24-7

Not a football score, but a "new normal." We now have guardianship of the children around-the-clock. Our official week for observation started this afternoon, and continues for one week. We will be visited by the psychologist at least twice during that time. However, we know it won't be for the long weekend. With the All Saints Day holiday on Tuesday, the government declared Monday a holiday too. There will be no doctor visits, paperwork, or other official business until Wednesday. In case you wondered, children in Lima do celebrate Halloween by going trick-or-treating. Maybe we'll just buy some candy and let them ring our apartment doorbell a few times.

We are in the condo in Lima (Miraflores district). This weekend, we will do some shopping for shoes, socks, jackets, etc., visit the park along the seaside, and other fun things. By Monday, we plan to have the house filled with Post-it notes with the English and Spanish words for items.

Here are some things we have found that are the same for the children as what we are used to:

• skipping stones in a lake
• eating Chinese food (sauce taufi is remarkably similar to Green Jade's chicken and broccoli flavor)
• wanting to watch television more than read books
• looking around a little fearful when the earthquake hits and your 16th floor apartment starts swaying
• laughing when someone spills food on themselves
• wanting to drink soda more than water
• pretending to cheat at Uno
• falling asleep quickly when you're very tired
• being afraid of heights
• getting bored fast on taxi rides

Here are some things that are different:

• using hot water to brush teeth
• eating such a big meal at mid-day that all you have at night is a banana or roll
• wearing the same clothes every day (at the orphanage)
• reading everything aloud, even if other people are reading in the same room
• not just taking your plate into the kitchen, but also wiping down the table after a meal, and helping put everything away
• wearing underwear in the shower (because you're used to communal showers)

Can you guess which one of these we hope will continue when we get back to the US?

Speaking of heights, here's the view from the taxi coming into Andahuaylas from the airport.

The weather was nice all week. It rained often at night, which helped drown out the noises outside when sleeping. It was jacket weather in the morning, and t-shirt weather the rest of the day. We nearly had a glitch when the hotel didn't take credit cards, but between us we had enough cash to not have to look for an ATM when we left at 6:30 a.m. Friday.

A week in Andahuaylas

Things are going well so far. We left Lima early Monday and arrived at the orphanage by late morning. Our little girl was playing in the yard, and saw us through the gate. We were brought into the office to meet the orphanage director and staff. With us were our attorney, Maria Elena Baldassari, her husband, Raul Alva, and a psychologist from the Secretaria Nacional de Adopciones, who we met last Friday in Lima.

We played with the children for a while at the orphanage, with other children around either on their lunch break from school or at recess from the preschool on site. Then we all went to lunch at a restaurant in the plaza de armas (main square) of the town. The children liked chicharron de pollo, sort of like popcorn chicken, but not as spicy. At lunch, Alex started to feel sick, so we went back to the hotel and he laid down while we colored and read books with the kids down the hall. He was feeling a little better after a few hours, so we gathered around a table in the lobby and taught them how to play Uno. They learned quickly, and it is now what the oldest boy wants to do all the time. We dropped them back at the orphanage around 5. Then, we all went to a cafe for pastries and coffee to discuss how it went. Alex was more sick in the evening, but while unpleasant, it was just due to the altitude, so he recovered by the next morning.

(Since the adoption is not final, we cannot post names or pictures online. Also, I am purposely not saying much about each child's personality.)

Yesterday, we picked the children up in the morning and headed off campus right away. Chrissy and Maria Elena played with them in the park while Doug and Raul went to three different offices in town to order additional birth certificates and get papers notarized. We had lunch at another restaurant. We first went there because we were all thirsty, and just ordered drinks. But Maria Elena met up with a friend who used to work at the orphanage, and they joined us late. By the time the soup came, the children had drank so much Inka Cola they weren't very hungry. So, the lunch we ordered for them became their dinner instead. The oldest boy carried the boxed meals around until we got back. He wanted to be sure he got the beef dish--the other two were chicken and "pappas blancas." There are several hundred varieties of potatoes in Peru, and each dish has its own specific potato. Thankfully, the restaurant didn't have chuno on the menu that day--smelly potatoes that are naturally freeze dried, thawed, and washed several times. The children like them fried with onions, but when they're put into a soup, apparently the smell is overwhelming to the uninitiated.

We spent the afternoon playing and coloring again. Then we gave them each a small gift, which we will keep at the hotel until they come with us permanently. It looks like the clothes we brought will probably fit them well enough to at least wear on the flight to Lima Friday morning. The psychologist had us sign a letter in which she approved us to take custody of the children to go to Lima. She had a few concerns about how the children were bonding with us, because she only observed us for a short time, and it is hard to pair up so that Mama gets time alone with each child, etc. But by the second day she saw it was all fine. She will continue to observe us for a week after we get to Lima.

Today we are all going to the lake called Pacucho. It is supposedly the most beautiful lake in Peru, and we really wanted to see it. The children have been there once before. Maria Elena and Raul did not get to visit it the last time they were here, about ten years ago. We are hiring a taxi with plenty of seats and it is only costing 100 soles (@ $40) for the round trip, and the driver will wait for us.

Travel Plans: Lima Tomorrow!

Doug, Chrissy, and Alex are flying from Bloomington, IL through Atlanta to Lima tomorrow, Oct. 20. We arrive at 10:15 p.m. and our friend Geoff Ingrum will pick us up and take us to our condo. Friday morning, we have an appointment at SNA where the person handling our case will welcome us and give us an overview of what will be happening the next few weeks. We will have dinner with the Ingrums Friday night, and get to know their children a bit. Then, Saturday we will go with them to their ministry to children in a very poor district on the outskirts of Lima.

Monday morning we will arrive at the Lima airport very early and fly out to Andahuaylas, up in the mountains. Our agency's attorney and her husband (who is also an adoption attorney) will accompany us, and we will be joined by a government social worker before we head off to the orphanage.

Then, the culmination of this 2 1/2 year process: we finally meet the children Monday, October 24, 2011.

A beautiful lake near Andahuaylas

From that time on, they will be staying with us, first at a hotel in Andahuaylas (until Friday morning), then in a condo in Lima. We hope to complete the adoption in Peruvian court by November 4, because I have to fly to Miami for a work conference from Nov. 5 to 8. The Ingrums will help Chrissy out if needed that weekend. Our friend Sam might also be in Lima around that time. When I return, we will celebrate our little girl's 7th birthday on Nov. 9.

The town plaza in Andahuaylas

Then, we hope to be back in the US before Thanksgiving. Andrew and Aaron are staying home, and neighbors and friends from church are going to bring them some meals and help them as needed. We plan to use skype regularly for video chats so the "new kids" can get to know their older brothers a little, too.

We have gotten so familiar with the children's pictures that we don't even have to look at them anymore to call up their faces in our minds. There's no apprehension at this point, just anticipation of finally finding out what each one's personality is, and how they relate to each other. It may not be easy for us or for them, but we are eager to get going on this journey.

FYI, our phones will be off (or in "airplane mode") because we don't want to pay the international charges for calls or texts. In an emergency, they would work in Peru. To contact us, please send email. We will have wireless access at least while in Lima.

Vamos a Peru!