Adoption finalization

The finalization went well today, we met Anna in the lobby at 8:30am and as we were waiting outside she noticed a small bus filling up with the French adopting families, so she told the taxi driver to hurry up and get there before them. It was wild a ride down back alleys and little one-way streets loaded with bikes and people.

The whole process took about 15 minutes. I had to write a paragraph on why we wanted to adopt and answer some questions. Then do the thumb print stamp on my signature. Schwen got very nervous when we were there, I think she thought she was going back to the orphanage but was very happy when we pulled up back at the hotel telling Anna she wanted to go to the room and watch TV, dragging me into the hotel.

Instead Anna took us shopping in the walking mall, which was a good thing because the shop keepers were pulling on my arm as we were leaving trying to get me to buy more, it was a little too much in my face for me, but Anna knew how to handle them. They are VERY aggressive with me thinking I’m a rich American. As best as I can tell I am the only American in the hotel and as far as I can tell the only English speaking foreigner in the area. The other families are a French group and they don’t speak English.

Then she gave us a surprise, she had translated where Schwen was found and it turned out to be a 2 minute walk from the hotel in the very walking mall we were in. She asked a few shopkeepers where it was and finally a cop. All the shops are numbered and there are about 1000 of them and it is hard to tell and they change hands all the time. The photos of the shops with us in front of them are as close as we are ever going to get.

Five minutes after Anna left house keeping knocked to clean our room so we walked to a grocery store and tried to find something like Tylenol with no luck, I’ll have to ask Anna tomorrow. Then Schwen ate her first McDonalds, she loved the French fries but drank so much bottled water afterward it came out her nose. It amazing how much of the basics I have to show her, like showing her how to use a fork, not being able to screw a cap on a bottle stuff you just take for granted at 5 years old.

We are still getting along when we are alone but she becomes very excited, loud and talkative when Anna is with us. Last night she did some crying when she would wake up and not realize where she was, it was easy to calm her down but it went on for about 2 hours. She is trying to nap now it’s around 2.

Tomorrow around 9:30 we are going to the orphanage, not inside and maybe not to see the kids. They are very busy, only Coco the woman who is in charge of the international adoptions at the SWI came to the finalization, the directors could not. Just as a side note the gift giving to the notaries was kind of a joke, they smiled took the gifts put them in a pile behind them and moved on to the next person, I could just imagine by the look on there face what they where thinking (Great more crap, where the hell am I going to put more junk in my tiny apartment) I think the nanny’s need it more than them. ]