Been a long time…

Hello anyone out there who is still reading or getting updates. Yes, we are back safely in the States and have been for a few months now. I thought Id write briefly to give an update, a thank you, and sign off.

Amy is living in Portland, in a house with a few friends and our dog Besu. Besu is one of the pups fro Ethiopia, that I sent home in secret for a surprise Xmas present for Amy. Backa, the other pup, is still living in Addis with our friend Fikirte. Amy is well, working as a receptionist for a section-8 housing agency, and applying to nursing school in Portland.

I am living in Tacoma, WA with my best friend Drew, also working with him (and simultaneously satiating my bike-stuff addiction) at Old Town Bicycle in Gig Harbor, WA. I am planning on a move back to Portland in June. I have been accepted to Lewis and Clark College for a masters program in teaching, so depending on what happens with Amy’s apps I may start in June to become a REAL teacher.

No- if youre wondering- Amy and I didnt break up and we are still happily together. Just living in different places for now, which is a new kind of adventure for us.

Mostly here I wanted to say thanks to all of you who read and replied to the blog while we were away. It helped us immeasurably to feel like we had regular contact to other folks back home, and the replies I recieved to some of my posts helped ground me in reality when life turned a bit weird and surreal over there. So, THANK YOU!

W e miss Ethiopia in waves, especially the cheap produce and more especially the kids at the orphanages. I think we both still want to return to Ethiopia in the future, maybe a few years down the road. It truly was an amazing and difficult trip.

So people, goodbye. I dont anticipate writing here anymore. I have started a new blog at icris.wordpress.com that you can check out if you want. I have been feeling like writing lately, so maybe itll turn into something. Who knows.

Thanks and Goodbye for now,

Cris

Nice to see you again!

So these are the folks we are hanging out with lately. A few new pictures are up from our time here in Normandy. Hope you like them!

What are you looking at?, originally uploaded by amycheese.

faux royalty (from Amy)

We’re living in a castle. No joke! We are WOOFing at a place In Normandy, just a few miles from the famous beaches of D-Day. This is my first time WOOFing and quite honestly I can’t think of how it could get any better. The day begins with bacon and toast, then on to garden projects, a break for biscuits and coffee, more garden time, then a huge four course lunch! We then get the rest of the day to read and go on bike rides. I am also trying to start drawing again, starting with the sheep flitting about the castle grounds. They also have several ponds stocked with fish and the trouble-making ducks from next door. Our hosts, June and David, have made us feel instantly comfortable and at home. I am loving having a little time to process and unwind from the intensity of living in Ethiopia. When I came back from Senegal I was tempted to give away my worldly poccessions in reaction to all the poverty I saw. Coming back from Ethiopia I don’t have those feelings. Even though I witnessed horrible poverty and often a lack of basic human rights, it made me appreciate how lucky I am to live in the developed world. While I still want to live a socially-conscious life, I certainly am not feeling guilty about playing princess for awhile!

Sunset on Mont Blanc

Here are some pics from our backpacking trip. Enjoy! (See the rest on the Flickr site)

Sunset on Mont Blanc, originally uploaded by amycheese.

 

Senait Walking

A video for Amy’s family showing Senait walking.

New Dates

We have changed our plane tickets, so for those interested or concerned here are the new dates:

We leave Addis to go to Frankfurt and other European destinations on October first. We will be WWOOFing and visiting friends until December fourth. We will arrive back in PDX on December fifth.

Anyone who will be, or wants to be, in Europe this fall: we would love to meet up and eat croissants and stinky cheese together.

Pups, kids, and cookies

New photos up. Enjoy!

Backa and Besu

Here they are, sleeping with their warm bottles.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Remember when you said that if we were good we could stay up until 8 o’clock, instead of going to bed just at 8? My class the other day thought that was hilarious. Remember how you said that if we ate the seeds from the watermelon we would have watermelons growing in our bellies? They thought that was funny too. Have a great 26th Bday, I love you.

New pictures up.

We figured out how to make them smaller, and that means you get more. Have fun.