a forever family: Bringing Dawit Home

Wow!! I am not even sure where to start. We have been sooo busy.

Thursday morning, Josh and I woke up around 3AM and could not fall back asleep. We got ready and went down for breakfast on the 2^nd floor of our hotel around 6:30A. There was a huge buffet of foods, mostly Ethiopian, which of course, Josh was very eager to try. We checked out of the hotel, bought more water at the bar, and then our driver, Biniyam, picked us up and started driving. Around 30 minutes in, we stopped along the side of the road and picked up Gezahegne (our legal support here in Addis). Another 15 minutes of driving and we were at the Ethiopian courthouse - a large building with numerous floors. We were patted down by police officers at the door and then we proceeded to the 3^rd floor to a small courtroom. No cameras were allowed and we were told to leave our backpacks in the car. In the room, there were 6 pews, the judge’s desk and chair with a railing around 3 sides for someone to testify. Nothing on the cement walls or floors. While we waited around 15 minutes, several more groups of people were ushered in the room and they all looked like they were parents preparing to adopt. Some had their other children along too. And all had an Ethiopian legal representative with them. Then, a side door opened and we were led into the judge’s chambers, a small office with a desk and 6 or so guest chairs. The judge sat at his desk and his assistant sat next to the desk. For the next 5 minutes, he asked us many yes or no questions and checked off our responses on a form. He asked us questions about our family and if we had other children, if we lived in the country or city, if we knew others who had adopted from Ethiopia and if we maintained contact with them. He talked in English and very quietly. I remember Josh and I both sitting on the edges of our seats and leaning in so we could understand him At the end of the form, he signed his name really big at the bottom and we were done. Then I asked (because our agency told me to) if he would expedite the official final letter as were staying in country, and he smiled and said he would do so and it would be done in 15 minutes. When we left the chambers, the courtroom was standing room only, so we waited in the lobby area of the third floor. The center of every floor in the building was open air and the walls came up to a railing so you could see both up and down every floor. There was a skylight at the top, so everything was all lit up with daylight. After 15 minutes the assistant came out and gave Gezahegne a piece of paper. For the next hour and half we followed him around the building to get copies in a room with a copy machine and someone working it, then we went to another room where someone did something and then back to the copy machine room and then back to the room we came from, and then finally to a room upstairs again where we waited and waited. We ended up leaving before we got the official letter and Gezahegne said he would return in the afternoon to get it.

I asked if we could go back to Engida to see Dawit and Alemu said it was not possible today. Honestly, I was very disappointed because this is what we were planning on and had been told would happen. However, I didn’t push it.

We dropped Gezahegne off on the side of the road and then our driver took us to a museum at the Addis Ababa University. We were led by a guide who talked our way through every display. The electricity was out so the only light was that from the windows. And if you know me, backlight almost always gives me a migraine - and lo and behold - a migraine came 5 minutes into the tour. I couldn’t read anything, but Josh said he had a good time. Unfortunately, the aura flashes from the migraine wouldn’t go away even after 40 minutes, so we cut the tour short and left.

Then we drove to Alemu’s office, a green door in the wall, and waited to pick him up. Alemu joined us and this was the first we had really seen him, other than meeting him in the lobby the first day. Alemu speaks English, but our driver, Biniyam, not so much. So it was nice to have Alemu with us. Then we started the drive to Woliso, Ethiopia - Dawit’s hometown. But, on the way, we stopped at Engida to see Dawit. But he was sleeping, so we just peeked in and watched him sleep.

Dawit, sound asleep in his crib at Engida Orphanage, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Then we got back in the car and headed for Woliso. On the way we stopped at a hotel to eat lunch. I ordered roasted chicken and it sure was roasted. I never did get to eat any of the chicken. It had been roasted and re-roasted so many times I couldn’t physically pull the leg from the thigh. Even Josh tried but it never came apart. No way was I going to be able to bite into it. So I ate some rice and a roll. I also tried injera with some beef from Alemu’s plate. I swallowed the injera fine, but the beef was a different story. It was all fat and no meat. Oh well. After lunch we each had Macchiatos, which are Alemu's favorite, it seems.

After a 2.5 hour drive we made it to the town of Woliso. We first went to AbdiWaq Orphanage where Dawit spent the first 8 months of his life. This was a very large orphanage with many children of all ages. None of the babies had diapers on. There were four different children sitting on potty chairs outside on the walkway. We didn’t stay long, but long enough to see which crib was Dawit’s.

Dawit's bed was the one with the yellow sheet.

Then we went to St. Lukas Catholic Hospital. Two nurses brought us around the maternity ward. We were not allowed to take cameras into the hospital. The recovery room was lined with hospital beds on each side of the room like what we see today in WW2 movies. This was an emotional stop for both of us.

We got in the car again and drove another 5 minutes to the Negash Lodge where we stayed the night. We checked in and had 50 minutes before we had to meet Alemu for dinner. Apparently our driver walked down the road and stayed at a different hotel. Josh and I walked around a bit before it got dark and took pictures of some of the other houses/rooms. This lodge was originally built by the government but is now privately owned. Each room is a type of traditional home from one of Ethiopia’s regions or states. We were in the Hugare House.