On Tuesday we went out shopping without the kids in the morning. Actually, the babies came along, but the big kids stayed at the transition house. That's another thing that I loved about the New Flower. The kids were there for several days, got to know everyone who worked there, the employees loved the kids, played with them, talked to them, etc. So when it was time for us to get out for a little while without them, they were happy to stay back with the ladies who work there.
Anyway, we went out to do some souvenir shopping. It was fun, but we probably needed a whole day to find all the stuff that we were looking for. We cut the trip short so that we could get back to the guesthouse for lunch, pick up the kids and get to the Embassy by 1pm. I think we got in about an hour of shopping.
The Embassy appointment itself was a little anticlimactic. I think we'll consider the day we met as our "gotcha day" instead. I, sadly, have no photos of the Embassy happenings because you have to check your camera at the door. You basically show up, turn in your I-600 and wait your turn. There was a big group from another agency in front of us, so I think we waited about an hour. Maybe it was less, but Macy was melting down, beating other kids up, and Felix was sick, so it seemed like a long time.
On a funny side-note, I met Lis there, a fellow Coloradoan. She and I had never met, but had emailed right before our trips. We found that we had the same Embassy date and said "maybe we'll see each other!" It was fun to chat, until the kids went nuts.
So...you wait in a big, hot room until your name is called, then you go upstairs, answer some questions to a lady behind glass, and that's it. You're parents.
Unsatisfied with our morning shopping trip, the husbands decided to drop all of us off at the guesthouse and go back out shopping again. We thought they'd be home in an hour or two, but they ended up being gone for.ever. Michelle and I were exhausted (and a little ticked) when they finally got back hours later. Macy & Moges were hard to entertain and keep up with. Macy was brutalizing Moges and I think this was the day when I introduced her to "time out".
All we wanted to do when the guys got home was eat and relax a bit, but Marc made the decision that we'd go out to dinner, with the kids. The Johnsons and Webers stayed back, so it was us and the Mellits family. We walked down the street to Asqual, where Helen told us the locals go to eat.
It was our lucky night - there was a wedding party going on! Their dining room was all set up with wooden stools in a long row, small tables in front of them, a big buffet table and a band. It was an awesome way to experience some true Ethiopian culture. Macy was mesmerized by the music. It was so much fun and, despite being tired and irritated, I was so happy that we went.
The lighting was bad inside, so these photos are pretty poor quality. Here is the band and the buffet table. Funny, we got there before the party started, and Marc was contemplating "Should I order off the menu, or go with the buffet?" not knowing that it was actually for the wedding party.
Our food - Macy & Felix both gobbled it up!
And that was it for Tuesday. It was such a long day, but ended on a fun note.
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4 comments:
How neat!! What a great experience to witness an Ethiopian wedding!! Sounds like the 28th was an exhausting day for you!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, reading them makes me feel like we may actually be there someday too.
It's so cool to read these Kellie! Thank you so much for sharing them with us.
Sounds like your trip was pretty exhausting... doesn't it make you want to go back sometime when you don't have all the adoption/attachment stuff going on? I'd love to get back without all the craziness of Bereket's transition to deal with. :) OH, and just fyi, the embassy appt isn't where you become their parents, it's just where your kids get permission to come to the U.S. You were legally their parents the day the court appt was successful. ;)
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