Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Simple Amharic For Adoptive Families

Good Morning, all! We are having a record breaking week over here at Give1 Save1! The Mortellites have made over $1600 (this, embarassingly, makes me cry a little bit every time I check my email). Thanks for all that. There's still plenty of week left, so keep on giving if it makes you feel good.

Oh, you know who else likes giving? Amy Kendall, author of Simple Language for Adoptive Families. She has generously donated 5 copies of Simple Amharic for Adoptive Families and we're holding a little giveaway right here. I'll let Kelly and Nick tell you a little about their experience with the language.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj6n5RCK1KU]

I have the book and we are steady plugging along with it. The thing I love about this book is that it comes with a CD so I can slowly hear what it's supposed to sound like, and it's written out the way you are supposed to say it. You don't have to learn all the grammar laws and you don't have to learn how to chit chat. You learn what you need to say to your kid when they have NO idea what you are talking about and you're about to put them on a PLANE. You learn how to ask if they are sleepy or hungry or if they have to go to the bathroom. And you get to learn how to say "I am your mom" and "You are my daughter". I love that. It bridges the gap until they start learning English a bit better, but more importantly provides much needed familiarity and comfort to the child.

So, if you are adopting from Ethiopia, or thinking about it, this book is the way to go. Want one? I've got five and there are five ways to win. It all goes down in the comment section. You'll get one entry for sharing on facebook, one for liking Give1 Save1 on facebook, one for a comment telling me why you'd like to learn Amharic, one for a blog post, and one for donating to the Family of the Week, the Mortellites. Just tell me what you did in the comments section.

And suppose you're adopting from somewhere else?... Well, Simple Language also comes in Chinese, Haitian Creole (hopefully I'll be needing this one someday), Spanish, and Russian. If you don't win a book, hop over here and buy one. For $30 it's well worth the purchase. I use mine in the car when I go pick Will up from school, but the book is compact and easy to take around. I highly recommend. So good luck! We'll let you know who wins on Saturday morning.

Have a good one,

Beth

7 comments:

  1. Hi! I would loove a copy of this book/CD as my husband and I seek to learn a bit of Amharic to be able to communicate whenever we go to Ethiopia to pick up our child! We are in the beginning process (dossier stage) of the adoption, and we have been looking for some resources to help us learn some Amharic for communication in Ethiopia, as well as when home with our child, as he/she may be up to five years of age. Also, while our child's new culture will be American, we do not want to completely let go of his/her Ethiopian heritage, and would like to be able to hold onto some of the language, which will be much easier if we are familiar with it as well.

    I have also shared this blog on facebook, liked Give1Share1 on facebook, and we gave to the Mortellites yesterday!

    Thanks for this great opportunity =)

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  2. 1. I would LOVE this to help prepare my husband and myself to pick up our own daughter in Ethiopia, when that wonderful day comes! We will definitely need to know a little of the language to help make the transition easier for her.

    2. Donated! What a sweet couple they are!

    3. Like Give1 on facebook!

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  3. Hey Friend!
    God bless you and Amy Kendall! We would love to be able to share our love and the love of Christ with our new kiddos using their native language. Maddie and Ben are really excited about learning Amharic and using it on mission in ET and at home too.
    Blog about the amazing G1S1 site...done!
    Become a FB fan...done!
    FB post...done!
    Help the Mortellites reach 2K...DONE! <>

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  4. 1. I would like to win this book so that we can learn to be able to communicate with our future children. We are hopingto adopt siblings up to the age of 5 and this book will help us to be able to talk to then and bind with them better.

    2. I like Give1Save1 on Facebook

    3. We gave to the Mortellites.

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  5. I'd love this to learn Amharic to speak it to our future adopted child!

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  6. I am Kelly's mom, Nick's mother-in-law. (the Mortellite's). I have posted and liked on FB, have written a comment and spread the word to family, friends, and coworkers. And, I am donating. I would like to win so I can learn Amharic and speak to my new granddaughter in her language. I will share things from our family with her for new traditions, a sense of developing roots here, giving her a sense of belonging, and to let her know that she is so loved and a part of our family...but I also want to honor and respect her heritage by having that connection with the country where she was born...a country that is now strongly in the hearts of Kelly and Nick...and now all of us who know and love them. I know it will also ease the transition for her. I am so touched by give1save1 and all of the wonderful people I've "met" through your site. Blessings and gratitude to everyone. Thank you.

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  7. Oh my I would LOVE to win this!! We are in the process of adopting a little girl from Ethiopia and want so badly to learn to communicate with her. We have 2 boys ages 3 and 4 and they are also asking to learn new words so they too can communicate with their sister. I also liked Give1Save1 on FB ;o)

    ReplyDelete