By Sue
Today we had the enormous pleasure to join our friend, LemLem, and several close relatives for a leisurely Sunday lunch and coffee ceremony. As we pulled up to the gate, Max and I immediately recognized that this was the childhood home of our dear friend in Seattle, Beruke Giday. Eight years ago when we came to Addis to pick up Romi, Beruke arranged for us to join her sisters LemLem and Fetlework, as well as her mother Abrahatsion for a similar gathering of lunch, coffee, and conversation. What a treat to be returning to the same location several years later!
The house is located on a lovely piece of property that includes a main house and several smaller dwellings as well as a large yard and garden. While we have had many amazing moments thus far, this afternoon topped them all as we moved from discussions about religion, Ethiopian history, and lots of hearty laughs and good-natured teasing. While we talked, we ate, and ate, and ate some more, before ending the afternoon with the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony. We had to cut Noah and Caleb off at two cups! To top it off, Noah got an impromptu self-defense lesson, Caleb was compared to McCauley Caulkin in Home Alone, and Romi was generally fawned over all day.
Getting ready to eat an amazing lunch!
We are so grateful to have these close connections in Ethiopia! It makes our experience here all the more rich and is a big part of why we have grown so fond of this lovely country.
Roasting coffee beans
LemLem prepares the coffee
Enjoying coffee on the porch
Thanks for posting pictures and stories. It’s great to see a little slice of your daily experiences. Ben and Mac read all the posts out loud and were especially excited to read Caleb’s post.
Thank you so much for filling us in on all the amazing events happening in your lives. Love the pictures. Looks like everyone is growing and learning! Miss you, but so thrilled for you!!!
Beautiful! All of it, so beautiful!