Ethiopia. . . Part II

I woke up on October 11th with great anticipation.  Today I would meet my son!!!  Everyone else in my travel group had met their children, as they traveled for the court hearing.  But this was my first trip so this would also be my first meeting.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to see our children until the afternoon, so we spent the morning going to a little market called The Post Office.  It's a great place to shop for Ethiopian treasures. 

It was finally time to head to Tokoul Orphanage! I didn't know what I expected, but what I experienced was so different.  We were in Addis Ababa, and before I knew it, we were turning on an unassuming dirt road, and before I knew it, I saw the sign for Tokoul, and the famous blue gates.  

All of the families were put in a room, and we waited for our children to be brought to us.  We waited, and then waited some more.  Okay, it was probably only about 10 minutes, but it seemed like FOREVER.  We finally all went outside as the weather was warm and beautiful.  And finally,  the children started getting carried out. . . one by one.  And I still waited.  Wouldn't you know that Nur was the last child to be brought out?

I held him and snuggled him.  I was overcome with emotion.  Let's just say I had spent many months working on all required to bring me to this very moment, and the emotions overcame me. He avoided eye contact with me, and none of the goofy faces I made could get a smile, let alone any emotion out of him.  Nope.  He clearly had no idea who I was, and wasn't real sure why I was holding him.  I know they take such good care of these children at the orphanage, but Nur just lacked spirit.  It's actually hard to look back and to think this is the same boy.  He is SO different today.  Here is the first day I met my son.

I remember thinking at first that he must be comfortable with me to be able to fall asleep on me.  (Shortly after this photo, he passed out) But the truth is, is that I think sleep was his defense mechanism.  He must have been so scared and confused this day. 

For two hours we got to visit our children, and then it was time to say goodbye.  Well, not really goodbye. . . more of I'll see you tomorrow!  I was strangely okay with leaving him too.  I wanted him to have the time he needed to adjust.  He definitely wasn't ready to go with me that day.

That evening, we went to an amazing restaurant.  They served traditional Ethiopia food, buffet style, and had dancers.  The dancers performed dances that depicted all of the different regions of Ethiopia.  It was amazing!  I couldn't take my eyes off the dancers.  The moves, the rhythm, the spirit! This white girl was jealous! ;)

We enjoyed this dinner with a group of French people who were also staying at our guesthouse, and were there for court.  It was a wonderful evening.

The next day we got to visit the orphanage again!  But not before we did some siteseeing around Addis.  You see, some people on our trip brought dresses to hand out to people, so we decided to go to a church where people congregate.  We pulled up, and there were hundreds of people.  I think all of us in the van were second guessing this decision, but we all got out of the van anyway.  We were handing out dresses, and before we knew it, we all got separated from each other and were getting mobbed.  I was trying to get back to the van, and an old, toothless man groped me, I then shoved him, and ran for cover. We all got in the van, and the people outside started shaking our van.  Our driver was finally able to get us out of that situation. Another wonderful learning moment. :)

And then it was to the orphanage.  Nur was a little more open this day, and I was even able to feed him a bottle.  On this day, he was willing to look into my eyes.  And I melted into his deep brown eyes. They are beautiful!

Our travel group. Lifelong friends I hope. :)

 Everyday, I would walk from the guesthouse to the local mall which had an internet cafe. T tried to call daily, but I also tried to hop online to get updates. Everyday, T would send me pics of TT and updates. Oh, how my heart ached to have my entire family together again. Here are some pics T sent me while I was away. (holy baldy!)

And the next day. . . October 13th, I would take Nur out of his home for the past 8 months, and into my arms forever.  Another very emotional day.