A Quick Stop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Leonard and I started in Ethiopia, paying a quick visit to our two children and one niece volunteering at the book center where I snipped the ribbon for the opening last spring. Around Christmas time, when our homesick daughter heard that we would only be in Ethiopia four days, she’d made major whimpering noises.  In response, Leonard decided to extend his stay and catch up with me in Kuwait.

Rebekah with her dad (Leonard) in Addis Ababa

The closer we came to the night when I would fly from Addis to Kuwait City via Dubai, the less this seemed like a good idea.  When I said my moist farewells at the Addis Ababa airport—exchanging last minute sweetness with Yohannes, Jonathan, Erin and Rebekah over a barricade—it seemed a very bad plan. 

“Don’t die,” my daughter begged.

“Don’t do anything heroic,” my son added.

I smiled feebly, waved goodbye, and draped a netela around my shoulders, ready to cover my head if that seemed culturally appropriate.  Obeying loudspeaker orders to enter the gate area (though it was still hours before the flight was due to leave), I settled myself in, taking a seat next to the one other woman who was dressed in western clothes.  Then I took out Reading Lolita in Tehran.  According to the guidebook, any reading materials considered inappropriate could be confiscated at the Kuwait airport, and I thought I should at least sample my book before that happened.

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