Fall in Love with Abyssinia

If you are considering adopting from Ethiopia or have already adopted from Ethiopia I encourage you to learn as much as you can of this amazing country. While waiting for a referral I found myself falling in love with the culture and history of the country formerly know as Abyssinia. The beauty of the people and the national pride is evident when you look at pictures or read interviews.

I discovered some easy and inexpensive ways to learn about Ethiopia. First, I went to a used book site online (there are many) and bought old textbooks or library books on Ethiopia. I found several books from $0.25-$3.00 plus shipping. Some of the books were dated, but still full of history and pictures that helped us get ready for our trip. Our local library also had some helpful books and stories from Ethiopia. Meg, my then 8 year old, poured over the books and quickly learned about the country she was about to visit.

There is an IMAX film called Mystery of the Nile that came out in 2005. We rented it and watched it as a family. The DVD comes with some special features that were fun to do as well. Another DVD that can be helpful is called: Ethiopia, Africa’s Lost Kingdom We showed this to all the grandparents and it helped us prepare them for some of the cultural aspects that our kids were coming from.

The web, of course, is a great resource for education on Ethiopia.
Adoption.com is a good place to start. I also try and stay current with what is going on in the news about Ethiopia and the horn of Africa. I also subscribe to www.eastafricaforum.net and get updates daily. While I admit I don’t read them all word for word, they are an easy way to stay in touch with the political news and they also like to brag on important triumphs as well.

I am far from an expert on Ethiopian history, but I do burst with pride whenever I hear of Ethiopia or see an image from my kids’ homeland. This pride was only deepened after traveling there and meeting the people and seeing some of the countryside.

Why is this important? We want our children to love where they came from and to be proud of whom they are. I noticed that Mita and Enu are sometimes confused about showing pride for Ethiopia, as if they are being disloyal to their new country. Kids mirror what we do and if we show pride in their homeland, they will be more comfortable with the idea of being from two countries. So the next time you are drinking your morning coffee point out to your child that coffee was discovered in Ethiopia by a goat herder. They’ll love the story and think of it whenever they see coffee! I know I do!

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