Dear ECS: Multi-sport Thanksgiving

Dear ECS,

A very happy holiday season from our family to yours!   

It is a good time of year to be in Addis, great weather and sun (as my mild sunburn can attest).  It is a bit disconcerting to see the rough weather for football games.  Here, a beanie is solely decorative.  This is a huge contrast from Maine, let me tell you.

Honestly, Thanksgiving is not my favorite holiday, but something about being abroad reinforces the positives of this holiday, and the others throughout the year.   Being in a diverse group of Americans allows everyone to bring their own special dish, or tradition.  The mixing of those traditions is the very essence of our country. Some of our friends hosted a feast for 36 people with folks contributing their own family's take on roasted vegetables or stuffing; and you liked pumpkin pie for the first time.  
There was also a cool wrinkle of having our holiday in the middle of a week – when it was just us Americans celebrating.  Because Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday, no one else was taking the time to gather, gorge and give thanks.

This week has been wonderful; from Las Vegas, we have my parents and, from SF, your godfather, Tony/Tote, is visiting. You have loved being with your extended family, and every morning you wake up and ask – “where are my babas at?’  As they are sleeping, you are quite keen to wake them up, and I can assure you that being woken up by you is the best way for them to start their day.

With the extra time off from work + the great weather + the ability to sneak off with the extra adults = a chance to explore the Addis mountains which we took advantage of over the last week.  On the day before thanksgiving, your mom, Tony and me headed up into the Entoto mountains for a half day climbing session.  We had been up in the area before but this was the first time we got to get the rope out.  It is a gorgeous 45 minute walk from the parking area up to the crag, through forest and tilled fields. 

The crag is a ballast rock, which makes sense with all the volcanic lakes in the area and the Rift Valley.  Getting on the rock again after a very long time away felt so familiar.  It was especially familiar going to the crag with Mu and Tote, who I have had the pleasure of climbing with all over the world for more than a decade. The cliff is tall, and stunning, and I really enjoyed the long climbs we did before the sun set and we heading back down to the car and on to a cultural restaurant to feast on goat tibs and gomen and injera.  Not the traditional day before thanksgiving feast and night out, but really enjoyable.

The next day, tote and I (mostly Tote) got our mountain bikes ready to go and we go dropped off about 10 minutes from our house.  We rode into the forest, picking our way through the rugged terrain.  When the truck went by us with a couple of guards and their weapons, we went the other way.  That was a little different than my prior rides with uncle Tony.  Then a few minutes later, we started passing woman carrying an immense amount of freshly cut firewood.  One woman had easily a hundred pounds of wood on her back and was doubled over at her waist as she inched along the trails.  The contrast between us on a mountain bike ride and this woman working so hard for her family was quite stark.  The rest of the ride was interesting, fording some creeks, doing a steep ascent up to a 9/11 memorial, riding down a creek bed.  My first ride here in Addis, first of many.

As you can see honey, it was a great couple of days with your godfather, our family and many new friends. I think you love pretty much every holiday.

Love,

dad