Day 77 – Wednesday, June 27th
Today was the most productive day I’ve had in Colombia since I got here. (I seem to function better when there are lots of things that need to get done in a short amount of time. I actually like the rush of it all. So today I was more in my comfort zone… and it helps that thing went right for a change!)
Both Sofia and I woke up early and were picked up at 7:00am by our hired driver.
· We first went to pick up Cecilia from her house.
· Then to the passport agency to pick up Sofia’s passport. They told us it would be there and ready by 8:30. We got there at 8:00. A very helpful assistant took our receipt and went in back to look for the passport. 10 minutes later, we were called to the window to pick up her passport. I checked everything to make sure it was correct and we were off to our next appointment. (By the way… her passport picture that she took a few days earlier is SOOOO cute!)
· Cecilia went to make photocopies of the new passport and scanned one to her office to send to the Embassy to let them know that we would be coming later in the day. We got an appointment at 1:30 at the Embassy.
· The driver swung by to pick us up again to drive us to the Medical Clinic where Sofia has to get checked out by a doctor that specializes in international adoptions.
· We got to the clinic and the doctor was not there yet. He typically doesn’t see patients in the mornings, but made an exception for Sofia so we could get to the Embassy and be able to leave this weekend. Once he arrived, he called us into his office. She checked out well with a clean bill of health. I was very happy to hear that there was no trauma to her lungs from having bronchitis before we got here to pick her up. The 10 days of hospitalization and additional month of inhaler medication helped. She is right in the middle of all the chart curves and is growing so fast. She is a very happy and healthy baby! The doctor gave me an envelope that I was not to open and I was to give it to the U.S. Embassy along with the other paperwork.
· We then called the driver to pick us up again and then we were off to go to the government adoption agency (Bienestar Familiar). Cecilia and I went in and Sofia was napping, so she stayed with our driver, Bibiana. We rushed through the building and went upstairs to a small office. I had to sign a confirmation of the adoption and fill out a survey pertaining to my agency in the U.S., my adoption agency here in Colombia, and the Government Agency. Hopefully my responses (along with the responses from other families) will help to make the process a little more efficient. I could’ve written a book, but I was able to get most of what I wanted to say on one sheet of paper. It was just after 11:00am at this time and we didn’t have to be at the Embassy until 1:30 so we had a chance to take a little break from it all.
· We drove Cecilia back to her house so she could jump onto a conference call, while Sofia and I hung out at the Hacienda Santa Barbara mall (where I take my Zumba classes). It is very close to Cecilia’s house, and I wouldn’t have enough time to go home. So in the mall I was able to get lunch, feed and change Sofia, and walk around the mall a bit until our driver came back to pick me up at 12:30.
· We picked up Cecilia and went straight to the Embassy with all our paperwork in hand. Once we got to the Embassy, we took the stroller out to stroll Sofia around (rather than carrying her in her carrier). We walked to the entrance window. Cecilia was able to come in with us. We went through security. (Cecilia had to leave her phone with the guard since no cameras are allowed.) Once we were in, we went to window #1. We gave them our paperwork and Sofia’s passport. They said that we would have to wait a day after the passport is issued for us to apply for the Visa. Cecilia (whom has been VERY helpful lately pleading my case and getting exceptions) said that I have been here going on 12 weeks now, that there was a problem with the passport printer and that’s the only reason we had to wait until this morning to pick it up, and that when they faxed over the passport this morning, they said that we just got the passport and still scheduled our appointment for 1:30 today. After all that pleading, the lady at the window said she would see what she could do. She told us to wait for our name to be called. We sat close by, hung out with Sofia, and just as I was changing Sofia’s diaper in the restroom, they had called our name. I was just finishing up and washing my hands when Cecilia came running into the bathroom saying, “hurry up, hurry up. They called your name and we have to go there now!” I took Sofia to the window with me and Cecilia grabbed the stroller. The guy at the window asked me how long I had been in Colombia. I told him tomorrow will be going on 12 weeks. He asked how long I was told I would be in country. I told him 6-8 weeks. He asked if I was given a reason for the delay. I told him that it had to do with the television program related to illegally adopted children from Colombia and the investigations that were going on. He shook his head and said, “That’s just part of it. It’s way bigger than that.” His response made me think that although I have been here 12 weeks, at least I am finishing the process and I will be able to go home soon. It seems like there is something else going on that I don’t know about. There aren’t any other families here from LSS or any that have come after we did. There’s definitely something big that’s going on and I’m glad I was on the front end of all these problems as opposed to being at home waiting to meet my child for the first time. I feel for all the families that are waiting to be united with their children and I feel for all of the children that are waiting to be united with their new and forever families. After a few other questions, he said that her passport with the Visa would be ready to be picked up tomorrow after 3:00pm. He gave me a slip to present when I arrive tomorrow and then we were done.
· The traffic coming home was rough, but we dropped of Cecilia and then went home. Sofia and I were home by 4:00 with a load off my shoulders and a throbbing headache.
With all the exceptions that were made for us throughout the day, we came home victorious. This is not typical to be able to do this many steps in one day. I could tell that the stress is very hard on Cecilia as well. But only one more step to finish the in-country portion of the adoption and that’s to pick up the Visa on Thursday. We scheduled a driver to pick us up and we were done for the day. Sofia seemed to be just as wiped out as I was. Needless to say, we went to sleep very early.
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