On Monday the 16th we had an appointment at the
US Embassy at 7am. Our driver and translator picked us up around 6 to bring us
to the embassy. We arrived and found three very long lines with
people trying to get visas. Our translator said it is like that every day, all
day long. He escorted us over to a section for us to stand and stayed with us
for about 10 minutes or so. They don’t allow the translators to come in with
us, so he had to leave. We made it in the embassy after waiting about 30 minutes.
At which point, we were directed to a room where we sat for about another 20 more
minutes until they called our name to the window. We provided our paperwork and
they told us to go ahead and a have a seat and we’ll be called for our
interview. We sat for what felt like an eternity in a quiet room sitting an arm’s
length away from the person sitting across from you. All told our 7am visit
lasted about 3 hours.
We headed back to the hotel to change and to grab our things
to bring to the orphanage. We traveled our 30 minute ride through traffic to
get back to see our girl. Her hair was done up today and she was adorned with
colorful hair ties. When we arrived the kids were eating a snack, which some of
them wanted to share with us. I changed her into a colorful dress that I had
purchased about 2 years ago. It was my way of declaring that we would be
matched with a girl, after being mismatched initially with a boy. It was bittersweet
to see her wearing the dress because it is a size 24 months…T just turned 5
last month. She is an absolute peanut.
We spent more time on the balcony and had our moments of
chaos with the kids. Anytime we brought out food or coloring pages everyone on
the balcony wanted to partake. We eventually got smart and found the creole
word for “sit down”, which is “chita”, pronounced “shee-tah”. At one point I pulled
out a pack of gum, which caused multiple little hands to be shoved in front of
me. I’d give one and move on to the next person and that same little hand
quickly popped back in front of me for more. J
Speaking of gum, a funny moment with T was when she had
chewed hers up and she was sitting on my lap facing me. She decided to take her
gum out of her mouth and rub it on my neck/chest. Shawn was completely grossed
out. (Good thing she didn’t do it to him. Haha) She thought it was funny for
whatever reason. I told Shawn that Eli slobbered and drooled on him when he was
little, so this is T’s way of breaking us in to being her parents. J When she was done,
she took a wet wipe and cleaned me up. She wiped my neck, arms and face. J
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