Travel re-cap 1

For those of you who don't want to hear all about our trip, but do want to know how Jubilee is doing, she is doing very well. She is very quiet, especially in large groups, but her English is very good. We are having no problem communicating, as long as you know that eyes lifted means yes. She is eating a few things, which is more than I had hoped for. We are trying to have her read to us, and do some math problems so that we can get a feel for where she is as far as school goes. She is surprisingly cheerful, and I have heard no complaints. I'm sure this is still the honeymoon phase, but we are thankful for how she is doing.

We flew Lufthansa this trip instead of Ethiopia Air, mostly due to the fact that the flight time was 7 hours shorter, and Jubilee could get a one way fare. We were happy with the decision especially when we found out she did not need a transit visa to fly through Germany. We got in on Monday night and hit the sheets.

Tuesday morning Gail took us to pick up Jubilee. She had told us that they shaved her head, and was very apologetic. When we got to the orphanage she and her friend came running out, and she was sporting a big poofy pony tail. So, the passport picture was deceiving, even to the immigration person who checked it on the way home. We were also hosting one of Jubilee and Honeybee's friends for a couple of days since she was being escorted home the same week. We took the girls back to the guesthouse and had some lunch.

Michele and Heather went to scope out the salon situation since Jubilee did have hair, Lisa had requested we get Honeybee's hair braided and I had told their friend's mom that I would get her hair done as well. When they found the salon, they had run out of black extensions, so Michele and Heather got to go check out a few more salons, and got everything we needed. We spent the afternoon braiding and laughing at each other making faces as their hair got pulled. Honeybee got the tender headed award, although she also had the most hair. Heather got her hair braided as well as the girls. When all the hair was done, the stylists made us popcorn and coffee.

We decided to take the girls out for dinner at a local restaurant. They all had injera and t'bs. We were a little hesitant to walk home in the dark, but it all worked out. The girls were more chatty when they were all together, which was a lot of fun. We got home to a packed guesthouse. I think there were four other families there for most of the week. We met them all in our jammies Tuesday morning when we came down for coffee (That's Africa Baby).

The girls walking to the restaurant with their new hair.