U.S. Embassy update

Happy 2nd night of Chanukah to all....

I am very relieved to have learned from a number of you that we have a handy little tool in in the U.S. that actually suctions out nostril mucus and is called a bulb syringe.  This will save me A LOT of money now that I don't have to bring an Ethiopian law student/bellman to Denver to keep TBK's nostrils clear.  Phew.

NOT great new at the U.S. Embassy today.  According to Esther Bell, because of the Christmas holidays some of the Embassy staff has already left on vacation and others will leave this week, including Esther.  As a result, there is backlog of cases that need to be investigated before they can be processed.

Because of this, our case—along with others—is just sitting.  She has no idea when it will be but when my case comes up, I will receive an e-mail notifying me that the investigation has begun. After I receive an e-mail that the investigation has begun, it takes 7-10 days and that is assuming that there aren’t any problems with the case.  Just to make myself feel better, I asked her if I could REWRITE my e-mail address for her. She was kind enough to accept that.

I asked her if there is anything that I can do to speed things up and she said, no, it is a legal process.  After the investigation, it takes another amount of time to issue the passport, visa and schedule the exit interview.

Besides being frustrating, in and of itself, this make travel planning very difficult.   Gary has generously offered to come over and bring us home and has spent HOURS already on-line and on the phone with airlines.   The date is a moving target and because it is the holidays, the prices are outrageous.  I think we are going aim to get something for mid-January (with insurance to change if necessary) and just pray that we will be clear to leave by then.  I am VERY excited that Uncle Gary is going to see TBK in her life BD (before Denver) and hold our hands (and our bags:) the long trip home.

In the meantime, Tali Bamlak is just TOO much. I wish that I could upload video of her because the delicious factor is something that needs to be seen to be believed.  

We went to dinner tonight at a little restaurant and art gallery called Serenade.  Lucky for us, we were the only customers because, I learned, EVENINGS out are not a great idea. Poor thing was so tired and just couldn’t get comfortable enough to fall asleep.   The staff could not have been nicer about a fussy little baby, the waiter took her from me and she totally entertained them with her smiles while I ate. 

Love from Addis,
--Jen and Tali