Waiting

We are learning patience.  We are learning that things don't run quite as smoothly as one would hope.  We are also learning what it feels like to have others in control of our time.  We are waiting.

When Felix visited us on Sunday, he told us that the committal order would be filed on Monday and that we would get to visit Rebecca on Monday.  We would also get to visit Rebecca on Tuesday and if all went well, she would be at home with us on Wednesday with the committal order signed. 

It is now Tuesday night and we have yet to meet Rebecca.  It has been a frustrating couple of days waiting.  On Monday night, Felix told us that he would call first thing in the morning and we would get to see Rebecca.  We all got up and got some nice clothes on.  We packed a backpack with activities to take to the orphanage.  And, we waited for the call.  At 11:00 we called Felix.  He was at the Social Welfare office waiting for a letter allowing us to visit Rebecca.  He told us to wait for his call.  At 3:30, we broke down and called again.  He promised he would be at our house in 40-50 minutes.  We were still hoping to go to the orphanage.  When Felix arrived he said that he had spent the whole day waiting for a visitation letter to be signed. The person who needed to sign the letter had been in court all day.  It was nearly 5:00 so he said that he would take us to meet Rebecca tomorrow morning.  At that point, Liam broke down sobbing and ran to his room.  He was crying quite loudly, so I excused myself from the table telling Felix that Liam was a little disappointed.  We didn't prompt Liam to cry or pinch him under the table.  He was genuinely disappointed.  Felix promised that he would be here at 10:00 sharp to take us to the orphanage.  He said that we had waited long enough.  He doesn't know how true that really is.

After being cooped up in the house all day, we took a wander through our neighbourhood to Delish, the local coffee shop. Only a ten minute walk through the dusty streets. Our second try at the local latte scene was also pretty good. We wandered around the corner mall, discovered a pizza place that looks pretty decent and got a few more items from the local grocery. It is really great to have these amenities so close by. Will make the stay without a car much more tolerable.

First Impressions

We arrived in Zambia on Saturday, August 11 after nearly 2 days of travel. We left Vancouver on Thursday evening and arrived in London on Friday morning. Not wanting to miss an opportunity, we stowed our luggage and hopped on the fast train into London for the day. We mostly wandered around looking at the crowds in Hyde Park and wanting to avoid them. It was a lovely summer day in London. Despite the Olympic hype, all Liam wanted was a piggy back ride and all I wanted was an iced latte. I got my wish, but poor Liam was skunked and had to walk much further than he wanted. It was nice to see the city and give Ron the opportunity to take a few photos of the neighbourhoods around Paddington Station and Hyde Park. Back to the airport we went, for the next leg of our journey. A 10 hour flight from London to Lusaka.

We arrived in Lusaka at 6:20am, the sun barely coming up and mist on the ground. The air was cool and fragrant. We were met by Charles' sister and brother, Mary and Moses, who took us to our new home at #1 Sugarland, Martin Luther King Road in Kabulonga, Lusaka.

It is quite humble here, but comfortable. We are so far away but, we are surrounded by familiarity. Moses hooked us up with satellite tv which has better offerings than we have at home. We are in Zambia and have the ability to watch Iron Chef - who would have thought that would be the case. Who would have wanted it to be that way.  We have a grocery store within walking distance, so we will easily be able to get the basics without needing a car. There is even a little cappuccino bar by the grocery store. I think we'll be OK.

We struggled through our first day trying to stay awake. Liam gave up first. I left the living room to unpack a bag and came back to him zonked out on the sofa. Then, Ron and I gave in for a nap. It is very quiet in our development, only the birds singing. No sky train noise! There are 10 units here, but it seems that everyone lives very privately. We met one neighbour, a Danish fellow named Mikael. We have an onsite caretaker, who looks after the little things - like how do we get hot water? We got it figured out. We also have 24 hour gate attendants who open and close the big solid steel gate for each car that comes and goes.

 Day 2 was a bit of a slow start.  Ron made french toast and we ground some beans for coffee.  Not feeling too African yet.  We spent the morning playing with Liam and writing emails.  Felix, our adoption contact stopped by and gave us the lay of the land.  We would meet Rebecca on Monday and things would move very fast from then on.  The committal order was to be filed in court on Monday and as soon as it was signed, Rebecca would be in our care.  OK, great, but what kind of preparation are they doing with Rebecca, I asked.  Well, none, apparently.  Felix told us that she hadn't been told anything about us.  We hope the Social Workers are working with her now that we are here in the country.

We made contact with the other 2 families that are here.  We met Sindy in the afternoon at Arcades Mall.  She adopted a 5 month old baby girl named Aaliyah.  There is a craft fair at Arcades on Sundays.  Liam tried his hand at bartering under Ron's tutoring.  He wanted a wire motorcycle with an orange beaded seat.  Ron started the bidding at 10,000 kwacha (about $2) and the lady walked away.  Then, after a cold drink, Liam went back with 30,000 in hand.  No deal.  So, Ron stepped in and upped the offer to 35,000.  Sadly, Liam walked away empty handed.  A good life lesson, but a difficult one.  Oh well, there are more craft markets at which these bartering skills can be refined.

It was good to see Sindy.  She was wearing baby Aaliyah in a snugglie and looked like a real natural after only being a Mom for 2 weeks now.  It was encouraging.  Sindy hoped to experience all the firsts in this journey of parenthood, first smile, first teeth, first steps, and she is well on her way.  Aaliyah is so cute and was full of smiles for Liam.  Sindy took us back to her home, which she shares with the Huillery's who adopted a 3 year old boy they call J.J.  Holy Hannah, that boy is cute and full of life!  J.J. has been with the Huillery's for only a few nights after 10 days of visitation and it is amazing how quickly he is adapting to family life.  He was sitting on his Daddy's knee smiling like a cheshire cat.  In his mind, it appears that he has won the lottery.

The visit with the other families was encouraging for us as we wait to meet Rebecca.  For Liam, it seemed to give him a sense of what was in store for him.   He has been very optimistic since then and eager to meet Rebecca and get her home with us.  So, it was a little disappointing that we didn't end up meeting her today (now Monday).  We waited around all day.  Felix called for our address for one of the social workers, so we thought that they might bring Rebecca by.  Everytime the main gate opened, Liam ran outside yelling, "I think Rebecca's here!"  But, no Rebecca.  At 3:30, Felix called again and said that it wasn't going to happen today.  The good news was that our committal order had been filed with the magistrate and should be ready by Wednesday.  The bad news, no visit today.  Tomorrow, for sure, we were promised.

With not much on the agenda for the day, we called Moya, our taxi driver, and went to Manda Hill Shopping Mall.  And, when I say "Mall", I mean it in the truly western sense, parkade and everything.  An indoor, air conditioned, shiny mall.  Completely unexpected!  We stocked up on groceries as we knew we might be a little preoccupied for the next few days.  The grocery store at Manda Hill had everying, minced garlic, frozen peas, mango yogurt, bacon, worchestershire sauce, chocolate digestive biscuits, wine, marshmallows, you name it!  Our more local store lacks a few of these amenities - I know, marshmallows aren't really a necessity, but they are a fun option.  After dinner, we even treated ourselves to our first Zambian latte at an Illy coffee bar.  It was pretty good.  I did make a little mistake by introducing Liam to white hot chocolate which was guzzled before we even got back to the taxi. 

We are struggling with the jet lag.  We were all up looking in to the whites of each other's eyes last night at 3:30.  Liam was awake after a nose bleed and got into our double bed to cuddle.  To test if we were awake or not, he told us every 15 minutes how much he loved us.  Then, if we responded, he would ask how much longer he had to pretend to be asleep.  This went on until about 5:30, when he gave up and went back to his own bed.  Both Liam and Ron fell asleep and I watched the sun rise.  We are hoping that tonight will be a better night.

We are preparing for Rebecca's arrival.  We asked our landlord if we could get two twin beds to add to the bedroom configuration.  We think it would be nice for Liam and Rebecca to share a room.  Then, we can keep the third bedroom for any guests.  Annika, our niece, will be joining us for about a month at the end of September.  We are all really excited about that.  The landlord also brought us a dining room table and chairs and an outside patio set for our large covered porch today.  She has promised us some artwork for our walls, too.  So, we are getting set up.

On our first night here,  Ron and I looked at each other and asked, "Are we crazy?"  The answer to that question might still be "yes".  But, it feels a little less crazy now that we have been here for a couple of days.  We are hopeful and excited as we anticipate meeting Rebecca tomorrow.  We believe that we have been blessed with this amazing opportunity for adventure and to make a difference in one little life.