiting their homeland maybe for the only time in our lives, seeing their caregivers, and possibly even meeting members of birth family. Darn tootin' we want to get good pictures of these precious events.

I recently made the switch from film to digital cameras. The more I know about digital, the more I am convinced that digital cameras were made for travelers. Picture cards are much easier... more

I mentioned in my previous post that I was planning to bring Benadryl strips in my carry-on luggage to and from Ethiopia. Sandra asked some questions about the Benadryl strips and since I figured that others might have questions as well, I thought I'd bring the answers to the top of the blog.

What is it?

Benadryl strips are a fairly new form of Benadryl that is equivalent to liquid Benadryl. The strips look to me like a very thin piece... more