Jen asked (a few questions!) “I'd like to know how this trip compared to your last one. Did staying at the Hilton "spoil" your cultural experience (as I have read some say it would do)? What were you super thankful that you packed?”

These are great questions…thanks Jen!

Ok, let’s see…This trip was a lot different than the last one, for many reasons. For one, this time, I knew what Ethiopia was like… I knew what the trip would be like, I knew what I would see, I knew a lot of the people we would see, I knew what to expect as far as the poverty goes, etc. I was revisiting people and places instead of seeing it all for the first time, so the culture shock and overwhelming-ness of being somewhere totally new was replaced with a very nice “familiar” feel to things.

I knew what things would sound like, I knew what the food would taste like (and how to eat it!), I knew how to handle the money…heck, I even sat in the back of the taxis and didn’t bat an eyelash…where our first few days on our first trip I was holding on to things and praying under my breath!

Obviously this trip was a lot more stressful in the “process” department… if I had just known I was going to be there for two weeks, it would not have been a big deal, but the “not knowing” and the stress that involved, was a bit rough. With Ben’s adoption, everything went smooth as butter, so there was no stress with all that stuff.

The trip itself, or I guess I should say the second half of it, was physically more difficult, as I had to do it all alone. Not having Josh on the trip home made a grueling trip almost brutal. I would not recommend someone doing it alone unless you absolutely had to.

Of course this trip did not have the added stress and all of the accompanying emotions of falling in love with another child!!!!

From an adoptive mom standpoint, I was a lot more confident on this trip. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that it is just easier to feed and clothe and bath a tiny little girl, than it is a six year old boy. The communication barrier didn’t make much of a difference with Belane, but it was pretty big with Ben those first few days. Also, Belane ran right into my arms and wanted loves and cuddles from that first moment, but as you would expect, it took Ben a day or two to warm up to us and not be nervous with us.

Ben was A LOT easier on the plane…he did great at watching movies, napping on and off, and entertaining himself with coloring and puzzles, where Belane wanted my constant attention and interaction. Off of the plane though, Belane was very happy to lay on the bed with me, or just hang out in the hotel room, where Ben pretty much just wanted to play soccer anytime we were in our hotel room! He moved furniture to make goals and everything…his first full English sentence was “Dad kick ball.” Ben was a lot easier to “reason” with, being older and not a toddler.

Both kids did SO great, and both trips were special and awesome in their own ways because of them.

Continued...