When you travel internationally, it’s a sure bet you’re leaving many familiar comforts behind. Thankfully there are things you can bring that won’t take boatloads of luggage space but will go a long way to make your trip more comfortable.

1. Good shoes. If you need new ones, buy them far enough ahead of your trip that you can break them in and discover if they really are trip-worthy. Many experienced travelers recommend bringing two comfortable pairs and wearing them on alternate days. It’s a good idea to also bring some band aids in case you do develop an unexpected blister.

2. Comfortable clothing. Stretchy, soft layers are best for flying. Remember that temperatures... more

A group of Ethiopian parents in North Texas have joined together to create a unique educational program for their children. It is called Kidmia. In Amharic, Kidmia means “priority.” It is also an acronym for “Kids are the most important asset.”

Kidmia was formed to give first-generation American children in-depth knowledge of Ethiopian language and culture. Through Kidmia, parents provide schooling and cultural training to youngsters in weekly classes held at a local church.

The families put together this program to encourage... more

The word 'ferengi' in Amharic means foreigner. Lately I've been enjoying quite a few interesting blogs written by foreigners spending time in Addis for various reasons. I find their insights into Ethiopian culture interesting, and I thought I'd share some of them with you.

There's a great series of posts happening right now over at The Family Expansion. Lyle and Sheri just got back from Ethiopia a few days ago with their new son who is a toddler. They are blogging bits of their travel story every day and sharing lots of great... more

There have been a lot of rumors flying around regarding the future of Ethiopian adoption. Our agency has reported that the Children's Commission in Ethiopia has decided not let families with more than five children adopt from Ethiopia in the future. Families already in process will be allowed to complete their adoptions.

Our agency is very concerned about this pending change, and hopes it will not become a permanent rule. They feel that large families offer some really great advantages, especially when it comes to older children. Older kids often do best being parented by parents who have a lot of experience and who also have other Ethiopian children in the family as part of their... more

Ever since I've been involved in the Ethiopian-adoptive community, I've been hearing families recommend the movie Endurance as a great way to get some insight into Ethiopian culture. Finally a couple weeks ago I was able to get my hands on a copy and watch it.

The movie was produced in 1999 and tells the story of Ethiopian distance runner Haile Gebrsellasie, who won gold at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and is considered to be one of the greatest runners of all time. Haile began his running career by running 6 miles back and forth to... more

On my last trip to Ethiopia, I traveled with my 36 month old and my 13 year old and brought home a 6 month old. (Parent to child ratio- 1:3). This summer I am intending to go with my husband and my 33 month old and bring home 9 and 11 year olds. (Parent to child ratio- 2:3). Judging by the parent: child ratios, this trip might be a little easier than the last one. However, if you figure the "known-child" to "unknown-child" ratio (2:1 last trip, 1:2 on this coming trip) this next trip might be more stressful. Who knows? I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes.

In any case, as I dream about/ pray for/ long for a June or July court date, I’ve also been thinking about how we... 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. In preparing for my older daughters to come home from Ethiopia, I've been interested in the experience of older immigrants from Africa. I blogged awhile back about John Bul Dau, who wrote the book God Grew Tired of Us. Today I am featuring an Ethiopian author... more

Here are some news highlights from Ethiopia this week. As always, links are only good for a few weeks, unless you subscribe to the news service. I've included a summary of each piece to help you decide if you are interested in reading the full story.

~~~~~~~~

30,000 Runners To Hit Road At Millenium

The Daily Monitor in Adds reported on Friday that 30,000 runners are expected to run in the 2007 TOYOTA Great Ethiopian Run. Elite athletes from all over the world will be running in this 10 km road race, which is scheduled... more

I have a confession to make. My best, most optimistic guess is that we will be traveling sometime in August, two months from now, and I already have the packing bug. I've so far resisted the urge to pull out my mega-suitcases -- who wants to trip over those for two months? But I'm already working on my lists. Last night very late I jumped out of a perfectly comfortable bed so that I could run add another item to my list.

Here are some items on my growing list, in no particular order.

Pepto tablets Years ago on a China-adoptive-parent list I read about the Pepto Bismol tummy treatment. Lots of people traveling to 3rd world countries end up with stomach... more

Our girls will be getting the first letter from us on Tuesday when they get their Welcome Bag. I'm really eager to hear aboout their reaction. Hopefully they will be excited about us, and enjoy the little things we sent them. I'm already working on writing more letters for them, to be delivered by traveling families during the next couple months.

One of the things that I wanted to include in the next letter is a Bible verse. I found this cool online Bible that has PDF files of the various books of the Bible written in the actual Amharic... more