I was very proud of myself for being ready this morning at the exact time we had planned to be last night. I got up at 5:10 am, took a shower, got myself ready and then got Elizabeth ready. By 7:00 am the three of us were downstairs having breakfast and at 7:30 am we met our attorney and headed to the US Embassy. (I am never--ever--on time. Well, except for work).
We first had to make a line outside the Embassy. This took about 10 minutes and then we were allowed to enter the building through those kind of doors that some train stations in NY city have called "turn styles." Once we passed through security, we were directed to a room full of attorneys, facilitators, adoptive parents and most importantly ... babies!
There was not a single seat available in that area so we headed towards a second room, which was as full as the first one. We were standing up for about 40 minutes, after which I was able to get a chair. I have to mention that there were many adoptive parents with their children sitting on the floor but my "latin" blood would not let me do the same.
Our appointment was at 8:00 am and we were already number 34 on the list. So we had to wait until our name was called in a group of 10. But before I continue on, I have to say that this was a unique experience for me. Parents to be were so proud of their children, always commenting and asking the famous two questions to other parents: How old is your baby? and... Is this your pick up trip? The children's ages ranged from 5 months to 4 or 5 years old that I know of and the atmosphere was a happy one.
When our last name was called, we had to make a line in the other room but this was fast and in a matter of a few minutes we entered a tiny room with a US Embassy employee on the other side of a glass partition (think 7-11). We sat down and he asked me what city in Colombia I was from and he asked Greg how come he had ended up in NH having been born in Montana. He said that our documents were all in order and allowed us to leave the tiny room.
We then had to wait for about 30 more minutes and finally were called to go to "window 7." The young lady asked for our passports and we signed some final docs. She also asked for Elizabeth to look at her (to compare her with the passport pictures), a thing that was not that easy to accomplish but once she did, she congratulated us and said that baby Elizabeth will become a US citizen as soon as she lands in the US!
Yes, were are very excited but as far as I am concerned, I still don't feel or think myself as a mother. And I don't say this in a sad or bad way, I just say it because I think these feelings are normal. The three of us are going through a big adjustment and I understand it exactly as it is.
Elizabeth was exhausted when we arrived at the hotel and so were we. She took a nap, we rested a little bit but with no naps, ordered some room service, and about three hours later headed towards downtown Guatemala City. The streets and architecture reminded me of some parts of Bogota or Caracas or Lima or La Paz or any other latin country I have visited.
Greg wore the baby carrier and although Elizabeth was not fond of it in the beginning, she then liked it and stayed there without complaining during the entire almost 3-hour tour. We visited the main square, saw many of the government buildings, went inside the main Catholic Cathedral, and went to a market were they sell everything from beef to salted fish to fresh and exotic (to us) fruits and vegetables to arts and crafts to sombreros. And I found "granadilla" a fruit I love! It was very sad for me to see the small children, probably no more than 5 years old, in very sad condition (clothing, already working, dirty, etc, etc).
Elizabeth was a trooper, observing every single detail intently and hanging peacefully with Daddy.
I really hope I didn't make you all sleepy with this post. Thank you all, family and friends for being with us, for your beautiful comments and for sharing our happiness!
Tomorrow is going to be an interesting day as well. We'll keep posting.
Neka
1 comment:
Neka and Greg,
This is so great. Thanks for sharing so much - we love every word and every picture.
Beth and Tim
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