This is a re-post. Apparently when I posted this Saturday it did not work.
FROM SATURDAY:
Good morning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!
FROM SATURDAY:
Good morning from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia!
I'm not sure if this is going to work, but I'll give it a try anyway. It's 3:30am and I've spent the better part of 20 minutes trying to get Yahoo Mail to open in the hotel lobby. I'm fighting jet lag, nerves, and emotions, so I've been wide awake for some time and don't mind the wait. As I mentioned before, email/internet here is like finding a maintained bathroom at WalMart, few and far between.
Our flight from Amsterdam to Addis Ababa was a tough one. We had already been up for over 20 hours, 14 of them sitting in a cramped plane with a child who was not very happy. He felt like I did but he was better able to convey that message to the entire plane. The European couple sitting behind us were really frustrated at the wailing child and even pushed the attendant button to summon the flight attendant. When she came to check on them they told her to do something about it. She looked at him (the husband) like he was stupid (because he was) and said, "What can I do about it?!?" I was moments from turning around to ask the guy if he wanted me to ask the child's father if he could take the child outside (but watch that first step, 39,000 feet is a long way to fall). Luckily that two-way valve was working and I kept the thoughts to myself. I consider myself a loving and understanding person, but my fuse runs short on inconsiderate, selfish, rude people who think this marvelous and miraculous world revolves around them. Stupid people shouldn't breed. Everyone on the flight is miserable, (except maybe the pukes in first class that are sitting on thrones made of goose down and baby laughs with 20-foot wide armrests, and the ability to throw a baseball as hard as they possibly can just to reach the person sitting in front of them), make the best out of it buddy!
Somehow all three of us were able to doze off here and there, but the seating was cramped and our bodies were not up to the task of being confined for another eight hours. We made a brief stop in Sudan, then it was the hour and a half flight into Ethiopia.
We arrived and proceeded to the Visa line. After about an hour of standing in line (which was a great break from the sitting we had just endured) we had our stamped Visas and were were able to leave. We quickly found our luggage (all pieces made it!) and went to leave the baggage claim to find the Holt rep. I was surprised to find out I had to pass all pieces of luggage (checked on carry-on) through a scanning system (like at the TSA checkpoints in American airports) before I can leave the "secured" area. Shouldn't they scan the pieces coming onto the plane, not off? It was like the Wonka factory, you had to go backwards to go forwards I guess. Somehow the military guys in fatigues holding fully automatic machine guns convinced me that I shouldn't make light of this oversight though.
We found the Holt rep and met the other nine couples. We then went into the parking lot to get into the vans. We were surprised to see the front of the airport lined with what resembled to be weird Christmas trees (no easier way to explain it). I wanted to take a picture of them but remembered the stern warning from the captain before we landed about not taking pictures at the airport and again thought of those dudes in the fatigues and thought I better not. Once we reached the vans were were overwhelmed with porters that loaded our bags into the van very quickly and held out their hand for a tip even quicker. We paid them and it was off for the 20-30 minute van ride across the city. It was after midnight at this point and I was impressed by the city. It is so different from what I have ever experienced it would take another hour or more of typing.
We checked into our hotel which is 30 feet from the care center where Joy was undoubtedly sleeping. As we walked up the front hotel steps we looked at the windows of the care center wondering which one our baby girl was behind. After checking in we made it up the four flights of stairs to our room (no elevators here), which after being up for nearly 36 hours and at over 8,000 feet in elevation while carrying your baggage is a little tiring. We caught our breath (literally), got settled, and fell onto the bed. I looked at the clock before my eyes shut for the final time, 3:00am and we had to be up by 7:00am. We easily drifted off to sleep excited for what comes ahead.
We woke up, got ready, and went down to the lobby for breakfast. It was pretty darn tasty, I did however wonder if having not eaten in 24 hours and eating airline food before that had something to do with it. The hotel staff is awesome, very accommodating. We then got into the vans and drove to the Holt office for orientation. After two hours of that it was back into the vans to head to the care center to meet the reason we had come here.
The exterior of the care center is beautiful. I can't describe it but will share picture when I return. Simply beautiful. All of us loaded into the front room where they had the chairs set up in a circular fashion. They then started to bring the children down. Joy was last. They called us and we anxiously stood up yearning to hold her. The nanny gave Joy to Shawna and it was love at first sight (well... for us). She didn't fuss but we could tell she looked like she was a little sick. We held her for about five minutes then she told us by actions that she was done with us and wanted to get down. We spent the next couple of hours playing with her, more like watching her play. Her independent attitude came out almost immediately (great, another independent rebel like our dear Katie). She didn't show much emotion, but again, looked a little sick and definitely had a slight fever. We got to sit next to her during her mealtime. What an experience! These kids are fed and they are fed well. A nanny brought the plate of Ethiopian food out and I thought, "Wow, that's a lot of food for four kids to share." (three other children were sitting at Joy's table). Then she brought out three more for the other three children. Wow that was a lot of food! I think I'm going to experience a little razzing from my sister Tanya when we get back. Her wee-little kids look like Nordic Strong-Women and I tease them (lovingly of course, they are the cutest!) for being hefty (yet they all manage to grow up lean!). Well, when I first took Joy I thought, "Holy smokes, does this child eat bricks?" She has the cutest "baby-beer belly" I have ever seen. She walks around strutting it (and holding out her behind for balance) wherever she went. It was a great time. Right after that the kids were ready for a nap. We all left a little reluctantly. If you are following this and are a Holt family waiting to travel here, your kids are under great care with a very loving and nurturing staff. Trust me, they have it very good here at the care center.
We walked to a golf course nearby for lunch. It was what I can only describe as the Running-Y Lodge (for Klamath folks), just in a developing country sorta way. We had a very good meal and it only cost us around $40 Birr (Ethiopian currency) a piece. That's about $3!
After lunch we walked back to the hotel and got into the vans again to head to the Holt office. We spend the next couple hours doing paperwork for Tuesday's Visa appt for Joy at the US embassy. After that we vanned back to the care center and spent the next couple hours being with Joy. I only got two laughs from her. Well, one and a half. The first came when I blew bubbles and she ran around chasing them. The second came when she was fussing and I tickled her. It was a fuss/laugh, but I'll still count that as half! She started warming to us a little better. She fussed a lot but we found ways to make her happy (at least content). She kept looking for the nannies and when a nanny walked by, they would pat Shawna and say "mama" for Joy's sake. That was very encouraging. We hope and pray that Joy will warm up to us more and more as the days come. We are very encouraged that only after a few hours she seemed content with us and know she will learn to trust us. She seems like she is going to be fun (and a little bit of a handful)! We love this cute little child. She is simply amazing.
After we took Joy back upstairs it was next door to the hotel. It was around 7pm and we were exhausted. All three of us crashed almost immediately without dinner. What a day.
So here I am, it's now 5:00am (6:00pm on the west coast) and we will spend this morning touring an Ethiopian culture museum and the afternoon with Joy. Then we have a cultural dinner with the Holt staff. Tomorrow morning we will travel to Durame to see where Joy was from and hopefully meet her birth father.
There is so much more I want to say but time (and the fact this may not get posted until we get back stateside) limits me. This is such a unique country. It is so incredibly populated and underdeveloped to our American standards. It is amazing and indescribable. I hope to bring back some pictures of what exactly I cannot describe. This is truly a mesmerizing, humbling, and beautiful experience.
We love you all and miss you! See you soon. Matty and Katie: we miss you girls so much and can't wait to see you. Thanks for being so good for Gramma! I'm proud of you girls. Love you and call you tomorrow!
We walked to a golf course nearby for lunch. It was what I can only describe as the Running-Y Lodge (for Klamath folks), just in a developing country sorta way. We had a very good meal and it only cost us around $40 Birr (Ethiopian currency) a piece. That's about $3!
After lunch we walked back to the hotel and got into the vans again to head to the Holt office. We spend the next couple hours doing paperwork for Tuesday's Visa appt for Joy at the US embassy. After that we vanned back to the care center and spent the next couple hours being with Joy. I only got two laughs from her. Well, one and a half. The first came when I blew bubbles and she ran around chasing them. The second came when she was fussing and I tickled her. It was a fuss/laugh, but I'll still count that as half! She started warming to us a little better. She fussed a lot but we found ways to make her happy (at least content). She kept looking for the nannies and when a nanny walked by, they would pat Shawna and say "mama" for Joy's sake. That was very encouraging. We hope and pray that Joy will warm up to us more and more as the days come. We are very encouraged that only after a few hours she seemed content with us and know she will learn to trust us. She seems like she is going to be fun (and a little bit of a handful)! We love this cute little child. She is simply amazing.
After we took Joy back upstairs it was next door to the hotel. It was around 7pm and we were exhausted. All three of us crashed almost immediately without dinner. What a day.
So here I am, it's now 5:00am (6:00pm on the west coast) and we will spend this morning touring an Ethiopian culture museum and the afternoon with Joy. Then we have a cultural dinner with the Holt staff. Tomorrow morning we will travel to Durame to see where Joy was from and hopefully meet her birth father.
There is so much more I want to say but time (and the fact this may not get posted until we get back stateside) limits me. This is such a unique country. It is so incredibly populated and underdeveloped to our American standards. It is amazing and indescribable. I hope to bring back some pictures of what exactly I cannot describe. This is truly a mesmerizing, humbling, and beautiful experience.
We love you all and miss you! See you soon. Matty and Katie: we miss you girls so much and can't wait to see you. Thanks for being so good for Gramma! I'm proud of you girls. Love you and call you tomorrow!
No comments:
Post a Comment