alive in addis

I'm borrowing this phrase from my friend and photographer David Johnson. It's true. Addis is more full of life than I could recall the last time I was in this city several years ago. I can't explain it, there is just another level of human expression taking place in this city.The flight was l o n g, but good. 17 hours later we arrived in Addis jet-lagged and half-asleep. The team has been dilirious all day but that hasn't stopped us from being amazed at the sights, sounds, smell and intangible energy of this city.
Awesome news right off the bat: the ministry of information cleared us for filming in Addis. In the past, many people have had cameras confiscated at the airport or weren't allowed access to parts of the city. Beza had someone on the inside and it was smooth sailing. Praise God.
We spent the afternoon up at Entoto Mountain. Half the team played soccer with loads of children. The other half split up and met with families infected with HIV but had successfully gone through the Community Center program and were now economically empowered and getting treated for their infection.
I'd seen this before from the last time, but all but 2 people had been to Addis some of whom hadn't even travelled overseas, so I spent some time observing their amazed reactions to what they were witnessing. So great to listen to these families stories. We're going to be interviewing them all week, so it was a great chance to build some raport and listen and appreciate their lives.

Eating Ethiopian food tonight then going to bed.

What a DAY!