Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Writing Can Transport You
I am sitting here at 1:20 am writing away and updating my blog, and suddenly I realize that I am not sitting in the dark at home but rather I am thousands of miles away from home and am sitting in Meknes, Morocco...
This is where I met my adorable son-to-be about 2 days ago for the first time...and I am sitting on a bed in a foreign land and listening to my guys (A & Y) half-snoring beside me on this overcrowded bed :)
Then now the realization that...This, right here, is what i live for <3
This is where I met my adorable son-to-be about 2 days ago for the first time...and I am sitting on a bed in a foreign land and listening to my guys (A & Y) half-snoring beside me on this overcrowded bed :)
Then now the realization that...This, right here, is what i live for <3
Traveling/Arrival in Morocco
November 6, 2015
So A, Y & I arrived in Morocco at about 9pm on November 7th, after traveling the entire of Nov 6th. My mom also came with us on this trip to be able to help us with watching Y.
Our adoption agency was pretty clear about the fact that we would be very busy in Morocco so we should have someone to watch our son. Thankfully my mom is amazing with Y and they get along very well. She was able to get 3 weeks off of work and so she flew with us. She was a lot of help throughout our multiple flights and layovers (waited a few hours at our local state airport and then at another for 5 hours and then spent another 6 hours in Paris!) We were, needless to say, exhausted by the time we got to Rabat, Morocco.
After arriving at Rabat, gathering our luggage and meeting our local guide who picked us up at the airport, it was time to drive to our apartment. This was the first time that my husband and I had ever had to book an apartment online through airbnb.com and so we were nervous. Everyone that had come to Rabat before us through the adoption agency usually booked a hotel since we were supposed to spend only one night in Rabat...but given the fact that we flew in on a Saturday night, were a group of 4 people and couldn't get the police clearance that we needed from Rabat done any sooner than Monday, we decided an apartment would be more cost-effective.
So anyhow, our guide was able to get in contact with the apartment owner to confirm that he would be able to give us the keys that night. Soon, after like a 20 minute drive we were at the apartment...this is when we really started to get scared! We got to the apartment and there wasn't a single light on in the building, the doors/windows were closed and the apartment owner stopped answering his phone! We practically had our hearts in our throats! My huband and the guide slowly got out of the car and knocked, slowly at first and the started banging at the door! They tried calling the man a few more times but still no answer... we started contemplating getting a hotel for the night, afterall...even though we have paid in advance for this place. Well 10 minutes later the owner finally called back and said that he had been cooking and so forgot to check his phone...he finally came down and opened the door. The apartment building was still pitch dark and we found out that our apartment was on the 4th floor and there was no elevator! When I say 4th floor...it was not 4 flights of steps...there were a LOT of steps!!! Thankfully I had gotten cortisone shots put in my right knee right before traveling because i had been having horrible pain in it for a while. It was time to test my knees...
We finally went up to the 4th floor with 4 big suitcases and more hand-carry luggage...everyone was out of breath! The apartment was cute but you could tell from the dusty smell that it had been closed for a while! As soon as i came in i opened all of the windows and over the next 2 days the place actually smelled normal :) Poor Y isn't used to any dust and had to take Benadryl for the next 2 days because the poor kid's nose was all stuffed up and he was so miserable that he actually asked to go home! Poor little guy.
Eventually we unpacked just enough to be able comfortably go to sleep. It was around midnight and we were all exhausted after a full day of traveling. We fell asleep within seconds...then I woke up scared at 2 am! I could hear really loud crying... I was terrified! All i could think of is this quiet dark building where we didn't see anyone and us being on the very last floor (which has just one single apartment on it) and this crying sound...i am sad to admit but i didn't spend the next 2 hours scared and clinging on to A & Y. So that was our first night in Rabat.
The good thing was that we had nowhere to be on Sunday and so i just relaxed and we went to explore the apartment building a little more during the day...it turns out that, although the building was mostly empty, there were still just a handful of apartments which had tennants in them and one had a family with 2 boys in it...one who liked to cry! LOL
Long story short, we had a nice uneventful rest of the trip in Rabat :) We were able to get our Cassier Judissier in a few hours on Monday, then we drove to Meknes...where we would be for the next 3 weeks!
So A, Y & I arrived in Morocco at about 9pm on November 7th, after traveling the entire of Nov 6th. My mom also came with us on this trip to be able to help us with watching Y.
Our adoption agency was pretty clear about the fact that we would be very busy in Morocco so we should have someone to watch our son. Thankfully my mom is amazing with Y and they get along very well. She was able to get 3 weeks off of work and so she flew with us. She was a lot of help throughout our multiple flights and layovers (waited a few hours at our local state airport and then at another for 5 hours and then spent another 6 hours in Paris!) We were, needless to say, exhausted by the time we got to Rabat, Morocco.
After arriving at Rabat, gathering our luggage and meeting our local guide who picked us up at the airport, it was time to drive to our apartment. This was the first time that my husband and I had ever had to book an apartment online through airbnb.com and so we were nervous. Everyone that had come to Rabat before us through the adoption agency usually booked a hotel since we were supposed to spend only one night in Rabat...but given the fact that we flew in on a Saturday night, were a group of 4 people and couldn't get the police clearance that we needed from Rabat done any sooner than Monday, we decided an apartment would be more cost-effective.
So anyhow, our guide was able to get in contact with the apartment owner to confirm that he would be able to give us the keys that night. Soon, after like a 20 minute drive we were at the apartment...this is when we really started to get scared! We got to the apartment and there wasn't a single light on in the building, the doors/windows were closed and the apartment owner stopped answering his phone! We practically had our hearts in our throats! My huband and the guide slowly got out of the car and knocked, slowly at first and the started banging at the door! They tried calling the man a few more times but still no answer... we started contemplating getting a hotel for the night, afterall...even though we have paid in advance for this place. Well 10 minutes later the owner finally called back and said that he had been cooking and so forgot to check his phone...he finally came down and opened the door. The apartment building was still pitch dark and we found out that our apartment was on the 4th floor and there was no elevator! When I say 4th floor...it was not 4 flights of steps...there were a LOT of steps!!! Thankfully I had gotten cortisone shots put in my right knee right before traveling because i had been having horrible pain in it for a while. It was time to test my knees...
We finally went up to the 4th floor with 4 big suitcases and more hand-carry luggage...everyone was out of breath! The apartment was cute but you could tell from the dusty smell that it had been closed for a while! As soon as i came in i opened all of the windows and over the next 2 days the place actually smelled normal :) Poor Y isn't used to any dust and had to take Benadryl for the next 2 days because the poor kid's nose was all stuffed up and he was so miserable that he actually asked to go home! Poor little guy.
Eventually we unpacked just enough to be able comfortably go to sleep. It was around midnight and we were all exhausted after a full day of traveling. We fell asleep within seconds...then I woke up scared at 2 am! I could hear really loud crying... I was terrified! All i could think of is this quiet dark building where we didn't see anyone and us being on the very last floor (which has just one single apartment on it) and this crying sound...i am sad to admit but i didn't spend the next 2 hours scared and clinging on to A & Y. So that was our first night in Rabat.
The good thing was that we had nowhere to be on Sunday and so i just relaxed and we went to explore the apartment building a little more during the day...it turns out that, although the building was mostly empty, there were still just a handful of apartments which had tennants in them and one had a family with 2 boys in it...one who liked to cry! LOL
Long story short, we had a nice uneventful rest of the trip in Rabat :) We were able to get our Cassier Judissier in a few hours on Monday, then we drove to Meknes...where we would be for the next 3 weeks!
Resisting the Urge to Bonk Dumb People on the head
My husband A and I have heard it ALL...when it comes to people's responses on why we are adopting a child...
Poeple have told us... one child is great, less stress...why do you want another?
-You should be happy you have one, it's easier to school one in this expensive day and age! think about college!
- I hope the baby you get will be beautiful! Aren't people from Morocco beautiful???
- Then we got the flat out responses "Oh, why are you adopting? I don't think that's a good idea!"
- You are so young, you can still have kids...why adopt?
It is all so appalling that i am pretty sure i have compartmentalized the rest in some corner of my brain marked "REFUSE" and so i can't even come up with it to post over here!
Lord help me to resist the urge to bonk such people on the head, because God knows i want to!
Poeple have told us... one child is great, less stress...why do you want another?
-You should be happy you have one, it's easier to school one in this expensive day and age! think about college!
- I hope the baby you get will be beautiful! Aren't people from Morocco beautiful???
- Then we got the flat out responses "Oh, why are you adopting? I don't think that's a good idea!"
- You are so young, you can still have kids...why adopt?
It is all so appalling that i am pretty sure i have compartmentalized the rest in some corner of my brain marked "REFUSE" and so i can't even come up with it to post over here!
Lord help me to resist the urge to bonk such people on the head, because God knows i want to!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)