our BIG news!

i don't write on a case of the mundays a lot. in fact, this is my first post. i'm a rookie so be gentle, please.

some of you might wonder why blair and i went to the vanderbilt travel clinic and spent almost $1,000 on vaccinations over the weekend. where to begin?

in college i spent three months in ethiopia. mostly, i hung out with kids in our neighborhood in addis ababa or the more rural villages where we traveled and played soccer. the trip was intended to be a mission trip, but i have to say that my mission and greatest joy was playing soccer with children (many who were orphans or otherwise living in extremely difficult situations). sometimes we played with tightly-rolled plastic bags for lack of an actual soccer ball. we got bloodied and bruised a lot, and on that trip i certainly had my fair share of sickness and sleepless nights. but my mind always goes back to the fun times with the kids.

when i suggested ethiopia as a honeymoon destination it was quickly vetoed, and not just by blair. friends, coworkers, and family thought it was a bad idea. so finally, a full ten years later i will return to ethiopia. i've wanted to return to see these grown up faces. maybe track them down. or maybe i'll make new friends all together. and i'm excited that i can share this adventure with blair. i get to share two more african countries that will be new to her (we have an extended layover in Cairo). together we'll see dusty, crowded cities and bucolic village life. and yes, we'll see hippopotamuses and monkeys.

people get excited about new passport stamps; in fact, i have an elaborate passport stamp and visa from my last trip to ethiopia. no matter where i travel now, morocco or mexico, the image of my friends in ethiopia is stamped on my mind forever.

- wade (the better half of a case of the mundays)