9-21-2007

Sup All,

This one is going out to all my homies back home and wherever. First of all let me thank all of you for your love and support with Rachael & My wedding, even if you were not present you have helped me become the person I am today and with out that influence I would not be where I am, and for the first time in a little while I know that I am exactly where I should be and doing exactly what I should be doing.

Let me bring you up to speed. After the wedding Rachael and I hoped a plane for Italy on our way to Ethiopia. I have never traveled internationally so I was concerned about getting sick but not to worry I got sick about a day and a half before we even got on the plane so getting sick over seas was not really anything to worry about. So I was not feeling well on the plane but I got some Ginger Ale and Sun Chips (the traditional medicines of white bread, crackers like me) and it really helped to settle my stomach. We switched planes in Cincinnati before we crossed the Atlantic, we had to run to catch our connecting flight and when you are playing Russian roulette with every thing you eat running while carrying about 50 lbs. of carry on bags is not a great idea. We made the flight and as the flight attendant checked our tickets I thought she said that Rachael and I were sitting on opposite sides of the airplane, I did not react well to the news but when I realized that we were in fact sitting together I just felt like a jerk (I was really sick remember). We found our seats and I still felt like a jerk and got up and apologized to the flight attendant and explained the situation and asked her forgiveness, she was very gracious and I felt better.

Apologies work. Just before we started taxiing to the runway the same flight attendant asked us if we would like to sit in two empty seats in first class, of course we did, I was still Ill but we were both a lot more comfortable.

Italy was so great, expensive but great. There is really no substitute for being there and actually seeing the things that we study in humanities. Things like The Pieta, The David, The Pantheon, The Forum, Circus Maximus, The Coliseum, The Grand Canal of Venice and the most inspiring to me, my new wife Rachael are impossible to describe with any sense of justice. They truly have to be experienced first person.

When we left Italy we were sad to go but excited to move on to our next adventure, 3 and a half months in Debre Zeit Ethiopia as humanitarian interns. We flew Ethiopian Air from Rome to Addis Ababa, the capitol of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Air is a little like flying on a Greyhound bus but the T.V.’s had a compass cycle through that always pointed the way to Mecca; at least I think that was what was happening. When we arrived we had to negotiate with customs so that we could bring the office computer we carried from Salt Lake City. The officer ran the computer through the x-ray machine and said that he would have to charge us “umm… maybe $50.” I responded “No” Rachael continued to negotiate with him while I made sure none of our other bags wandered off with curious officials. Rachael did a pretty good job negotiating because she got him down from $50 to $0 so persistence pays.

We were hoping for someone from Ascend Alliance (the organization we are interning with) to pick us up at the airport but this is Ethiopia and no one was there so we took the Sheraton shuttle and spent a night at the hotel, it is part of the “Sheraton Luxury Collection” and that is not an exaggeration, it is by far the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at. The next day we were picked up by the in country staff and taken to the office/intern house in Debre Zeit. We stayed one night there because the next day was the Ethiopian Millennium and the government was shutting down for a week. So to be sure that we would be able to get the supplies we needed we went back to Addis Ababa and stayed in the office apartment there. It was a fun week with out any means to cook food but we bought lots of bread and Nutella.

For the millennium we were picked up by Nigatu (the head of the Ethiopian work for Ascend Alliance) and taken down town to celebrate. The highlight of the evening was when Nigatu was distracted by fireworks and rolled the truck into the van parked in the middle of the street in front of us (I do not think the traffic laws are as strict as they are in the US). The driver of the van was a little upset and opened Nigatu’s door and tried to pull him out and beat him. I was a little unnerved by the experience.

Ethiopia truly is a beautiful country full of wonderful people and we are doing much to improve the lives of the villagers we are working with, unfortunately much of that is talking to politicians so that we can get approval for the water projects and other things we are working on.

Well, that is probably enough from me for now, know that I love you and am so grateful for the friendship you have shared. Personally think it is a little hokey when people say things like that in mass letters but this time I mean it. Please forward this on to anyone that you know would like to receive it because I just may not have their email address.

Thanks again I hope to write a few more of these while I am here too keep everyone posted. Because telecommunications here are a bit spotty I will not be able to keep up my usual means of communication, like showing up uninvited, eating all your food and watching your T.V. but remember I will be back at Christmas so we can pick right back up where we started.

Love,

Gavin Goodwin