Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Days 3 and 4

Early wake up call this morning so that we could be on the road to Durame by 7am. The trip was to last about 6 hours with most of the road paved. This was the same road that led to Hossanna when we went 2 years ago so I was really excited to get out of the city and see the country again.

The ride there was terrific. I was so happy we got to see this country during dry season (last time) and rainy season (this time). It is even more beautiful than I remember. The trip surprised a lot of our travel mates because most people think of Africa and think of dessert for miles and miles. Ethiopia is not like that at all. It is green and lush and just absolutely beautiful. Zach took some amazing pictures with the camera but it really is hard to capture.







Passing through Shinchicho was perhaps the toughest for me. This was Tariku’s home village. It was hard picturing our little guy who was probably consuming his weight in pizza at that moment, playing naked soccer with his friends. Or carrying younger siblings on his back. It was hard picturing him running to the car yelling “ferenge” (white man) and waving frantically at the car. But that’s exactly what he would’ve been doing, if he wasn’t dead, if he wasn’t with us. This is a really tough concept to wrap my head around. But I see Tariku’s eyes in all of these kids and it makes me miss him so much.

When we were getting to Durame we were amazed at the view. We were pleasantly surprised at the hotel in Durame. I’d heard such awful things (people told me to think of it as camping) but it was a nice hotel. The bed was definitely hard, we thought perhaps we were sleeping on the box springs, and the toilet didn’t flush unless you poured the water from the red bucket in the toilet. But, it had a toilet, it had a bed, it had a TV and a fridge and ours had a balcony with a view we would pay hundreds to see in the States.

We had time for lunch before meeting some special people. Meals here take fairly long as they make each meal one at a time. Very delicious though. We were all anxious to meet the special people so we struggled when lunch was running late to not press our American anal time deadlines on the Ethiopians.

After we met the special people we came back to the hotel to kind of release a little steam (i.e. drink some St. George’s beer). Zach and I were happy to see another Ethiopian we had been waiting to see was already at the hotel. We talked to him for awhile, which was definitely one of the best parts of the trip.

After dinner we just went up to the room to process a bit. Zach and I had some great moments trying to figure out the toilet (which we didn’t until the morning). Our travel group slept surprisingly well but that could’ve been because of the emotional stuff we had all been through or because we had all taken advantage of Tyelenol PM/Zanax. :-)

Up early again to head back to Addis Ababa. We had split our group with one group (the one who had brought kids from home) in one van and the other group (kidless for now) in the other. Our group (the kidless) had a lot of fun with the driver and media guy. We taught them lots of American things. Their favorite was by far the beef jerky, their least favorite might have been poptarts. :-) After eating the poptart they were begging for water. ;) Mesfin, the media guy, turns and says, “We love this group, we will always remember you.” Mesfin was great at answering all of my questions and pointing out different things about the country, a blessing to be sure.



We got back to Addis and had just a few hours to take showers and prepare our rooms to bring the kiddos back to the hotel with us. Zach decided to lay down and I decided to go shopping. We went to a little bead shop. This shop was terrific. Over 30 women who used to live on the streets now make the stuff in the shop. All proceeds go to them. One of the women was very proud that none of them live in the street anymore, they all have homes and are able to eat finally. I was more than happy to buy lots of goodies from them. :-)

Then, time to pick up the boys. Zach and I were both half excited, half nervous. I remember the first night with Tariku when we had nothing to do but look at him. We had toys, sure, but we couldn’t communicate with him so there was a lot of staring and then giggling. This proved to be true for us and the boys as well. We gave them a few thing, which they hoarded and counted a number of times. Then it was downstairs for dinner. Tomas eats like Tariku, which is to say, more than any little person should probably eat. Binyam barely ate anything but did enjoy the granola bar I gave them when we returned to the room.

Sleep was actually pretty great. We put them down a little after 7 and they had no problems falling asleep. At one point I heard them talking in the middle of the night but then Tomas scooted down to the foot of the bed and fell right back asleep. Everyone slept great until 6am which I think is pretty amazing.



Now to breakfast.

Today we hang out a lot and then head to our embassy appointment which is the final step to the boys becoming ours. We are incredibly excited about this. I find myself wanting to come home now that the boys are with us. They got to talk to our 3 at home and it sounded like everyone was excited. Makes me want us all together so badly!





More later. Much love to you!

17 comments:

Meg said...

WONDERFUL!

Cassie said...

that last photo looks JUST LIKE tariku!!

Chrissy said...

Great updates! I am super excited to hear your perspective! I hope your visit with the special people went well. Best wishes with the embassy appointment today! I guess by now you guys are back at the hotel!
Can't wait to hear about the goodbye ceremony! I think my oldest girl always comes to those - not sure about the other two though.

Andrea said...

Holy cow! He does look just like Tariku! Goodness!
They are beautiful! :o) Praying for a quick couple of days so you can get home to your kids...and have them all together.
Blessings
Andrea

Lindsey said...

Amazed and humbled!

terre said...

oh my, the pic of those young boys who came to the car to look at you---my heart flipped over! I have been praying for THOSE young men since you and Z first started to talk adoption from Ethiopia. Their eyes-- I am STILL crying---you know--the ugly cry. The world is an amazing place, which says much about the Creator of it! love you Tesi. come home soon and safely

Mandy said...

I can't believe how much Tomas looks like Tariku. Binyam is sooooooo cute! I love the pic of the three of you in bed!! Travel safe!

Sarah @ Cozy.Cottage.Cute. said...

Oh my, the smiles on those boys are contagious!

rbrum said...

SO EXCITED TO GO! everytime I read your blog it put me in a great mood, so excited for you!

cathy said...

Love you!!!!! Love the photos!!! Love your family finally coming together!!!

Beth said...

Just wonderful. It is almost like sharing the experience with you just to have been there so recently. The images of the countryside and Durame are burned into my memory. Love Mesfin. Love your boys and your terrific photos.

Don't tell Jared but let's try and travel together next time (dare I say it?) Can't wait to see you so soon. As always, prayers your way. Love to you.

Cindy said...

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! I am so excited for all of you! Looking forward to your whole family being together!

Jennifer said...

They are SO darn cute! I requested 0-6 with the knowledge I will more than likely end up with one 6+ and one 3-4. Ooooh if I get two cite boys like these, I will be ecstatic. :-)

M and M said...

Yeah baby! 'Nuff said, can't wait to see some Durame pictures.

Becky Nakashima Brooke said...

Thank you for sharing! Love the bed picture:) You all look soooo happy!

Finding Joy said...

Congratulations, Family!! I just cannot believe how much Tomas looks like Tariku. God definitely knew those two were going to be brothers!!! They are both absolutely precious and I cannot wait for your whole family of 7 (!!) to be home together. Blessings to you guys.

Ranavan said...

Beautiful boys!!!