Host home, family and flight update

Well- I booked the flight to Ethiopia today. I depart on March 10th- Arrive on the 11th.
I come home on June 7th. Denis is flying out to meet me on May 24th and taking the same flight as I am home :-). So at the end of this incredible adventure- what could me more wonderful than spending 2 weeks with my favorite person in the whole wide world?

A little about the host family I'll be staying with:
My host owns and manages a school and her husband is a lawyer in a government office. They have four children, ages 12, 24, 26 and 27 years old. The older children are both teachers. Several other family members and the maid also live in the house.

A middle income Ethiopian home:

Ethiopian homes are quite different from western ones. They are made up of two separate buildings: one is the main building and the other contains the service rooms. The service rooms are often used more than the rooms in the main building which are very neat and often don't even look lived in! All food is prepared by live-in maids in the service quarters. In many houses one room is set aside for coffee ceremonies which take place very regularly. Good thing I really like coffee! All the buildings are usually set back from the road and enclosed by a metal gate that you have a key for.

I'm not sure if I'll love having a "maid" or be very uncomfortable with it. I've never imagined having dinner served-giggle. Apparently breakfast is served at 7:30 in the morning. I need to be to work at 8:30am- I'll teach, participate in after school activities- plan the next day's lesson and then dinner is served at 8:30. Wow!! Some where in there I'll be taking Amharic lessons. It's already sounding like a pretty full week :-).

A little about the area I'll be visiting:

The area is located in the north eastern part of the city in an area called Kebena, there are plenty of facilities around the area, including internet and laundry, and there are very good transport links so it'll be easy to get to and from work, and get to my language classes.

It's suppose to be warm during the day, but chilly at night due to it's altitude. The city is surrounded by mountains covered with alpine forests, which makes for lovely sunsets, and stunning views once you get out of Addis and have a chance to look down on the city.