I’m back home now!  Everything went so well.  There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but thank the Lord…it all went right!

The internet was down a lot during my last couple days in Ethiopia, so I wasn’t able to keep in touch. 

The last 2 days I got to take Olivia out of the foster home for the day.  At first, she was wide-eyed and nervous.  There are around 60 children in the foster home.  They are all children who are “referred” to parents in Canada.  From what I understand, they do not leave the home, so driving in a vehicle was a new experience for her!

My goal for the next couple days was to make her smile.  It didn’t take long!  The internationally recognized game of “peek-a-boo” did the trick! 

Then, just like any other baby, she spent a good portion of the afternoon sleeping. 

Olivia’s skin isn’t as black as some of the other children I saw.  She’s a lighter shade of black, but still dark in contrast to my white skin!

And…just like any other baby, she did her share of pooping!  I gave her a bath in the lovely pink sink at the guesthouse.

As you can see, Olivia doesn’t fit the stereotypical picture of a starving Ethiopian baby!  She’s definitely well taken care of at the foster home!

And one more smile for the camera (which she must have thought was an extension of my hand at that point!). 

On the second-last evening in Ethiopia, we went to a restaurant called “Yod Abyssinia”.  It had an African atmosphere with traditional Ethiopian food and music.

Here is the group: myself, Kristen & Evan (my new acquaintences/friends from Alberta), and our driver, Ketema. 

The meal starts with a hand-washing ceremony.  Historically, the hand-washing before and after the meal, was a religious ritual.   They give you a bit of soap, and then they pour water from the pitcher over your hands, into the basin.  You are given a towel to wipe your hands, and then you discard it in the empty basket.   It’s actually a great custom!  Even on the flight to Ethiopia (on Ethiopian Airlines),  we were given white cloths to wash our hands before the meal was served.

When the meal is served, it is placed on a woven basket table.  It consists of one large Injera (flat, sourdough Ethiopian bread) placed on a covered tray.  All of the stews and meat are placed on the large Injera, and smaller Injera are rolled around the edge.  You take a small piece of Ijera and use it as a utensil to eat the stews and meat. 

We also enjoyed traditional Ethiopian music and entertainment.  The instruments are unique and different than I’ve seen in North America.  

One of the most fameous Ethiopian Dance is called Oromo head spinning.  It’s historically a dance that originated from the Oromo tribes in Ethiopia.  The lady spins her head at a flying speed!  It’s unbelievable, really.  Here’s a photo.  The lady on the front stage is head spinning.  That’s why it is a blur. 

All in all, the trip was a good experience!  I got to see Olivia, met some wonderful people, and enjoyed getting to know a foreign culture.  The Ethiopian people were very gracious and beautiful.    Amid the poverty, there is great beauty.  God loves the Ethiopian people, just like he loves the whole world. 

In 10 weeks or so, I will go back to pick up Olivia.  It takes about this long to process her permanent resident Visa.  Until then, I will enjoy the comforts of home!

Today was the big day! 

Me, another couple, and some adoption agency workers piled into the taxi van and headed to court.

We all assembled in a room that was jam-packed with at least 50 other people.  I was told they were all either adopting a child, or reliquishing a child to the courts.  There were people from all over the world.  Thankfully we were called in front of the judge within an hour.  The judge was a beautiful Ethiopian woman.  The court process was very short, and within a minute she was pronounced as belonging to us!  I anticipated I would cry, but it went so fast…I didn’t have time for emotions.

Then we piled back into the van and started to make our way to the foster home.  On the way back, we stopped.  No one knew why we were stopping.  Someone asked the driver, and he simply said we were meeting a man.  After a while, a man came to the window with a little baby in a blanket.  He handed it over to the foster-care worker, and away we went.  I felt like we were in some illegal child-trafficing transaction!  It was rather strange, but I suppose there is a process of getting a child from point A to point B, and we just happened to witness this exchange.

Then we headed to the foster home. For 2 reasons I suppose.  One, so the other couple and I could meet our children, and two…to drop off the newly acquired baby.

It was a very special moment when they handed (Olivia) Meseret to me.  For the first few minutes she was stunned.  These children have not seen white people before!  So to be put in the arms of someone with no pigment is quite alarming I’m sure!  We must look like aliens to them!

She did well for the first while, then she started to make the realization that I looked very strange.  She started to get worried and cried the rest of the time I spent with her.  It didn’t help that the child of the other couple was beside himself with fear.  Poor little guy!

She sure is a chubby little thing though!  My goodness.  I will get to take her to the guesthouse with me tomorrow.  We’ll see how that goes!  Hopefully it won’t be so scary seeing me for the second time.

Today was supposed to be my court date, meaning the day we make Olivia officially ours.   But since Sunday was a Muslim holiday, no one worked today either, so our court date is set for tomorrow.  Looking forward to that!

I did a bit of touring around Addis Ababa with a super-nice couple I met here at the guesthouse.  Turns out they know Leigh’s sister and her husband from when they lived in Strathmore Alberta.  That was kind of neat!

They had been to Ethiopia before, and are familiar with third world countries.  I was glad to spend the day with them, because to be quite honest…it was an experience.  Here I am at the guest house before we left this morning.

You see pictures, and hear of other people’s experiences in poor countries, but nothing prepares you for looking into their eyes and seeing it for yourself.  I get it now.  Until today, I didn’t understand how a mother could relinquish her child to an adoption agency, or simply abandon them.   I’ve always thought that I would live in a cardboard box if I had to, as long as I could be with my children.   However, now that I’ve seen the “cardboard box”, I can understand how these families come to that (probably) very difficult decision.  I can see now, how hard it must be to raise children in these conditions.   

We went to a market where I purchased a few souvenirs and some authentic Ethiopia dresses for Emma and I.   At the market, a little boy wanted to sell me a pack of gum.  I did buy it, as I knew it would help his family.  He had the biggest smile on his face when I gave him the 20 Birr.  When my kids sell something in Canada, they get to use the money for things they “want”.  I’m sure this money went for things his family “needed”, yet it still made his day that I bought that pack of gum!

Then an Ethiopian lady holding a baby walked up behind him.  She blew me a kiss, and said “I am his mother”.  That’s when I lost it.  I don’t know, I can’t explain it.  It was just a moment that touched my heart.

Next we went to a weaving factory.  From my understanding, it is an organization that helps widows and single women make a living by weaving fabric, and making scarves.  It was neat to watch!

There were quite a few little children around too.  Again, from my understanding, these are the children of the ladies who work at the factory.  They loved having their picture taken, as you can see! 

Then we went to a women’s pottery place.  Again, I think it’s an organization to support widowed ladies.  I did buy a beautiful bowl.  I hope it makes it to Canada without breaking!

My favorite picture of the day, was of an Ethiopian mother and her baby girl.  The colors are so beautiful.

Will be back again  tomorrow to post about the reason I’m here!  Little Olivia Meseret!

For some reason, I was very scared on my flight from London to Ethiopia.  The Lord and I walked very close those seven hours!  I think I was worried, because it started to feel “foreign”.  Air Canada, felt very familiar.  Ethiopian Air…not so much.  The plane seemed old, and the washrooms weren’t clean.  I don’t know…maybe I was just getting tired.

A few minutes after we took off, the engine went silent.  It was probably supposed to get quite, but it freaked me out.  I looked beside me and a black man looked back at me with fear in his eyes.  I thought for sure this was it, and we were going to die.   Then I looked at the monitor and saw that we were continuing to climb in altitude, so everything must have been all right.  Got my heart racing, anyway.

Later on, we had some major turbulence.  Once again… the black man and I shared a worried look.  I kept telling myself that I know I’m in the Lord’s will, so if I die, it must be what He wants for my family!  I think I was just over-tired.  I assumed I was going to die, so it was quite a relief and blessing to arrive in Ethiopia unscathed, and ALIVE!

It took an hour and a half to get the visitor’s visa.  Then I went through customs, and met up with Etema, one of the adoption agency’s drivers.  

Our first stop was the Weygoss guest house, where I am staying.  I was so tired.  It isn’t possible to get a great night’s sleep in an airplane as far as I’m concerned.  I got to the house at 9:00am.  I laid down for a little rest, and woke up at 3:30 feeling so much better!  Here are some photos of my room, and view from the balcony.  Tomorrow I will take a picture of the outside of the building.  

Then, I had a shower in the pink bathroom.  Yes, Clarissa…my bathroom pink!!! 

Then I needed to  change my US cash into Ethiopian Birr.  This is done at the Hilton Hotel.  So two other drivers (Getu and Mesfin) took me there.

Inside the Hilton compound, isn’t a true portrait of life in Ethiopia!  I did take a few photos though, as it was very beautiful.  There are so many lovely flowering trees here. 

Once back at the Guesthouse (which is costing $40.00 US per night), I ordered in some supper: a chicken salad and a Cocoa-Cola light.  This came to only $3.00!   I will try to take the empty bottle home!  Kind-of a unique keepsake, although I will have to try to find a Pepsi while I’m here.  I think Leigh would appreciate that more!

My court date was supposed to be tomorrow (Monday), but has been changed to Tuesday due to a Muslim holiday we are told.  It’s a little disappointing, because it just means I will have  one less day to spend with Olivia.   We are only permitted to visit our adopted children after the court date.

Will post again tomorrow!

I’m finally in Ethiopia, and all settled in!  I figured I would update my blog every day I’m here.  It’s an easy way to keep everyone informed with what I am seeing and doing. Plus, I have some free time on my hands!  I’m certainly not used to that.

I left on Friday, November 4^th from Winnipeg.  From there I connected in Toronto, and on to London, England.  I had quite a lengthy layover in England, so I arranged a tour of Widsor Castle with a lady named Jill.

She brought her son Adam along as well, who is training to do some tours of his own.  It was a FANTASTIC experience!  Jill was very knowledgeable about history, and shared lots of interesting tid-bits along the way. 

She drove me through the village of Eton, where the elite private school for boys is located.  It’s where Prince Harry & William attended school.  We were just driving through, so I didn’t get good photos. However,  it was typical of what you would envision an old English street to look like.  We saw a few of the students walking along the street.  Their uniforms are like tuxedos; a suit with tails!  I would have loved to take a picture, but wasn’t sure how to do it inconspicuously! 

We stopped by an old English mailbox for a photo.  This one, of course was with Leigh (my favorite post-man) in mind.

Then we carried on to Windsor.  We had lunch at the Drury House.  I just loved it, because it was so OLD and “English”.  Here is a photo of Jill (my tour guide) and her son Adam in front of the Drury House. 

The inside was very original.  Nothing was renovated, which made it very unique to admire.

Another cute tea-room was called the “Crooked House of Windsor”.  It’s hard to tell from the photo, but it is distinctly crooked.  I would have liked to stop here for tea as well, but we had to be on our way to Windsor Castle!

The tour of Windsor Castle is very informative.   They have a convenient audio guide system.  It’s a headset, and a held-held device.  As you go into a room, you see a sign that tells you what number to input into the hand-held.  Then it tells you all about the history of the room. 

They had to tell me twice to put my camera away, before I realized they were serious…there  is no picture-taking allowed inside the castle.  What a shame.  But if I had to describe what it looked like inside, it was exactly what you would imagine a castle would look like!  Extravagant, and very grand.  Here’s a few photo I took before I was put in my place, regarding the picture-taking policy.

This is a snapshot of a small portion of the queen’s doll clothes collection (for Emma’s viewing pleasure).  There were so many and they were so beautiful! 

I would have liked to take pictures of some of the knights, swords and guns for Rhett and Kordell, but I didn’t want to risk being kicked out of the castle!  However, I did take a picture of a cannon outside, that they might find interesting.  At least, I think that’s a cannon!

When no one was looking (boy, I’m bad!), I did sneak this picture of an Ethiopian crown that was given as a gift (at some point in history) to the Royal Family.  Since my destination was Ethiopia, I figured it was a must-have photo. 

Then I toured some of the cute shops along the streets. 

At 5:00, Jill picked me up and brought me back to London Heathrow airport to catch my flight to Ethiopia. 

So far, so good!