Blog Entry
Posted by Loren Alldrin on December 23, 2009 to Adoption blog
(click any image to enlarge) Olivia Yodit's Salon Experience Hair is a big deal here, and Olivia gets the deluxe treatment. Ethiopian Princess Olivia loves her new hairdo, and Mom loves the two-week reprieve. That was $4 well spent! In the Hair Salon Happy times! Meet David David drives like everyone else is just borrowing his roads, but he does it with a smile. Hello, adoption fans! Today was embassy day, which turned out to be far less scary than it sounds. (Pictures were not allowed--sorry.) Two metal detectors, a 90-minute wait in a crowded room, a small stack of granola bars... Finally, we heard "Alldrin family, window number 7". We marched upstairs to talk through a plexiglass window to an American woman that took her job very seriously. We swore the info in our packet was accurate, answered some questions, signed a few documents and were on our way. We did have to sign a form stating that we were aware of Olivia's TB exposure, but that was the end of it. An AWAA representative will pick up visas in the morning, and that will be that. Praise God! After lunch, all three kids took long naps while Mom shopped. A huge thunderstorm kicked in and absolutely drenched the city. The thunder was very loud, but all three kids slept right through it. Suffice to say Kristen's shopping trip got canceled. When the kids woke up, we trotted down to a hair salon to get Olivia a cute hairdo. Two or three gals worked on her hair for about an hour, for a price of just 45 ETB (Ethiopian Birr). That's just over $4 US! She loves her new look, and Mom appreciates not having to do Olivia's hair for a few weeks. From there, we went to dinner. Ah, yes--dinner with a two-year-old. In just two days, the joys and challenges of toddler ownership have come flooding back to us. Snuggles, big smiles and endless curiosity are the highlights. Aching arms, loud screaming and toxic diaper blowouts are the downside. Samuel was quite a challenge at dinner. He reached for his glass of water every 10 seconds (no joke), wanted to bounce from Mom to Dad to Mom again, and blew out of his diaper sitting on my lap. Yuck! Attached to this blog you'll see a picture of David, our driver. What this guy did in Ethiopian traffic was nothing short of amazing. With relatively few exceptions, even large intersections in Addis Ababa have no lights. Cars pour in, and the brave get through first. Drivers just cut in front of each other, pass wherever and whenever, halt 50 cars to cross the road, whatever it takes. Add in pedestrians everywhere, and the driving is positively chaotic. Somehow David managed to keep us alive, all the while ruling the road like everyone else was just borrowing his pavement. The greatest thing was how he always did it with a smile, like the whole thing was just a wonderful challenge to him. Impressive artistry. Tomorrow: shopping, orphanage visits, a coffee plant tour, the flight home. Back to: Adoption blog Our Last Hurdle, the Embassy, Goes Without a Hitch
