It’s been a busy two weeks! My parents arrived in Ethiopia on November 4, and we’ve been jet-setting around the country ever since. As their visit approached, I asked them to reflect on their expectations for visiting Ethioipia. Here’s what mom had to say, in response to some questions I posed:

Hi. I am looking forward to seeing you and I am very excited to learn more about your everyday life. I hope that I will not stare at you too much or smother you with my hugs but I miss you terribly and can’t wait to spend time with you. I picture Addis to be very crowded and busy. I imagine that Addis and some of the other tourist sites will give me a clearer idea about the beginning of civilization. I think Mettu will be less busy than the tourist areas and will feel very rural. Seeing the medical center and your home will help me to understand your life better. I think Ethiopia will look very mountainous with dirt roads and the housing will be very modest.  I picture children and animals running around freely. I am very concerned about the poverty that we will see. I am worried that I will want to try to fix things or want to adopt a child and that I will feel very sad and frustrated. Besides seeing you and spending time as a family, I hope that my time in Ethiopia will clarify what is important in life. I love injera and most dips. I cannot wait to try Buna. I am dreading the latrine and hope I don’t behave in a culturally incorrect way about anything. Walking and visiting the people you care about will make me happy.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll write about our adventures, which took us to to seven cities and towns in just under two weeks. Double spoiler alert: there was staring, but not too much from mom; no Peace Corps volunteers were smothered in the course of this adventure.