Highlights of Ethiopia

Addie getting her hands washed in the traditional way before a meal at Four Sisters in Gonder

People are surprised when I tell them that I've enjoyed living in Ethiopia more than I enjoyed living in the Philippines.  And really, it's one of those statements that requires tons of explanation.  I loved Manila, I really did and I really didn't appreciate how awesome it is until we had left.  But you have to remember folks, the entire 3 years we lived in Manila, I was nursing, pregnant and mothering babies.  That's a hard job no matter where you live.  I was exhausted all the time! We didn't get to explore the Philippines as much as we've been able to explore Ethiopia.  Simply because our family life in Manila revolved around parenthood to little ones.  That's not to say that we didn't get to Boracay and Cebu and other amazing spots in the Philippines.  We traveled plenty but maybe I was mentally focused more on the children.  Maybe that sleep deprived fog took over a lot of the time.

Rainy season at Selam's Children's Village

The funny thing is that we arrived in Ethiopia with a very tiny infant and two toddlers.  Possibly, the issue is that in the Philippines I was a new mother and still more cautious.  When we arrived in Ethiopia, I felt more confidant and ready to explore.  For whatever reason, the exploration of Ethiopia has been less intimidating to me and a bit easier.  So we had some pretty great family trips in Ethiopia.  We've seen some amazing things and experienced Ethiopian culture in a way that we never experienced the culture of the Philippines.

Giving a soccer ball to a little boy at Bethel Women's Center

I've been doing a lot of reflection and comparisons lately of our past posts and in a way it's hard to compare Manila with Addis Ababa. But I compare anyway, I think it's something humans like to do.  We measure things up and think about our future experiences in reference to our past experiences.

The priest at Debre Brihan in Gonder

Silver Ethiopian crosses.  

Anyway, seeing as this post was intended to be a simple list of highlights from Ethiopia, I better get on with it.

The painted ceiling at Debre Brihan

1. Gheralta
We visited Gheralta Lodge twice and it was amazing both times.  Very peaceful and lovely with some of the best accommodations.  Having friends take us to Gheralta only a month after our arrival in Ethiopia was the best thing they could have done.  It immediately showed us that the best of this country is to be seen outside of Addis Ababa.  It also alleviated all my fears of traveling here with small kids.  Once we did it that once, it opened the doors and ignited an excitement in me to see the rest of the country.  The second trip to Gheralta was with friends and we were the old experienced Addis people.  Funny how that works.

Ashlynn at about 4 months old in Gheralta, Right before bed!

Hike to the church in Gheralta

The view from Gheralta Lodge in Mekele

The priest at the church in Mekele

2. Gonder
Also a destination we saw twice.  Spectacular after rainy season and a different sort of beauty during the dry season.

3. Lalibela Hudad
Hard to describe how epic this trip was for us.  The four hour donkey ride/hike up to the plateau, camping in huts at the top of a mountain, fresh slaughtered goat for dinner.  The most authentic Ethiopian experience we had.  Definitely the most adventurous. We had a donkey carry our pack-n-play as well as another suitcase up the mountain for Ashlynn!  HA!

Our accommodations at the top of the plateau

Bella on her donkey for the hike to Hudad

4. Lalibela
Seeing the ancient rock hewn churches was one of the most spectacular things I've seen in my life.  It was like walking through living history.  I highly recommend going at Ethiopian Christmas.

Lalibela

5. Wolliso and Negash Lodge
My favorite road trip with our family.  Great lodging and a great hike to see Wenchi crater.

6. Mombasa, Kenya
We spent Thanksgiving 2012 with friends in Mombasa.  We rented an entire home for a week and enjoyed the beach.

7. Cape Town, South Africa
This almost month long trip took us everywhere in Cape Town and will likely go down in our family history as the very best vacation we've ever taken.

7. Paris, France
This was my first single trip without my family and away from my children.  Paris is amazing for many reasons but this trip was spectacular because I met my friend Sunny there for the ultimate girls weekend.

I've stated in an older post just what Ethiopia has meant to me as a creative person.  My love for this country stems from my personal success and growth I've experienced here.  I was really truly happy in Ethiopia.

Our friends here have made this post unforgettable.  I love that the friends you make don't ever get left behind.  You can carry friendships from place to place and goodbye is really never final.  We almost always end up saying "see you later" instead.  I don't like goodbyes and I'm not very good at them.  I don't like being the center of attention with people getting emotional (me included) about the experiences we've had together.  In a lot of ways I'd rather quietly slip away without making a fuss.  The fact is we live a life of transition and change. People coming in and out of our lives is a huge part of it.  We're used to it and so are our friends but as much as you can be accustomed to it, it can still be hard.

Entoto moss

deconstructed eggplant parmesan

Hell might be freezing over folks.  I can't get myself pumped about making dinner these days.  I know it stems from the stress of moving and the supplies in my kitchen are dwindling.   The last few weeks at post require creativity to put together meals that don't require purchasing new or exotic ingredients.  It's at this time you have to just start cooking whatever is in the fridge and cupboards.  I'm going to share with you a super easy recipe that took so little time and so few ingredients.  Both requirements for me right now.

My sweet friend Emily and I share a love for cooking and food.  She's a mom to a son with allergies and just a healthy eater in general.  She introduced me to Vegan with a Vengeance months back and I was in love.  Then, for Mother's Day she surprised me with a copy of Isa Chandra Moskowtiz's gorgeous new cookbook, Isa Does It.  This cookbook is loaded with great vegan recipes and for those of us who aren't vegan, but just love the idea of cooking new and interesting things, I find this cookbook really inspiring.  The photos are amazing and Isa is hysterical.  A gal I'd love to be cooking and drinking with at home.

Most of the recipes in the book will have to wait until I can get settled into a new kitchen and stock it full of all sorts of fun ingredients required.  But her Eggplant and Breadcrumb Fettuccine recipe stuck out to me as the kind of meal anyone, and I mean anyone can throw together any night of the week.

I had to make all the components of this meal, like the tomato sauce and bread crumbs.  My quick homemade tomato sauce can be tossed together in minutes and I just let it simmer away.  It's so easy I won't ever buy jarred spaghetti sauce again.

Deconstructed eggplant parmesan (adapted just slightly from Eggplant and Breadcrumb Fettuccine)
Olive oil
2 medium eggplants peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch half moons or quarters
salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 tsp cumin
pepper
1 lb bow tie pasta
tomato sauce homemade or jarred.

Make your sauce* and let it simmer.  Toast your bread and pound it into crumbs.  Then start on the eggplant.
Heat a large cast iron or nonstick pan on medium heat.  Add a drizzle of olive oil, Add eggplant and sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and another drizzle of olive oil.  Cook, flipping the eggplant here and there for about 15 min or until the slices are nice and soft and slightly browned in parts. I put a lid on for a few minutes to let the steam really cook the eggplant through.  Add a bit more oil and add the bread crumbs, cumin and a dash of pepper to the pan, stir to coat the eggplant. Cook for a few more minutes until the crumbs are browned a bit.  Turn off the heat and let the eggplant stay warm.

Cook your pasta as directed for al dente pasta.  Spoon some onto your plate, layer on the tomato sauce and then eggplant breadcrumb mixture.  If you're a cheater like me add a tiny bit of shredded parmesan and enjoy.  It's delicious and exactly the same flavors as eggplant parmesan minus all the fuss of frying and layering and baking.  Such a quick perfect meal.

* I used to be intimidated by the idea of making homemade tomato sauce.  As if it wasn't worth doing unless you had your great grandmother's prize winning recipe or something.  But making your own sauce doesn't have to be an all day affair and my recipe is quick enough that you can do it on any given day.  You could make a huge batch of this and freeze some OR you can make just enough for one dinner.  My disclaimer for this recipe is that I really don't measure anything out when I make my tomato sauces and I use what I have in the fridge or cupboard.  So I am approximating on these amounts BUT the great thing is you can't wreck the sauce, just taste as you go and add this and that to your taste.  Always error on the side of less salt in the beginning.  You can always add salt at the end if needed.  But there is nothing worse than realizing later on that it's too salty.  Then your stuck!

Sara's homemade quick tomato sauce.
3-4 medium to large ripe tomatoes cut in quarters
2 medium onions cut in quarters
4-6 large cloves of garlic peeled
olive oil
salt
1 can of plain tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes (choose one without any added sugar)
red pepper flakes
oregano
basil (fresh or dried)
vinegar (balsamic, red wine or cider)

The quickest way to throw together this recipe is with a food processor.  You can hand chop the tomatoes and onions if you like but I wiz mine in the processor so they are chopped finely and quickly.

Heat a dutch oven or pot over medium and add about 2 tbsp of olive oil.  In your food processor, add the onions and garlic and pulse until chopped.  Not until it's pulverized but just fine enough.  Add the onions to your hot olive oil.  Stir and add a large pinch of salt.  Turn the temp down just a tad. Add more olive oil if it starts to look dry. You don't want the onions to brown, let them saute for a few minutes.  Food process the tomatoes until nice and fine, there will be a lot of liquid.  Add them to your pot and let the mixture simmer, stirring frequently.   Put a lid on and let simmer 5-10 minutes or so.  Add the can of tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes.  You don't have to add this if you don't want to.  If you want to only use fresh tomatoes just add a few more large tomatoes during that first step.

Add a dash of pepper flakes, oregano and basil.  Then add about a tablespoon of vinegar and stir.  Add another large pinch of salt and turn the temp back to medium or a bit higher.  Let it get nice and bubbly and then put the lid on and turn it down to low.  Let it simmer for however long you can, and don't forget to stir here and there.  An hour is probably the minimum for the flavors to blend.  Sometimes I let it simmer all day.  If you want the sauce smoother you can use an emulsion blender to puree it.  But I like mine with identifiable bits of onion and tomato.  After it's been simmering for some time taste it.  Add salt or spices if needed.  When I have red or yellow peppers I like to roast them and throw them in the sauce too for a roasted red pepper flavor.  

Next overseas post: Jakarta, Indonesia

Note: the photos in this blog post have absolutely nothing to do with the topic.  I just find them funny.  Addie informed me that "mustaches are popular at school right now among the 4th and 5th graders".  So we made some!

I'm not sure why I haven't written this blog post until now.  We've known about our next destination for almost a year now.  I guess as we get closer and closer to our new post, it seems vital I make an "announcement".

When we moved to Manila in 2008 we thought living in the Philippines for three years would be a good change of pace for us. We were not enjoying the rat race of two working parents and a baby in daycare full time. Life was not as enjoyable. We told our family we'd be home after Manila, and at the time we really thought we would be.  Then the opportunity to move to Ethiopia came up and we decided to go for it.   We'd definitely be home after two and a half years in Addis Ababa!  But when the time came to look for the next position we were eager to see where else in the world this adventure could take us.  To be honest, all the options available to Justin looked good and I was willing to move to any of them.  When we got word that he got the job in Jakarta we jumped for joy!

So our three year adventure has morphed into almost 9 years overseas.  I promise, after Jakarta, we're coming home!  At this point I've turned into the boy who cried wolf.  So maybe you won't believe it until it actually happens.  Fair enough! But this time really, I mean it.  We're moving back to Virginia after Indonesia.

There are lots of things we're excited about Jakarta.  We loved SE Asia while we lived in Manila.  The travel is wonderful, the food is great, people are friendly and love children, the lifestyle is not as difficult as living in Africa.  Culturally, Indonesia will be very interesting to experience. We've never lived in a mostly Muslim country so this will be new and exciting.  Indonesia will also be the most developed country we will have lived in (outside of the United States).

We've been assigned housing in South Jakarta (where we requested, which is closer to the schools, not the embassy) in a four bedroom high rise apartment that is close to the Jakarta American Club.  It has the benefit of a gym and pool on-site which is a great perk.  Ashlynn's preschool will be within walking distance from our apartment. This is huge!  One of my babies won't be commuting too far.  The apartment appears to be fairly new (although we all know that construction in the developing world can deteriorate quickly), newness isn't really an important factor for me.  The aesthetic of the apartment really isn't of interest to me either.  But the space seems big enough and livable for our family.  Most importantly the kitchen looks great.  It's very reminiscent of our housing in Manila.  Cold hard marble floors, lots of bathrooms, large windows, balconies to terrify me.  Overall, the place is absolutely livable and it will be fun to get creative with making the space our own. That's one of my favorite things about the blank slate of a new home.

If you're keeping up with International School news, you will have heard the tragic news about recent incidents at Jakarta International School (JIS).  It's a well known and highly touted school.  Both Addie and Bella (hopefully) will attend.  Right now, we have a Montessori school KG program as an alternative for Bella if it comes to that.  We're hoping it won't.  I've had it in my mind for a year now that my two older girls will be at the same school and ride the bus together.  The school situation has been the most stressful so far.

Another stressful issue with a move to Jakarta is taking into account the epic traffic and commute times we have awaiting us.  We're in for a rude awakening and I'm sure we will be humbled about what we considered "traffic" in Manila and Addis.  Both of which have pretty nasty traffic, if I'm being truthful.  But Jakarta traffic is in a whole new category of awful.  Addie, unfortunately has been placed at the JIS campus which is slightly farther away from our apartment due to space issues.  On google maps the distance is about 5km but the commute time on the bus we are told is anywhere from 40-60 minutes!  Our one desire for this post was to give our children a short commute to school.  As it is now, they both commute long times to and from school here in Addis (Addie 60-80 min one way, Bella and Ashlynn 30 min one way).  It was the same in Manila.  Kids at this age should be able to walk to school or take a bus ride that is about 15 minutes for elementary school.  Sadly, our girls have commute times that are more in line with grown-up nine to five office jobs.  It sounds like it will be the same in Jakarta, as much as we tried, we failed at getting them placed at the school campus that is only a 15-20 minute commute from our apartment.  I still find it unbelievable that it's so difficult to live close to school overseas.  Americans are used to having an elementary school within a 4 mile radius of their home, no matter where you live (in most suburban areas).  Throngs of kids walk to school or take yellow school buses short distances.  But not overseas.  I've decided that it just simply isn't the norm for international schools. At least it has not been our overseas experience. Or maybe at one time there was enough housing close to the school, but growth has changed that.   To be quite honest, I am heartbroken that my kindergartner and second grader will once again be sitting on a bus for more than two hours a day.  It just seems wrong on so many levels.

But the bright side to this situation is that the long commute to school isn't new to my girls.  They are accustomed to it.  They are troopers and will manage well.  I am sure of it.

Commuting from our apartment in South Jakarta to the US Embassy which is downtown will take anywhere from 40-60 minutes in the morning and anywhere from 60-90 minutes on the way home on a good day (non rainy season, non flood season, non protest season) the distance is 12.6 km.  Traffic is likely to be the single most difficult thing about adjusting to our life in Indonesia.  It's good we've had some practice traffic in Manila and Addis.  We're not newcomers to the challenges of driving in a developing country that happens to be developing faster than the infrastructure can handle.  I'm planning to use the commute time to work remotely.

Yes, work!  You heard me correctly.  I have been chosen as a candidate for a job at the embassy.  Which basically means I've been selected for the job but have some rigorous security clearance processes to go through before I can be officially offered the job.  But anyway, there is much more to say on the topic of me going "back to work" -as one says.  I am thrilled, terrified, and nervous all in one!  Probably to be expected.  It doesn't help that my daughters groan and protest at the mention of me going to work "like Daddy".  More on this topic later.

Also, the silver lining in commuting horrendous amounts of time to work for two years in Jakarta, will make ANY commute in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area, either on the beltway or on 267 seem like a walk in the park.  We will laugh in the faces of whiny DC commuters after Jakarta!  Here I go with the bright side again!

Every one of our overseas moves has been a new adventure.  Both Manila and Addis Ababa have deeply shaped me as a person.  Both our posts have allowed me to grow in different ways.  I am certain that Jakarta, Indonesia will do the same.  I am thoroughly excited for this new adventure with my family.  We are eager for those first few days upon arrival in a new country where everything is new and a little scary and unknown.  But we get to look around and discover our new life and make it our home.