pre--production and city life.

When I think about all we have to do to make these short films possible, I get so overwhelmed that my head spins. But I have the most incredible team, and we're getting things done one step at a time.

Yesterday was our last location scouting day. Aaron, Fasil, Abinezer, and I had to cross the highway and climb over mounds of construction dirt to get to a taxi, and the rest of the day stayed on a similar note. There are so many people everywhere you go, and they all want you to buy something. Don't anyone tell my sister, but we pass skinny horses on the sidewalks all the time; apparently if they're just out there all alone, they're free to anyone who wants them. The same goes for donkeys. We found a soccer field that we really like, in the back of a church, but then we discovered that they don't have lawn mowers in Ethiopia and so the field was no longer an option. I suggested that we just bring in a herd of goats, but they laughed at me.

Today was casting day, and the Lord definitely answered a few prayers. We were afraid that no one would respond to the casting calls, but the lobby of our hotel was filled with people who wanted to audition; around seventy-five, for just three short films! And Mehiret told us that some of them were really famous Ethiopian actors, too.

I spent the afternoon story-boarding and writing up shot lists with the first assistant director, and then watched Cars with a few film track people on the first floor. We watched Cars mostly because this adorable little boy in a suit and dress shoes came up and wanted to hang out with us. He took my roommate's iPhone eventually and took about fifty pictures of himself, then found an app that sends voice messages to people. His first message, to her sister, said, "Hey. How are you? Where are you? If you are safe...I will find you." And his second, also to her sister, said, "Hey. How are you? When you hear me speak...you need me. I know it." We died laughing, until he told us, "Hey, don't make jokes of me!"

Tonight on the bus on our way home from a team social, we saw a sign with the McDonald's M and everyone flipped out...until they saw it was false advertising for a little booth selling burgers, and they were furious. Everyone is getting pretty tired of rice and pasta, I think. There is a lot of that at the restaurants here.

Today was apparently sick day; nearly everyone is under the weather. Thankfully I'm fine, but if the guy on the first floor keeps filling the stairwells with smoke, that won't last long.

Oh, and I narrowly escaped being pick-pocketed the other night. I was trying to close an umbrella, and when I turned around some man was tugging at my bag. I'm luckier than some; a few people have had things stolen. One girl on the campus track nearly got dragged away by a crazy lady on the street who really wanted to take her home.

For the most part though, it's pretty safe to walk around the city, as long as you keep your bag in sight and watch out when the kids come up trying to sell you stuff. People yell at you a lot - they just say "You! You! You!" or "Ferengi!" (derived from "Frenchy") but they don't mean any harm. There just aren't a lot of white people here. The kids get so excited if you wave at them, and some people just want to come up and practice their English. There was one man, though, who cornered some of the guys and started talking about "the man who is destroying America" and someone coming from outer space, and he finished with, "I will find that man. And I will kill him." And then he made a dramatic exit.

Time to go see if the front desk sent up our towels. Thanks again for your comments and prayers - keep them up! I love hearing from you all.