Best. News. Ever.

We are getting a house! Here's the run down:

• Tomorrow we're kicked out of the Hilton because ICASA is taking over Addis and there is no room here.
• We aren't sure where we're moving into yet. That's a little frustrating, but we can endure. The cats, we know, will move into a co-workers home for the time being.
• By NEXT FRIDAY we should have a place to permanently hang our hats. Well, at least for the next two years.

Here's what I know about the house:

• It's in a part of town called Meganenya which isn't exactly where we were expecting to live. Most US Embassy employees live either in Bole (for those that are single or have small children) or Old Airport (for those that have school-age children). Our neighborhood is near Bole, but more convenient to the Embassy and we will be less likely to have American neighbors, which I think is great news and will encourage us to branch out even more.
• It's a house that is approved for a family of 4.  That means there are at least 4 bedrooms and a study. The original plan was to put us in a house approved for two and then we would have to reapply after Ryan was born for a larger home.  We're thankful that this tedious step was avoided.
• It's reported to be a very nice home.  We haven't been disappointed with any of the homes we've seen here in Addis, even those described as less than standard, so we're anxious to see what very nice even means in this context.
• It's 500x better than the Hilton.

All of this means that I'm about to spend the rest of my day packing, I'll be offline for a while (not sure if there is internet where we're going and there certainly isn't any at the house), and it's time I hire some staff. I wish I could explain how difficult it is to accomplish, find or purchase anything here. Without being a local, you have to hire someone who knows who you can buy safe chicken from, where to go for pastuerized milk, how to get safe carrots. Each item you eat, use to clean your home or organize it, requires vast knowledge of the resources available in Addis.  Even more, each item has two prices: a Habesha (Ethiopian) price and a Ferenji (foreigner) price. Ferenji prices for consumables are typically twice what they are in America so in the end, it's a cost-saving measure as well.

We'll be busy packing/upacking (our air shipment is set to arrive next week as well!) and doing the new-house dance in Addis for the next few days. I'll update as soon as possible!

Laurie