No longer stuck in Amsterdam(I think)

We just got into the KLM lounge at Schipol airport.  What a contrast from where we have been over the last 8 days!  We are currently enjoying all the comforts of KLM hospitality.  We can have almost anything we want in here without any cost (would love to take pictures but don't want to appear completely out of place). We slept well in a soft, quiet and dark room.   We enjoyed a morning out on the town in Amsterdam.  Thought I would share some pictures.

 A great big cheese store.  The cheese was delicious! 

 Lots and lots of house boats.

Rows and rows of houses. 

We decided it was a nice place to visit but we wouldn't want to live here.  

Our plane is set to leave in 3 hours.  Our boarding passes have cleared so God willing we will land this evening at 7:30pm in Toronto.  It has been a great trip. .. 

but we are ready to be home.

Where to start

As so much has happened over the last week(it feels like a month) the questions is where do we start?  We will start where the pictures begin.  Some of the first pictures taken were of the wonderful guesthouse we stayed at.  We felt safe at all times and the staff at KVI guesthouse went above and beyond our expectations.  Keeping in mind that this is Ethiopia here are the pictures of the place we spent our week. Views from our balcony: 

 Yes, people live in the house in the middle.  More then one family actually!

 Entoto Mountain is the large hill in the back.

The bags are piles of charcoil.  This is sold to cook with and as a primary heat source for most people in Addis.  It is said to be very expensive. About 130birr a bag($8.00).

 This last one is of the gate out front.  The entire house is fenced in, barbed wire and all.  There is a man who runs the gate 24/7.  If anyone wants in they would need to knock and be let in.  If they were in a vehicle they would simply honk their horn until the gate would be open.

Outside this gate was a constant stream of people walking.  Children from the house complex(the metal structure) in the previous picture were always outside singing and playing. 

REALLY stranded in Amsterdam!

After checking multiple times at the British Airways transfer desk all day(which was never open)we were left with no other option then to do what we were told and print our boarding passes for our changed flight at the gate.  This is normal procedure we are told.  The only flaw with printing you boarding pass at the gate is that if there is a problem with the booking the airline has no time to fix it before the flight leaves.
Yes, that is what really happened.  We arrived at Gate D16 scanned our bags, walked up to the desk, asked to have our boarding passes printed and handed over our paperwork from KLM.  That is when British Airlines realized that KLM only booked one ticket for both of us on the flight! After waiting in the airport for over 7 hours we find out 30 minutes before we leave that KLM made a huge error and I had no ticket! They did not have room for both of us! All I could do was cry.
KLM then sent us to 2 different transfer stations. Finally got a nice man to figure things out for us. "This mistake should never happen" he told us.  Unfortunately due to our cancelled flight from the morning, 300 people had to be dispersed over multiple flights.  The earliest KLM could get us to Toronto is tomorrow leaving at 5:30pm.
Once the reality had set in that we will be hear for abother 30 hours. We have opted to see the postitive in the situation.
1.We will be flying top deck,first class on a 747 Jumbo Jet.
2.We will be treated to Drinks, Dinner, Breakfast and lunch courtesy of KLM.    
3.We are in a lovely hotel with the softest bed we have slept in in over a week.
4.We have always wanted to see Amsterdam.

So although the last 24 hours has been extremely frustrating for us we remind ourselves that we are so wonderfully blessed.  So we will be taking the train into Amsterdam tomorrow morning and taking in some sights.  Any suggestions on things we should see in a quick 5 hour tour of the city?:)

Stranded in Amsterdam

Not really but that is what it feels like.  Upon our 6:55am arrival in Amsterdam this morning we were informed that our 9:50am flight was cancelled.  We are now stuck in Amsterdam until 3:00pm at which point we will take an airbus to London have only ONE HOUR to switch flights and then take a 747(one of the big ones!) to Toronto.  So instead of our anticipated noon arrival in Toronto we will not be landing until 6:50pm this evening.   We are currently trying to print our boarding passes.  We have stood in over 3 lines already and each time we are told to go somewhere else.  The latest info is that they will print them at the gate before we get on the plane.   We have officially walked the entire airport at this point.  The Euros given to us will certainly come in handy today(Thanks Uncle Gene and Tanta Corry!)
Since we have time and we are on the topic of airports I'll describe the return trip until this point.
Arrival at Ethiopian airport. 
Line up for all bags and individuals need to be scanned on entry into the airport.
Line up for check in(Passport check #1).  Luggage belt breaks. Stand in line for 1 1/2hours as they manually transport all luggage from check in to the airplane thus drastically slowing down check in.
Line up for immigration(Passport check #2).  We get to fast track through this one as our plane is to take off in about an hour(otherwise it was at least a 2 hour wait).  Find our gate(there are NO signs in this airport).  Line up for another x-ray screening before our gate.  Found our gate.
Line up to get on plane. Try to get on the plane but apparently we missed a check in?!
Line up for last ticket check(Passport check #3). This last ticket check is directly to the right, again no sign, no line marking and no flow of traffic.
Line up to get on the plane again(Passport check #4).  Finally make it to our seats and airplane miraculously only leaves  45 minutes late.
Fly for 1 1/2hours to Khartoom. First attempt to land we had to pull up right before strip as there was too much crosswind.   Circle around and try again. This time successful.  At this point we have had at least two vomitting incidents in our section of the airplane.  Rest of the flight to Amsterdam fairly quiet as almost everyone slept.

An addition to things I never knew I didn't know:  If an airplane seat gets vomitted on they pull the whole seat cushion off and replace it with a new one they have on board.   Smart.    
 

Things I Never Knew I Didn't Know

As we prepare to leave here in the next 2 hours we thought we would leave you with things we learned while we were here.
1.  Toilet seats do not really serve a purpose.  The toilet works perfectly fine without one.
2. 4:00am is prayer call for Muslims.  They announce it with a special song over a city wide loud speaker(scares the poop out of you when you are sleeping!).
3. It is important to always carry toilet paper.  Not all cultures value its importance.
4. A macchiato must be accompanied with at least 3 beers(it is rude to say no).  You must drink all 4 drinks in 45 minutes and then go for a 2 hour car drive to get the full experience.
5. Roads were created for donkeys, dogs, goats and cattle.  Vehicles are strictly secondary.
6. Donkey traffic can seriously slow down ones journey.
7. Shower curtains do not serve a purpose either.  When removed, showers serve double duty as a full washroom cleaning while you shower.  Brilliant!
8. The easiest way to transport chickens is to simply hang them off the back of your car by their legs.
9. When locked inside your hotel room because your door handle falls off, simply knock, and someone from the outside will know to let you out.
10. Drain plugs not only work to keep the water in the sink but to also keep the smell down the drain.
MOSTLY - Ones happiness is not based on what you own, where you live or how much you make.  The poorest often have the biggest smiles!

Our Last Day Here

It is 3:20 on July 20,2003.  Very confusing but that is truly the time and date here right now.  The Ethiopians run of a 12 hour clock that starts when the sun comes up(it is really 9:20am right now).  They didn't hear about Christ birth until 7 years after us therefore it is only 2003AD here.  They also run on a 13 months calendar thus making it only July 20 today. 
Today marks our last day here.  This morning we will visit Entoto Mountain and then do some shopping at the market for items to take home.  This afternoon we will use the rest of our donation money to buy teff flour for the Adama orphanage and then take food supplies to the Addis orphanage.  We fly out at 10:55 tonight so will need to be at the airport at about 8:30.  
I will try to post daily in the next week with details, as some of the stories need pictures to really get the full effect!

We are back in Addis!

We arrived back at our guesthouse at 4:30pm.  What a great trip! So many great experiences!  I have realized that I will need to post past our trip as there are many pictures to share and we don't know how to load them on the guesthouse computer. 
Will post more later when I have more energy!