- 23
- Jul
We sent in our agency application on Wednesday afternoon and decided on Ethiopia. We should know sometime next week about acceptance or rejection.
So now, we are committing ourselves to reading and learning as much as we can about Ethiopia.
For me, personally, because Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, I’ve decided to sacrifice myself (ha) and drink at least one cup of coffee a day for the rest of my life in honor of Ethiopia. It is the least I can do, right? Every morning when I flip the switch on my Senseo and brew a cup, I will be honoring our child’s heritage.
Last night, I made my first Ethiopian dinner. I have eaten Ethiopian food before but never prepared it. If you’ve never had Ethiopian food, this is basically what it looks like:
(Photo not by me, from Wikipedia)
A thin, flat spongy bread called injera is topped with mounds of wat (wat=stew, pretty much). There are many varieties of wat and most of them are spicy. You take the injera in your hand and pick up wat and roll it up and eat it. Finger food at its finest.
So, last night I made doro wat (chicken stew, which is a poor translation for the delicious flavor of doro wat!) and attempted injera. The girls LOVED doro wat and thought the injera was ok. Injera uses teff flour and not wheat flour, so mine is not terribly accurate. Regardless, it was an attempt to try to cook Ethiopian food. I’m sure the doro wat will be in regular rotation. And until I master making injera, we’re opting for pita bread or tortillas in its place. So not the same, but we DO live in China, so I think we get some grace there.
I’ve been showing the girls pictures of Ethiopia and talking about it with them. Try putting in “Ethiopia girl” or “Ethiopia boy” as your search parameters on flickr. They have been eyes-wide-open taking it all in, full of questions about stretched ear lobes and lip plates and well, just about everything.
I have been asked by some about a timeline of what will happen. I just don’t feel like a timeline is realistic to give because of the up and down nature of international adoption. People starting a non-special-needs adoption in China 4 years ago were being told 12-18 months and now they are still waiting for their baby. So anything can change and we realize that. BUT, if things stay the same, we are conservatively saying 12-24 months until we bring our baby home. It could be less, it could be more, we know the risks inherent in international adoption with multiple countries’ laws in place- for us China as our resident country, the US as our home country, and Ethiopia as the child’s home country. When any of those places change adoption-related laws, it will affect us.
So, drink some coffee and celebrate with us that step 1 of 5,000 is complete, ok? I’ll be asking you to drink coffee several times as this process goes along- just think of it as sharing with us in our joy, ok? If you can’t sacrifice yourself enough to drink coffee (mom!!!) you can drink another brown-colored beverage of your choice (hint, mom: Sonic Diet Vanilla Coke) and pretend it is coffee.
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:48 am
We have some friends from seminary who are in the process of adopting a brother and sister from Ethiopia. They have sent off their dossier and are in the fundraising stage.
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:09 pm
I have tried to perfect the injera too. Mine is creamy in color but still a bit too dry. Someday…..there is a terrific eatery in Ann Arbor called the Blue Nile, (it used to be in the Trappers Alley area of Detroit) and I could live between there and my fav Indian eatery in Troy MI. Anyways, I had to give up coffee because of ulcers but I can eat tea. Ethiopian Spiced tea is the best. The reason is because of its natural ingredients, including rose hips, cinnamon, orange and lemon peels, cloves, and chamomile. Spiced Ethiopian Tea is all-natural, tasty, refreshing, and good for you! Your girls could eat this and if they need it a bit sweet, add some honey or agave syrup. ( I don’t use sugar and most Ethiopians I have met dont either.) I think some gourmet shops might even have tea bags you could brew. I grew up on tea (my gramma was from Scotland) and we made a ritual every afternoon with small cookies and tea. BTW-are you hoping for a newborn or any under a certain age? My friends who adopted from Guatemala got a boy first and he was only two weeks when they went to bond with him, but their little girl was a year (the politics and fraud in country held that one up). No matter what, the journey will be educational for all of you. To start you off, how about my African Stew made many moons ago? http://eatsnothingwitheyeballs.blogspot.com/2008/01/african-sweet-potato-stew.html
July 23rd, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I gave you the wrong recipe! http://eatsnothingwitheyeballs.blogspot.com/2007/11/ethiopian-berbere-stew.html
July 23rd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
We have friends who are in Ethiopia this week meeting their adoptive son! Check out their blog, aboardthecrazybus.blogspot.com . They’ve had quite an adventure, but it’s coming to fruition.
July 23rd, 2010 at 8:28 pm
Congrats! I’m toasting your application with a lovely cup of Chocolate Truffle coffee. This will be quite the journey for your family. I look forward to hearing about it through your blog. Talk about a journey of faith!!!!
Best,
Shawn K.
July 24th, 2010 at 12:44 am
We will celebrate with you and thanks for the hint
It will be quite a journey for all.
July 24th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Congratulations Geswein Family!! What an exciting next chapter!
July 24th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Thanks for the update. I am with your mom, though, on the coffee part……
Maybe I can incorporate a daily Ethopian spice to my diet?
July 25th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
It’s is early Sunday morning in the central time zone of the US right now, and I hoist my cup of coffee for you and wish you godspeed on your new journey. I’m sure it will have it’s ups and downs, but the end result will be so rewarding. And ooooo….you can knit baby things - or at least toddler things.
July 27th, 2010 at 2:40 am
Celebrating with you!!! Going for some coffee now!!!!
July 27th, 2010 at 6:35 am
i love African food, Ethiopian included. I’ve never made though. I love Injera and wat and whatever really. There’s this dish, an egg dish with the most delicious sauce. I wish I know what dish it was. My friend’s mom, Ethiopian, made it. DELISH!!!
July 27th, 2010 at 10:18 am
Congratulations on your decision!! International adoption is not for the faint of heart…having been through it twice, I know very well the ups and downs, but the end result is soo worth it!! I will be praying for you!
July 27th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Will drink lots of coffee for you! So happy for you all and excited you are sharing the journey. Our pediatrician just mentioned yesterday that she had seen several new adoptees from Ethiopia. Do you request an age range? She was suprised that the babies were so young (4 months or so).
July 28th, 2010 at 8:31 am
Congratulations Geswein Family! I’ve loved reading your stories about life in China and I’s love to pray with you as you bring your newest little one home. We are in process for our fifth child (3rd via China’s WC/SN program) and I love how you are being proactive about learning about your little ones’ culture! Good job Mom!
July 29th, 2010 at 9:57 am
How exciting!
I would love to adopt also, it’s been in my heart for a long time but at the moment we too are not in our homecountry (NZers in Australia) and the laws here mean we cannot. So instead, we sponsor four beautiful girls - Mirriam and Bertina in Zambia, and Zeyada and Sifen from Ethiopia. They are in my heart all the time. I look forward to following your journey, particularly as you are looking at Ethiopia and I can think of the two beautiful children who are part of our family there too. Already, just from this post, I have learned a little more about their culture.
Wishing you all the best on this journey!
July 31st, 2010 at 10:34 am
I, too, have enjoyed reading of your journey and adventures in China. Thoughts and prayers will be with you as you begin this next step. Two families we are acquainted with have relatively recently completed their adoption processes with the arrivals of their beautiful children, both from Africa, though I don’t remember exactly where, and my heart rejoiced with them. I look forward to being able to say the same for y’all!
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:20 am
Wow, that’s totally exciting news, I look forward to following your journey to Ethiopia. I have followed your blog for quite awhile now ( my daughter Maili is from Tianjin) and I’ve enjoyed reading about your adventures in Tianjin. We hope to return there one day soon; Maili has been home almost two years now but she still talks about “her China” and wants to go back to visit.
Angela
August 3rd, 2010 at 8:35 am
I’m assuming from the update that you were accepted? If so, Mazel Tov!