Well today was our last day and only second full day here. It is a very unique city. The highlights were the spice market, the creek boat ride with the locals, seeing the crazy buildings and of course the beach. It is a country of extremes. From the tallest buildings, the most expensive hotels, the cars and the heat, but what I enjoyed the most was the melting pot of cultures. Every type of person, from every nationality living together and seeming to accept each other (although I have been told that if you live here you find out that that is not the case). Our first morning we sat at a restaurant and watched the people. It is an amazing thing to see every clothing style from what you would see on the runways of Paris to traditional Arabic clothing all together.
Our first trip on the Metro here didn't go so well. First we accidentally got on the the 1st class section of the subway (yes I said first class), to which we were told we had to move. We then went back one car and Darryl was told he had to move. It seems that we were in the "women and children only" section. They also have these on all the buses. A great experience and one that we learned from very quickly....lol
We are glad we came here to see it, but I have to say: Dubai fell short of what we expected. It was a unique experience, but not one that I feel I have to do again or have to recommend to anyone. There are a few things to see and other then that it is honestly just another big city. The only thing we wish we would have had time for was to go to the desert. That would have been a great experience.
Tomorrow morning we leave for Ethiopia. I am writing this at 9:00pm, so in 24 hours I will have met my son! I can't wait.
I will keep you posted and hopefully be able to download pictures next time.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Well, We're Off!
That's right. We leave tomorrow. Yehhhh I have to go finish packing so this post won't be long. We leave tomorrow evening and arrive in Dubai Tuesday evening. We are spending 3 nights there (I have always wanted to see the craziness). We will get to Addis on Friday morning, and hopefully meet Tegegn in the afternoon.
Some good news came this week. We found out that Tegegn's VISA is on it's way to Addis, which means that we will be arrive home on July 7th as a family of 4. I hope to be able to update this blog a couple of times a week to keep everyone informed of our whereabouts, and hopefully upload some pictures of the 4 of us.
I can't believe this day is finally here. It has been a very long journey, but not as long as some of my friends that are currently waiting for referrals. I hope a lot of referrals are given and that the slow down ends when we are away. I will be thinking about you all.
Some good news came this week. We found out that Tegegn's VISA is on it's way to Addis, which means that we will be arrive home on July 7th as a family of 4. I hope to be able to update this blog a couple of times a week to keep everyone informed of our whereabouts, and hopefully upload some pictures of the 4 of us.
I can't believe this day is finally here. It has been a very long journey, but not as long as some of my friends that are currently waiting for referrals. I hope a lot of referrals are given and that the slow down ends when we are away. I will be thinking about you all.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
How to explain this to others?
It seems that almost daily I am telling people about our adoption. My job was posted at my work for my leave, so I now have over 200 people wondering what is going on. I'm obviously not pregnant, so most people assumed that I was going to be off for more surgery on my leg. They are shocked when I tell them about the adoption(happily shocked). There are two responses I get most often. First is "what a lucky boy", and second is "you are so wonderful for doing this". Both of these statements that I have had trouble with ever since we started this process.
Is he lucky? NO, he's not. Are we wonderful for doing this? No, we are not.
I know that people say these things with all good intentions but I have a really hard time with it. He is not lucky. If he was lucky, he would have been born in a country that provided enough food, water, shelter and security that he could have stayed there and been raised by his biological parents. He would have been born in the west, or at least into a middle class family. Instead he woke up one morning and his whole world was torn upside down. He didn't ask for this, and he does not understand what is going on. I'm sure he doesn't feel lucky.
We are the lucky ones. We get the most incredible and amazing job that anyone can get. We get to parent this boy. To watch him grow up, to watch him learn, to watch him love, to watch him become a man. That is lucky.
I understand what people mean by this comment, they mean that he is one of the small few who get to leave the cycle of poverty, he gets a future when so many don't, he will survive and not die of starvation like millions of others, but he doesn't understand this. One day he might. My hope is that one day our son looks back on his life and is proud of the journey it took to bring him to us. I hope one day he will look into my eyes and see that I know without a doubt that I am lucky that he was brought into my life.
When people tell me that I am wonderful for adopting, I don't know what to say. Adoption isn't something people do to feel wonderful. We didn't do this to feel good about ourselves. I donate money to charities to feel like a good person. I put presents under the Christmas tree at the local shelter to feel good about myself. This is something that I was always going to do. I was meant to adopt, which I can't explain to anyone who wasn't. I am not wonderful for doing this, I am just following my path. We are creating our family the way we were suppose to, the way we were meant to. And once again how lucky am I that this handsome boy is my son!
Is he lucky? NO, he's not. Are we wonderful for doing this? No, we are not.
I know that people say these things with all good intentions but I have a really hard time with it. He is not lucky. If he was lucky, he would have been born in a country that provided enough food, water, shelter and security that he could have stayed there and been raised by his biological parents. He would have been born in the west, or at least into a middle class family. Instead he woke up one morning and his whole world was torn upside down. He didn't ask for this, and he does not understand what is going on. I'm sure he doesn't feel lucky.
We are the lucky ones. We get the most incredible and amazing job that anyone can get. We get to parent this boy. To watch him grow up, to watch him learn, to watch him love, to watch him become a man. That is lucky.
I understand what people mean by this comment, they mean that he is one of the small few who get to leave the cycle of poverty, he gets a future when so many don't, he will survive and not die of starvation like millions of others, but he doesn't understand this. One day he might. My hope is that one day our son looks back on his life and is proud of the journey it took to bring him to us. I hope one day he will look into my eyes and see that I know without a doubt that I am lucky that he was brought into my life.
When people tell me that I am wonderful for adopting, I don't know what to say. Adoption isn't something people do to feel wonderful. We didn't do this to feel good about ourselves. I donate money to charities to feel like a good person. I put presents under the Christmas tree at the local shelter to feel good about myself. This is something that I was always going to do. I was meant to adopt, which I can't explain to anyone who wasn't. I am not wonderful for doing this, I am just following my path. We are creating our family the way we were suppose to, the way we were meant to. And once again how lucky am I that this handsome boy is my son!
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