The Restless Ralstons: Recent Travels

SPAIN: April 2011
We visited Spain as an opportunity to meet up with James' sister and Sydnie's Australian cousins. Prior to meeting with them in Guardamar, outside Alicante, we had a chance to briefly visit Madrid, Toledo and Valencia. During this time I took some 500 pictures but lost 416 of them! Therefore very few photos of our time before meeting up with family (very sad, yes!). Rather then sharing a select few favorites, I put a lot of my favorites on an Animoto video.

SWITZERLAND: December 2010
Our most recent trip to Switzerland has definitely been a favorite. Not only was it Sydnie's first experience with snow (and wearing cold gear) but it was an incredibly beautiful country with our favorite big dogs (St. Bernards) and amazing mountains!

TURKEY: September 2010
Before the school year started, we spent a week in Istanbul, Turkey. Most of our time was spent in and around the city, but we did spend one day visiting Prince Island and James traveled to Galopoli for a day.

We could view the blue Mosque from our hotel room

No cars on the island, but there were carriage rides (Sydnie felt like Cinderella)!

I cracked my head in the hotel room and ended up in the ER!

KENYA: April and July 2010
In 2010, we traveled to Kenya twice. The first trip was to join a Habitat for Humanity team and visit a national park. The second trip was visit Lamu, an historical town on an island off the coast. Both were incredible trips (especially for the likes of me, who has a big heart for the dark continent)!

More about Ethiopia

*Ethiopia has been around for a very long time. The country's Rift Valley is known as the cradle of humanity - fossils of the oldest known upright hominid (4-million years old) were found here in 2005, surpassing the famous 3.5-million-year-old 'Lucy', which was discovered in the same region back in 1974.

*A thousand years before Christ, the Queen of Sheba, we are told, traveled to Jerusalem where she met King Solomon, married him, and had a son, Menelik. When Menelik reached maturity, it is said he left Jerusalem and took with him the Ark of the Covenant, containing the original 10 commandments, back to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church says it still has the ark in its possession. No one else makes such a claim...

*Ethiopia's official religion is the 1700 year old Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. The Jews of Ethiopia, Beta Israel, are said to have been there for 3000 years. And its Muslim adherents have practiced Islam for 1300 years. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South.

*Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to be under colonial rule, other than a brief occupation by Italy during WWII. You can visit many restaurants in Ethiopia today due to the influence of Italy during the occupation.

*Traditional Ethiopian food consists of various vegetable or meat dishes, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, which is a large crepe-like sourdough flatbread made from fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses a piece of the injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the sauces.

*The Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar – each have 13 months, 12 with 30 days each and the 13th month at the end of the year with 5 or 6 days, depending on whether it is a leap year. The year starts on September 11th (12th in a leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar, so Ethiopia recently celebrated their millennium on September 12, 2007.

*Coffee can be traced back to the 9th Century where it is believed a shepherd discovered coffee beans in the highlands of Ethiopia, namely the Kaffa region. The Ethiopian people are very proud of their coffee and they show this in their well known coffee ceremonies. The Coffee Ceremony is a very important part of socializing in Ethiopia and to be invited to a coffee ceremony is always considered a sign of respect and friendship.

*There are multiple tribes with different subcultures and over 80 languages in Ethiopia. The Amharic language is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia and is the official working language for Ethiopia.

*Family in Ethiopia includes immediate and extended relatives, neighbors, and friends. Faith and family are the foundation of the Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians are very respectful and loving. The elderly are considered very knowledgeable and as a very important part of the family structure. Children are usually raised in a large community that includes extended family and neighbors, and siblings are expected to help take care of each other.

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