We’ve had some exciting last days in Bogota and Ren and I look forward to posting all the happenings. For the moment though, they’ll have to wait until we get home. It’s a bit chaotic at this last day.
We’re sad, happy, eager, melancholy, excited, exhausted, a bit sick (Renee), and jazzed about going home.
But we can’t wait to come back!
Pronounced “Boom Boom Boom” by our girls (which always makes me think of that hip hop song in the US), it’s the Colombian equivalent of a Blow Pop.
Renee discovered that she’s a major fan, describing her flavor as “Minty Sweet Lemon”.
They do not appeal to Papi.
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| From 2010-01-26 |
True to form with everything we’ve done this trip, all our Bogota items are wrapping up in record time. Yesterday we went to get the girls passports. This is usually a 2 hour event. But with Lucia’s (the women who coordinates adoptions in Colombia) son leading the way, we spent a whooping 20 minutes (which, I might add, puts the United States to shame…how long does it take to get a passport there? 6 weeks?).
Then that afternoon we set out for the Doctor’s office. The Doctor was a gruff old man who had the power (with just a stern look!) to stop Kelly in her tracks as she immediately ran towards the trash filled with used syringes. He seemed peeved that we didn’t have the health records with us (at least we thought we left them back at the B&B…but it turns out we had them buried in some paperwork in our backpack), but couldn’t really do anything about it because we fall under the old I-600 form (which means we can waive immunizations in Colombia as long as we promise to get them done within 30 days in the US). He did say we would be crazy not to get them to a doctor ASAP when we get home. We told him about Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (which has an international adoption center) and this pleased him. And so the girls got to leave with no shots (but have a lot waiting for them back in Cincinnati)!
This morning we visited the US Embassy. I have to say that it is a very nice place. There’s a very comfortable waiting area, complete with a coffee shop (yes, with real coffee) and tons of seats. A long row of cashier windows (maybe 20) lines one wall. We waited 30 minutes and were called to a window. I answered some questions (how are the kidos doing? how are you doing? etc.) and then went to the next window and paid the price for US citizenship (for those who are curious, it cost $800 for the two girls). A short wait later, one more visit to a window, and done! The entire process took less than 2 hours. Tomorrow we go back at 3:30 to pick up the visas. Then we’re completely finished with everything!
I have the very distinct impression that our timeline experience is unique. Indeed, I’m somewhat in awe at how perfect this whole process has gone. Thank you, Lord!
A little note about our B&B. Our experience here is very different than in Neiva. In Neiva we were pretty much left to fend for ourselves (like finding places to eat). In some respects this was a good thing. It felt like we were gluing our family through the search for food. The B&B is all inclusive. Our meals are taken care of (they’re quite good) and there’s a nice backyard were the girls can play and climb all sorts of items.
But the best part of the B&B is the other adoptive families. For the most part all the kids get along. They enjoy playing with each other. Everyone has their meltdowns at different points of the day so you don’t feel embarrassed when Monica or Kelly completely loose it. You get to share experiences and bounce ideas.
And you get to learn English! If you’re interested, here’s the French couple leading a song with the kids. The lyrics are simple, but the kids really enjoyed the song. Monica would mouth the words (she was drinking it all in) but was too shy to actually sing.
My former student, a wonderful young lady name Estefania, berated me for saying that Colombian coffee sucked. Estefania comes from Colombia and she quite rightly pointed out that I am in land of Juan Valdez and Colombia has the best coffee in the world. This is true. It’s the type of coffee my wife and I purchase when in the United States. We love its nutty flavor.
The problem was that in our little corner of Neiva we never encountered any real coffee shops that served anything but nescafe. When I lived in Chile the locals always used to try and scare the gringos with stories of nescafe being made with pork blood. It’s an image I can never quite escape from when I drink nescafe. And I do drink it because, well, I’m an American and I need my coffee.
We’re now and Bogota where we’ve found plenty of coffee shops. Our B&B actually serves drip coffee (all hours of the day!).
So I apologize, Estefania (and thank you so very much for your many excellent suggestions and contacts while down here). The coffee is excellent.