Here is Day two of our trip back in may
Day 2 – Embassy Day
We woke up at 6:00 AM local time. We had to wake up because that is when the Muslim prayers are said over a loud speaker that is loud enough to be heard in England. Seriously, this is broadcast over speakers like we use at home for tornado sirens. Plus, this guy was on fire…..he went on for freakin’ ever. I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying since, like most Imams, this one was not praying in English. This was the icing on the cake since it became apparent last night that roosters here crow even when it is dark and the neighborhood dogs enjoy barking only after 2AM.
Heather and I got dressed and went in for breakfast. The dining room is a neat room with two, huge framed pictures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (they used this agency too). I asked if they would like a glamour shot of Heather but they didn’t really know what a glamour shot was. We were not quite sure what to expect for breakfast. It turned out to be great… French toast that was a little heavy on cinnamon but good none the less. The coffee here is absolutely awesome. This is the birth place of coffee so I guess it should be pretty good. Plus the people who work here are simply the best. They are more than accommodating and try to do the very best they can with what they have.
Oh, I forgot to mention the bathroom developed a very strong mold and mildew smell over night. We are having a really hard time with the bathroom. It is just really gross. Heather compared it to an epidural…..you think you can tough it out but when reality sets in, the pain is just too much! But we are managing. Also, I forgot to mention before that the toilet seats here are square. I am not really sure why but I can tell you this…..they are no more comfortable than the sandpaper Ethiopians call toilet paper.
OK, after breakfast we walked a block to the older children’s orphanage. Wow, what a great experience. The nannies here are just amazing. You can tell that they really love these kids. They are constantly picking them up or wiping runny noses. By the way, nose run like a raging river with these kids. I think it is just really easy for them to get little bugs. Anyway, in the older kid orphanage, there are about 50 kids varying in age form 1 and a half to 6 years old. They get so excited when you come to see them. They are like a mob, craving attention and hoping beyond hope that you are the one that has come to take them out of this place. Most of them seem happy enough given their circumstances. It is hard to miss the ones who are deeply saddened by their lot, though. There was one little girl that had just come to the orphanage a week prior to our visit. She is about 2, maybe 2 and a half. I am not sure that I have ever witnessed as much sadness on another human being’s face as I was able to see in hers. She was not interested in the hard candy the rest of the kids were fighting over. She just sat there in the middle of the room with a blank look on her face as if she still believed that this was temporary… that surely someone would be back to get her soon. Heather did her best to get her to laugh but was only successful in getting one faint smile out of her. I am not sure I will ever forget this little girl. I know it sounds cheesy to say something will haunt you but this might do it for me.
These are the lucky kids. We have already seen tons of kids who have very little. The orphanage is surrounded by tin shacks where people make their homes. They have rocks on top of the tin roofs to keep them from blowing off and they sit by side with only a wall separating them from each other. The walls are tin, paper or mud. These ghettos go on for blocks and blocks.
We spent some time with Greyson this morning, which was great. He played outside in a walker and was cruising around like he owned the joint. He is a very serious character. Not mad or sad just serious. He has a great disposition and is a joy to be around.
Lunch was wonderful, a good mix of Italian food and vegetables. I had seconds but not that surprises any of you!
Next came our Embassy visit. This is where all of the adopting families load up their new kids at the same time and cart them off to U.S. embassy workers to explain why you want to adopt them and obtain an entry visa for the child. Let me just start by saying that there was only two small vans for 8 families, seriously. There are no safety seats and no seat belts so you just kind of do it on faith. Greyson wasn’t sure about the whole ordeal and became a little fussy…..nothing a few hundred Cheerios couldn’t fix, though. Upon our arrival at the embassy, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. It is not that expected a 30 foot bronze statue of the President or anything but I at least thought it would have a big American flag and a sign or something. There was nothing. You could have driven by and never known that the embassy was there. I think maybe they do that on purpose. No use putting a big poster of Bush out there to act as a target. Upon entering they did have a big picture of W flanked on either side by Cheney and Condi.
The appointment was uneventful and we left the official parents of Greyson. It was sort of an anti-climatic ending to a 14 month process but we were just glad it was done! God really came through for us.
Sorry none of you are able to see pictures. Our blog isn’t working here and the only internet they have is dial up. The pictures just take up too much space for us to send. We will get out a slide show upon our return.
Tonight we closed the day with dinner at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant where they had dancers performing the dances of some of the 85 different tribes found in Ethiopia. It was very cool. The food was unbelievable. It doesn’t look very appealing but it tastes great! It was pretty spicy, which Heather loved. The Ethiopian beer isn’t bad either. It is kind of a mix between a Pale Ale and a Wheat Beer.
In closing, we just want to let everyone know that they have moved our family visit to Thursday so we won’t be doing that on Tuesday as we first thought. A few families have already had their trips to meet the birth families and they said it was awesome. We are praying that our experience will be similar. Each adopting family is supposed to write a note that they read aloud to the family through an interpreter. Heather wrote ours and I have to tell you it is great. I hope Greyson’s mom is moved as much as I was when I read it.
All is well. The only problem we have had and are having is that we miss the girls so much it has brought us both to tears at times. We know they are having a blast and are in great hands but we just miss their sweet faces.
Day 2 – Embassy Day
We woke up at 6:00 AM local time. We had to wake up because that is when the Muslim prayers are said over a loud speaker that is loud enough to be heard in England. Seriously, this is broadcast over speakers like we use at home for tornado sirens. Plus, this guy was on fire…..he went on for freakin’ ever. I couldn’t quite make out what he was saying since, like most Imams, this one was not praying in English. This was the icing on the cake since it became apparent last night that roosters here crow even when it is dark and the neighborhood dogs enjoy barking only after 2AM.
Heather and I got dressed and went in for breakfast. The dining room is a neat room with two, huge framed pictures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (they used this agency too). I asked if they would like a glamour shot of Heather but they didn’t really know what a glamour shot was. We were not quite sure what to expect for breakfast. It turned out to be great… French toast that was a little heavy on cinnamon but good none the less. The coffee here is absolutely awesome. This is the birth place of coffee so I guess it should be pretty good. Plus the people who work here are simply the best. They are more than accommodating and try to do the very best they can with what they have.
Oh, I forgot to mention the bathroom developed a very strong mold and mildew smell over night. We are having a really hard time with the bathroom. It is just really gross. Heather compared it to an epidural…..you think you can tough it out but when reality sets in, the pain is just too much! But we are managing. Also, I forgot to mention before that the toilet seats here are square. I am not really sure why but I can tell you this…..they are no more comfortable than the sandpaper Ethiopians call toilet paper.
OK, after breakfast we walked a block to the older children’s orphanage. Wow, what a great experience. The nannies here are just amazing. You can tell that they really love these kids. They are constantly picking them up or wiping runny noses. By the way, nose run like a raging river with these kids. I think it is just really easy for them to get little bugs. Anyway, in the older kid orphanage, there are about 50 kids varying in age form 1 and a half to 6 years old. They get so excited when you come to see them. They are like a mob, craving attention and hoping beyond hope that you are the one that has come to take them out of this place. Most of them seem happy enough given their circumstances. It is hard to miss the ones who are deeply saddened by their lot, though. There was one little girl that had just come to the orphanage a week prior to our visit. She is about 2, maybe 2 and a half. I am not sure that I have ever witnessed as much sadness on another human being’s face as I was able to see in hers. She was not interested in the hard candy the rest of the kids were fighting over. She just sat there in the middle of the room with a blank look on her face as if she still believed that this was temporary… that surely someone would be back to get her soon. Heather did her best to get her to laugh but was only successful in getting one faint smile out of her. I am not sure I will ever forget this little girl. I know it sounds cheesy to say something will haunt you but this might do it for me.
These are the lucky kids. We have already seen tons of kids who have very little. The orphanage is surrounded by tin shacks where people make their homes. They have rocks on top of the tin roofs to keep them from blowing off and they sit by side with only a wall separating them from each other. The walls are tin, paper or mud. These ghettos go on for blocks and blocks.
We spent some time with Greyson this morning, which was great. He played outside in a walker and was cruising around like he owned the joint. He is a very serious character. Not mad or sad just serious. He has a great disposition and is a joy to be around.
Lunch was wonderful, a good mix of Italian food and vegetables. I had seconds but not that surprises any of you!
Next came our Embassy visit. This is where all of the adopting families load up their new kids at the same time and cart them off to U.S. embassy workers to explain why you want to adopt them and obtain an entry visa for the child. Let me just start by saying that there was only two small vans for 8 families, seriously. There are no safety seats and no seat belts so you just kind of do it on faith. Greyson wasn’t sure about the whole ordeal and became a little fussy…..nothing a few hundred Cheerios couldn’t fix, though. Upon our arrival at the embassy, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. It is not that expected a 30 foot bronze statue of the President or anything but I at least thought it would have a big American flag and a sign or something. There was nothing. You could have driven by and never known that the embassy was there. I think maybe they do that on purpose. No use putting a big poster of Bush out there to act as a target. Upon entering they did have a big picture of W flanked on either side by Cheney and Condi.
The appointment was uneventful and we left the official parents of Greyson. It was sort of an anti-climatic ending to a 14 month process but we were just glad it was done! God really came through for us.
Sorry none of you are able to see pictures. Our blog isn’t working here and the only internet they have is dial up. The pictures just take up too much space for us to send. We will get out a slide show upon our return.
Tonight we closed the day with dinner at a traditional Ethiopian restaurant where they had dancers performing the dances of some of the 85 different tribes found in Ethiopia. It was very cool. The food was unbelievable. It doesn’t look very appealing but it tastes great! It was pretty spicy, which Heather loved. The Ethiopian beer isn’t bad either. It is kind of a mix between a Pale Ale and a Wheat Beer.
In closing, we just want to let everyone know that they have moved our family visit to Thursday so we won’t be doing that on Tuesday as we first thought. A few families have already had their trips to meet the birth families and they said it was awesome. We are praying that our experience will be similar. Each adopting family is supposed to write a note that they read aloud to the family through an interpreter. Heather wrote ours and I have to tell you it is great. I hope Greyson’s mom is moved as much as I was when I read it.
All is well. The only problem we have had and are having is that we miss the girls so much it has brought us both to tears at times. We know they are having a blast and are in great hands but we just miss their sweet faces.
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