Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Meeting Dawit - June 4
First of all, Happy Father's Day to my dad, my stepdad John, and Connie my dad-in-law! Oh yeah, and my hubby, who's now a father of two.
While we hung out waiting for Bethany's directions, Birtukan took us on a short tour of their home. Before they launched Morning Cofee Guest House, she, Nesibu and their four kids lived in the entire house. When they opened up three bedrooms, two baths, a living area and a kitchen to guests, her family squeezed into a little space across patio. Birtukan believes that opening her home to visitors is another important part of her mission to help orphans of Ethiopia.
We sat in her small living room, which was one-third the size of the GH living room. I admired photos of her and Nesibu on their wedding date and adorable pictures of her children. Meanwhile she and one of her helpers prepared a traditional coffee ceremony for Spence and me. We washed our hands in a wash basin that her helper brought around. No towels, just drip dry. Then Birtukan explained how the three traditional cups of coffee are offered. The first is the strongest, mixed with generous amounts of coarse-grain sugar. It was the BEST coffee I have ever had. It kicked Starbucks' hiney. The second cup is made with the same grounds, making it and the third cup slightly less strong but no less good. Along with the coffee, she served injera and shiro. Ahmed, my friend in the states was right, the injera is different, better. And the shiro was wonderful. Again, no napkins. You just wiped your fingers on the injera.
Once we were adequately buzzed, we walked with Birtukan across the street to Yezelalem Minch where we met the staff and learned more about the sponsorship, community feed and women's self-help programs. They had just printed new brochures and we brought a bunch back for anyone who's interested in supporting YM. I'll post more on YM later. It's a wonderful ministry founded by Birtukan herself, and the story is too amazing not to devote an entire post to it.
While at YM, the royalty of Bethany walked in (at least that's how I came to view them). Mekonen, the new director, with his quiet confident way, Tendaye, who oversees all the Africa programs, with his James Earl Jones smile and charisma, and eventually Milkiyas, who did most of our adoption legwork, with his briefcase and suit coat revealing that he rarely sits still. We talked about our hopes of going to Awassa tomorrow, which they totally supported, and of possibly seeing Dawit today. Even though it was nearly 5 p.m., Birtukan agreed to escort us to Shalom's transition house for a quick visit. We had no idea it would take 45 minutes through crazy Addis rush-hour traffic to get there, and we were all the more grateful.
When we arrived, they directed us to replace our shoes with slippers and passed around antibacterial gel. The place was spotless, the nurses decked out in matching uniforms. And by the window in a generously donated exersaucer was the cutest little boy with the famous curly mohawk gazing up at us with his enormous eyes. Spence said, "Is that him?" With only one picture to go by 3 months earlier, he wasn't sure. But I knew. It was strange to hold him, but it quickly felt natural. We played with him for about 30 minutes, toured the facility, then reluctantly left him, promising we'd be back Monday. It was totally surreal.
We went back to the guesthouse where Birtukan fixed spaghetti and marinara with an Ethiopian twist. Nesibu and Birtukan ate with us so we got to know them better. Then, I think, we crashed. Big day tomorrow!
While we hung out waiting for Bethany's directions, Birtukan took us on a short tour of their home. Before they launched Morning Cofee Guest House, she, Nesibu and their four kids lived in the entire house. When they opened up three bedrooms, two baths, a living area and a kitchen to guests, her family squeezed into a little space across patio. Birtukan believes that opening her home to visitors is another important part of her mission to help orphans of Ethiopia.
We sat in her small living room, which was one-third the size of the GH living room. I admired photos of her and Nesibu on their wedding date and adorable pictures of her children. Meanwhile she and one of her helpers prepared a traditional coffee ceremony for Spence and me. We washed our hands in a wash basin that her helper brought around. No towels, just drip dry. Then Birtukan explained how the three traditional cups of coffee are offered. The first is the strongest, mixed with generous amounts of coarse-grain sugar. It was the BEST coffee I have ever had. It kicked Starbucks' hiney. The second cup is made with the same grounds, making it and the third cup slightly less strong but no less good. Along with the coffee, she served injera and shiro. Ahmed, my friend in the states was right, the injera is different, better. And the shiro was wonderful. Again, no napkins. You just wiped your fingers on the injera.
Once we were adequately buzzed, we walked with Birtukan across the street to Yezelalem Minch where we met the staff and learned more about the sponsorship, community feed and women's self-help programs. They had just printed new brochures and we brought a bunch back for anyone who's interested in supporting YM. I'll post more on YM later. It's a wonderful ministry founded by Birtukan herself, and the story is too amazing not to devote an entire post to it.
While at YM, the royalty of Bethany walked in (at least that's how I came to view them). Mekonen, the new director, with his quiet confident way, Tendaye, who oversees all the Africa programs, with his James Earl Jones smile and charisma, and eventually Milkiyas, who did most of our adoption legwork, with his briefcase and suit coat revealing that he rarely sits still. We talked about our hopes of going to Awassa tomorrow, which they totally supported, and of possibly seeing Dawit today. Even though it was nearly 5 p.m., Birtukan agreed to escort us to Shalom's transition house for a quick visit. We had no idea it would take 45 minutes through crazy Addis rush-hour traffic to get there, and we were all the more grateful.
When we arrived, they directed us to replace our shoes with slippers and passed around antibacterial gel. The place was spotless, the nurses decked out in matching uniforms. And by the window in a generously donated exersaucer was the cutest little boy with the famous curly mohawk gazing up at us with his enormous eyes. Spence said, "Is that him?" With only one picture to go by 3 months earlier, he wasn't sure. But I knew. It was strange to hold him, but it quickly felt natural. We played with him for about 30 minutes, toured the facility, then reluctantly left him, promising we'd be back Monday. It was totally surreal.
We went back to the guesthouse where Birtukan fixed spaghetti and marinara with an Ethiopian twist. Nesibu and Birtukan ate with us so we got to know them better. Then, I think, we crashed. Big day tomorrow!
Friday, June 19, 2009
Sidebar: sweating vs. sweaters
I'm going to continue my travel journal over the next couple weeks, but every now and then I may insert a sidebar about our adjustment at home or about some unique thing about Ethiopia. This post's subject: enduring Africa's heat in long sleeves.
Before we left for Ethiopia, everyone said everyone dresses in layers. This was hard to figure. Why would you need layers in the middle of summer? First of all, Ethiopians are conservative people. They tend to stay covered; they don't wear shorts or tank tops. I saw a handful of people who strayed from that rule, but most people wore long pants and long sleeve shirts. Second, it does get cool at night and the air is very dry, so if you're not in the direct sun it's fairly comfortable. Still, I was quite dewey a good bit of the trip, especially in Awassa where it was significantly hotter.
Once, on our way back from Awassa, the road turned into a big pitted, dirt path. Everyone quickly rolled up their windows to keep the dust out. Then an amazing thing happened. The driver switched on the A/C. Spence and I just stared at each other as the cool air enveloped us like a little piece of heaven. Two minutes later when the road turned back to pavement, he switched off the A/C and rolled the windows back down. Hmmm. Truth is, A/C is very rare in Ethiopia. Even the fancy traditional restaurant we went to one night had no air, and the dancers never even broke a sweat.
The biggest mistake I made was bringing only summer clothes for Dawit, not because I felt he was cold, but because everyone thought he was cold. I spent a lot of time wrapping him in blankets so I wouldn't be judged for being the worst mother ever.
I miss Ethiopia like crazy, but I'm loving being back in the good ole A of C.
Before we left for Ethiopia, everyone said everyone dresses in layers. This was hard to figure. Why would you need layers in the middle of summer? First of all, Ethiopians are conservative people. They tend to stay covered; they don't wear shorts or tank tops. I saw a handful of people who strayed from that rule, but most people wore long pants and long sleeve shirts. Second, it does get cool at night and the air is very dry, so if you're not in the direct sun it's fairly comfortable. Still, I was quite dewey a good bit of the trip, especially in Awassa where it was significantly hotter.
Once, on our way back from Awassa, the road turned into a big pitted, dirt path. Everyone quickly rolled up their windows to keep the dust out. Then an amazing thing happened. The driver switched on the A/C. Spence and I just stared at each other as the cool air enveloped us like a little piece of heaven. Two minutes later when the road turned back to pavement, he switched off the A/C and rolled the windows back down. Hmmm. Truth is, A/C is very rare in Ethiopia. Even the fancy traditional restaurant we went to one night had no air, and the dancers never even broke a sweat.
The biggest mistake I made was bringing only summer clothes for Dawit, not because I felt he was cold, but because everyone thought he was cold. I spent a lot of time wrapping him in blankets so I wouldn't be judged for being the worst mother ever.
I miss Ethiopia like crazy, but I'm loving being back in the good ole A of C.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Settling in
I'm not sure what day of the week it is -- that's an improvement over two days ago when I couldn't complete a coherent sentence. I think it's Thursday, which means we've been home for 5 days.
Dawit is doing amazing. He's all smiles and giggles and loves to talk. He rarely cries, especially if we get him fed on time and down to sleep before he gets overtired. He's starting to transition to US time. Gradually he's going from 2 naps of 2 hours each and 8 hours at night to 2 shorter naps and 9 hours at night. We're aiming for 12-hour nights and two shorter naps. He can eat as much as Caroline, so I expect him to be a butterball very soon. I don't know what he weighs, but we'll find out Monday when he goes to Vanderbilt's adoption clinic.
Spence and I are not faring as well. We've both had fragile stomachs since returning home and are still suffering jet lag. We alternate "Dawit duty" each night. This gives us each snuggle time with Caroline and a full night's sleep every other night. We're starting to get our appetites back, but even the mildest dishes don't sit well. We're just trying to stay hydrated and get as much rest as possible.
The house is still a wreck, but we are so happy and feel so fortunate to have been matched with this happy little guy. He's a total joy and really so easy.
We broke all the rules Sunday at our coming home party (I'll post pics soon), but for the next month Spence and I will be the only ones to feed and hold Dawit in an effort to establish a strong parental bond. This is very hard, but in the meantime everyone can enjoy his beautiful smile!
Dawit is doing amazing. He's all smiles and giggles and loves to talk. He rarely cries, especially if we get him fed on time and down to sleep before he gets overtired. He's starting to transition to US time. Gradually he's going from 2 naps of 2 hours each and 8 hours at night to 2 shorter naps and 9 hours at night. We're aiming for 12-hour nights and two shorter naps. He can eat as much as Caroline, so I expect him to be a butterball very soon. I don't know what he weighs, but we'll find out Monday when he goes to Vanderbilt's adoption clinic.
Spence and I are not faring as well. We've both had fragile stomachs since returning home and are still suffering jet lag. We alternate "Dawit duty" each night. This gives us each snuggle time with Caroline and a full night's sleep every other night. We're starting to get our appetites back, but even the mildest dishes don't sit well. We're just trying to stay hydrated and get as much rest as possible.
The house is still a wreck, but we are so happy and feel so fortunate to have been matched with this happy little guy. He's a total joy and really so easy.
We broke all the rules Sunday at our coming home party (I'll post pics soon), but for the next month Spence and I will be the only ones to feed and hold Dawit in an effort to establish a strong parental bond. This is very hard, but in the meantime everyone can enjoy his beautiful smile!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Getting to Addis - June 3
On our way to the airport this morning, I got an email on my Blackberry from the NVC saying our reprint approval was cabled to Ethiopia. Whew! It was a good feeling knowing all hurdles had been cleared.
We flew to JFK and waited 4 hours to leave for Dubai. We were very glad we chose Emirates. The service was great and they fed us constantly. We arrived in Dubai and were shuttled to our hotel, where they gave us dinner vouchers that we had no intent of using. Full from airline food, which was mostly Indian fare, all we wanted to do was sleep. Because in true Inman fashion, neither of us slept on the plane. Because we left NY at 11p flying east, basically chasing the sun, they made us keep all windows lowered so people could sleep through the daylight. We arrived in Dubai at dusk. It was all very weird. Our Dubai experience consisted of a 30-second walk from the shuttle to the hotel where we gasped at the ~100 degree humid temp.
The next morning we made the 3-hour hop to Addis. After studying my travel tips carefully and following some nondescript, handmade signage, we got our visa and exchanged $100 for 1,124 in birr. It's a good thing we did because a very assertive porter immediately pounced on us and held us hostage while he retrieved our bags. Our travel agent said to refuse this service if we wished, but let me tell you there was no refusing. He wasn't asking. And now, after 8 days in Addis and watching Ethiopians negotiate, I have no doubt we were taken ripped off. But, birr goes a long way and the pushy porter turned out to be helpful as we could not locate our agency rep outside of baggage claim. He called Nesibu and they arranged a taxi to bring us to the guesthouse (thank God I had Nesibu's number!) And because we didn't arrange the taxi fee before the ride, we were introduced to Birtukan and Nesibu over some very spirited negotiation with the taxi driver.
Birtukan helped us get settled in our room, announcing that we were not guests but family. Then we hung out waiting to hear from Bethany about when we could see Dawit.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Delayed
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