Okay, on Friday, August 30 we went to the Oromia region of Ethiopia to the orphanage where Meron's Ethiopian mom brought her. I am going to give a slide show a try, because there are so many good pictures of the countryside. It was just breathtaking. We left at 6am and had to leave Meron at the House of Hope. I felt so bad! She wasn't feeling well and I didn't want her to be left in her crib all day. I thought about just sending Nathan, but decided that if I were her Ethiopian mom (Meseret is her name) I would want desperately to know who my daughter's new mother was going to be. So, we left her there with the nannies... with only a few tears on my part!
Asela is about 2 1/2 hour drive from Addis Ababa. There were few towns or cities in between, but there were still people everywhere. That was really funny to see; even when we were absolutely in the middle of no where there would be people and donkeys and goats walking along the sides of the roads. We saw lots of villages where the homes had mud walls and thatched roofs. The scenery was beautiful. We went through the city of Nazaret, which is the capital of the Oromia region (Meron is Oromo, which is the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia). We got to the orphanage and we, along with Shawn and Lisa H who traveled with us, were given chairs in the directors tiny office. They then brought two more chairs and a middle aged couple and a little girl walked in and sat down with us. We were told through our translator that these were the birth parents of Shawn and Lisa's children. I think we were all a little shocked, and it felt awkward that we were there for such an intimate meeting. They talked for quite some time, and when they were finished they left and a woman walked in and sat down. It was Meron's birthmom. I won't say a lot about our meeting, as that is really Merrie's story to tell. Meseret was very nice, very shy, and very sad. It was pretty tough on all of us, and it was clear how much she loves Meron. It was very emotional and awkward, because really... what could we say? Thank you certainly isn't enough. We got a lot of details that we know will be precious to Meron when she grows up a little and we also got some pictures. Merrie's smile is a lot like her mom's!
We headed back to Addis, stopping at a resort for lunch on the way back. It was really strange, because to get to it we had to drive down a gravel road that was barely passable by car. We kept getting passed by people in horse drawn carts! It was just the middle of nowhere, and we pulled up to this elaborate gate and courtyard. It was near Debre Zeit which is famous for having 5 crater lakes. It was a very fancy restaurant and we ate on the terrace with water on three sides of us. It was calm and relaxing and probably exactly what we needed to reduce our stress level a little bit.
Saturday we went shopping and had a delicious Ethiopian meal and Sunday we were on our way home! We had a 3 hour flight from Addis to Dubai. We ran through the airport and just made it in time for our 14 hour flight from Dubai to JFK. That flight was awful. I really though I was going to die on that plane.... but I wasn't sure if we were going to crash or if I'd just die of old age. The whole plane was completely packed. In fact, I had a big bruise on my elbow, because it was jammed into the wall for 14 hours. Merrie did great though; I think I cried more than she did ! We then had a 6 hour layover in New York.... which was much appreciated. Then a quick 2 1/2 hour flight back to Minneapolis... although we spent an hour on the runway before we took off. It didn't really matter, as all three of us slept the entire time anyway. And that is it! We made it to Minnesota, a whole lot of excited family members met us at the baggage claim area where we received all of our luggage and introduced everyone to the still slumbering Meron. It was an incredible trip... and now you don't have to read any more about it! More gratuitous cute kid pictures for the next 100 posts or so!
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