Got a postcard in the mail today, advertising a parenting conference our church will be hosting in May, and it took me back for a few minutes to the time before we had any kids. Ah, the freedom… umm, er, I mean… oh, yes, I remember.
Fred and I didn’t realize at the time how much of a blessing it was that we felt called to adopt first (and had no idea we’d probably be adopting “only!”). Because by adopting, we knew we were in unfamiliar territory. So being the nerds we both are, we scrambled around and got as much information as we could about what it would mean to rear children. We spent time with all our already-parents friends, attended a few seminars, read numerous books… Oh, and I got a masters degree that involved 2 years of child therapy. So yes, we were armed when the boys finally came home. Read the rest of this entry
Been home for a week and a half, and for some reason this trip has thrown me into “reverse-culture shock” unlike any other I’ve been on. Maybe it’s the kids – going from CIPI to my own five year olds who can read, write, and explain the Louisiana Purchase in-detail. That we have so much stuff here, after spending one day with no running water there. Or that I was working alone most days, so I’m “debriefing” myself as I talk about my experience with everyone else who asks.
Or maybe it’s something else. Don’t know. But at any rate, I’ve been struggling with a bout of something like “survivor’s guilt.” I went, I played with some kids who have nearly nothing, and then I came back to my very-comfortable life here in the U.S. Meanwhile those same kids are heading into another week of only basic physical needs being met. Read the rest of this entry
After attending The Union Church of San Salvador (international non-denominational church) this morning, Lucy hopped on a bus to Guatemala to do some adoption networking there. Our housemate Jen and I got the better end of the deal and ventured out to hike up the volcano that sits northwest of the city.
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Lucy booked us a trip to the coast cities of La Libertad and Playa El Tunco for yesterday (Sat.) – my first time outside San Salvador. So here’s a little tour of those areas.
1 – La Libertad (”Freedom”) is a fishing community. Sorry I can’t convey the smell along with the sights, but here’s the main pier with all the boats lined up after returning with their fish.
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Totally forgot to put my memory stick back in my camera last night, so I didn’t take any pictures of work today. But for your visual stimulation, here are some I took during prior days that give a little sense of how life is different down here.
#1 – Fruit disinfectant – I did usually just eat the fruit without it, but some folks recommend using this disinfectant on your fruit to avoid getting sick from the water you use to get the dirt off. So I did it once. Then decided I’d risk it (so far, so good!)
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I was back at CIPI today but in a different area. (CIPI is made up of a cluster of buildings that house different age groups or stage-groups.) The morning started with the infants – and the teen mothers of a bunch of them. For sure, the most surreal part of my day was a conversation I had with an 11 year old girl while she nursed her 2 month old baby!
The babies are housed mainly in one room, with an adjoining room for the moms. I think about half of the babies I saw today were abandoned babies who had been sent their straight from the hospital. The rest belonged to the older girls.
And since I had the point of reference, I couldn’t help but compare these kids’ circumstances to the ones I saw at Vinculo de Amor, yesterday. Yesterday’s kids each had their own crib, and there were no more than four kids in any one room. They were constantly being changed because each staff member was assigned no more than 4 babies. The gal today had at least 12 babies all on her own (not including the ones being toted around by their pre-teen and teen moms), and forget separate cribs:
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I’d say the real “work” began yesterday (Tues), but honestly most of what I did was play. Still tired though. I did get dropped off for the day at CIPI, the government-run orphanage closest to where we’re staying. And I was given the option of working with the babies (most of whom were abandoned at birth or dropped off at a hospital or police station) or working with the special needs kids. The question was answered in my mind when I saw the special needs room (full of kids when I arrived) and only one “Tia” working in there. Kurt, the missionary who set up my work schedule, said that’s pretty typical.
I’m trying to be careful with the kids’ right to privacy so here’s the room minus the children. Yes, there are 14 cribs, and some of them sleep more than one child. Plus there are a couple beds in another corner that sleep a few of the older kids. It’s a lot to keep up with. Some of the older girls from other wings of the orphanage come over and help a little bit after their school is done.
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I’m here! And eat your hearts out, Marylanders: it’s 90-some degrees and sunny. Stepped out of the airport and it was a far cry from what I left this morning when I stepped into BWI:
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It’s been quite the snow storm here in Maryland, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get out of our driveway, let alone on a plane to El Salvador tomorrow morning, but turns out I will!
This blessing has been brought to me by some heavy construction equipment and one very stubborn airline that refused to cancel its flights even though almost all the others did, and BWI airport is supposedly “closed.”
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