Forever Connected

One of the best parts about this adoption for me is I will be forever tied to Africa. Raising an Ethiopian child will be a realization of a dream that was conceived of when I was very young but a dream which has grown exponentially as I learned more about the continent and spent time traveling and living there.

I first went to Africa in 1981. My father had been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship and he chose to take our family to Nigeria where he could study and teach. I spent my junior year of high school in a boarding school, an international school run by missionaries. It was an incredible learning experience, not only because it was a welcome change from the uniforms and cliques of my private girls' school in Pennsylvania, but because it was there where I got my first taste of other cultures, other languages, other customs, traditions, values. The lessons I learned from my friends, my host families and living in Africa taught me far more than the lessons taught in my school. It was my first introduction to Africa and the beginning of my life-long love affair of its people, its rich culture and its beauty.

It was twenty-five years before I made it back. I went back in 2007, this time to Senegal. Touching down in Dakar was so exciting. I had planned the trip via email and when I arrived I wasn't sure if my friend would even be there to meet me. When my passport got confiscated by a gun-toting official (I didn't have an address for where I was staying) and I spent 45 minutes wandering around the airport looking for a friend I hadn't seen in eight years, my excitement turned to a mixture of fear and self-preservation. What would I do if she never showed up? I had decided I would spend the night in the airport and in the morning, in the daylight, I would befriend some English-speaking backpackers and hang with them for the next ten days (and, I suppose, at some point seek the help of the American Embassy). Those 45 minutes were filled with great anxiety and fear but I was also energized at the prospect of venturing around Senegal by myself and finding my own way. I have always had an adventurous side; I am a true free spirit. To me, it was an opportunity to do something exciting and different and I prepared myself for the challenge. That wasn't necessary as we did eventually find each other and I got my passport back. Even though my luggage never made it, my ten days in Dakar were still thrilling and energizing. Dakar brought back so many memories! The music, the Muslim call to prayer, the goats in the streets, the dark skin of its people, the sights, the sounds... my memories and love of Africa all came flooding back. I loved Dakar.

Last year I visited East Africa for the first time. Shortly after arriving in Ethiopia I experienced another airport scare, another 45 minutes or so of not being able to find my hosts. This trip was the same in that I had also scheduled it via the internet (after reading about the volunteer opportunity in an adoption brochure) but different in that this time I knew no one in the country. My mother was extremely worried about me traveling solo and staying with strangers, but I was confident that it was all on the up and up and that I'd be fine. I was right. Volunteering at Layla House through Adoption Advocates International was an incredible, life-changing, highly recommended experience. I remember distinctly walking up to the front door of the orphanage barely able to contain my excitement. I had just finished reading There Is No Me Without You and I was so beside myself with the anticipation of having the opportunity to actually volunteer in a place like I had just read about. I hope I get that same feeling of anticipation when I arrive at the door of the orphanage when I am there to meet my daughter.

Ethiopia has some similarities to Nigeria and Senegal but the poverty seems far greater and the first things you notice when you leave the airport are the bumpy, unpaved roads and the thick diesel smell in the air. Ethiopia took longer to love, but by the end of my month of volunteering I was hooked. Knowing my child will be from this amazing country is so incredible!

This weekend I watched I Bring What I Love, a documentary about the life and music of Youssou N'Dour, a Senegalese musician. It was an incredible film of a man's love for his faith, his country and his music. While watching the film I was brought to tears with not only seeing someone live their life authentically and with passion but also as I was reminded once again of my deep love for the continent, the music, the people.

As N'Dour put it, 'Africa's various languages, tribes, cultures and traditions shouldn't be considered barriers but contributions to the richness of the continent'. I couldn't agree more. Each place I have visited has it's own richness and beauty and I am so grateful for the opportunity to add to the richness of the fabric of my family by becoming the mother of an African child. Oh Africa, how I love you and how humbled I am to have the opportunity to raise one of your own.