Trip 1 - Day 6 - Shopping

On our itinerary, it said that we were to go shopping after the birth parent meetings.  This was really hard for us to wrap our minds around.  We just went through one of the most emotional days of our lives and now we were supposed to go shopping.  We really didn't have much say in the matter, as we were all in one van with one driver.  And, for a few couples, this would be their only opportunity to do some souvenir shopping. 

Don't get me wrong - we were all really looking forward to doing some shopping...just not right now. 

We pulled up to a strip mall of sorts.  We pulled into the parking lot...err...dirt...and were told we had a certain amount of time to shop.  I don't remember exactly how long.  This shopping area was referred to as the "post office" - not really sure why, as I didn't see a post office around, although maybe that was because I was too distracted by the children selling Chiclets, tissue, and wanting to shine our shoes.  Mind you, we were all still dressed in our Sunday best because we had court that morning and the birth parent meetings shortly before - we were quite the eye catchers walking around in our heels on very uneven dirt surfaces and over a very large pile of crushed rock.  The kids would wait for us while we were in a shop and beg and plead the moment we came back out: "Please, please. Chiclets?  Tissue?  Shoe shine?  Please.  My mudder die.  My fadder die.  I hungry.  Please."  Whew.  This was rough, obviously.  We were basically on our own and we knew that handing money out here was not safe for the children.  They were so sweet and beautiful and I would have loved to buy every darn pack of Chiclets and tissue (Lord knows I could use it), and I would have loved to have my shoes shined. 

Post office shopping (not our pic)

I have made a decision about our next trip - while the museums and buildings and churches are great, I want to spend more time with the people.  I'm going to sit at the "post office" and buy as much gum as I can and share it with as many kiddos as I can.  I'm going to get my shoes shined 100 times if they'll allow me.  I'll have the shiniest shoes around!  I'm going to talk with the shop owners about where they are from and how they came to have their own store in such a prime location.  I need to spend more time with the people because that's what I'm going to remember about this trip and I will be able to honestly tell my son how wonderful the people from his birth country truly are.

Very similar to our cross.

Anyway, Daddy had something very specific in mind that he wanted to bring home from this trip - a large, wooden, hand-carved Ethiopian cross.  Our friends from Buffalo had scouted one out for him the day before, and were able to show us exactly where to find it in this strip mall.  Cross - check.  Unfortunately, it didn't travel home well and has been sitting on my kitchen counter ever since waiting to be mended, but it smells of burnt wood and is absolutely gorgeous.  Can't wait to hang it on the wall!

We also picked up a cute little hand-stitched, colorful ball with Amharic characters on it for Ty, some silver bracelets, and some salad tongs.  Shopping in these shops is very much like shopping in Mexico - lots of bartering.  We had been told beforehand that it is best to barter for more quantity for the same price rather than talking them down on the price of one item, so that's what we did.  It was fun and cheap and we are very happy with our purchases. 

Our driver found us and told us it was time to go - man, that went by fast and it was a great distraction from the day's events!  Pulling out of our "parking spot" was dicey to say the least - there were people all around our van - children, nursing mommas, older men - all begging us to hand something out the window.  It is so hard to turn and look the other way.  It absolutely breaks your heart.  I kept remembering "whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me," but for THEIR safety, and those in our travel group who might not like to be mobbed as much as I would, I could not.  But, I have made a vow to myself to give them my time next time, and hopefully that will fulfill them as much as it will me.

When our driver dropped us back at the guesthouse, we were beat.  Was it on this trip that one of the suitcases (previously full of care center donations) started falling off the roof of the van? I think so.  Good catch, Kansas City!!  ha ha

When we entered the lobby, we ordered dinner for that night.  I decided to try the Mediterranean pizza, the description of which had something along the lines of marinara sauce, cheese, pineapple, olives, mushrooms, etc.  Sounded pretty good, and I had seen a pizza there the night before that looked delicious.  I think Daddy ordered something along the lines of a beef stew or stroganoff or something like that.

We took all of our stuff up to our room and crashed for a bit.  I think we took the opportunity to to post something on Facebook about our not passing court and about meeting Enat.  We were so emotionally drained from the day's events.  We had a lot of information to process.  A lot of whats? whens? wheres? hows? and whys?  There was not a family in our group that wasn't asking at least some of these questions.  There were some couples in our group that had much greater concerns and some couples who received information that they were not expecting even a little bit.  Some of us were left with more questions than we had when we came.  Some of us had questions answered that we really kind of wish weren't.  But there were some things that were certain - we were so blessed to be surrounded by these other couples, we were so blessed to be able to meet birth family members, we were all still shocked that not a single one of us passed court.

A few of us met in the dining room for dinner.  My "small" Mediterranean pizza was huge and square and lacked most of the listed ingredients, but it was good and I really appreciated the simplicity of it.  I actually ate more of it than I had any other meal since arriving in country and was feeling better physically than I had in a few days. 

After dinner we went upstairs to the "lounge" with Buffalo and talked about the day's events.  Like I mentioned previously (I think), it is amazing how different we were from this couple initially, but how much we have in common with them now.  There are ties that will bind us for the rest of our lives.  I can't tell you how much I appreciate having another couple who understands exactly what we are going through and the obstacles that we will face in the future.  Our sons are only one day apart in age and their beginnings could not be much more similar.  Praise God for bringing us to to Ethiopia to meet Buffalo!

This was the latest we had stayed up the entire trip.  I think it might have actually been after 10:00 p.m.  An absolute miracle and just in time to head home the next evening. 

On tap for tomorrow - more shopping, a new friendship, and packing to go home!!