While we were traveling last week there were several times we said to ourselves "That would have been nice to know..." American World did an outstanding job of setting expectations and preparing us for our time in Ethiopia, but we did find some small things that we would recommend to future families that are going to travel to Ethiopia. Here is the list we have compiled for each phase of the trip:

Trip to Ethiopia

1. Ethiopia Visa - Once you get off the plane watch for the Visa counter before you go through Immigration.  You must get your visa first.  The process is easy but we missed the counter as the signs weren't very good, got in the Immigration line and then had to get back in the Visa line which was significantly longer at that point. 
2. Girmachew - He is a great host and will take good care of you.  He will look for you after you come out of customs at the Ethiopian airport.  We would have liked to have a picture of him so we would have had some idea of what he looked like also, so here is one we took:

In Ethiopia

1. Hilton Restaurant Dress Code:  no shorts or slippers.  Scott had to change one morning after he went down to breakfast as he was wearing shorts and they wouldn't let me in!
2. 220V Outlets - adapter is needed as the plugs are the 2 prong European style plugs.  However, a converter may not be neccessary depending on what you need to plug in.  For example, my laptop power supply, digital camera charger and camcorder charger all were able to handle the 220V so an adapter is all I needed.  Check your power supplies and if they say Input Voltage up to 240V or 250V then you should be fine with an adapter only.  Adapters are cheaper then adapter + converters so this may save you some $$$.
3. Blow Dryers in the Hotel Room - yes there is one even though Courtney said it wasn't as powerful as the one she uses at home.  It should suffice for most blow drying needs.
4. $50s & $100s for Exchanging Money - Don't bring bills any smaller then a $50 for exchanging money.  As AWAA suggests make sure they are all 2003 or later.  You get better exchange rates for a $50 or $100 then you do for a $20.  For paying your Consulate Fees any denomination of bills would work.
5. High Speed Internet Access - is available in rooms at the Hilton.  The cost per day is about $25 day though if you want to sign up.  In my opinion it is worth it as hearing from our friends and family during the trip was very encouraging!
6. Cell Phone Access - if you use a cell phone carrier that has GSM/GPRS service (your phone uses a SIM card... ours in Cingular) then you probably will be able to have cell phone access there.  Courtney's phone worked well (my didn't) so we could receive calls from our family as Ethiopia's cell network is GSM/GPRS based.  Be sure to check with your carrier on what the rates would be.  To make a call from the hotel room cost $3 USD minimum even if you were calling a toll free # on a calling card.
7. Men Wear Mostly Long Pants - In Ethiopia the Ethiopian men and teenagers all wear long pants only.  It's OK to wear shorts but you will be in the minority as in Ethiopia only kids wear shorts.  For us in May/June the weather never got any hotter then mid/upper-70s so long pants was fine.
8. Buy Bottled Water at Supermarket - on our first day we made a trip to the supermarket.  We recommend buying a case of bottled water there as it is much cheaper then buying it from the Hilton.  For example, 1 1.5L bottle at the Hilton costs 12.50 birr (about $1.50) where at the supermarket we got them for ~3 birr each (~$0.35).  Everything at the Hilton is more expensive.
9. Woolite to Wash Clothes - bring some woolite to wash clothes in your sink/tub.  It will save you money and allow you to use/reuse things that get dirty... especially baby clothes, wash rags, towels, etc.
10. Medicines for your Child - You cannot buy over-the-counter medicine in Ethiopia like you can in the US.  Any medicine must be obtained with a perscription.  This was an issue for us when we tried to get some children's decongestent for Noah.  We recommend you check with an Adoption Doctor or International Travel Doctor for medicines (over the counter and perscription) that you should take.  We took a few topical meds for potential skin issues, Amoxicillian as a general antibiotic, children's tylenol and children' benadryl.  The one additoinal medicine we highly recommend is a children's decongestent.  It seemed like the majority of the kids we saw in the orphanage has some type of cold or congestion issue.
11. Gifts for the Orphanage - Kids Care was very appreciative of some clothes and toys we brought that others had donated for us to take.  AWAA also recomended that we take some gifts for the care takers.  We ended up taking some lotions and candy for the ladies, we weren't sure how many to take but here is what we learned:
    -> Each room has 2 nannies at a time (at least the baby rooms do), and there are 3 shifts of nannies (total of 6)
    -> In addition there is a general nursing supervisor for the building where the babies room is (1 lady)
    -> In addition there is director of the orphanage (1 lady)
    --> Grand Total of 8 People at the orphanage to have gifts for
12. Ethiopian Airlines at the Hilton - they have a desk down stairs where you can talk to them and confirm your flight reservations.  This was much easier then calling them via the phone.  Girmachew will help you also if there are any language issues.  We confirmed our reservations on Tuesday and again on Thursday after we got Noah's passport.  This is when you need to buy tickets for your adopted children.
13. Paying Extras at Hilton - Any extra fees that get charged to your room at the Hilton (ie. room service, high speed internet, telephone calls, etc.) must be paid by you when you check out.  You can only pay with Ethiopian birr if you have the receipt from exchanging the money, otherwise they will not accept it.  The Hilton is run by the Ethiopian government so this is their way of ensuring people do not exchange money at illegal money exchangers.  You can also use a credit card to pay these expenses.

Trip Home

1. Ethiopian Airlines Baby Basinet - If you adopt a baby get a baby basinet from Ethiopian Airlines – we tried to do this and thought we had one reserved but when we got the airport we had not (which is NOT what the Ethiopian Airlines people told us at the Hilton.)  Anyways, the basinet means you will sit in one of the front rows by the bulkhead and once the plane is in the air they will attach a basket to the wall of the bulkhead.  This will give you somewhere to put your baby as they sleep and sit that is out of your lap.  This is FREE and can be included in the ticket price for your child (which is 10% of one adult’s ticket price – for us it was $186 USD.)  When you purchase your ticket for your child be adamant about reserving the bassinet and make sure you get some type of reservation confirmation of the basinet.  This is the step we missed and would do differently next time.
2. Ethiopia Exit Card - Make sure once you check in your luggage at the Addis airport that you fill out an Exit Card before you get in the Immigration line.  This is something we almost didn’t see and would have added 20 minutes to our trip through the airport.  The cards are at tables off to the left and the immigration booths are to the right after checking your luggage in.
3. If you don’t get #1 above ask the flight attendants for a row of seats with an extra seat for your baby.  The gate agent at the airport was not very helpful but we found the Ethiopian Airline flight attendants to be very willing to help.  They also were always willing to get us milk for Noah’s bottle throughout the flights.
4. US Citizen Line - Once you arrive in the US go to the US Citizen side of the immigration lines.  Even though your child is not a US Citizen you are and they will tell you the next steps on what to do with your adoption paperwork (in the sealed brown envelope.)
5. You do NOT need to fill out the green or white immigration form on the plane that they hand out for non-US citizens.  Your child will have an immigration visa which excludes them from filling out this form.