Dear ECS – Our new home

Dear ECS, 

During the last weeks of our time in the U.S., you kept asking about our “new house.”  You knew we were heading to a place with more stability and permanence than we had enjoyed over the last several months in the U.S.  Always a perceptive one, even at a tender two years old. 

And now we are in our new home.  Mom just put you down for the night in your room.  Before that we had a  really delicious Ethiopian meal prepared of dry chicken tibs, rice, salad, green beans and a veggie medley by one of your lovely nannies.  You ate rice and mangoes.  Just like you have a great time pretty much wherever you find yourself here in Addis, and beyond. 

It has been really nice to settle into our “new house” here in Addis.  It is a big one, with a vibe that a buddy said was a little 80’s Miami Vice vibe.  Our house is high -- in terms of elevation.  It sits at about 8,500 feet above sea level.  For a big, bustling city, we lucked out to have a house that is very quiet since it is several hundred yards off the nearest busy street. 

We also look out over rooftops and greenery from our porches to a degree that we could never have anticipated prior to arriving.   Then there is the big and beautiful yard, with a mix of horticulture.  It has flowers, a nascent garden that is fighting the good fight against the rainy season, large palms and a nice stretch of manicured grass for you to run around.  You also have really taken to the big driveway, most of the days I have come home from work and you have been playing in the yard, pushing your mini car around the driveway or getting pushed around while talking on the phone.  I let the talking and driving slide thus far, since it brings you so much joy. 

Another nice part of our “new home” is its proximity to our work.  Mom and I have about a 10 minute ride to work in the morning and maybe 15 minutes on the way home.  For this city, that is right down the street.  This means more time to play with you.  We have even run home from work an evening or two a week thus far, which is liberating. 

Other than those runs, which skew towards the utilitarian based on the hustle and bustle of the streets to get home, we are actually well set up for urban running in our neighborhood.  The older streets in our neighborhood are these old cobblestone gems, winding throughout the hillside.  Yesterday your mom and I went for a run during your nap that took us along a number of these streets up to a beautiful orthodox church with a commanding view of the entire Addis valley.  Along the way, kids ran with and laughed at us, we chugged through a post wedding party and a few feet from a large black cow grazing in a muddy field.  All from our house.

You enjoyed the hustle and bustle of seemingly inexhaustible and innumerable loved ones in the US prior to moving here to Addis. But, and I am almost assuredly biased, you are thriving in your “new home.”  Your vocabulary and speech is astounding, and your development has continued at such an arresting pace for weeks on end.  You are wickedly funny and take great joy in telling a good joke.  You are laughing so much – and to be fair it helps having an inflated multi-stage kiddie pool with a mini slide in your living room.  

love,

dad

Dear ECS: Yeah I did it – awesome!

Dear ECS,

I write this from our new house, quite a world away from our old houses in DC and Nassau.  Your mom is putting you down for the night, and we are hoping that the jet lag is all the way through your system and you can sleep the whole night through.   You are settling in well in our new home and city, enjoying the spacious house, the pretty yard and our nascent adventures in our new city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

The title of this post comes from the phrase you would say with glee each time our flight landed on our journey to Addis.  “Yeah I did it – awesome!”  And it was honey.

Overall, we had quite a journey, as you and I first flew via Vegas and got to spend a few days with your grandparents and aunt in the Vegas heat.  Mom went direct to Addis to start the settling process and be sure that your care ecosystem was sustainable and nurturing. 

In Vegas, it was so cute to see you playing happily in the kiddie pool that one of the Babas set up for you (thanks mom!) to beat the heat.  The heat was pretty intense, topping out at 116 degrees on one of the days we were visiting.  Whoa.

Then it was on to Frankfurt, which was a pretty long red eye.  Fun! I had hoped you might sleep a bit more than you did, but the allure of the plane and the frog movie (Shrek) on repeat trumped exhaustion.  It is a good movie, so I have to give you that.  We landed in Frankfurt and took the train to the main train station and checked into the hotel, where we both took a very needed nap before heading out to do a bit of a walkabout around the centre.  A walkabout is a Korol family tradition, meandering through cities with no real plan and just being open to what we see and want to explore some more. 

This walkabout had us meander down to the Main River.  You were so happy to be outside of the airport bubble and amongst real places and real people, running along the trails and playing.  We stopped for some ice cream for you and a coffee for me.  We listened to a street musician play beatific classical music on the violin.   We ate some delicious EU berries and fruit, sun kissed and organic that we picked out from a nearby farmer’s market.  You even managed to find a playground with a big slide at a school; your playground-dar is strong to very strong.

After a nice night of sleep, it was back to the airport and on to our last flight to our new home.  Amusingly enough, this flight stops in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for an hour and half to drop off people and refuel.  We were at the back of the plane and felt the Saudi heat when the galley was restocked – it was reminiscent of our short Vegas visit, I would guess within five or so degrees either way.  

From Jeddah, it was a short 2-hour flight to Ethiopia to reunite with mom.  It is hard to say who was happier for the reunion, suffice to say both of you were thrilled to see each other.   It took me a few days to recover from the travels and adjust to the time zone, and you took a few more days.   Mom and I even did some googling to suss out advice about toddlers and time zones.   Big surprise, there were conflicting opinions online.  But your happiness has been a total constant as we adjust to the new environment and altitude (8k above sea level).   

Honestly, this trip was a pretty grueling 5 days, but also a trip with lots of love and excitement and laughing and cuddles.  I treasured being with you and so focused on your happiness while solo parenting.  Overall, our time in DC was very special because I got to spend so much time with you, between the morning routine and afternoons after my class.  With my job here in Addis there just won’t be as much time.  Which is a bummer, but very expected and normal.  So this trip was a great coda for that time in our family journey and in your life.   Yeah we did it – awesome!

love,

dad