We left our house at about 3:30 am. It was dark. And I was deliriously tired. And nauseatingly nervous. The flight to DC was a breeze. The flight to Addis was not. It was a full flight, so there was no stretching the legs or sprawling out over a row of seats. I got to sit next to a man who had no shame. A nose picking, armpit scratching and beer guzzling stinky stranger. I did not sleep the entire way there. It was painful and I was on the verge of tears. I was quite a mess. When we arrived in Addis there was no one to meet us at the airport. A Children's Hope rep should have been there to pick us up and take us back to House of Hope II, the CHI guest house for adoptive parents. But no. We waited. And waited. We finally decided to try and call HOH. No dice. Our phone could not get service, and we couldn't figure out the pay phones at the airport. And we were cranky and tired. I guess we must have looked pretty pitiful because a woman approached us and asked if she could call someone for us. Hoorah! We finally got ahold of our escort, who showed up at the airport about 30 minutes later. Apparently there was some miscommunication between our agency and the HOH director about our arrival day.
We made it to the HOH II so we could get some rest and have lunch before going to the transition home to meet our daughter.
The children are at the House of Hope, aka HOH, aka The Transition Home. It is about a mile from the guest house where we were staying. Wren was waiting for us when we got there. She was in a very good mood, singing and smiling, happy to see us. Her nanny carried her upstairs and lead us to a family room, where all the magic family bonding happens. It is just a plain room with some tables and couches. At first she was not too keen on being left alone with us, but after just a few minutes she warmed up to us and her nanny snuck out. Wren was very excited to show us her new shoes. She would point to them, smile and say "chamas" (shoes). We would take them off and put them back on - that was a fun game. She was also entertained by the computer and the phone and a piece of cardboard she found under the sofa. We left the transition home late in the afternoon. Wren was very sleepy - she had skipped her nap to see us. We would go back the following morning for some more bonding/play time.
sleepy wren. sleepy mommy.
Our drive took us back to the HOH II, where we had dinner. It was a traditional Ethiopian meal; cooked veggies, rice, some mysterious meatball things, and injera - a traditional Ethiopian bread. everything was great, except the injera. Some people love it, some hate it. It looks like a giant pita, but it tastes nothing like pita. It's spongey. And sour. And kind of bitter. It is used as a utensil; just tear off a piece of injera and pinch up some rice and veggies. It wasn't our favorite, but it is the pride of Ethiopian cuisine, so we cleaned our plates.
There were no other CHI adoptive parents making the trip with us, so we were the only ones at the guest house. It was lonely and we would have loved to have had the opportunity to meet and talk with other adoptive parents. Hopefully next time!
our (messy) room at the House of Hope II
exterior of HOH II
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