July 20

I dressed Denver in his Passport to Canada shirt and Canada flag Robeez this morning thinking it may be appropriate today. I’m feeling nervous but trying to stay hopeful.

I didn't get a good picture of the shirt but I did get some serious tongue talent!

After breakfast we had another informal meeting with the lawyer from BDO. I called Nick Firlotte at the Canadian Embassy at 8:30 to see if he had received any visas on Friday. He said there was nothing there yet but he would look into it to see if he could find out if they were on their way and when they would arrive. He said he’d call me back in about 10 minutes. I waited well over an hour and then remembered that because it was a power out day, he probably wouldn’t get through. So I called him again (for some reason you can call out) and after many rings he answered. He was just in a meeting with the lawyer and he wanted to know if he could share the information with him (he was worried about privacy). All of our families already decided we were okay to share our file information (i.e. PRV or citizenship, where we were in the wait, etc. – nothing personal). Nick said he was a little worried about privacy but he assumed we all wanted to know whose visas were on their way. I said that none of us would mind if he gave me the list of names. So he did. I found out that there are eight visas on their way and Baheran’s (Denver's) is one of them!!! Also, one of the families that didn’t get an email from Nairobi will be getting their visas, which is great because they were really worried and disappointed not to get the same email some of the rest of us got. So Nick told me they would arrive via DHL at his office either Tuesday afternoon or Wednesday morning. I’m so excited that I will finally have those final documents in my hands. All I have left to do after that is to get over to the German Embassy to get that transit visa for Denver.

Later in the morning we went with two other families to a big bookstore down Bole road. As we were walking there we noticed the military had moved in. There were soldiers everywhere and they were armed – some even had their guns drawn. It was kind of weird and we wondered what was going on – none of the locals seems too distressed about it. We found out later that the prime minister was coming into town and that’s why they were all there.

The bookstore was great. I got quite a few Amharic/English books for the kids and some cd’s and post cards plus a book about Ethiopian food and cooking for Mike. I also saw a really nice book about Ethiopia but it was 630 birr (about $63.00 US) and it would be really heavy to take home in my suitcase too – so I didn’t get it. I’m hoping to still find a nice book on Ethiopia before I go home. I also bought a map of Africa for Mike on the way home from someone on the street.

This afternoon we decided to hire a driver and do a bit of shopping. I’ve been worried about spending money because I didn’t know how long I’d be here for and it would get kind of expensive if my stay ended up being weeks or months. So now that we know the visas are on their way, I feel a bit more relaxed. So I went out and bought some souvenirs. I got some wooden elephants, outfits for the whole family (perhaps to wear at Denver’s baptism), a necklace for myself made of silver and giraffe hair (beautiful!) and two African pictures that were made out of banana leaves. It was a beautiful shop and the owner was very kind and helpful as I tried to find the right size of clothes for the kids. It’s really hard to judge without them right in front of me so I hope they fit.

When we got back, we played in the courtyard for a while with all the kids. It’s such a great place for them all to hang out and Denver loves watching the action too. It’s getting quite busy here at the Weygoss. There are families here from all over. There is one couple here from Denmark. I was talking to them for a little bit at breakfast and she said that she used to work in an orphanage somewhere in Africa and that Denver reminds her very much of one of the little babies there. Her husband chimed in that this little one was one of her favourites. She couldn’t get enough of Denver. I think there are 12 Imagine Adoption families here now. It’s so different from when we were first here and there were only four families. I find there is a lot of anger and bitterness towards the agency. It sounds like there have been some lies and lack of communication but I find it so sad that some people are entering into parenthood (some for the first time) with such a resentment in them. Apparently the director and her partner are still here and the lawyer has been meeting with them as needed. It’s really cool to have so many other families here and there are a few that I really enjoy being with and hang out with more often. We too are disappointed about the agency situation but we can make little jokes about it and don’t have the same bitterness as others. We often refer to things as pre-crisis and post-crisis. We all had planned things so differently for this adoption journey and especially the trip to Ethiopia. But such is life and we make the best of it. And ultimately we’ve all been blessed with these beautiful children.

We went out for dinner – four families all together. It was really nice. We tried a new Italian restaurant – Makush. So, yes, I had pizza again. I had a vegetarian pizza and it was really good. Whenever we have leftovers from any meals we usually give it to the gate man at the Weygoss. He really appreciates it. On the rare occasion we’ve given it to a child on the street. We also shared a bottle of wine at dinner which was really good. I think it helped me relax a little too. We stopped for water on the way home. Power was still out when we got back to our room so I gave Denver his bottle and we headed to bed.

Some pictures from the streets of Addis Ababa: