Coming Home Early

We got the wonderful news today that our paperwork set a new time record and finished up today.  As soon as I heard, I ran out the door and flagged down the first blue taxi I saw to take me to the Ethiopian Airline office at the Hilton.  I was hoping that I would get lucky and get three seats to the US tonight (Tuesday), but they were booked.  Ethiopian Airlines does not have a flight on Wednesday but we were able to get on the Thursday flight.  This will put us back in our home airport on Friday at 2pm – a full day earlier than the original plan.

 

Anna is doing great, although she is playing favorites.  She has developed a little attitude with CrazyMom and then she is all warm and fuzzy with me  "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" is evidently a phrase she has not heard yet.

To Sodo and Back

CrazyMom, Anna, and I made an overnight trip south to Sodo.  This is the town that all three of our Ethiopian kids are from.  It was quite the adventure that can't be contained in the 400+ pictures that we took.  There were many aspects to the trip, but in this post I will focus primarily on the overarching impressions of rural Ethiopia.

 

When one travels out of Addis, there are several dominate things that you see.  The first is the people.  You get to see a lot of people because the road is a corridor of life.  People meet on the road, hang out on the road, carry critical supplies like water, food, and fuel on the road, sell their goods on the road, and use the road to drive their livestock to water.   You see men and boys as young as six bearing sticks and driving cattle or goats to water. You see donkeys in various states of health carrying loads of all kinds.  You see women and girls carrying wood or other supplies too heavy for their bodies.  You see children on the way to or from their 1/2 day of school.  You see babies wrapped tightly on the backs of their mothers or sisters.  You see many, many, many people looking for a ride. 

 

It is hard not to reflect on how much effort these people expend getting unsafe drinking water to their homes and how little effort it takes for me to turn on a faucet.  Imagine walking miles to a creek carrying a child on your back just to dip water into your dirty yellow jug while others are bathing and doing laundry nearby. 

 

The houses the people live in also stand out.  You see a lot of the traditional round thatch-covered huts called gojobets.  The sides are made of sticks put into the ground close together.  The nicer ones have been covered with a mud/straw mixture to keep out the elements.  The nicest ones have been painted on the outside with warm earth tones or some even had paintings of animals.  Most of these homes have established their compound by setting up some sort of boarder of rocks or sticks in the ground.  I have seen many picturesque photos of these huts nestled in the hills overlooking a valley.  While they may be picturesque, the reality of living in one without running water anywhere nearby is much different.  In addition to the traditional round homes, some of the homes had the same building materials but were in the more modern rectangle shape.  The nicer homes had tin roofs.

 

Every so often you pass through a rural town that in some ways reminds one of America - a main drag through a small town with a cluster of shops and stores.  Every once in awhile there is an eye popping nice building that is multi story with glass windows that seemed a little out of place.

 

The road was pretty good most of the way.  They are working hard at paving it and there are only a few miles left to be paved.  A trip that we heard takes seven to eight hours only took us six on the way down (due to a lack of signs on a poor detour) and 5.5 hours on the way back.  When the road is done the trip could be done in five hours or less.

 

Another overarching impression is that of dust.  It is currently the dry season here and there is a fine, ever present and always penetrating dust in the air.  It gets into your nose, your eyes, your mouth, your hair, and your camera.  It floats around the inside of the vehicle and settles on everything.  One of the first things CrazyMom and I did when we returned was to take a long, hot shower.  While we were able to get a room in Sodo's nicest hotel ($11 a night), there was no water available.

 

Finally, I was impressed with the beauty of the country - the rolling hills, the mountains, the Acacia trees, and all of the farmland.  It was truly gorgeous.  And despite the tough life of many of the people, I witnessed far more smiles than any other expression.  This journey will certainly be one of the highlights of our trip to Ethiopia.

I Don’t Have a Family

Today we went back to the orphanage where Anna lived for a farewell party with some other adoptive families.  I had an errand to run so I went separately and got there a half hour or so before the main group.  Sister L. showed me to the official waiting room but I asked if I could roam the courtyard with the children instead.  "As you wish," she said and she disappeared to take care of other demands.  I had a crowd around me but I eventually made it to some stone steps leading into a building.  I sat down in the bright sunshine. The kids closest to me sat down as well pressing against my side and back as well as sitting at my feet. The younger kids would hold my hands or gently rub their hands on my arms to see what white skin felt like.  The outer group of kids had to stand and was generally comprised of older kids.  I passed the time trying to learn names and my pronunciations were often atrocious.  When I would finally get a name right, the child would quickly raise and lower their eyebrows in a sign of approval. The kids with better English skills played the role of translators.  They would ask me a question, I would respond, and then they would tell the others in Amharic what I had said. 

 

A little later I was walking again with the perpetual but ever changing crowd around me.  I felt a child's hand come into mine as had happened a hundred times already, but I did not look down until I had finished trying to learn another name.  When I looked down there was a young girl about five looking back up at me.  Her face was sad and her large brown eyes were soft and a little moist.  I bent over to ask her what her name was, but she spoke first.  "I don't have a family," she said softly not averting her eyes from mine.

 

I was taken aback.  In all the fun I was having with the children I had forgotten that Sister L. had told me that all of the kids know who has a family and who does not.  There are the "haves" and the "have nots".  Here I was looking into the eyes of a have not.  I put my other hand on her shoulder and said, "Soon.  Soon." 

 

But will it be soon for her?  How do I know?  Of the 170 children at K.M. not all will get a family soon and some will not get a family at all.  I witnessed today a bright handsome older boy saying goodbye to two good friends – something that he has done too many times before and now he is again left behind.  I also spent time with a beautiful girl who had strong English skills.  She is now a forever have not.  She was passed over too many times during her last eight to nine years at K.M. and now she is 16 and no longer adoptable.  Since she had nowhere to go, Sister L. transitioned her from being a child at K.M. to being a worker at K.M. 

 

And so it is at K.M., and at other orphanages in Addis Ababa, and in other cities in Ethiopia, and in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world.  Millions of children will go to bed tonight in a crowded room in an orphanage.  When they lay their heads down they will be acutely aware of the haves and the have nots in the room with them.  And the have nots will say softly to themselves, "I don't have a family."

Going Away

Anna started her day with a bath.  The above photo is just after her bath when she was sitting on the bed.  She was getting all cleaned up for the big event of the day which was a going away party at K.M. with some other families (more about that in the next post).

 

After the going away party there was lunch on the town.  Anna had a little fit over sharing her ice cream that comprised of no noise at all but a continual shrugging of the shoulder with her head turned.  Another mom with us had a hard time not laughing because of how cute it was.

 

After lunch it was back to the guest house for another parting of ways.  An adoptive family that has been at the guest house ever since we arrived was leaving for America.  It was great getting to know them and it seems a little too quiet at the house now that they are gone. 

 

We will not be posting for a day or two because we will be traveling out of town and will not have internet access.  We will catch you up when we are back in Addis.

Shades

There is another family staying at the guest house with us and they are adopting two older boys.  It is fun to see how much affection they show towards Anna and how they take care of her.  Today, one of the boys took off his headband and glasses and put them on Anna.  The look was not quite right so he pulled out her ponytail and adjusted her hair as well.  You can see the results in the above photo.

                                                            

There is more to tell about our trip up the mountain, but it is a tale too long for tonight.  I will try to find time soon.

A Day on the Town

One of the gestures in Ethiopia is the way people say yes.  They do a quick lift of the chin, or upward nod, along with a raising of the eyebrows.  At times Anna is a little shy and she says yes with just the slightest raising of the eyebrows.  Another gesture among the youth is to turn their head to the side and shrug the shoulder to which they turn their head.  I think the appropriate translation for this is "whatever."  Anna does it beautifully and as she becomes more comfortable with us, she does it more often.  She is so cute when she gestures "whatever" that it is hard not to smile and laugh.

 

Today we went out on the town and did a little shopping.  After getting back to the guest house CrazyMom took out Anna's braids which were a little too tight for her.  It was a long process and Anna did great sitting still for it.  Well, she sat still for the first half of it and slept through the second half.

 

Tomorrow we are off on a small day trip up a mountain that overlooks Addis Ababa.

AHOPE and Embassy

Before I tell you what we did today, I first want to tell you more about Anna.  The true Anna emerges more each day.  Last night I was running around and hiding in different places playing a little hide-and-go-seek / peek-a-boo with her.  She would give me this smirking grin and then laugh and giggle whenever she found me.  This morning, when I saw her for the first time I peeked out from behind the door at her and her face just lit up, then she did her grin/giggle/laugh routine.  She gets livelier each hour that goes by.

 

Anna is also a professional snuggler.  The very first morning CrazyMom got up to take her to the bathroom and I was still in bed (no comments on that one please).  When CrazyMom came back to the room she dropped Anna off on our bed and left to do something.  Anna immediately worked her way up to my side, slipped one arm under my neck, threw her other arm over my neck, and buried her face into the side of mine.  When we are out and I am carrying her in my arms at random times she will throw her arms around my neck and give me a big hug and kiss.  I am not sure, but it almost seems like she does it when other people are watching us to show them that this is her dad.

 

She seems to be attaching very fast and is comfortable with us loving on other kids.  Tonight I had another girl who is at the guest house sitting on my lap and Anna would catch my eye, but she was not possessive.

 

Now for the day.  We went to AHOPE this morning to deliver all of the donations that we carried over.  It was enough to fill the trunk of our taxi cab – but keep in mind these are tiny Russian made cars.  It was great to spend some time again at AHOPE this year.  There are a lot of good things going on there.  It was great to see how Anna responded in this environment.  Even though she did not know the kids, she would go off to play with them.  After a few minutes she would come back to "check in" with us by getting a hug or briefly being held, then she was off again.

 

This afternoon we went to the U.S. Embassy with the other AAI families.  Everything went as expected, which was great.  The photo-of-the-day is of Anna all dressed up and playing around after the embassy appointment.

 

Tomorrow is a day out on the town with a driver who worked with us last year.  We are anxious to see him!

Another Day in Ethiopia

Today was a day just to hang out without much on the calendar.  We went and visited Layla House, which is an orphanage connected with Adoption Advocates International.  While we were there, we had a doctor look Anna over and, although Anna was not at Layla house, he had seen her before and so he had a file on her.  It was nice to see that some of the ailments she had a few months ago they had been able to clear up.  We did also end up going to a local clinic for a stool sample.  This clinic made the "photo of the day" and is shown above.

 

We walked home from lunch and stopped in a few "stores" along the road that are generally not frequented by "forengees", or foreigners.  I bought two loaves of fresh baked bread for 1.25 Birr each.  When we were here a year ago I recall the loaves only being 1 Birr, so I guess inflation is everywhere.  While a Birr is only 10 cents USD, it does represent a days wage for the lowest end workers.

 

During Anna's afternoon nap, I went out and roamed a bit.  I blended in really well and nobody took me for tall white lanky American.  Actually, lots of people would call out to me and say a word and point.  I would smile and say hi but I had no idea what they were talking about.  I then came upon a really fancy restaurant – the fancy type with tablecloths, English speaking waiters and entrees for 50.00 (Birr that is, which is $5 USD).  I looked up and saw the name of the restaurant – arco  something or other – the same word that everyone was calling out to me.  I guess everyone who saw this wandering forengee figured I was lost and were directing me to the only place around that made sense – the fancy restaurant.  So much for blending in.

 

Now, CrazyMom tells me that the only thing people are interested in is more info about Anna and she has not been happy with the limited amount that I have provided.  Here are a few paragraphs that she wrote that will fill all of you in:

 

The first thing we've noticed about her personality and behaviors are how different they are from K.D. (editor's note – I have failed to tell blog readers that Anna is K.D.'s little sister.  Sorry!)  She's been VERY mellow and content and quiet.  Her fine motor is great and she is a tidy eater.  Last night she got a little bit of shiro wet on her shirt.  At first she didn't notice it, but when she did, she took a bit of injera (for lack of a napkin in the hole in the wall restaurant) and tried to wipe it off.  She neatly licked each finger clean if she got any sauce on it. And, as opposed to K.D. a year ago, she eats everything in sight and gladly picked up the very tough meat and barely cooked onions from dinner last night and popped them in her mouth and commenced the big chewing project required to get them down.  It's entertaining to watch her eat because she just doesn't quit. 

 

She has a sweet and ready smile and is starting to talk to us a little bit.  We went for a walk early today and stopped in at a tiny "supermarket".  She enjoyed pointing out things she recognized, namely biscoot (cookie) and caramellow (candy) and macaroni.  She's quiet and a bit shy, but has told several strangers her name when they've asked her and showed preference for being held by us over the social worker from the orphanage who went with us to the doctor this morning.

 

Tomorrow should be a big day for us because we get to go to the U.S. Embassy for our visa interview.

We Made It!

After a four hour delay in Washington DC, we finally arrived in Addis a little after noon local time.  It has been a whirlwind ever since.  While we were still in the airport, we talked by cell with an AAI contact and she asked if we wanted to go get Anna in 40 minutes or if we needed a little time.  After the grueling trip, we decided we needed a little time.  We went to the guest house, unloaded luggage, took a quick shower, and then were off to meet Anna.

 

We were taken to the KM care center and, after meeting Sister Lutgarta, we were led through a gate, a walkway, another gate, across a courtyard, up some steps, and into an upper hallway.  As we were going down the hall we saw Anna sitting on a counter through a window.  She was all smiles, which was refreshing to see since she was somber in all of the photos we had seen so far.  After waving through the green iron grid window for a moment, we went around and into the room.

 

There were 25 kids, a dozen cribs, two strollers, three workers, and now our escort and us.  CrazyMom made here way through to Anna and picked her up.  Anna was all hugs and smiles.  The room was so small and there were so many bodies, I could not physically get through, so I started interacting with some of the other kids for the moment.  This was officially naptime and it was clear that our arrival had ruined any hope for that.  Things were getting pretty chaotic and so we were led off to another room where we could spend a few minutes alone with Anna.  After a few more minutes of interacting in the courtyard with lots of kids, we were off.

 

For dinner we ate at an Ethiopian restaurant that redefines for me the term "hole-in-the-wall."  The 11 x 18 foot dining room had holes in the walls, had tiles coming off of the floor, and had 6-8 random wall decorations.  An 8x10 of a white person passed out on a bed with a keg took the cake.  Anna ate and ate and ate.  Part way through the meal, I stopped eating to make sure there would be enough for her.  She ate as much as I did, and then kept going.  "Bacca?" CrazyMom would say, which means "done."  Anna would shake her head no.  Once, CrazyMom picked up the tray with the food on it to take it away and Anna interpreted the move as CrazyMom handing her the tray.  She reached out and pulled it closer to her.  We did eventually cut her off because we were afraid of what would happen if she ate any more.

 

Anna is now asleep in the room.  Today she appears to be a happy 4 year old girl.  She may be a little small, but she seems heavier than what we were told, which is good.  She prefers to sit and kiss the photos in the albums we brought her rather than run around and play.  But that is just today.  It will be fun to discover more about her tomorrow.

 

Packing for Ethiopia

Heavy. That one word sums up our luggage. We are trying to pack in as many donations as possible and the net result is heavy bags. I had sent out a short list of requested items from one of the orphanages to my colleagues and a few friends and they responded with a host of supplies. The killers were the bottles of hand sanitizers – especially those hefty 64oz jugs. Then there was the 13-pound pediatric medical reference book that the orphanage nurse had requested. HEAVY.

In addition, some people donated some funds to help out with the cause. CrazyMom took the kids to the thrift store on 1/2 price Wednesday and they shopped for the kids at the orphanage. Since F.G. had lived in an orphanage, she was the expert. In addition to the pants and belts that had been requested, F.G. insisted on buying pajamas. She said the kids always wanted to wear pajamas, but they did not have any. At one time CrazyMom was searching for a matching top to some pajamas and F.G. said, “Oh, it does not matter. They wear anything.”

This photos shows what they bought with the $125 donated – 34 pairs of pants, 20 belts, 15 pairs of pajamas, and some miscellaneous items. This was added to the other clothing items that were donated.



Shopping for donations reminded F.G. of a time when an adoptive mom brought a lot of clothes to the orphanage she was at. After the mom left, the workers spread all of the clothes out on the floor and let the kids go through and pick out one outfit. F.G. found an outfit she really liked but then an older girl wanted it. The girl hit her in the mouth and knocked out a tooth. She did not tell any of the workers because she did not want to get the girl in trouble. Later, one of the other kids was walking around holding up their pants. F.G. switched pants with her since her pants were a little smaller.

This photo shows one of the bags filled with donations. We repacked several times last night to get the weight just right (or so we thought).



When we were checking in at the United counter, it turned out that my scale at the house was off a little and several bags were a few pounds overweight. They agent let us know that but said he would only charge us $50 for the one bag that we had packed to be 70 lbs. That was fine with me because I was using $50 that someone had given me to pay for the extra weight luggage. After he had taken our money and given me the change, he started asking us about what we were doing. It turns out that he is from Ethiopia and goes back every summer on mission work with his church. He asked me to give him back the change and when I handed it to him he returned my original bills. Looks like an orphanage in Ethiopia will get the $50 rather than United Airlines.

We are in the airport now waiting to go to Washington DC where we will have to spend the night. More to come later.