Language Lessons!



Ethiopia is often referred to as the "Cradle of Humanity."  Our girls are from Afar, the region where fossils of the humanoid, "Lucy" were found and dated to 3.2 million years ago.   More recently, even older humanoid fossils were found and are roughly 4.4  million years old.   The language of the region is Afarigna.  "H" at 6 1/2 will clearly be fluent in Afarigna and "F" will surly have some receptive abilities in the language.  While in orphanage care, the girls will be exposed to Amharic, and then once in the US, will need to learn English.  That's a tall order!  For our part, I am sloooooowly learning Amharic words and phrases so that we have some ability to communicate with the girls.  I'm also going to take pictures that represent basic needs (food, bed, potty, hug),  laminate them and put them on a big circular ring so we can point and gesture.  That should at least get us through the airplane ride!  Although our social worker recently reminded me that we won't see any of the other passengers again (that's a relief)!