Days 2 and 3 in Addis Ababa
With all the kids here and our newest little wild man on the constant go, finding time to do my daily adoption journey journal is a challenge! Day 2 was a wonderful day. Jonah was happy for the most part, and really enjoying his siblings. So sweet to watch them with him....and him with them! With no adoption paperwork to do, we got to spend some time sight seeing in Addis. We started off going to the National Museum which was very cool. We have all wanted to see "Lucy" for a long time and it was so nice to finally meet her! So neat to have the kids here in this country so rich with history and culture, so much to learn! After meeting Lucy we were off to the Lion Zoo where you can get waaaay to close to the lions... You can walk up to the lion cages, which have huge holes in the wire fence.... Apparently there have been some folks recently who have tried to reach in and pet the lions....and it hasn't turned out very well.... Its sad to see the lions in such small cages, and I could get feeling a little upset about it, but when I realize the conditions that most people here live in, the lions have it better then most.... And we were followed around the zoo by a band of little Oliver Twists looking to get pretty up close and personal with our pockets, but thankfully we were on to them, and they were darn cute anyway. After escaping the lion zoo with all limbs in tact and our wallets still on us, it was off to Mt. Entoto. As we drove up the winding road to the top, passing many women carrying their loads of wood down from the eucalyptus trees that flourish atop the mountain, and the children tending their goat herds, our rather old and tired car really struggled to keep climbing. Mike made the comment that he hoped its breaks were better then its engine, just as we passed a totally squashed van that had obviously rolled off the side and not fared so well. On top of the mountain was King Meneliks palace and a beautiful church, it is intriguing to see the orthodox Christians here and their devout beliefs and the public display they make of their beliefs. There is a lot of kissing the walls of the churches and the floor all around it, as well as some loud praying while bowing down in front of the churches. The kids were a little weirded out by the scene there, but good for them to see and learn about none the less...
The kids were pretty wiped by the running around so it was back to the hotel and to the ice cream shop for Jonah's first ice cream cone. He thoroughly enjoyed it :) He also went on a slide for the first time and laughed out load all 50 times he came down it!
Day 3 was a tough one....all around. After breakfast we headed back to the Thomas Center for paper work and ended up being there for 4 hours. When we got there, at first, Jonah clung to me. Then I could see his sadness mounting and his anxiety taking over. Jonah has lived at the Thomas Center since he was 2 months old, it was his home, and the nannies were his family. Its a very warm and loving place, as far as orphanages go, and it was apparent that Jonah was a favorite there. His grief over leaving was very overwhelming. He started to cry and scream about 15 minutes after we got there, and clung to the nannies. He got very agitated and hyper active, alternating between running all over the place and screaming and crying. After getting through all the paperwork which took hours, and having a very tasty lunch of local wat and injera (which our kids even ate!), Jonah got even more agitated, and just started to scream and wail and cry. I have to say we were all totally exhausted, and emotionally overwhelmed by this point... Watching your new child experience the deep pain and anguish that Jonah went through was heart wrenching, and exhausting, and hard for the kids to experience. But I think its good for them to go through this with Jonah and learn and grow from it, hard as it is. It looked like we would still be there for quite some time, but I went to Abdissa and said, we have to go....NOW please. Jonah was just about to pass out, and we just needed to get back to the hotel, STAT! Thankfully Adunye came to the rescue and we were released. Jonah passed out as soon as the car started, and woke up in much better shape. Mike and I were ready for a glass of wine (or more!) and it was only 2pm! So no such luck... Anyway, Jonah was fine after he woke up and was back at the hotel, and after an afternoon snack of ice cream cones he was back to his happy bouncy self. As hard as it was to watch Jonah express all that grief and pain, I do believe the fact that he is releasing it is very healthy and a good thing....When we adopted Holly she was the opposite, she was completely shut down emotionally for the first few days and even weeks, and in hind sight I think that made her process longer and more difficult.
Bed time is hard for Jonah....but he is so tired by the end of the day that he generally passes out after crying for about 10 minutes. We gave up on the nap idea as it was a total failure, and that sure makes bet time easier.... So last night was the giardia nightmare.... Sorry to be graphic here, but if any of you have ever experiences giardia (we went through this with Mahlia last year) it has to be experienced to be believed... In the middle of the night I woke up to Jonah's face about 3 inches from mine and figured that he had climbed out of his crib for some reason, and then the aroma hit..... And when I snapped the light on, the horror of the situation became apparent all to quickly.... (Catherine, think Mahlia explosion in the RV....:) I won't give you all the gory details, but let me tell you it was gory.. :)All the kids ended up awake, from the aroma alone, and it was quite the exciting clean up process....thankfully I have never had to deal with anything quite like that, but I fear its not the last run in we'll have before we can get this kid some giardia meds.... I fear the flight home....must remember to pack accordingly!
And our energetic boy, who slept next to me the rest of the night (all cleaned up:) was up and running by 6am! Its only 11am and I need a nap! Ha, not likely... Today is the Consulate Appointment where we go to the American Embassy to get Jonah's US entrance visa, and wait, and wait, and wait around....again.... This time the kids will be very interested to see the machine gun clad very serious guards patrolling the place though.... Then this afternoon its off to the park with the gang :)
Love from Addis Ababa,
Jennifer
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