Ethiopia Journal-Day 1

We arrived in Ethiopia on August 23rd and surprise, surprise one of our bags didn't make it. Now the question was whether it was in Denver, Cinci, New York or Dubai. The funny thing was that there were 3 of us who were missing luggage, all Americans and all adopting. Hmm........... We were met by Emebet, our agency rep, and she told us that we were going to drop our things off at our hotel and then we were off to the orphanage to get Yonas. Wow!!!

So we change our clothes and jump into our van with Emebet and our driver Abraham. We are introduced to the chaotic traffic and driving of Ethiopia and before you know it we are pulling over to the side of the road and Abraham jumps out of the van. At the major intersections, there aren't any traffic lights, a policeman stands with a whistle and if someone goes when they aren't supposed to, who knows when you're supposed to, he whistles at you to pull over and gives you a ticket. So this is what happened to us, and not only are you given a ticket, but the policeman takes off your license plate and takes it until you pay your fine. Interesting technique, huh? We continue on and turn off the main road, all roads off the main road are either dirt or cobblestone, and all of a sudden we hear this LOUD hissing sound. We have a flat tire! Well, neither Emebet or Abraham seem to be concerned and we continue on driving to the orphanage without even a glance at the tire, other than Chris sticking his head out the window.

There were 3 other families traveling with us from our agency and they were already at the first orphanage, Enat Alem, with their children and they were waiting for us. Walking into the orphange grounds, you are just swarmed by children of all ages. They grab your hands and just want your attention and love. I have never experienced anything so overwhelming! A little girl just clung to me and sat on my lap when I sat down. She kept touching my hair and holding my hand, she must have been 3 at the most. It was tough. We stayed for awhile there, Chris played soccer with some of the kiddos and then we were off with everyone to the other orphanage where Yonas was.

Yonas' orphanage was even more basic than the first. It amazes me how so many children survive these conditions. We were taken to Yonas' room that was filled with cribs with 2-3 babies in a crib. Yonas came right to us without even a whimper and he was exactly what I imagined. His caregiver was very upset to see him leave, which shows the love that all of these children are receiving. We had our boy after all of this time, unbelievable!