Heading Home

We arrive at Lensa’s house. Her nephew is there and he speaks very good English. Lensa and her husband spent several years in the U.S. and her oldest son is old enough to know how much more pleasant it is. We watch the Olympics and drink coffee. I’ve come in well under Scott’s estimate of 22 cups. They bring out snacks including corn kernels that have been toasted. I wonder if it’s field corn since the kernels are larger and a bit tougher. It’s good.

We head to the airport and again all the children want to come. We get into the RAV and head over to the airport. We say or goodbyes and head inside. I’m looking for the right agent to see if we can snag some better seats. Unfortunately we’re quickly directed to an agent from Ethiopian airlines. It seems that Emirates relies primarily on Ethiopian Airlines agents and I’m skeptical that she’ll make much of an effort. I ask for an exit row or bulkhead seats. She tells me that she can’t do it. In fact, she runs into trouble just printing the tickets. She eventually gets help from the Emirates supervisor. There’s no line for customs so we’re soon upstairs.

Scott heads right for the Internet café while I roam around to kill some time. Most of the shops are closed, but as I roam around they start to open. It seems that most of the international traffic from Addis occurs in the evening. I check out a few shops, but there’s nothing particularly appealing. Everyone is huddled around TV’s at the cafés. Apparently the women’s 10k is imminent and Ethiopia has a shot at a medal. I head back to the Internet café and take a seat on the floor in front of the TV as the race starts.

A 10k is not a quick event. There are several commercial breaks along the way. Many of the ads are government sponsored anti-corruption ads and most of the balance involve a moderately overweight woman singing and dancing her way through a rug store. I don’t understand what they’re saying, but I suspect she may be the owner’s wife. The race is starting to sort out with the leaders starting to lap laggards. The announcer has been saying that the Ethiopian has the better final kick, so she has to be shaken before the last lap. As the final lap approaches more people crowd around the TV. The Ethiopian is holding tight in second place and in the final lap she passes and wins handily. The whole airport shouts with excitement. It’s a great Olympic moment.