[blueberry1966]

Does anyone know how long it takes to get a tourist VISA from the Ethiopian Embassy? We need it for our trip, but are not sure how long it will take to get it. Any information would be helpful.

Thanks!

[Verbena]

Hi Blueberry,

We are going to pick up our daughter in Ethiopia on April 2nd!!! We Priority Mailed in our application for visas on a thursday (included a prepaid Express Mail return envelope for safety of passports) and got it all back stamped & official the following Wednesday. It was pretty fast, but apparently can take up to 2 weeks. When are you going?

~Verbena

[blueberry1966]

We are traveling on April 2 too!! We are going to pick up our twins. We are really excited, but a little nervous, because we just sent in our VISA application last Thursday. They recieved it on Friday, so we should get it back any day now. We have a friend who is also travelling on April 2, who sent her information in at the beginning of last week and got it back on Monday, so we are not too worried.

[Verbena]

What agency are you with, Blueberry? We should try to hook up! Aren't you excited? I'm practically ready to explode. I wouldn't worry about the visa app. I'm sure it's on its way back to you by now. My sister had an issue with her visa to Afghanistan last year, but was able to call the embassy and get it whipped into shape fast. Best of luck! Feel free to email me if you want to.

~Verbena

[blueberry1966]

We are very excited!! Our agency is Wide Horizons. We have our travel meeting tomorrow to find out all of the finer details of our trip. It didn't take as long as we thought that it would to process the dossier, get our referral, and then the travel date, so now we are really scrambling to get everything ready for two babies!!

We would travel tomorrow though, if it were possible. It's amazing how much you can miss people you haven't even met yet!

[Verbena]

It was SO nice to meet you and dh today, Blueberry! Can hardly believe that 1.) we are with the same agency, 2.) we are going at the same time, on the same flights, & staying at the same hotel, and 3.) THAT WE ARE GOING IN 2 WEEKS TO MEET OUR CHILDREN!!!!!! Yes, I am nearing hysteria. I might just explode before the 2 weeks is up!

Finished Kali's room tonight; putting up the curtains and on with the bed's dust ruffle. Really cannot believe that there will be a little girl in that room in 3 weeks!

xoxo
Verbena

PS. Was the visa in the mail today???

[blueberry1966]

Yes, the VISAs were at the post office - yeah!! One less thing to worry about.

It was really nice to meet you and your dh too! It is really strange that we are from the same area, and will be travelling at the same time. You looked so calm - it's hard to imagine that you are really nearing hysteria. I am not quite hysterical, but I am sure that I will be the closer it gets! Panicked might be a better word for us, right now.


Matt and his dad are working on painting the nursery today. My friends from work had a baby shower for us last night. It was lovely. Must admit that I am a bit overwhelmed with all of the baby stuff!! I have organized most of the stuff that we need to bring with us for the babies, and hopefully we will figure out the rest of it as we go along.

[Verbena]

Yahoo! Congratulations on the visa being there!

It was so good to meet our "travel mates", wasn't it? It's nice to know others feel as overwhelmed as we do! Thanks for the thought that I'm calm. I really am SO freaked out that I've flipped into this wierd unfocused space. LOL At least I'm not having those nightmares anymore!!!

We painted our daughter's room last week and I had a bunch of friends come over to help me do the details. We painted it a light sky blue with glazed clouds, long grass around the bottom and butterflies/ladybugs/flowers/etc. scattered. It looks really nice I think, but now I need to find a plain bedspread to go with it. Hmmmm. So glad you got a bunch of stuff from the shower. We did too, and it was a Godsend really. I'm sure I'll need more clothes, but at least we have enough to get us through until we see her actual sizes.

I'm really excited for you guys, Blueberry. TWINS! You're very brave.

[teranga]

Hi there,
congratulations to those about to travel!! We just returned on March 7 with our little boy. It was a fabulous trip.

Just so anyone else reading this knows...you don't have to get your Ethiopian visa in advance--you can get it at the airport in Addis once you arrive. We did it this way--it's only $20 per person and took all of about 10 minutes.

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

[jaenelle]

Is traveling to Ethiopia safe? I've read things from a couple agencies that said it isn't and encourage you not to travel. Then a couple other agencies have said they encourage people to travel to get their children. Obviously people do travel and make it home fine; I guess I'm just a little scared... I've flown several times but only pretty short flights, and I assume there would be nothing short about a flight to Ethiopia!

Any thoughts to share with me on this?

[teranga]

I believe all 4 agencies now recommend travel. I know AFAA's website advises against it, but I think theirs is the only one which does, and when I was looking into agencies I emailed AFAA about this and Cheryl (who runs the agency) told me they feel it is safe as well and need to update their site (which they still haven't).

I felt very safe there, both in terms of petty crime (pickpockets, etc) and more serious crime. The people are very friendly and warm. I've done a lot of travel in developing countries, and had a very high comfort level in Addis (and outside Addis. We travelled a bit when there). Keep in mind that both the African Union and UN have headquarters in Addis, so there are lots of businesspeople there on a regular basis. It is a modern and comfortable city. As with anywhere these days, terrorism can occur so it probably makes sense to steer clear of places where Americans hang out, etc. But that's true anywhere in the world as Americans are not loved by a lot of people...Common sense precautions would make sense, but nothing more than that seemed necessary.

It was a great trip, tons of tourists and businesspeople are there, and it felt very safe.

I am happy to share thoughts on hotels, etc either on or offlist if you're interested.

[mossleygirl]

Hi there


I have just read all these messages about going to pick up your children in April!! how did that go?? I would love to hear all.
We are also wanting twins..could you tell us how things are and how it was when you first got them? How old are they?

Please respond..if you have time!