We slept in a little this morning and ate a leisurely breakfast. First thing on the agenda after breakfast was to change some money and buy a few groceries to tide us over the next two days and have a bit for when we return from our second tour.
Laoye went off with Fasil to exchange money while Laolao, Giggles and I started shopping. We went to the Novis store on Bole Road at the end of our street (which is apparently named Zimbabwe Street, if I recall correctly). Our friend JN had said there was a better store further up Bole Road, but we couldn't remember what it was called nor how far up it was. For our current purposes, Novis was fine. We bought some fruits and vegetables, though I think in the future we'll get these from the small stalls in the street. You get a better price from the small vendors and you are probably skipping over a few intermediaries. Also picked up a chicken and some canned meat, detergent for the maid to do our laundry (did I mention we have a maid who does laundry and dishes, makes beds and generally tidies up?), some milk, and an expensive imported French camembert to put into Laoye's stocking tonight!
That took the better part of the morning. After lunch we got ready to go to the Transition House. Solomon T called just after 1:00 to say he'd be there in a few minutes, so we hauled the three suitcases of donations outside the gate and stood ready and waiting. And waiting. And waiting. (I think they were Ethiopian minutes.) Around 1:30 he showed up with Germatchew, the driver, and in we piled.
The drive to the TH took a good half hour and led us across town towards the mountain. (I had thought our rental house was located in the same subdivision as the TH, but it seems it's not.) We passed many markets, large and small, including what Solomon described as a Chinese market – I think because they sell imported Chinese goods. A short distance down the road from the TH we passed a soccer field that is also an animal market. Today there were not many animals for sale, but Solomon said Tuesdays and (I think) Thursdays and Saturdays the place is teeming. Giggles wanted to buy a sheep and take it home to Canada, but we told her the government wouldn't allow it. Sorry. (Not!)
Finally we reached the TH, nestled at the base of the mountain.
Inside the compound walls, we found some nice courtyards with flowers blooming and lovely pictures of the children adorning many of the compound and building walls.
We were led into the main office, where the director, Solomon D, met us and began the proceedings. Giggles grew quickly bored with the talk and went outside to look around and play, leaving the grown-ups to their discussions. First, Solomon D gave a speech about the TH, how the children are cared for, and how he is like a father to the children. He said three moments give him the greatest happiness: when the court decision for a child's adoption is made, when the immigration visa arrives, and when the parent(s) come to take their child home. These moments are tinged with sadness, as he grows to love the children and it is sad to part with them, but he knows that they will gain many opportunities that would not be possible for them to have in Ethiopia. He emphasized that the Ethiopian court adoption order is a final decision and cannot be revoked or rescinded. Once the adoption is finalized, the child cannot be returned to his or her birthparents, not can the adoptive parents turn the child over to someone else. The adoption document is recognized worldwide as a legal document.
(As an aside, this is why I always take a copy of Giggles' adoption papers when traveling with her – I have never been asked to produce them, but I have them available just in case anyone in authority should ask me to produce proof of our relationship.)
Much of Solomon D's speech was addressed to Laoye, with only glances at me or Laolao. It was a bit – not exactly annoying, but disconcerting. I expect it was a "guy" thing – one man addressing the person he expects to be the person of authority or the "head of the family." But then when he brought out the papers for signing, he started to hand them to Laoye, too, until Laoye waved him in my direction and said "She's the one doing the signing." (I mean, they KNEW Poppet was being adopted by a single woman, didn't they?!?) I just needed to sign that I had received the original court order and translation, birth certificate, passport with visa, and record of landing papers.
Solomon also mentioned that he had been in court yesterday (Sunday?!?) and would be going again tomorrow, 25 December, and that a few more visas had just arrived in the diplomatic pouch that was opened today (!!!).
When all these formalities were complete, we proceeded on a tour of the TH. As the children were still napping or just awaking from naps, we didn't head right over to Poppet's room, but started with the baby house.
We went into room after room filled with cribs with sleeping babies, babies snuggled in nurses' arms, or a few little ones who were awake. They were all sweet as can be. I had taken along printouts of the pictures of children I knew had not yet been brought home, and showed them to the nurses to help me identify which ones they were. At first I was told it was okay to take pictures generally but not specific pictures of individual babies, but once I produced the printouts of the babies and asked if I could take a picture for the parents, the staff didn't object.
We went first through the house with the littlest ones, then proceeded to the older infant house, where we met several children whose parents I've come to know on the chat groups, including one little girl I was able to tell "Your Mommy and Daddy are coming tomorrow!" All the rooms are brightly coloured, with cheery pictures on the walls of smiling children and colourful animals. The baby houses held six to eight cribs to a room, with three rooms in each house.
I had just paused to take a few pictures of the courtyard and mounted photos when Laolao and Laoye called to me, "Look who's here! You should be the first." I went around the building and there he was: my little Poppet, dressed in a bright yellow shirt, looking rather solemn and wide-eyed. I went up to him, took him by the hand, and sat on a small ledge by the side of the lawn. Giggles brought over the two stuffies we'd brought for him to choose from, but of course he was too overwhelmed to choose so I just gave him one and the other to Giggles.
Then Laolao brought out a little Christmas ornament she'd brought for him and we gave that to him, too. With some prompting, Poppet gave us a whispered "Merry Christmas!"
From there, we headed over to the toddler house.
But first, we gave Poppet the little "calendar" that Giggles and I had prepared. It features eight days: the first shows us coming to say "Hello" to Poppet, then three days of him waiting while we head off traveling with the car getting smaller, followed by three days of traveling with the car coming back towards him, getting bigger, and finally on the eighth day Mommy is holding his and Giggles' hands, with Laolao and Laoye in the background, and we are a FAMILY. It is entitled "7 sleeps." I showed the nanny, too, so she can help him to count the days until Mommy comes to take him into the family.
Inside the toddler house, the children were still just waking up from their naps. One older boy, too old for naps, was in the play area. Fikru is eight years old and just came to the TH three days ago, Solomon said.
He does not have prospective adoptive parents (yet) but they hope to find a family for him, too. All the other children have come from the orphanage and have been matched with parents who are waiting to bring them home; this lad seemed to be an exception to the rule. Perhaps the local kebele had asked the TH to take him in; I don't know (and didn't ask). But I hope someone will open their hearts to this eight year old lad; he seemed a pleasant fellow. All the other children in the toddler house seemed to be between three and five years of age.
[Note: Fikru found his forever family in the middle of 2008. His file was processed quickly and he came to Canada in mid-September. He is now living in BC with six brothers and sisters (two from Ethiopia). The family has a blog, On Joyful Wings, open only to invited readers.]
After a quick view of the playroom, Solomon D. took us to a gazebo/ tukul structure in the yard where we had a small coffee ceremony (not as elaborate at the one at Lalibela, but good nonetheless). I held Poppet on my lap and stroked his arm or face or patted his head almost the whole time.
After the coffee ceremony, we went back into the toddler house where the children had now gathered. They broke into song for us, and Poppet joined them, sitting among his friends. They were very sweet!
We peeked into Poppet's room, which houses four children. Poppet sleeps on a top bunk. We hoisted him up and Giggles climbed up to sit beside him so I could take a picture of the two of them together on his bed. It was as she did so that I saw the first flash of the famous Poppet smile.
We then looked into the two other rooms; one has five beds and one just two. We finally said goodbye to Poppet, repeating that we'd be back in seven sleeps. I have him a hug; Giggles didn't want to hug him but he spontaneously gave her a big hug and reached up and kissed her, again flashing the Poppet smile."Ugh!" said Giggles, dashing outside to Laolao and Laoye, "he kissed me!"
On the way back home, Solomon T commented that Poppet had told him just a short while back that when he went to
I think back to when Giggles joined the family – she, too, was overwhelmed and sad. But she is also a tough, resilient little trickster; something that was evident right from the get-go. I don't yet know this little guy hardly at all, but I expect from the little I've seen and heard that he won't be the trickster she is (thank goodness – one in a family is enough) and may experience more sadness. We'll see.
[Note: I was wrong on the first count! He likes playing tricks, too, though in a slightly different way than Giggles/Mustang.]
On the way home we stopped at one of the Chinese markets where Solomon D. helped Laoye purchase two bedside lamps for the house. Laoye likes to be able to read at night when he awakes, and I need better light in our room. I've used the flashlight these past two nights to read Giggles her bedtime chapter of These Happy Golden Years, since the ceiling bulb is so dim as to be virtually useless.
After a supper of fried old Ethiopian chicken, buns and veggies, we had Fasil take us to the International Lutheran Church for their Christmas Eve service. (Yes, Christmas Eve!) This church is smaller than the Evangelical Church, but equally nice inside. They share the building with one of the Ethiopian Protestant churches. The service consisted of hymns, singing, readings from the Gospel, special music by various groups (Laolao and I joined the Canadians to sing the Huron Carol), and a candle-lighting ceremony at the end with the singing of Silent Night. Very much like a Christmas Eve service we'd have at home, sans snow.
Fasil was waiting for us after the service (we'd told him to come back in one and a half hours and the service was exactly that long!) so we declined a supper invitation and headed home. Back at home, we put out the stockings so Santa Claus would be sure to come.
Giggles has just realized that we are all Santa Claus, and she really got into it, putting out stockings for each of her stuffies and then finding all kinds of goodies to put in them, as well as goodies for me, Laolao and Laoye too. Then we enjoyed a cup of tea and some candies at the table while we listened to the Christmas story. First Giggles told the story from memory, putting in all the right details and adding little flourishes and dramatic touches, right down to Herod's killing of the innocents and Joseph and Mary's fleeing to Egypt with the baby Jesus. Then I read the Christmas story from Luke, Laolao read the part about the wise men from Matthew, and Laoye read the first dozen verses from the Gospel of John that speak of the Word becoming Flesh and the Light shining in the darkness. And with that, it was high time for BED!
(I got up briefly once Giggles was asleep and added a few touches to the Christmas stockings.)
(Continue to 25 December: Unto the least of these)
2 comments:
Roma, didn;t you say you HAD Poppet's visa bEFORE you left? Why then did you have to wait a week to take him out of the TH?? Just confused.
Wow...thanks so much for taking the time to share all the details of your trip!
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