favorite items from Ethiopia!

ORIGINALLY POSTED BY CHARISA ON FOR SUCH AS THESE

Below are some of my favorite items we brought back from Ethiopia on this trip. Shopping can be somewhat overwhelming! Lots of vendors, lots of items, and lots of haggling! I tend to pick out what I wanted and ran when the haggling came. I let the hubby handle that one—being he was the professional sales guy and all!

There were some items I didn’t get this time because I ran out of time/forgot or just plain couldn’t think. I will have a list of items to pick up next time (and as always more coffee!)

These pictures made out of banana leaves. There are pretty fragile and I was worried—but they made it back fine. There were lots of different scenes to choose from. We got those from the antiquities store in the big mercato.

Scarves. We bought lots of scarves for the girls and friends. The ones below came from the Former Women Wood Carriers Association. (I think that’s the formal name-I might have messed it up a bit) It’s at the bottom of Entoto Mountain.I asked and they said it takes about 2 hours to make on scarf. They had tons and they were beautiful.

One of the women carrying the wood down the mountain. From what I have read—they do this once a day for their own use and selling. They make about $3 from it. And it is HEAVY. and it is a STEEP mountain. Can’t imagine doing that every day.

We purchased some scarves from the Leprosy Hospital as well. These had a lot more elaborate designs and a sheen to them. They also had clothes there and table clothes.

One of my very faves. A basket made from the women at the Fistula Hospital. A very moving and humbling place to visit.

We just purchased the coffee set below from some random guy on the street. He kept following us and his price kept dropping—I finally told the hubby—“buy that!” And I am amazed we made it home without it breaking! We packed it with a bunch of our clothes in our carry-on.

Animals—we always bring animals home from the kids from our trips to Ethiopia and Zambia.

Of course, we need the coffee to go with that coffee set!

Some traditional clothing for our little man.

Some necklaces for the girls—there didn’t seem to be as much jewelry this time as the last time I was in Ethiopia.

They has these postcards all around. I wish I had bought more—they would be pretty in black frames in a grouping. Might put them on my list for next time!

Another fave—this is the story of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba on a canvas. They had quite a few of these and other pictures that were really neat in the antiquities shop as well. Not sure how I am going to hang it yet.

Close up of it.

And for Ab and Josh—their only request were soccer jerseys. Josh’s we paid too much money for and then found them cheaper and got Ab’s (first store only had adult sizes) and of course the sweatbands for Ab and his Mirinda.

New Ethiopian doll at Target

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY DAISYJ AT THE WAYFARER

There is a new doll being sold at Target. Rahel from Ethiopia!!!!!! What a smart doll maker to come up with this. Ethiopia is the number one country for international adoptions and with the adoptions comes the parents to market to . Well, I would buy one! She is part of a collection of dolls from around the world. They also include Asia and Hispanic dolls among others. $24
See her here. Rahel.

Churchill Street

From Sarah, an IAN mom, who traveled in January 2010:

I would HIGHLY recomment shopping on Churchill Street....we loved it and there
was a great selection...our cab driver stayed with us every time we went (they
are very good about doing this if you just asked) and were very helpful...it was
fun! Nathan went to the Mercado and loved the experience...if you want to go, he
said that it is way less crowded and crazy in the morning so that is what I
would suggest!

What to do, where to shop, what to buy in Ethiopia

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY DAISYJ ON THE WAYFARER

I was asked this question and they liked my answer so much that I thought that maybe it would be good to actually do a list on this. Ok, I love lists, call me crazy. I can't import an excel spreadsheet here or i would. Here are my thoughts on shopping, buying and what to do while on your adoption trip to Ethiopia. Keep in mind we were there for 2 weeks and traveled with our two older daughters 9, 10 to pick up our two sons, at the time they were both 3. We stayed at a guest house and it was at the beginning of the new ban on going out in public with your kids. In order to get out you may like to take turns going places like shopping and museums. We did this and are very happy we did because otherwise we would not have gotten to see so much of our kids heritage and culture.

Q. Do you have anywhere that you recommend going or seeing while
there? This can be anything! Restaurants, shopping, extended trips
outside of Addis Ababa.

WE WOULD RECOMMEND FOR SHOPPING THE HAILE SELASE MARKET. IT IS FIXED
PRICE HAS GREAT SELECTION AND IS REASONABLE IN COST. NEAR THERE IS A
HANDICRAFT STORE AND IT IS ALSO REASONABLE and HAS A TON OF REALLY COOL
STUFF, hand painted and carved mancala boards, beads, bells, carved boxes, drums, stringed instruments, etc........ We would recommend this as opposed to a mall or market. Many families only have one day to shop and this is a great one stop shop for all sorts of stuff. The mall is very expensive, the market is all barter and as we did go to one and bartered down to what seemed like a lot and they really would not go down more, we paid much less at Haile Selasse fixed price market and their stuff was better in my opinion. Larger selection too, and they let you shop instead of pressuring you to buy what they hope you will get. At Haile Selasse market we saw that they had: baskets, clothes and linens, books, jewlery, wooden and metal crosses, wool and wire animals, wooden animals, etc..... Go to a grocery store on the way to somewhere, you can buy coffee at any grocery, harrar is the variety you are looking for. You can also buy some snacks and fruit to take to the orphanage and to the guest house to eat. Our boys could not eat enough bananas and milk, so I kept going out for those things.

BE SURE TO GO TO ENTOTO. THERE IS A LARGE ORTHODOX CHURCH THERE AND IT
IS GREAT TO TAKE PHOTOS OF, YOU CAN ALSO TOUR THE FIRST HOME OF
MENALIK 2. There is also a museum in the cost of seeing the palace. It is not very big or interesting, but see it, you pay for it with the emperor's home cost. It was about 20 birr each. They let the boys in free. The view of Addis is amazing if the day is clear, so we heard and can believe it. But it was cloudy and fog enshrouded the day we were there. In my opinion it made it all the more wondrous with the mist and the chants from the church and the old barren buildings of the Emperor's first home. It was awesome!!!! THE DRIVE THERE REALLY LETS YOU SEE ADDIS AND THE COUNTRY SIDE AND HOW PEOPLE LIVE. WHILE YOU ARE OVER THERE GO TO THE WEAVERS MARKET OF THE LEPER COLONY. NO YOU WON'T CATCH IT. BUT THEY DO WEAVINGS TO SELF SUPPORT AND THEY HAVE THE BEST VARIETY AND GOOD QUALITY. YOU CAN GET CLOTHING AND LINENS HERE. If you can make it it is better than Haile Selase market for clothes and linens. You don't have to tour, you can just go to the store. I think it was fixed price too. You can go to Entoto together as it is "out of town".

WE ALSO WENT TO WALISOU (spelling?) HOT SPRINGS. There are a few different hot springs but this was reported to be the nicest, it is called walisou so if you need to ask about it and they don't know where the "hot springs" is tell them walisou resort. IT IS WELL WORTH THE TRIP. A 2 HOUR DRIVE ONE WAY. Get a private driver in a van so you can spread out if there are more than 3 of you. I think all day the driver and van cost us 80 birr. THEN YOU GO TO THIS really neat RESORT AND THEY HAVE A
REALLY NICE RESTAURANT AND HOTEL AND YOU CAN SWIM IN THE WARM WATER
POOL. THEY CHANGE THE WATER ON THURSDAYS SO THAT IS A GOOD DAY TO GO
BUT THE POOL WILL HALF FULL. FRI -SUN IT FULL OF water and UPPER CLASS FROM THE CITY AND NOT A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU TO GO WITH YOUR KIDS DUE TO THE NEW
RULES. BUT GREAT DURING THE WEEK. GOOD TRIP TO SEE THE COUNTRY AND
TRADITIONAL LIVING. They have monkeys there on site too. A really charming resort area. The town is very typical and poor. The contrast is truly remarkable and moving. A note on swimming. Ethiopian kids are not familiar with swimming and modesty is a big deal. So, taking off their shirts and "bathing" with a bunch of people may be a bit more than some of them can handle. Ours were freaked out by this and it took a good hour to get them to just try it. Then it was fun, sort of. This is also "out of town" so you can go together.
>
IF YOU CAN MAKE A MUSEUM TRIP THE NATIONAL MUSEUM IS THE BEST
(PHOTOS OK). This is where they have the throne of Haile selasse and the remains of Lucy and some other archaeological items of interest.ETHNOGRAPHIC Museum IS NEXT BEST (NO PHOTOS). Here they have a collection of money, musical instruments, religious paintings and a bit on several of the tribal groups. It is really interesting, especially the main floor. The grounds are a University and it is a very nice place to walk around too. You can take a tour of each with a guide or do it yourself. We suggest the guide. This is one of those things you take turns doing because you can't take your kids, and having taken them to one just before the rule, you don't really WANT to. :)

TAKE A CAR TOUR OF THE CITY AND TAKE PHOTOS OF ALL THE BIG MONUMENTS. This you can do together, just don't let your kids out of the car. Get a van if you have many of you, it is more comfortable for the long drive. The city is so diverse, you can see so much. Even if you get to drive through Merkato, that is an experience worth doing. Get photos of the Lion Of Judah, the stadium, the millennium plaza, etc.... Your driver will know where to take you.

Q. What do you wish you had bought? Or are REALLY glad you did?

we bought outfits for the boys in 3 sizes. We also bought a
wooden carved box and filled it with little things that represent
their country. (carved lion, bumper sticker that says Lion of Judah, bell, zebra, giraffe, drum, cross). I wish we had brought home a medium injera
basket. For gifts we highly recommend small carved animals, the carved
giraffes, the metal and wooden crosses as larger items and jewelry and
the wire and wool animals. We did not get enough. Small baskets make nice gift boxes for these items. I wish we had bought some of the wooden crosses and more metal ones and more giraffes. We bought a lot of coffee and that is good, but not enough. Harrar is the variety you are looking for. You can get it in the grocery and shops. We also bought hand carved and painted mancala boards, popular game but called something else, at the handicraft store you
can buy pretty painted ones. Your boys or girls may have played this game and
may be good at it and like to play together and teach you. You buy the
beads separately and you can pick. We HIGHLY recommend the Haile
Selasse market it is fixed prices but they were better than the market
variety stores on prices and variety. It is also one stop shopping if
you need that. We also went to the Christian book store and bought
some books in English and Amharic, wish we got more, and wished we had
found a kids cd, they do have them but are not plentiful. Some of the other things we bought are:
Bible, t shirts, bumper stickers, egg basket ( I collect them ), folding stool, dresses for the girls, table runner and napkins (my onespontaneous buy which I questioned myself for and am VERY happy I did buy it), jewelry, carved wooden animals, metal crosses, small baskets for gift boxes for some gifts, wire wool animals, books of stories, music one Christian Ethiopian praise and worship, one secular "Abugida", traditional (I LOVE Ethiopian music!), kids stories from the Bible, coffee, some snacks, cinnamon tea, ginger tea, hibiscus tea, black tea. We bought the boys each a soccer ball. A real one, not a blow up one; Decorative dolls, shawls.

You can go to the Leper colony near Entoto. They have a weaving business and shop there. The variety is best in the city and best cost, plus it goes to help them survive, a good cause! Think shirts, linens, shawls, etc..

A note on shopping from Matt (IAN parent):
The DVD's that are sold in front of the Friendship Mall for 20 Birr ($1.50) work at home. :) In case you want to add to your New Release collection.
- If you need to buy something and you think your getting ripped off have someone at your guest house who is Ethiopian buy it for you. I needed a 4GB USB Flash Drive and they were quoting be 1500 Birr ($120). I knew that was ridiculous. Yonathon went up there and got it for 450 Birr ($35). Sometimes they have a pause when you ask the price, when they do that just walk away.
- The restaurant LimeTree has a great pizza... and the ladies seemed to love the Lentil Soup there as well.This is all I can think of right now.

Ideas for Cultural Keepsakes

While in Ethiopia, it's only natural for parents to want mementos to bring back home. These cultural keepsakes are much more than souvenirs brought back from a trip though. They are touchstones to their child's birthplace, a discussion piece showcased in their house, a prized possession for their son or daughter to be proud of...

Here are a couple of suggestions for things to bring back from Ethiopia:

• Musical instruments (like a drum)
• CDs and DVDs
• Books written in Amharic
• Traditional outfits
• Ethiopian bed pillow
• Ethiopian rag doll (sold in the Mercato in the clothing stalls in large baskets on the floor)
• Fabric (to make pillows, cover photo albums or journals, headbands, etc. once back home)
• Silver jewelry (which is weighed to determine the purchase price so when you find a design that you like, ask the salesperson bring out several of that same design to compare the weight before purchase). If you ask, the salesperson will place the jewerly in a tiny yarn woven basket which is a gift itself.
• Beads (to make bracelet or necklaces once back home)

We'd love to hear other ideas. Please add them in the comments section...

Valentine's Day Gift Guide - Part 2

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of the Valentine's Day gift guide. I've since found some additional adoption and/or Ethiopian inspired items that I thought I'd share.

J Studio - beautiful digital archival prints created from original pen and watercolor drawings of multicultural families and Ethiopian landscapes. A portion of her proceeds go to the Kolfe Orphanage in Addis Ababa. Visit her blog to enter a giveaway of three 8"x10" prints.

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EthioPAP - a cute fabric applique (for only $1!) that could be put on babies, girls or women's clothes or framed.

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Shirts for Shoes - Charity left a comment on the last gift guide about this great opportunity. For every t-shirt (which come in children, men and women's sizes) sold, a t-shirt and pair of shoes will be donated to an orphan in Ethiopia.

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vyz123's shop - Cute necklace with a pendant showing a child's handprint, the continent of Africa and a heart over Ethiopia. 100% of the proceeds go to humanitarian work in the village of Aleta Wondo.

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Caitlin Kleiboer Photography - Matted photos of Ethiopian daily life and landscapes

Please feel free to let me know in the comments section of any other cool products you've seen. Thanks and happy shopping!

Brothers and Sisters in Adoption

Brothers and Sisters in Adoption by Arleta James

From Library Journal: Therapist James, who has many years of experience as an adoption professional, presents a superb, exhaustive handbook on adoption that fills a void in the literature. She focuses on issues surrounding families, with children who are flourishing, considering adopting children who have experienced complex trauma, including abuse, neglect, or abandonment. She delves deeply into the mental health issues of these children, which can be complicated by the existence of other adopted children. She concentrates on navigating the emotionally trying dynamics of the relationships among children who are thriving and those who are struggling, underscoring the needs of the typically developing children. Throughout the book, James includes stories of the adoptive families she has helped in her sessions. Numerous additional appendixes include a super preadoptive training model for typically developing children, an adoptive family safety contract, and an extensive listing of additional resources. This scholarly review of the adoptive literature combined with solid, pragmatic, and professional advice is a superb guide to a specialized topic. Required reading for all helping professionals working with child protective services or with adoptive families.

From Carey, an IAN waiting mama: I have not read this book yet but it is on my wishlist. Though it doesn't have many reviews on Amazon (6) it gets rave reviews.

If you've read this book, I would love if you gave it a brief (1 paragraph?) review. Please leave a comment so I can contact you. Thanks!

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Are you looking for the perfect Valentine's Day gift to buy your spouse, child, parent or even yourself? Well, your search is over. Following is a collection of some unique adoption and Ethiopian inspired gifts.

Leap of Love: Cute American Apparel t-shirt in youth, women and men's sizes

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Recipes to Grow a Family: This is an international cookbook, covering countries such as Ethiopia, Guatemala, Burkina Faso, Mexico, the United States...and many more.

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Our Life Upstate: Snuggly soft made-to-order fleece pjs (tops, bottoms, nightgowns, shorties) for kids and a classic jumper dress for girls, all at great prices

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Dos Besitos: Cute glass tile pendant with the Amharic word for mother (enat) the back of which can be personalized with a date and/or name...the seller also has pendants with the Amharic words grandmother or sister and keychains with the Amharic words father or grandfather

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Novica: Handcrafted Ethiopian wood mask, 'Hail to the Chief'

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Adopt-tees: Huge selection of stationary, t-shirts, lifebooks and gifts all Ethiopian adoption themed. Some items are available for personalization and some are targeted to aunts, uncles, grandparents, lots of colors and lots of different designs

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One World Projects: Three styles of hand-filigreed pendants made from silver

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Sorene: Children's Songs From Ethiopia: This music CD gets several good reviews from adoptive parents on Amazon. Visit the Amazon page to listen to the tracks but search for lower prices (like the seller linked to the title of the CD in this post)

Please feel free in the comments section to list links of other products you've seen that might be of interest to IAN families. Happy shopping!

The Soul of a New Cuisine

The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa by Marcus Samuelsson

From Publisher's Weekly: Born Ethiopian, raised Swedish, and now one of New York City's top chefs, Samuelsson (Aquavit: And the New Scandinavian Cuisine) has written an exotic yet accessible book that will hasten the coming of the African fusion cookery he envisions. His 204 recipes and 258 color photos are enriched with personal and political history; as in his many condiments and sauces, the balance is right. While he stresses the diversity and bounty of the second-largest continent, he repeatedly describes African cuisine as poor people's cooking, crafted with simple tools and necessarily emphasizing starches, vegetables and big flavors. Whether it's rosemary for Honey Bread or turmeric, ginger and cinnamon in his Vegetable Samosas, herbs and spices are always sauteed in oil or tossed in a hot dry pan, to intensify and mellow. He even proposes toasting the cinnamon for the whipped cream accompanying his Ethiopian Chocolate Rum Cake. The recipe for the cake is typical: the batter is prepared in a single bowl, mixed with a spoon, and bakes up moist and gingerbread-like, with great keeping properties. Toasting the cinnamon takes seconds and is impressive in the complexity it delivers.

From Connie, an IAN mama about to travel: We received the most amazing cook book for Christmas. To even call it a cookbook is sort of an injustice. The recipes are amazing and remarkably simple, but the stories, photos and journalism about Africa are even more impressive. The author is Marcus Sameullson, an ET adoptee from Sweden and he now owns a number of successful ET restaurants in NYC. The book is called "The Soul of a New Cuisine". I haven't been able to put it down since we received it.

Children Just Like Me

Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley

From School Library Journal: A delightful, attractive look at children from around the world. The authors spent two years meeting and photographing youngsters from every continent and more than 140 countries. The volume is divided by continent, which is introduced with photos of children, their names, and nationalities. Then a double-page spread features pictures of each child's food, eating utensils, housing, school, friends, and family. The text gives the young people a chance to comment on their favorite games, friends, and hopes for the future. The final section includes excerpts from the Kindersleys' travel diary. This book is factual, respectful, and insightful. It provides just the right balance of information and visual interest for the intended audience.

From Carey, an IAN waiting mama: I love, love, love this book! My (bio) sons (3 and 4 years old) like to look at the kids and have me read about their lives. It's opened up a lot of great discussions about how differently people live, yet we have so many similarities.

There is a spread dedicated to Tadesse, a nine year old boy in Ethiopia who lives in an orphanage because his father has died and his mother is not well enough to care for him and his siblings. (There is also a spread about a little girl in China who is an only child, with a mention of the government's concern of the growing population. Also, of possible interest to other adoptive parents, there are spreads on children in Russia, South Korea, India and Vietnam but not Guatemala.)

Every night my 4 year old asks to read about one of the children in the book. Since receiving this book over the holidays it has become part of our bedtime ritual...which I love.

Does Anybody Else Look LIke Me?

Does Anybody Else Look Like Me? A Parent's Guide to Raising Multiracial Children by Donna Jackson Nakazawa

From Publishers Weekly: The author, a freelance writer, is from a western European background, while her husband is Japanese American. Although Nakazawa initially hoped to raise her son and daughter to be "color blind," they couldn't ignore the many comments made by both adults and children concerning Christian and Claire's appearance. When Christian was a toddler he was asked if he spoke Chinese, and the author was assured that little Claire didn't "even look Asian." Nakazawa decided to develop strategies to ensure that her son and daughter would be proud of their heritage and confident about their multiracial identity. Finding no useful book on the subject, she decided to write her own. Based on personal experience and interviews conducted with 60 other multiracial families, Nakazawa has skillfully combined anecdotal research with a strong knowledge of childhood and educational development philosophy to provide this useful guide for raising multiracial children in a color- and race-conscious world. Nakazawa believes that, although most three-year-olds are not racially aware, it is important to deflect insensitive comments from strangers about appearance. As a child grows older, this early dialogue should deepen, so that children will feel safe and comfortable discussing their racial identity with parents and be able to bring up any racially charged experiences that have occurred at school or with friends. Included are suggestions for the special problems that may arise during adolescence.

From Carey, an IAN waiting mama: Though this book does address children with parents of different races, it also has lots of great info about internationally adopted children. I will definitely be rereading it once my daughter is home.

IAN Fashion Corner

Some may look to the runways of Paris, Milan, and New York for the newest trends in fashion, but here at IAN, we need not look any further than our family blogs.


So...what is the fashion "must have" among our little blogger fashion plates....the headband. That's right... the headband, paired with a simple Ethiopian T-shirt, is the toddler wardrobe staple of the season.


Let's check out how these fashion mavens are wearing this years biggest fashion trend.

Gabre - "the trendsetter"

Not since Madonna, circa 1983, have we seen such a variety of headbands. Whether it be lace, bows, poofs, or polka dots, this little fashionista really knows how to mix it up.

Lidya - "simple sophistication"
Little Lidia knows one of the cardinal rules of fashion...play up your assets. A simple band, with an understated bow, is the perfect accessory to her exquisite eyes.

Amelia - "the risk taker"
Carrie Bradshaw (of SITC fame) may have made the flower pin one of her signature fashion pieces, but Amelia had the gumption to take to the next level by pairing it with a headband. Bravo Amelia! I think we'll be seeing some Manola Blahnik booties from this little one in the future.

Most of the fashions, modeled above, will be available soon at Adopt and Shop on the Hope-Reeves family blog. A percentage of all proceeds will go to the IAN Charity incentive.