The Latest

That last post was written in July and somehow never got posted. Not sure why so I went ahead and posted it anyway because so much has happened and I hate not getting it all down!! I am just so incredibly busy and haven't had time to set up a new blog. If I can't do it soon I will just return to this blog because I miss blogging desperately!

So, yes, we are here and two months later I still find myself surprised that I actually pulled it off! Do I really live 8,000 miles from home? It's really amazing to me and although adjusting to life overseas has been hard for both of us, I know I made the right decision.

Almi is growing in so many ways! She's getting taller and heavier; her hair is getting longer and her vocabulary is expanding. She is more expressive and affectionate than ever! She is the youngest in her class (a mixed class of 3 and 4 year olds) but she is thriving. She misses Ms. Etse but she loves her new school. I am thrilled with her teachers and they say wonderful things about her. I am so proud!

Here are a few photos from the trip. They flew us business class which was really nice. I bought a flight harness which I highly recommend.

We had to change planes and dragging bags and a toddler through an airport on no sleep was no picnic but thankfully she is a great traveler!

The toilet in Korea had all these weird symbols on it. I told her not to touch but frankly I was kind of curious myself. She pushed one of these buttons and it was a spray of water like a bidet except the water came up very high and hit the door. I figured it would stop on it's own but it didn't!! A large puddle was forming on the floor as I was frantically pushing buttons trying to find the off switch. It wasn't funny at the time but in retrospect it was pretty hilarious!

Here are a few pics hanging out in the business class lounge:

Three planes later we arrived at our destination. We were both exhausted.

We finally arrived at our new apartment and I snapped this photo of the lobby as soon as we walked in. Our apartment is quite nice... and has no bugs (which is what I was most afraid of with living in the tropics so what a relief!!)

My new job, as predicted, is extremely busy. I don't get to see Almi as much as I want which I am finding really hard. But I look forward to things settling down soon so I can spend more time with her and start taking advantage of all the perks that living abroad offers. Here we are in front of our school:

Almi is happy and I am starting to make friends and we have a trip to beach planned in the coming weeks!! Life is good. But most importantly we have each other. I am so happy to have my little girl here experiencing all of this with me.

Well, that's a small update and someway, somehow I will get back to blogging full time very soon!!

We Are Here!!

After three long fights we finally arrived at our destination around midnight and were met by an employee at my new job. Almi was very good on the plane and I must say that business class made it so much easier. We were dropped at our new apartment which is a 3 bedroom 3.5 bath, plus maid's quarters (she also has a full bath) in a modern condominium building with a gym and an infinity pool. I am quite happy with the apartment even though I prefer an open floor plan and more light and to not be so high up. We are on the 38th floor and there are floor to ceiling windows in every room. The view is quite spectacular but it is very, very scary!


So, quickly, here are a few highlights of life thus far:


1. I hired a live-in nanny and she is working out alright. She isn't Ms. E or even the neighborhood teen age sitter we loved but she is OK. She seems honest and seems to care about Almi so that's enough for me to keep her around for right now. She also cleans and cooks. Her cleaning skills seem fine but her cooking could use some work. I don't really have the time to show her and my cookbooks are still in transit so for now we are making do with what she can make. I was disappointed because her previous employers said she was a fantastic cook so I was expecting these sumptuous meals every night and that is so not the case. But I can say it is nice to not have to do the dishes or the laundry. I do miss Almi a lot though and want to give her her bath and tuck her in at night when I get home from work so it's quite nice to have the luxury of just getting up from the table to do that and come back to a clean kitchen.


2. My new job is going to be very, very busy. I can tell that already. At least, though, I can feel like it's worth it to work hard because I have a nice home and hired help and money can be saved. It makes me a lot less resentful. Our facilities are fantastic and I am excited to be working here.


3. Almi has been asking to "go home" and to see her friends and it breaks my heart. I know she will be much happier when she starts school. Right now she spends most of her time hanging out with the nanny and she doesn't have many of her toys so I know she's a bit bored and missing her old life. A colleague in my building has a 2.5 year old son who she said is also very high energy and we are going to go in on a swim teacher who can come to our building and give our kids swimming lessons. We are also both interested in a dance/music class for our kiddos as well as gymnastics. There are actually quite a few families in our building with children so I will be setting up playdates for Almi quite frequently.


Well, that's about it. Our new life in Asia has begun and sometimes I feel like I am in a dream and will wake up and return to life in DC. but I am happy I made the leap and am excited for what's to come.

This is My Last Post

We leave Wednesday morning. And you know what? I still doesn't seem real!!! Am I really going to start work on Monday at a new job in a foreign country???!!! It is so odd to think about but I have never been busier in my entire life so I really haven't had the time to think much about it. I am going through the motions of packing and paperwork and running around to the passport office and Embassy and selling stuff and storing stuff but without excitement or trepidation or sadness or curiosity. My focus is purely on the things on my to do list and that has kept me so occupied that my brain is too full to feel emotions. It's the weirdest thing.

This week has been extremely busy. Here's a small taste: calling the moving company, scanning and emailing documents, meeting with a cleaning company,picking up Almi's passport, getting a safety deposit box, buying a book on airports, selling a couch, putting stuff on Freecycle, taking things to the thrift store, purchasing last minute items,washing clothes, backing up my computer, buying teaching gifts, spending time with friends...

I am telling you, it has been no joke and more than once I found myself annoyed that I didn't have a spouse to take on half of the items. Seriously, there was more to do than was humanly possible for one person to do, especially someone who finds it hard to ask for help and to delegate.

As I type I am realizing that as much as I need or maybe want to document this phase, I really better get back to work. I have one day left to do touch up painting, sell my car, back up my hard drive, get documents authenticated, sign the contract with the management company, finish packing, finish emptying my house, charge batteries, etc.. and I'm so sleepy!

So I better go. This is my last post from my desk in Washington, DC. I may post again soon after we arrive or I may wait until my new blog is up and running. Or I may just continue to post here as usual. I don't know but I'll figure that out when I have time to think about it!! For now, I am going to focus on my list and hoping that I get some sleep tonight. It's 12:30am now? I project I will be done by 4. Ugh. Wish me luck!

Our journey ahead is going to be long and taxing. We are taking three flights. If you are the praying kind, please pray that we travel safely to our destination and for us both to have a seamless readjustment. And while you're at it, please pray that she is on her best behavior in the airport and on the airplane! Thanks, I appreciate it.

Until next time,
L&N

FOUND!!

I interrupt this mad packing session to inform you of something fabulous. I am SOOOOOOOOO happy to report that in my cleaning, Almi's original Ethiopian paperwork has been found!! My friend was over here helping me pack and thank God I went over to see what she had placed in the box before she sealed it up! I want to run put it all in the safety deposit box but I need to find out if any of it will be needed in our travels.

I had told myself that everything had to be packed up by 4pm today or it was all going to Goodwill or in the trash. It is 5:30 and I still have about 10% of my house to pack up. I didn't make that deadline but it will all be done tonight or thrown out. Seriously.

Why because tomorrow I need to tackle the FORTY FIVE ITEMS that are still on my to do list. Yes, there are still 45. And ideally they will all be done tomorrow so Tuesday I can relax!!!

Ok, gotta get back to work!

Ethiopian Friends

When I was offered my position to teach overseas I inquired if there were any other Ethiopian children at the school. I was told, no but that there were South African and Caribbean and Namibian and adopted children and single moms but no, no Ethiopians. He reassured me that although there are no Ethiopians there are so many people from so many different places that no one feels like an outsider. I'm sure that's true but we will both really, really miss the Ethiopian community here in DC and our Ethiopian friends.

Almi spent one more night with her teacher. I got these photos of them going to church. Ms. E said she was very well behaved in church and loved wearing the green dress. She also told me she started speaking to her in Amharic and that Almi was starting to understand. "In one year she would've be fluent," Ms. E shared with me. Yeah, I cried on the drive home thinking about that one.


Another sad thing is Almi won't get to grow up with all the Ethiopian children adopted by friends of mine. It would have been such a great thing for Almi to be included in this group, not to mention so many of these kids are also children of single moms. Dinknesh, Asfaw, Isley, Maddie, Rebekah, baby Dawson, Daniel, Jewel, Amara and others would have become very special friends. We did at least luck out and get to meet A in the knick of time. D just brought A home from Ethiopia a few weeks ago and we got in one playdate at the local park.

Our new home doesn't even have any Ethiopian restaurants but I did pack some berbere powder and I will be teaching the cook how to make doro wat, tikil gomen and other Ethiopian dishes. If I can find the right ingredients and pan, I will even ask her to try her hand at injera (or "ah-JEW-ah" as Almi calls it). Almi loves herself some ahjewah. I also downloaded some Ethiopian music onto my computer and packed some Ethiopian clothing, jewelry and art to decorate our new home that I picked up in Addis. And who knows? Maybe after this contract I will be offered a job to teach in Ethiopia? But for now we will make do with what we have and I will do my part to keep our connection to and love of Ethiopia alive in our home and in our hearts. We may even have enough money to visit one day soon. In the interim, we are off to become citizens of the world. We leave in three days for our Asian adventure.

Five Hours

That is how long I was at the hair salon. Yes, FIVE HOURS! Far too long. But at least my hair looks good and I can pass for being ten years younger (my #1 goal no matter the price)!

Five hours is also how long I hung out at my going away party. I am going to miss everyone so much!!! We had a great, great time.

Down to the Wire

I don't get Almi's passport until Monday, two days before we travel. Can we say "down to the wire?" Come on, everyone say it with me: DOWN TO THE WIRE!

I couldn't apply for it until her readoption was completed and since that just happened on June 30th I couldn't apply through the mail because that takes 6-8 weeks. I needed to get it expedited but you can't do that until you are within 14 days of travel. And they assign your appointment time. So today was our appointment time, this morning at 11:30 and I had to bring Naomi. You know bringing her anywhere is a crap shoot in terms of her behavior but thankfully this morning she was pretty well-behaved.

Do you want to know what I brought with me to apply for the passport? Take a look at this list:

* her final adoption decree, certified
* a copy of her final adoption decree
* her Ethiopian passport
* her resident alien card
* her social security card
* a copy of her social security card
* copies of her original Ethiopian paperwork
* my passport
* my original birth certificate
* a copy of my original birth certificate, certified
* the DS-11 passport application filled out in black pen only (picture me tearing through my house this morning searching high and low for a black pen and how annoyed I was when I kept finding blue ones)
* 2 passport photos
* my travel itinerary
* my confirmation number
* my checkbook
* Almi

Yeah, all. of. that. But I did what they asked, of course, and look forward to being able to check securing Almi's US passport off the list!