First Ice Cream!

Today has been a slower day, one just to relax and enjoy ourselves.  Originally we had planned on going to visit two of the local orphanages, but there is a national holiday today and the offices are closed for the orphanages and we were not able to go.  We had just about decided not to go anyway.  The transition home where we picked up our children was difficult enough to see, but we understand the conditions in the orphanages are even worse.  Mary and I both care a great deal about the orphans here, but it is hard to see firsthand and after the week we have had, we weren't sure we could do it.  Each of the children are originally in one of the several orphanages here until they are matched with a family, and once they are matched they go into the transition home in which the conditions are much better.  The reason for this is because once they are matched with a family, our adoption fees help support them. In Micah's situation he didn't stay very long in the orphanage before he went into the transition home so we do not have the ties to the orphanage that many children do.  It can be a bit traumatic for some of the older kids to go back to visit the orphanage they come from, but so much of their history is in that orphanage.  In addition, we are one of the few that were able to meet the birth family.  This is the most important part of his history and heritage so we didn't feel the need to visit the orphanage he came from. Therefore, today we hung out at the guest house enjoying Micah and the other families here and their children.  Without an exception, we have very much enjoyed each of the families and their kids. Today  we also went to the Edna Mall near where we are staying.  It is only a few years old and is not much different than many malls in the US.  It is very westernized and Western culture is everywhere.  We even went into a place very similar to a Chuck-E-Cheese.  There were the same video games that one would find in the US.  The only difference was when the electricity goes off in the entire mall for a few minutes until they can get the generator running.  The generator was indoors with no ventilation other than the natural breeze flowing through the doors of the building.  Not only was it loud, it smelled of diesel smoke and exhaust.  Others didn't seem to mind too much so we just go with the flow.  It really is funny here how things like fresh air mean very little.  The air pollution is terrible here with car and bus fumes bellowing from every vehicle.  There is no fresh air circulation in any building as there is no heating or cooling in any of the buildings.  Today we learned that part of the reason for this is many have historically thought that disease comes from the wind, therefore they are reluctant to open windows or have any kind of breeze flowing.  The heat is never unbearable but it can be hot and it is never cold (to us) so no HVAC is necessary.  In the taxis people will keep the windows up most of the time because they do not want the wind on them.  You can imagine what it is like in a car or bus with the windows up and full of people.  Just like many other developing countries, they can pack 20 or so people in a minivan.  I have to think this could be one of the worst punishments possible anyone could give me: put me in the back seat of a minivan, the windows all closed, with 19 other people sitting on top of each other, most of whom have not showered in a couple of weeks! After the mall we have come back to the guest house to relax for the afternoon and evening.  We are having fun playing with Micah and resting.  Tomorrow we are scheduled to take a tour of a coffee processing plant, of course our schedules change so much here at the last minute who knows! We didn't find out that we could not go to the orphanage today until last night because it was a national holiday.  It is very much a part of the culture to NOT plan ahead for anything.  If it works out fine and if not that is fine also.  You never know, but when in Africa, do as the Africans!  This is easier said than done for those from an American culture who have every hour of every day scheduled. The photos I am posting today are a bit random, but the first is a pic of Micah in the outfit that our daughters picked for him to wear today.  We consult with them on Facebook at the beginning of every day.  When it is early morning here it is late evening at home so we get a chance to chat for an hour or two, depending on how long we can keep the internet connection. The second photo is of typical construction methods here.  They use the poles to hold up the next floor as they are building a building.  They also use them as scaffolding up the side of new buildings.  Yesterday we saw a 10 story building with thees wooden scaffoldings all the way to the top.  When we made a comment about it, our guide said they are safer than metal because you cannot know when metal has rusted too much.  I didn't say anything, but I am not sure I believe him! The last photo is of Micah's first ice cream.  I think he is hooked!  It was refreshing to have something that was cold here.  It is rare to see ice here and even if you did we cannot have it because it is just like the water obviously.  We were at a Kaldi's, which is an Ethiopian version of Starbucks.  He also liked Mary's caramel frappacino.  It really is amazing to see the most desperate poverty right next to a place like this.  Tomorrow is the last day and although we are not looking forward to the trip, we are certainly looking forward to being home with Micah!