Fun Facts about Ethiopia

Today is Thanksgiving 2010 - and at my aunt and uncles house I met someone who's friend adopted 2 boys this year from Ethiopia.  Her blog is now linked and its myfamilymyjourney.blogspot.com - amazing.  Anyhow she listed these interesting facts that I thought I would share.  

• Ethiopia has been around for a very long time. The country's Rift Valley is known as the cradle of humanity - fossils of the oldest known upright hominid (4-million years old) were found here in 2005, surpassing the famous 3.5-million-year-old 'Lucy', which was discovered in the same region back in 1974.

•A thousand years before Christ, the Queen of Sheba, we are told, traveled to Jerusalem where she met King Solomon, married him, and had a son, Menelik. When Menelik reached maturity, it is said he left Jerusalem and took with him the Ark of the Covenant, containing the original 10 commandments, back to Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church says it still has the ark in its possession. No one else makes such a claim...

•Ethiopia's official religion is the 1700 year old Ethiopian Christian Orthodox Church. The Jews of Ethiopia, Beta Israel, are said to have been there for 3000 years. And its Muslim adherents have practiced Islam for 1300 years. Ethiopia is split religiously, with official statistics of 35% to 40% Ethiopian Orthodox primarily in the north, and 45% to 50% Muslim, primarily in the South.

•Ethiopia is the only country in Africa never to be under colonial rule, other than a brief occupation by Italy during WWII. You can visit many restaurants in Ethiopia today due to the influence of Italy during the occupation.

•Traditional Ethiopian food consists of various vegetable or meat dishes, usually a wat or thick stew, served atop injera, which is a large crepe-like sourdough flatbread made from fermented teff flour. One does not eat with utensils, but instead uses a piece of the injera (always with the right hand) to scoop up the sauces.

•The Ethiopian calendar is very similar to the Egyptian Coptic calendar – each have 13 months, 12 with 30 days each and the 13th month at the end of the year with 5 or 6 days, depending on whether it is a leap year. The year starts on September 11th (12th in a leap year). The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years behind the Gregorian calendar, so Ethiopia recently celebrated their millennium on September 12, 2007.

•Coffee can be traced back to the 9th Century where it is believed a shepherd discovered coffee beans in the highlands of Ethiopia, namely the Kaffa region. The Ethiopian people are very proud of their coffee and they show this in their well known coffee ceremonies. The Coffee Ceremony is a very important part of socializing in Ethiopia and to be invited to a coffee ceremony is always considered a sign of respect and friendship.

•There are multiple tribes with different subcultures and over 80 languages in Ethiopia. The Amharic language is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia and is the official working language for Ethiopia.

•Family in Ethiopia includes immediate and extended relatives, neighbors, and friends. Faith and family are the foundation of the Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians are very respectful and loving. The elderly are considered very knowledgeable and as a very important part of the family structure. Children are usually raised in a large community that includes extended family and neighbors, and siblings are expected to help take care of each other.

AWESOME News for Thanksgiving

After a LONG day at work I get home to receive another letter from Homeland Security - pretty scary under any other circumstance.  Well great news - they accepted our application (even without all the documentation the agency said we needed to send - didn't need it - followed the instructions on the application) - anyhow we have our appointment for biometrics (fancy name for fingerprinting)!  December 17th!  And best of all - I have that day off - so no extra vacation hours to be used to get this done!

Just a few weeks away and we'll be in the DHS system - but one more step closer to finalizing our Dossier and having it sent to ET!  And just another step closer to bringing our little one home!

On a totally different note - I am on a few yahoo groups for Ethiopian Adoption.  I was reading some posts last night about bringing your child to ET when you pick up your adopted child.  A lot are taking kids Nate's age!  So I was thinking what an experience that could be - maybe not the first trip as there is a LOT of extra travel. But the second trip is shorter and what a way for our family to really bond!  And younger kids really do bond to the sibling quickly!  So pending costs - its something to consider right now.

Everyone have a blessed thanksgiving holiday!  I'm thrilled!  Even in the cold and rain -we are venturing to the Detroit Thanksgiving Parade with friends!  What a great tradition to start and carry on with a new one maybe next year!  So watch for us on TV - I know its partly on a national parade shows - ha - like you will ever see us!

God Bless
Gail

More waiting

I know - this will be our life for months - rush, rush and more rush - only to wait!  But I did get my HR paperwork today only to have to cancel my dr appointment next week where I was NOT leaving until I received my notarized letter from her.  Ha - I found out I need to travel for work next week -oh well.  Lets just hope USCIS doesn't schedule our appointment next week - I doubt they work that fast.  So we'll see.

I know in the long run - the long waits will be totally worth it!  I keep seeing other blogs and stories of all these other families and they are just beautiful.  I can't wait to see a picture of our child and then to hold them.  These months will seem foolish one day!  So I should just cherish my dreams and the quiet for now.

Today I"m preparing stuff for our Thanksgiving and thankful for so much.  Thankful for the family we have here and those in heaven.  I'm making my mom's homemade party (chex) mix.  YUMMY.  A tradition for the holidays.  I wish I had a few other things, but I do - only lost in storage.  Maybe this Christmas holiday I'll dig things out and organize.  Because hopefully next year we'll have a second child to share things with.  And then bring some Ethiopia into our lives - as that's now going to be part of our history, family tree - you name it.  Its cool to think about all that.

Plus - I have a healthy child, my friends have a very sick child - a child with an unknown blood disease, one so rare they can't figure it out.  during tests this summer they found out he has a brain malformation and recently was told he needs brain surgery like this week or next!  And now yesterday they did tests to see if he has a mass in his chest.  Its like what does this little 3 year old have to endure.  And he's got 2 brothers and a new one coming this Christmas!  So 4 kids under 6 and one very ill.  Wow - so please keep little Gabriel in your prayers this holiday season - he needs them - but his family is full of faith they are an inspiration.

I'm babbling - but lots to be happy for - even during my boring waiting times.  Maybe when life slows down I'll post more about Ethiopia (ET as I may call it) so we can all learn about it. I know the country has Muslims and orthodox Christians.  So we may learn a lot.

Enjoy.
Gail

TESTING

This post is just a test - a test to see if I can post from an email.  Thanks to all that are following the blog - pass it around and hope to get more interest as we go along.  Its already on a few other adoption websites - so we'll see.  I continue to learn a LOT from other families and what they are going through - so its fun.

Gail

Pictures of Ethipia

This is what dinner in ET looks like- the platter is a bread - injera and you use that as your utensils.  You break the bread and eat with that.  I'm not a very adventurous eater and this was actually pretty tasty - may not look like it - but it was.

Landscape

Landscape

Famous waterfalls - don't know the name

Landscape

Map of Ethiopia - we'll start our process in the capital city - Addis Ababa - and then potentially travel from there to other parts to see our child and possibly meet their family.

Ethiopian Flag

USCIS Application letter

YES!  We received the "official" letter from USCIS aka Homeland Security today - they received our application to get a Visa for the child we want to adopt.  I had the text message a few days ago - but we are officially in their system.  Now we wait for the application process to start and then we get the next letter to tell us we need to show up "here are this time" to have biometrics - the fancy term for fingerprinting done.  NOT bad - we'll take it!

YEAH  - another step forward in the Dossier paperwork that gets sent to Ethiopian Government for their approval.

USCIS has report - November 17, 2010

Well at about 1:30 pm this morning we recieved the much anticipated text message that the USCIS recieved our paperwork to start processing.  YEAH.

Unfortunatley woke us both up out of a sound sleep!  I had my phone in our room with the alarm set as we had lost power briefly last night and I wanted to have a backup to make sure I got up for work.

Very excited - now we just have to pray all the documentation is there and we get an appointment for biometrics (a.k.a finger printing) in the next few weeks!  Then we'll wait some more.

Until then - getting more of the paperwork ready so that we're good to go when its all said and done!

Still Waiting - November 16, 2010

I'm sure this title will be famliar over the next number of months.  Still waiting to see if our USCIS Paperwork was accepted.  I filled out and submitted a form for them to email AND text me -but nothing yet.  Afraid we won't have all the documentation - so that will be a pain in my rear - for being so neglectful -but we shall see.

I was able to donate 12 cans of formula for our agency contact to take this week - so I was happy.  And some friends are sending more - so hopefully another family can take over to our contact person in ET one of these days!  I can't wait.

New yahoo groups too - i've found some very intersting Yahoo Groups - one was a lot of complaining about agencies and I didn't like that - I love AAI and just didn't like all the negative stuff.  I guess there are bad ones out there - so its good to know.  But not much useful for us.  So besides our agency one which I LOVE and meeting so many new people - I found a few others with people in similar stages.

Even met a new friend that's out there in Washington - we are at the same point!  So that's exciting - we are hoping we can maybe travel together!

I'm so excited to get the paperwork done.  We had a nice friend this weekend notarize a lot of our documents.  Craig's doctor didn't follow the instructions and we're waiting on my doctors - argh - but we knew this would happen.

It will be totally worth it in the end - I dream of our child and what our family will be like.  Finding new websites and groups for mixed families as well and books.  I think that will all be helpful.

Not much else - preparing for the holidays and work.
Thanks for following.
Gail

USCIS paperwork mailed - November 9, 2010

Well good news - Craig picked up the Home Study reports yesterday and we were able to get the USCIS paperwork into the mail today!  I just decided to pay to get it there by 10:30 am on Wednesday - it was less than $10 more than having it there by Thursday.  so its in.  Now we just have to pray that the process moves fast.  We need to get the rest of our paperwork done so that we can have it all ready, notarized, etc.

Exciting - just need to get it all moving!  At least that was a big step!  Fee's for the USCIS (United States Custom and Immigration Services) were increasing a lot in just 2 weeks!  Anyhow - they will do "biometrics" on Craig and I - fancy way to say fingerprinting and then we'll await Visa's for us and applied to get a Visa for a child from ET (Ethiopia from posts here on out)when we adopt one!

Exciting - its a big step - making it more and more real.

Next big thing - besides all the paperwork - applications for loans and grants to help finance this.  Please keep us in your prayers that it all works out - it would stink to get all the way to the end and can't pay - but Craig and I have faith it will just work out.  The funny thing is - what we calculate as apprxoimately what we have left is about what the tax credit is - so we'll get it all back and pay it off pretty quickly - so we'll see.

I'll keep everyone posted - once things slow down I'll start trying to post info on the kids and the country - do some research - its fun.

Oh and Nate tried the left over ET food we had over the weekend.  Ha - didn't go over very well - but he's also very animated around us - so it was a big show of trying to spit it all out and not liking it - pretty entertaining.  I think if it were fresh he'd have enjoyed it more - but he was just determined he was't going to like it.  I told him his brother/sister isn't going to like our food immediately JUST because they live here - and we'll have to eat this more often then not just to help them adjust and becuase we will all have Ethiopia as part of our culture now.

Enjoy the day everyone.
Gail

Nate's first grade picture - NOv 7, 2010

Well this is our son Nate - he's six and in the first grade.  This is his first grade school picture.  I was told to keep it - stain on the sweater and all - because that's "just who he is - a slob sometimes" - but he smiled great and is an awesome kid.

Home study is done - November 5, 2010

Well unfortunately we didn't recognize the phone number on thursday when the agency called to tell us the home study report is done.  I could just KICK myself over and over right now - because I had today off and could have gotten it (well in between setting up for the Mom2Mom sale - long day).  But the good news its done- hopefully Craig can take some time on MOnday to go and pick it up!  WE shall see.  I'm hoping he can.

Fingers crossed- then the paper work for the USCIS can be submitted ASAP on Monday - nice to know the 24hour post offices!

Its great news though.

And we had Nate's 1st grade Parent Teacher Conference today - went very well - He's VERY good in math - go figure - he's my kid!  Ha - I love math. And shy and quiet - oh he may look just like Craig - but he's so much like me its not even funny!

Time to relax - been at the school from 9:30 am - 2 pm and then again from 4 - 7 pm!  And back tomorrow to help out - argh!

Home study - waiting for signatures - Nov 2, 2010

Ok - lots of posts in one night - things are happening for some reason.

I heard from our social worker - she put us down for 0-3 years of age - they don't do months.  So that is just fine.  But she's done and we are waiting on signatures.  Now we have to pay more - not exactly sure how much that is - but hopefully this week I can get a check and maybe borrow some money and get it started.

I can't apply for a loan until I have the home study done - so its a little bit a double edge sword. But God's gonna get us through and we believe it will work out - we feel this is meant to be!

I'm excited - maybe we can do the local police stuff this week.

I  just want the custom and immigration stuff in before the prices jump soon!

Yeah!  Something positive.

New updates by courts - November 2, 2010

Our agency sent some information this week on changes with the Ethiopian court systems.  I'm going to hang onto the fact we can probably meet our childs family!  There is a 50% chance they are alive - so that will be awesome.

1) Court Procedure- When the court process changed in May of this year, two court hearings were being scheduled. The purpose of the first one was to have the birth parent's testimony approved and to obtain approval from MOWA. The purpose of the second one was for the adoptive parents to verify that they have met their child and wish to proceed with the adoption. The adoption was then finalized.

As of last week, there is only one hearing automatically being scheduled. This hearing will include all aspects that that the two hearings originally covered. We are not sure exactly what this will look like but assume that the birth parent will complete their portion and then the adoptive parents will complete theirs after the birth parent has left the court room.

There are at least two benefits to this change. First of all, this will move the process along and ultimately allow your children to come home sooner because you will not need to wait for that second hearing. Secondly, the meeting between you and the birth parent would take place in Addis, at our AAI office, after the court hearing. This means less uncertainty with whether or not the birth parent meeting can take place than if you met them in the South.

The negative or risk with traveling to Ethiopia and attending this hearing is the slight possibility of the case not being approved and the permanently closed. This would be extremely rare, however, the risk is there.

If, for example, MOWA did not submit their letter of consent on time for the court hearing, this will be accepted later and neither the birth parent or the adoptive parents will need to re-appear in court. This result of this would be a possible delay in the case, although, this delay would typically be not more than a couple weeks.

If the adoptive family is not comfortable with the risk involved with having just the one hearing, the court is allowing, as of now anyway, a second hearing to be scheduled.

It will be at the time that you accept your referral that we will ask if you would like to attend the one hearing or if you would prefer that two hearings be scheduled.

2) Meeting Birth Parents - A couple months ago we were informed that, due to government restrictions and safety concerns, a birth parent meeting was not possible if your child was from the South and residing at EnatAlem or Africa Orphanage. We are pleased to tell you that in most cases, this meeting will be possible, afterall. As stated above, if you attend the court hearing the same day as the birth parent, this meeting will take place at our AAI office in Addis, after court. If you do not attend that hearing, we will do everything possible to make this meeting possible when you travel South on your trip.

3) The courts are requiring that both parents, if applicable,attend the court hearing. We were told initially that there would be exceptions to this requirement, but they would need to be extreme situations, such a inability to travel due to medical condition. The courts are now allowing "less extreme" exceptions. An example would be if you currently have 5 young children at home and it is very difficult for both parents to be away from home. There is not a set list of exceptions that will be accepted; it will need to be determined on a case by case basis.

Home Study report - November 1, 2010

The home study report should be done soon.  We reviewed the draft last week and it will be done hopefully this week.  Found out tonight one slight glitch that we can't put a desired and an approved age in there without them matching.  We had hoped to put desired younger and then be allowed older. But this is not a big deal - it just helps us focus on the child that is just right for our family.

Craig and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary on Saturday and ventured to Taste of Ethiopia Restaurant in Southfield.  We had the meat and veggie combos.  To my big surprise it was pretty tasty!  I was honestly a little nervous - my tummy doesn't do spicy and I am not one for adventure.  But I really did like a lot.  They also didn't give us too much spicy samples.  The bread - injera is very different - totally the sponge everyone described.  It didn't have much taste - the problem is that being sponge like - it really filled my new stomach up - so I couldn't eat too much.  But that's fine.

Nate was so cute - he was going to stay at Papa's so we could go ut.  WE talk about Ethiopia a lot and I told him mommy and daddy were going to eat the food and we can bring him some home.  Well Saturday he asked how long he was staying at papa and grandma's and when we will come home.  I questioned a little and found out he thought we were going TO AFRICA - TO Ethiopia to eat!  He was worried it would take along time to get there.  It was so cute.  He now wants to go with us next time to try the food.  I told him we eat with our hands.  He found that exciting.

A lot of families are preparing to travel back to Ethiopia soon to bring their children home.  I"m looking forward to seeing more information about the others travels to share with all of you.

And I'm excited to get our home study soon as then we can immediately submit paper work to the US CIS - Customs and immigration services.  That may take a while to complete.

Love
Gail, Craig and Nate