Our adventure in Ethiopia started with our flight from Amsterdam to Addis Ababa. We arrived in Ethiopia around 11 PM and were expecting to see someone at the airport with a sign that said "Zeltins." Well, to our surprise there was no one there for us and we walked around the airport a bit scared and confused as to what to do next. A taxi driver with a cell phone (since mine did NOT work, despite T-Mobile's assurance that it would) tried to help, although he spoke no English. We gave him the phone number to the guest house where we were staying, and we actually managed to get through to another couple that was staying there. Not only did they speak English, but they were from our same town! We had met them on the plane and they managed to get out of the airport before us, and sent the driver back to get us. There was also another adoptive parent, Tania, who assured the people at the guest house that the Zeltins were arriving and we needed to be picked up! If it weren't for these people, who knows where we would have ended up! So the driver arrived and loaded us up to go to the orphanage guest house. It turned out that the guest house was NOT near the orphanage as I had imagined. Yeah, it was in Addis Ababa, but about a 15 minute drive from the orphanage. We pulled into the gates (all private homes are gated) and unloaded into our room at the guest house. Had a pretty restless sleep since the dogs that lived at the guest house barked and barked through most of the night.
Our room was really dark with heavy wooden shutters, and so when morning came we had no idea (no clock in the room). We awoke to find out that everyone was already going over paperwork with the lawyer out in the dining room. We got ourselves together and headed out to gather up all our final documents that we were to take to the embassy the following day (Monday). Today was Sunday and we were going to meet our daughter for the first time! We were with two other adoptive families, Leah and John and Tania. We traveled to the orphanage and entered the blue gates. We then were directed toward a room where there were couches, kind of like a little living area, and we waited. Weredesh was the first to be brought out. Seeing her from a distance we knew it was her. The nanny handed her over to us and I bawled my ever living brains out. Just as I knew I would. What a surreal experience. Us looking at this beautiful baby, she looking at us. I handed her over to Cory and he lifted her up above his head and managed to bonk her head on the edge of the building (a gentle bonk, but a bonk no less). If you know Cory, this wouldn't be a big surprise. :) Everyone gasped, but all was okay. We spent the next hour getting to know each other, playing in the living room. This was when we noticed that her breathing was really gargly, she had major boogs, and she had pus coming out of each ear. Ugh. Poor baby. They informed us that she had just finished a round of antibiotics. Obviously that didn't work. We'd have to look into that later.
We left her then after a quick hour and went back to the guest house. I liked that our connection was gradual and that we didn't just show up, as two strangers, and rip her away from the only home she's ever known. I also wasn't exactly ready to just jump into being a parent in a third world country, not knowing a thing about taking care of babies. The next day would be embassy day where we would pick her up and take her to the U.S. embassy to finalize the adoption and take care of her birth certificate, VISA, passport, etc. More on that tomorrow...
Here's some pictures from our first days. Some of the pics with the young boys were taken by the boys at the orphanage. Once they got a hold of our camera they wouldn't stop taking pictures. They were having a ball. Also, there's pics of Tania with her baby, Saba, and Leah with her baby, Aslynn. It was so nice to have the support of these girls while we were there. :) And I have no idea why the first slide is a picture from Amsterdam and couldn't get it to go away. :) Enjoy!
2 comments:
Lisa, Cory and Weredesh-
Thank you for sharing your first moments with us. What a beautiful little girl. Her name fits her perfectly- from the sky- she's a precious gift from God. From the sound of things, you're doing better, what a challenging 'bonding' experience. I'm guessing you've already established a pretty good relationship with your doctor here in Bend. Take care. I can't wait to meet Weredesh. love, Jeanne Smoldt
What a sweetheart! Thank you for sharing all the photos. I hope Weredesh's ear infection is gone and that you are feeling better also.
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