Travel Journal ~ April 29th - May 1st

In a last-ditch effort to make up for our other failed shopping attempts, we went out yet again this morning to finish up. We couldn't resist stopping to take a photo of this little cafe...

That's right - everybody loves Obama!

Shopping...

These little guys would not leave us. They wanted money, which I think a few people gave them, but they liked the suckers that Marc and Scott (aka Mr. Johnson) were giving out. The boy on the left was wearing slacks that had had the cuffs completely let down, yet they were still about 3 inches too short on him and old old lace-up dress shoes.

Later we had the opportunity to meet Bethany's new Director of African Adoption. I forget his name now, but he reminded us all of James Earl Jones.

We were supposed to meet him at his hotel, but we all had the kids, so Milkiyas asked us to sit in the van (taxi) in the parking lot and wait. We waited and waited and waited...with kids...in the hot sun. It was miserable. When he finally arrived, everyone was a little irritated (not to mention sweaty) and the kids were starting to go nuts.

I think he had really just planned to say hello to us and go about his business that day, but people started asking some pretty pointed questions and giving honest feedback about our adoption experiences thus far. After awhile of talking he told us that we needed to be "culturally sensitive" (since we had the kids with us) and go somewhere more private to talk.

He ended up going to the Gelgela orphanage with us, which was our next stop that day. Even though we were all a bit peeved, I'm glad that he did go with us. He and Marc talked for a long time at Gelgela. Marc found out that he was from Zimbabwe, but left due to the turmoil. He said that he could never return to his country or he would be hanged. Marc found him to be very interesting.

Gelgela was quite the experience. It's more what you would picture a third-world orphanage to look like. There was one room for boys and one for girls, both lined with bunk beds. There were no lights on, so this picture is poor, but you can see that the boys are sitting on the bottom of one of the bunk beds here...

The babies were in a separate room that was lined with cribs, two babies to a crib. Some wore cloth diapers, some disposable, and one was bare-bottomed in the crib and the nanny would just move her to a different spot when she peed. It was definitely a hard thing to see. They could really use some items to get the babies up and around - exersaucers, bouncers, even a play mat. Heck, even a blanket on the floor for them to crawl around on!

The Johnsons (who are completely awesome people)...

...thought to bring donations for the kids at Gelgela, which was our reason for going there. They had this Mary Poppins type bag that they just kept pulling more and more and more stuff out of. The kids went nuts - they loved it!

The Johnsons also brought this collapsible soccer net, so they got a game going in the yard.

We also got to meet two little ones who are being adopted by other Bethany families who will be traveling soon to get them.

After dinner we all unwound with dinner at Lime Tree. The kids got to ride in an elevator for the first time, and I picked up a children's book "Addis from A-Z" at the bookstore there.

Thursday~

Thursday was a weird day. We thought we were all going somewhere at 9am, but the taxi never showed up. We waited until 11:00 and then the guys finally decided to venture out for something - knock-off DVDs maybe. We were supposed to go to the transition house at noon for a coffee ceremony, but no one showed up to get us until 3pm. By that time, the Johnsons were packing up to leave, several kids were napping, and everyone was a little disappointed about having sat around all day waiting, when this was our last day in Addis.

While we were waiting, one of the ladies at the guesthouse did Macy's hair for her...

Then at 3:00 when Milkiyas showed up, everyone kind of backed out of the coffee ceremony because we were packing and getting ready to leave in a few hours. A few of the guys ended up going and leaving us girls at home to pack and handle the kids. I felt bad for skipping out on it, but the day was just a big mess.

At Shalom, they had the coffee ceremony. The director of the orphanage and his wife were there. They gave speeches and handed out traditional clothing for the kids to bring home. The Director of African Adoption (aka James Earl Jones) was there, all the nannies and Bethany staff were there. Talk about guilt. I feel horrible for missing it.

Thursday night~

We headed to the airport for a long flight home. The lines were horrible and it was already 9pm, so the kids were tired. Felix was still sick and just wanted to be held. Macy, we think, was freaking out a bit. She kept running away from us, or running through the line, or back through security areas. It was a mess -- and what can you do?

We were separated in the plane, so I took Felix and Marc took Macy. Felix actually went right down to sleep. We had a bassinet, which attaches to the wall in a bulkhead seat. What a life saver! We both slept for the whole first leg of the flight - Addis to Rome - then slept again for a few hours of the loooong Rome to Washington, DC flight. Finally, fed up with chasing Macy through the plane and cleaning up spills after her, Marc switched with me and took Felix while I tended to Macy.

The DC to Denver flight was good. It was around nap time, so both kids slept. I was so happy that we had already gone through customs in DC, so we just got our bags and went home once we got to Denver.

Actually, one of the baggage people at DIA came up and started a conversation with us. He was from Ethiopia, but has lived in Denver for 8 years. Then a female employee, also from Ethiopia originally, came up to chat. The man took our luggage to the shuttle bus for us and wouldn't accept a tip. "My gift to you" he said.

On the way to the shuttle he waved down an airport maintenance person, who got out of his truck to come talk to the kids in Amharic. Then our shuttle bus driver also ended up being Ethiopian. We felt like we were just let into a special club or something. When the shuttle arrived at our stop, the driver came around, pushed two men off the bus and told them to make way for us. It was too funny.

When we arrived home the kids freaked out over the dog. Yikes. Felix is warming up to him - meaning he doesn't start screaming when he sees the dog. Macy, on the other hand, is petrified. I know that they don't keep dogs as pets in Ethiopia. They're used as guard dogs. But I wonder if maybe she was attacked by one in the past.

Other than that, they loved seeing their rooms, new clothes, and all the toys. And I was in heaven seeing Fletcher again!