Ethiopia Day 5

Happy Thanksgiving! We talked Almaz into taking us shopping instead of going to the museum. She was very eager to help us find bargains. We had to drop our children off at House of Hope for the shopping excursion. Sifen had been doing really well, so we didn't mind letting her visit with her nannies for a few hours. We arrived at a strip of shops. It really was all overwhelming. I wasn't sure what to buy and where from. We knew we wanted some traditional dresses for Miss Marley and I wanted one as well. Coffee was also a must! We walked around from shop to shop and Almaz worked her magic. It was quite amusing, actually, to watch her negotiate bargains. It was like an art for her, she really enjoyed it. She then took us to a coffee shop. Not like the coffee shops in America. This was the real deal. They had raw coffee beans and roasted them on location about 6 different ways. We selected the roast we wanted and had it bagged. Then we had Machiatto's while we waited. Ahh my favorite part of the trip!
In the afternoon, all the couples traveling treated a few of the staff to what we thought would be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Hilton. It ended up being Ethiopian food, but it was nice to celebrate with them. We explained our holiday and that we eat until we can't eat anymore and then sleep. They were amazed...lol. Ficker, our driver, said he would always remember us because he spent his first Thanksgiving holiday with us.