November 12-14, (Days 29-31)

November 12,
Solomon and John had appointments that morning to see the doctor for their embassy appointments. So I organized all of our stuff from moving guesthouses and just relaxed.

Now I didn't write down what I did from days 13-14 but I know I did these things during that time.

We said goodbye to the Plumbs as they were getting to go home! We met them at the Lime tree for one last lunch. Sad to see them go, but excited for them to start their journey as a family at home.

Giving an 11 month old eye drops by yourself is not easy!! His eyes and nose were so crusty..I felt so bad for him. I was supposed to meet with Dr. Mykias that Saturday so he could recheck Solomon, but he never showed. Apparently he forgot about our appointment :) So another doctor saw him and continued to see him over the next week. Solomon continued to have diarrhea so the doctor felt that he needed to switch medication and be given injections so I had to go to the pharmacy to purchase needles..kind of crazy. You would think that the hospital would just have needles to use and charge me. We went back for three days to the hospital so that Solomon could get his injections. He slowly got better. While at the hospital we kept seeing this boy who had his face bandaged and look like he was missing part of it. We asked what happened to him and apparently he lived out in the countryside and went to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night outside, and a hyaena attacked him. He was living at the hospital waiting to go to America for a surgery to fix his face. I tried to find out where but they just said America.

Joanna and I's Ethiopian visas were about to expire so we went and had them extended. I had asked at the airport when we first arrived if they would extend it for me but was told no. It was a very easy process..although quite nerve racking. There are TONS of people waiting outside of the office selling stuff or trying to get a visa themselves. Our driver took us to the front of the line and we didn't have to wait :) You go through a women's security and are patted down and are not allowed to take in any electronics. The hardest part about the whole thing was finding where you needed to go to fill out the paperwork. There is a very small sign out of the way that tells you but we didn't see it until we asked several people. You fill out paperwork and the people there can help you. Then you are sent to another place and they ask some questions and take your picture for your new visa. You leave your passport and pick it up in a few days. It was very easy, but the nerve racking thing is that they can deny you a visa and you have to go home. Make sure you go before your 30 day visa runs out! We went back when we were told...a couple of days later, and they go through a stack of passports until they find yours and ask you if it is yours.

Joanna and I went and saw a movie...Due Date. We bought some boot-leg movies and watched them on my computer as the guesthouse did not have a dvd player. We went to the mall and I bought some Ethiopian t-shirts for Solomon as he gets older. We bought some chocolate chip cookie mix to make cookies at the guesthouse. The whole staff was watching us as they didn't seem to understand what we were trying to make. We tasted the batter before cooking and they were disgusting. Not sure if it was because of the eggs or just the mix..I would not recommend it!

We had 2 families stay with us at the guesthouse - not through Gladney. One family was a husband and wife there for their first court date and to meet their son. The second family was there to pick up their 2 daughters. The New Flower guesthouse was nice. Somewhat older, but it was clean and had a nice area outside for the boys to crawl around. The staff love, LOVE, LOVE the kids and always tried to cheer them up when they were crying or play with them. They offer free babysitting if someone is available so you can take a shower or run out to get something to eat.

 John and Solomon