Ethiopia Trip Update #2

So 9 hours later I'm back connected! And a cliff hanger, I left off right before I arrived at the orphanage.  The orphanage was a 30 minute drive from Holt's offices.  A pretty tense group of parents-to-be trying to make small talk.  College football was discussed, I'm not going to lie.

We drove through the gates into the orphanage into a gaggle of kids.  Over 60 kids are at the orphanage with about 13 nannies.  And all but the youngest know that the vans are bringing parents and some kids are getting families.  The kids were all craving attention and hoping you are their parent, it is heartbreaking.  The head nanny brought us into her office and sat us down.  Then they brought in the kids one by one to each of the families.  She handed him to me and he just sat there, kind of shy and probably a bit overwhelmed by being plopped into the lap of some random stranger.  He looked just like the referral picture we have of him, only was bigger than I expected.  He sat quietly with me for a while.  I showed him the picture book of me, Kristel and his new sisters.  He liked to turn the pages and touch our faces in the pictures.  Then we headed outside to play and he started to warm up.  He loved the matchbox cars that the girls sent for him.  He didn't want to let go of them but I did get him to run them on the ground with me until the other kids tried to take them, then he never let go of them.

At some point he figured out I would hold him, after that he never wanted to be let down.  The nannies said that was very unusual, most kids 2.5-3 years old are a bit standofish, especially with men.  Hopefully a good sign for our trip home that he likes to be held.  He would go limp if I tried to put him down, so I took advantage and just held him the whole time!  I saw his bedroom. He had a crib in a small room with 3 other beds.  I changed him into his Michigan shirt and put his blanket, a stuffed puppy and our picture book in his crib. 

The entire orphanage was clean and well cared for, the nannies did a tremendous job caring for their orphanage and the kids.  It will be hard to leave but at least the kids are in a place where they are loved and well cared for.  The nannies kept playing with all the kids and there was a ton of playing, laughing and dancing.  There was a reading room for the kids and they did some group songs and dances for us, including one in English they had learned.  After a few hours of playing it was lunch.  Traditional Ethiopian injerra (a sort of spongy pancake) and lentils dish.  There were seconds for the kids who wanted it.  Then it was naptime and time for the parents to leave.  It was hard, but they are in good hands.

That night we went shopping and out to a traditional dinner.  Today we did a traditional coffee ceremony and a tour to the Blue Nile Canyon, which is the start of the Great Rift Valley.  But for now I'm tired so that's a post for another day.

 

Justin