Nov. 12

We are staying at the Hotel Paris, named for the proprietor Katya Paris. There are about ten other families here also adopting. All have been here since October or longer so we are the new kids on the block. All but one are here for their second adoption so there are lots of children around. The families here right now are from Finland, Italy, France, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. There is one other family from Michigan, one family from Tennessee, and three from Florida. We all spend a lot of time together. Both parents and all the children are here for all but one of the families. Callista's mom just returned to the states a couple days ago and Callista and her dad hope to return to Florida at the of this week. There are even a couple sets of grandparents around. Adoption is definitely a family affair around here.
We all eat together and there is a staff that does all the cooking and cleaning. The food is good. I am definitely not going to lose those last five pounds while I am over here. The dining room is crowded with high chairs and meals times are busy with so many children. There is usually at least one baby crying at all times. Actually, this is true most of the time, not just during meals:)
Today is a holiday so most everything is closed. We took a long walk with another family. This is their second time here so they were showing us all the best places to visit. Their son wanted to play in the McDonald's play place so we stopped there for coffees while the kids played. The mochas we had were very good, served in fancy glass cups with globs of hot fudge at the bottom to be mixed in. Yum!
It is still warm, but rainy today. Maria and her new friend Tatis are here trying to teach each other their language. Tatis is from Italy, but adopted from Colombia and still fluent in Spanish. She knows no English, however, so Maria is trying to learn Spanish and Tatis is trying to learn English. The Spanish teachers would be pleased to hear how much Spanish I am using here. The staff speaks no English so I keep trying to understand their questions and respond appropriately. They are so pleased every time I get it right. I also keep having to act as interpreter between Maria and Tatis because they sometimes get frustrated when they can't understand each other. We also spent time yesterday and today doing homework with Luke and Maria.
K