It took us almost four hours to pack. I had a cute little baby clinging to me the entire time, and she was interested in everything I touched, so it was nearly impossible for me to do any of the packing. Since I had done all the original packing and had a mental inventory of everything that we had, and what needed to come home with us and what we could leave behind, this meant that I was telling Jeff what to pack, and how and where to pack it. Not the most efficient way of packing. Throw in an extremely active two-year-old who is bouncing off the walls because he's been confined to the guest house all day, and you'll understand why it took us so long to pack two suitcases, a carry-on and a backpack. Ana Luisa did try to help a little bit.
Zewdu picked us up at 6:30 to go to the airport. There were three other families in the van with us, who were all catching a flight home on a different airline, half and hour before us. Although we arrived at the airport by 7, by the time we cleared security, checked in and got our boarding passes, and cleared immigration, it was already 9:30. We had planned to eat dinner at the airport, and so we just went to the first restaurant we saw once we got up to our gate. Our meal was less than peaceful- Juan Pablo was very antsy, and Ana Luisa was exhausted but unable to fall asleep. We got out of the restaurant as quickly as we could, and waited to board our flight. For those who are wondering how we got through 24 hours worth of traveling with a two year old and a one year old, here are a couple pictures, taken in Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa. I had Ana Luisa in a Moby Wrap, and a backpack with a folder with all our important paperwork, diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, a few toys for Ana Luisa, snacks, contact solution and basically anything we might want on the flight.
Jeff had Juan Pablo in the ERGOBaby baby carrier on his back. He also rolled around our carry-on, which had clothing changes for all of us, travel toothbrushes, extra diapers and formula, and everything we wanted for our layover in Amsterdam. Attached to the carry-on was Juan Pablo's little backpack filled with coloring books, toys, a portable DVD player and DVDs, and a few packs of fruit snacks and suckers for take-off and landing. 
Once we got on the plane, it became clear that it was going to be difficult for the kids to sleep being so close to each other. Thankfully, a sympathetic flight attendant noticed, and offered to move me to a spot with two empty seats so that I could have some extra room for me and the baby. Both kids slept throughout most of the flight. Juan Pablo had a bit of a breakdown when he woke up and realized I wasn't there, but the people next to him were understanding, and he pulled it together before the end of the flight. We arrived in Amsterdam, and headed straight for Yotel, an airport hotel where we had reserved a room for our seven hour layover. Yotel is a fairly new hotel chain, providing small yet very space efficient rooms, available to rent by the hour, at Schipol, London Gatwick and London Heathrow airports. The whole thing was very modern and minimalist, almost all white with a few purple accents. We walked through a long, white corridor, with cabins on both sides. Our Premium cabin included a sofa that coverts to a bed at the touch of a button, an ensuite bathroom, a flat-screen TV, a desk/work station, and a touch pad that offered various lighting options...all very efficiently packed into 10 square meters of space. And a wonderful 10 square meters they were. It was very clean and comfortable, and I'm even told our bedding was organic. We got a chance to take a real shower for the first time in a week, and all four of us were able to take a nap, and have a calm, quiet place to rest. 
If someday, perhaps after watching Star Wars or something like that, Juan Pablo starts talking about his memories of being on a spaceship, I will know exactly what he is referring to and where those distant, childhood memories come from. The whole experience was more than a little surreal. I'm not sure if it was because we were sleep deprived and maybe a little slap happy, or because it really is that hilarious, but Jeff and I just kept laughing the whole time. It really did feel like we were on a spaceship. If anyone has a layover in London or Amsterdam that is long enough, please stay at Yotel, and then report back. We'd love to know if other people find this place as funny as we do, or if it is just us.
If someday, perhaps after watching Star Wars or something like that, Juan Pablo starts talking about his memories of being on a spaceship, I will know exactly what he is referring to and where those distant, childhood memories come from. The whole experience was more than a little surreal. I'm not sure if it was because we were sleep deprived and maybe a little slap happy, or because it really is that hilarious, but Jeff and I just kept laughing the whole time. It really did feel like we were on a spaceship. If anyone has a layover in London or Amsterdam that is long enough, please stay at Yotel, and then report back. We'd love to know if other people find this place as funny as we do, or if it is just us.
After a refreshing stay at Yotel, we grabbed a couple coffees for a quick dose of caffeine for our last leg on our journey home. Our last flight was the only flight that we had that was not overnight, and Juan Pablo had slept like a champ on all the flights so far, so we didn't know what to expect on this flight, since he would most likely be awake for most, if not all, of it. While we were drinking our coffees, waiting to clear security to get on the plane, yet another kind KLM employee took notice of us (not that this was hard...we were quite conspicuous...two adults, each with a young child attached to their body with some sort of baby carrier, and each holding a piece of carry-on luggage and drinking a large cup of coffee). He took our boarding passes, offering to seat us in a row with an empty fourth seat so that we could have the entire row to ourselves. It turns out we were already seated in a row with an empty fourth seat, which was perfect. Both kids did great on the flight. And Ana Luisa was very safety-conscious, and made sure to read the booklet on safety instructions, just in case.
Juan Pablo took a good nap on the plane, but Ana Luisa decided to wait until we touched down in Detroit and were standing in line for customs and immigration. It ended up being a great place to nap...I wish I could have napped there too, since it took us forever to get through the line. After getting through the normal line for US Citizens, we had to go in a special Blue Line, to hand over Ana Luisa's visa packet. There were only two people in front of us in line, but each one took so long that we were still the very last people from our flight to get through immigration. Of course this made it very easy to find our luggage- ours were the only two bags left on the baggage claim belt. And thankfully, my parents hadn't given up on us, and were still waiting when we finally got through.
Thank you so much to all of you who prayed for us throughout our trip. There were times when we thought that perhaps we were crazy to even attempt this in the first place, but it was so worth it. We are so glad that we were able to take Juan Pablo with us, and let him be a part of everything, from Rome, to meeting Ana Luisa at the orphanage, to getting to experience once again that country where he was born and have contact with so many wonderful Ethiopian people. We are so thankful and relieved that Ana Luisa recovered from whatever illness she had when we picked her up from the orphanage, and that we were able to bring her home healthy and happy. And most of all, we are thrilled to be home and settling in as a family of four!
1 comment:
I agree, bringing siblings does have its challenges, but the benefits far out weigh them. You have a beautiful family!
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