More Ethiopia...

Things are going great here at home, but I think D and I forgot how clumsy a four-year-old can be, especially a continually excited four-year-old. Due to many, many wiped-out sets of clothes (we're talking at least 4 a day) we have now switched to sipper cups with SweetPea. I was finding it almost impossible to keep up with the laundry and at least she thinks the sipper cups are fun... Picture below is of SweetPea and D weeding the flower beds yesterday morning.


DAY THREE, UUHHHGGG!:
SweetPea slept really well again, but had an accident. It was kind-of funny, because she pretty much slept through being cleaned up and changed. I think at one point she was even snoring on my shoulder while I put clean pajamas on her. The other funny thing was that none it got on her bedding, because she was sleeping with her feet on the floor, bending over with her head on the bed. D did have to do a little cleaning on the carpet.
The next morning started fairly well, but we decided to order room service. It was actually cheaper that way (even with the tip) because we only had to pay for what we wanted. We ordered a waffle and some zil zil tibs for SweetPea and she devoured them in no time. We also had ordered orange juice for both SweetPea and I. Unfortunately, within a couple of minutes after drinking that orange juice I was very ill. It was the quickest and most severe on-set of food-poisoning I have ever had. I tried as best I could to finish getting ready, but it was impossible. Finally I just laid on the bed and went to sleep. We were supposed to go out to museums that day and shopping, but when Abel picked up D and SweetPea they just went to the HOH to hang out with the other kids and families.
I slept (interupted only by trips to pay homage to the tidy-bowl man) until D and SweetPea came back at about 1 pm to let me know that our embassy appointment had been changed to that day at 2 pm due to a holiday that was to occur the next day. I quickly got ready to go and Abel drove us over to the US Embassy.
The drive was short and Abel stayed with the car. The Embassy security was tight and at the time, I was very happy that we did not bring anything with us. We then went to a little waiting room that had a cute little play area for the children. It was really clost to SweetPea's nap time, so she was not even remotely interested in the play area. She sat very still in her seat and even though it was obvious she was really tired, she refused sit on either of our laps, or lean against us.
After a short while, Tsegaye came in with another family that was adopting an infant with CHI and staying at the HOH. Once they came in, SweetPea had to go potty. She and I walked to the next building and I was very disappointed when I saw the facilities. There was about 3 inches of what, for my own sanities sake, I can only assume was water. SweetPea and I had to wade through it (she in crocs, and me in open-toed heels) to get to the potties. They were fine, except about halfway through SweetPea's #2 potty-business I realized there was no toilet paper. I rushed to the sinks, and there were no paper towels. I thought for a second and realized that I was stuck, so I told SweetPea to sit tight and ran back to other building and got baby-wipes from the other CHI family. I then ran back to SweetPea. It was almost a complete disaster, because, as my foot hit that 3 inches of bathroom water I began to slide. I was lucky enough to catch my self, and only ended up with one pant leg that was wet up to my ankle. SweetPea was great and sat there waiting for me. We quickly cleaned her, and, of course, there was no soap. So we sanitized and went back to the waiting room (my internal monologue was in a loop informing myself that it was only water and nothing more sinister on my feet and ankle.) It was another 1 1/2 hours before all of the CHI families were called up together. We did a quick review of our docs and some kind of swearing-in with an Embassy person. Then we were out of there.
One of the other families was informed that they did not have enough time to take their baby back to the HOH before going to the original orphanage, so they left their sweet little baby with me because the Hilton was very close to the orphanage. D and SweetPea headed back to the HOH to play and have dinner.
It was so sweet to watch and play with that sweet little baby. The other family's meetings went well at the orphanage, and it was so beautiful to hand that little baby over to his new mother. He smiled immediately when he heard her voice and would not look away from her once he was in her arms. I have to admit at that point there was some doubt in my mind about whether or not we made the right choice in requesting an older child.
I spent the next couple of hours trying to recuperate with, luckily, ever decreasing trips to visit my good friend John. Around 8 pm, D brought in a screaming SweetPea. He said that she began crying as soon as they left the HOH, wailed all through the hotel, and began screaming as they approached our room. He was really stressed, so I just undressed her and gave her a bath. She chilled out just before getting in the water and was really cute while I bathed her. She happily put on her pajamas and cried for only about 1/2 hour at bedtime.
D and I, of course, called The Bean again that night.

DAY FOUR, Can I go home now?:
I was still really ill through much of the night, but woke to a chipper little girl who was very ready for breakfast around 8 am. I ordered some room service for her (I ate a couple of saltines) and she was really well behaved as we got ready for the day.
Abel picked us up around noon and we went to a museum where Dinknesh's (Lucy) bones were kept (I am still not sure if that was the real Lucy, or if those bones were replicas, for some reason, I keep thinking the real Lucy is somewhere in Europe). The museum had some interesting stuff in it, but I really didn't get much time to read the exhibits. Abel and D walked around looking at everything, and I spent my time attempting to get SweetPea not to touch or sit on any of the exhibits. On the top floor of the museum, SweetPea and I were approached by a group of Ethiopian men. They began speaking with SweetPea and laughing. One of them finally decided that they should inform me of their conversation and advised "She says that you are her mother, but she doesn't like you because you are white. She said I should tell you this." I found that interesting. Informed them that it was okay, took SweetPea's hand, and began to walk away. One of the other men then asked how was it possible that I was SweetPea's mother if my face was so white and hers was so black. I really wanted to just get away from the situation at this point, but there really wasn't anywhere to go so I told them she was adopted. So, of course, the next question was about how we communicate; which was followed by a question about my reasons for wanting a child that does not look like me. I knew that these questions would arise at some point, but I did not consider that they would have to be addressed in Ethiopia just days after meeting my daughter. It was rough, and I was not comfortable answering these questions at that time.
After the museum we went to get SweetPea some new shoes. Abel took us to a place that slightly resembled a strip mall. When we got out of the car, a little girl (somewhere between 8 and 11 years-old) approached me with her hand out for charity. She was quite possibly the most beautiful little girl I have ever seen. She had medium brown skin and absolutely gorgeous amber-colored eyes. She had diminutive features except for those beautiful eyes which were huge inside her too-thin face. When I told her no, she then motioned that she was hungry. Despite Abel's objection, I gave her a ClifBar. More than anything, I wanted to take this child in the car and try to figure out a way to bring her back home with us, but we just went about our business of getting SweetPea shoes. It hurt to do so, to know that I was walking away from that little girl who I felt needed me.
It only took a couple of minutes to get some shoes we liked for SweetPea. Then we went in another little shop and bought a truck playset for the HOH. When we got back in the car, and drove around the corner, we saw that beautiful girl with the amber eyes sharing the ClifBar with three other girls around the same age; all sitting amidst broken concrete and next to a little cloth tent. My heart aches every time I think about that situation and I replay the whole seen in my head imagining different outcomes. All the imagined results are so much better than what was actually witnessed.
Through-out the entire outing, SweetPea was in full rejection of D and I. She wouldn't hold our hands, acknowledge when we spoke to her, or even look in either of our directions.
Needless to say, taking her out of Abel's car, through the Hilton, and into our room was an ordeal. Once inside the room, we put her down for a nap, and she cried (& screamed) for about an hour, while D and I took turns trying to comfort her.
After her nap we went out with Abel, his fiance, the other CHI family and their driver, Eprem. They took us to a really nice traditional Ethiopian restaurant and I was lucky that SweetPea allowed me to sit next to her.
It became apparent that I was persona-non-grata in SweetPea's world, so she spent her the entire meal allowing me to feed her, but giving all of her attention to Abel's fiance who sat on her other side and whom she had never met prior to that evening.
A couple of minutes into the meal, the live entertainment started and we were WOWed by great singing and super energetic traditional Ethiopian dancing. SweetPea absolutely loved it and sat on Abel's fiance's lap so that she would have a better view.
Despite SweetPea's continued rejection, it was a really great night out and the other CHI couple were tons of fun. My only wish is that I would have been well enough to try some of that wonderful food.
Once back at the hotel, we made another grand entrance with screaming SweetPea and it took another two hours to calm her down. In fact the only thing that really worked was calling The Bean. SweetPea loved talking to The Bean on the phone, and requested to do so every time she noticed a phone for the rest of our trip.
She went to sleep without incident after that call and I was very grateful.