New Experiences

One of the great joys of going through an intercounty adoption, is having the opportunity to learn and try new things and really push ourselves out of our little 'rural' comfort zone. Cory and I are busy in the 'paperwork phase' of the adoption. This means that we are busy getting fact sheets, physical examinations, copies of birth certificates, marriage certificates, and countless things notarized!!! We are also in the midst of doing countless hours of training. One of the workbooks that we are going through really makes us focus on the everyday life of adoption. It really makes us think on many levels on what we may experience before, during, and after the adoption while also trying to picture what our child is experiencing as we bring them home.

One of the 'tasks' to do was make an Ethiopian dinner or go to an Ethiopian restaurant.  If you know me, I was ecstatic about this assignment. I LOVE food....and I LOVE trying new food - I may not always like it, but usually I will at least try it. Many people always ask us about the food during our trips to Haiti, and Cory and I have no complaints. It's different and it's good! I mean, in Haiti, we get to eat PASTA for BREAKFAST - that is seriously a little piece of heaven for me!!!

So, Cory and I headed down to the Cities this weekend to help cheer on the MACCRAY Boys' Basketball team, so it was a perfect time to force, ask our friends to go with us and try some Ethiopian food.

We found a restaurant that was close to where we were in downtown Minneapolis. Our friends, as great as they are, weren't very sure about the Ethiopian food so we first stopped at a bar and grill for some hamburgers. After they were 'full', they were more willing to go with Cory and I on our experience.

We ordered the sampler platter because we figured that would give us the best overall experience of trying many different things. I'm sure our faces were priceless as they laid the plate down in front of us. I've been doing some looking on the internet, so I knew what to expect....our friends did not. They were looking around for the silverware until I explained that there is not silverware, you eat the food by breaking off pieces of a bread called Injera. Then you just scoop up the food in the bread and eat it. Again everyone was a little hesitant, but they were all willing to at least try it!

I, for one, didn't think it was that bad and enjoyed sampling all the different meats and vegetables. Some of our other friends also really enjoyed it....some said they were full and couldn't eat any more food :-) We also enjoyed a glass of honey wine and an Ethiopian beer.

Overall it was a very interesting experience and I'm very proud and thankful for our friends who are willing to share this experience with us!!! They are all amazing!!!

I wanted to take out my camera for a picture, but I figured I would look a little strange in doing that. If you are really curious, look it up on the interent. I'm sure it will make you all extremely hungry!!!