Enkutatash is the Ethiopian New Year and we rang in 2003 with a fun campfire sing along and some delicious injera.
I had read on another blog that families in Ethiopia enjoy singing around a fire on New Year's Eve and then they following day they get dressed in their traditional clothing to go to church followed by a delicious Ethiopian meal. Our take on that this year was to hang out as a family together and enjoy a little backyard s'mores session this past Saturday followed by a meet up at an Ethiopian restaurant with our nearby Ethiopian Adoptive community. And, it was a great weekend!!!
I am excited that Sweet M* has come to a point where he feels comfortable talking to us about Ethiopia. When he came home he had very conflicting feelings when I would even mention Ethiopia or anything that would remind him of his life prior to living with us. M* was very mad at Ethiopia (understandably) and he wanted nothing to do with it. But, recently his attitude started to change, so when I was invited to celebration I thought we would give it a try.
I talked to him everyday the week prior to the New Year about visiting the restaurant and teaching his family about eating with no fork... he liked that. We talked about how we were going to eat as a family and then we would come home as a family. It was a little confusing to him that you could eat Ethiopian food and not be in Ethiopia. I also pulled out the traditional Ethiopian outfit that we had bought for him in Ethiopia (he used to despise it) and to my surprise for the first time he was excited. He quickly put it on jumped in front of the mirror in my closet and declared how handsome he was. I obviously agreed.
I was still nervous (and I could tell he was too) as we drove to the restaurant, but it was magic watching him eat injera in his outfit and play with his Ethiopian buddies. I am so thankful that we have an active Ethiopian community nearby so that Sweet M* can get glimpses of his beautiful birth country and to help foster a sense of culture and belonging.
I had read on another blog that families in Ethiopia enjoy singing around a fire on New Year's Eve and then they following day they get dressed in their traditional clothing to go to church followed by a delicious Ethiopian meal. Our take on that this year was to hang out as a family together and enjoy a little backyard s'mores session this past Saturday followed by a meet up at an Ethiopian restaurant with our nearby Ethiopian Adoptive community. And, it was a great weekend!!!
I am excited that Sweet M* has come to a point where he feels comfortable talking to us about Ethiopia. When he came home he had very conflicting feelings when I would even mention Ethiopia or anything that would remind him of his life prior to living with us. M* was very mad at Ethiopia (understandably) and he wanted nothing to do with it. But, recently his attitude started to change, so when I was invited to celebration I thought we would give it a try.
I talked to him everyday the week prior to the New Year about visiting the restaurant and teaching his family about eating with no fork... he liked that. We talked about how we were going to eat as a family and then we would come home as a family. It was a little confusing to him that you could eat Ethiopian food and not be in Ethiopia. I also pulled out the traditional Ethiopian outfit that we had bought for him in Ethiopia (he used to despise it) and to my surprise for the first time he was excited. He quickly put it on jumped in front of the mirror in my closet and declared how handsome he was. I obviously agreed.
I was still nervous (and I could tell he was too) as we drove to the restaurant, but it was magic watching him eat injera in his outfit and play with his Ethiopian buddies. I am so thankful that we have an active Ethiopian community nearby so that Sweet M* can get glimpses of his beautiful birth country and to help foster a sense of culture and belonging.
