Hello, my friends! I am having an intense and wonderful time here in Ethiopia. Last night I finally went to bed at a normal time and slept the whole night, without any naps. I have not felt bad at all from the jet lag, but up till now I have slept in shorter bursts and have had many naps.

I’ve been able to have a great time in spite of the sleep irregularities. We stayed at Altu’s parents’ home in Addis Ababa until yesterday. Now we are on a little mini-vacation to Bahar Dar yesterday (the source of the Blue Nile, the waterfall on the nile, a palace and beautiful sunset - my legs got a serious workout climbing rocky terrain to get a panoramic view); then today we go to Gonder (Gondar is another spelling for it) and the next day we go to the ancient churches of Lalibela.

The churches in Lalibela are carved out of the side of the mountain, and are the oldest Christian churches known on this earth. I guess it’s dusty and dirty there but Altu really wants to see the churches and I think it will be a lifetime opportunity.

After that we go back to Addis Ababa for a while, then to Kenya for a week. I know we will have Internet access at Altu’s friend’s home in Nairobi so I will try to post again from there.

I assure you, I’m being well taken care of, and the hospitality (and the food) are just wonderful here. I’m enjoying myself very much.