Over the last two week I have learned that K has visited with her sister, with one of our agency's social workers and with an AP who visited Horizon House with her older, adopted Ethiopian daughter as part of a 'heritage trip'. I have gotten wonderful descriptions of K as she has interacted with these women. She can write her name in English and is quite a leader among the children there.
The first is K*****. I was told she is 7, but she looked more like 8 or 9 to me. She was taller than my 7.5 year old who is 75th percentile and has been in the US since age one. K was very nice, a truly beautiful girl, who was so helpful and patient with the younger children. She seemed like a leader. I really liked her.
I emailed this mother and got a bit more details:
I was really struck by what a nice sense of community I got got from the kids. She is one of the oldest, if not the oldest child there at the moment. It will probably be nice for her to be someone's little girl and be doted on, rather than a leader.
The first is K*****. I was told she is 7, but she looked more like 8 or 9 to me. She was taller than my 7.5 year old who is 75th percentile and has been in the US since age one. K was very nice, a truly beautiful girl, who was so helpful and patient with the younger children. She seemed like a leader. I really liked her.
I emailed this mother and got a bit more details:
I was really struck by what a nice sense of community I got got from the kids. She is one of the oldest, if not the oldest child there at the moment. It will probably be nice for her to be someone's little girl and be doted on, rather than a leader.
| Also, she is truly beautiful. I found her to be strikingly pretty. |
From our social worker:
“I met K***** in a group of her peers. She was one of the oldest children and she took charge of games and expressed her opinion easily. She also held and cared for the babies and toddlers. She wrote her name in English, completing the ‘K’ with confidence, looking to me for the ‘I’ then flipped back in my notebook to where her name was written and copied it. She also elaborately pantomimed taking my blood (she put gloves on, drew the blood, put on a band-aid, took her gloves off and through them away). When I asked her to repeat this later, she said no.”
I am so excited to be able to meet her. In one week I will start my journey. Of course this has been the "easy" wait. It will be the two or three months between court and embassy that will really be near unbearable
Those notes from Ethiopia mean the world when you are waiting. Sounds like K is a special, empathetic little girl. And you are right about the waiting in between trips...it will be killer. Just remember, there are a lot of us who have been there and are ready to offer words of encouragement when you need them most. And the good news is that you'll have better pictures for your fridge...ones with you together!
ReplyDeletehehe i need more fridge pictures. Sam is adopted from ET as well, during the 2-trip process. I hated having to wait for him and when it looked like things were getting complicated I flew back and took custody, spending 5 weeks in Ethiopia. It was an amazing experience. I cant wait to do it again and feel much more confident this time that the stresses we faced the first time around wont happen (or at least not as much) this time
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