Day 3

Today I went to see Sifan and she looked super excited to see me then she got a weird look (meg said like…I wonder if she is here for me?) Then she hid behind the other kids. When I got to her she looked a little weary so I scooped her up and kissed her little cheeks. We changed her into some clothes I brought from home and she had a HUGE smile on her face. She & I helped Meg to measure and take pictures of all of the other kids at hannah's care center. Then we were off to Kidame Mihret to video little Jascha (who is FABOULOUS btw Jen). Next we went back to the guest house to play for the afternoon.

Sifan played happily and learned the word gum…which she LOVES. She is very giving and likes to share with Berhane. She jabbers on and on in Amharic and I wish I understood what she is saying. She has a kind of silent defiance about her we have decided. She will often ignore you when you say her name…almost like she doesn't hear you. But all was well in the 4 hours we played at the (NOTOOL) guest house together. Then like a switch she suddenly ran into the hallway and did not want to come back into the room. The stairway has large marble steps and I was afraid she would get hurt if she fell down so I tried to gently urge her to come back to the room. She refused so I tried to pick her up and carry her into the room. This made her squirm and scream. So I put her back down and watched closely from a distance. She gave me mean looks and layed on the landing to the stairs. I thought perhaps she was tired so we started to make plans to take her back to the Care Center for bed time. Whenever I went to put her shoes on or pick her up she would scream and squirm until I put her down. When the taxi was on its way I tried to move her again but this made her more angry and she started to scream and cry uncontrollable. Cosa, from BFAS tried to talk to her but she did not want him either and she screamed louder. So I sat beside her for about 20 minutes and rubbed her back and wiped her tears and nose while she cried. I cried knowing that she had been through so much in her young life and this new transition had to be overwhelming for her. When the taxi finally arrived she let me pick her back up but she didn't snuggle in she kind of pushed her torso away while I carried her. She stayed that way on the ride to the Care Center and when we go there she burst into tears again. I picked her up and carried her to the other children like the day before but she clung desperately to me now sobbing, The nannies tried to talk to her and she shrugged at them and would not let go of me. The nannies said "She likes you too much." After talking didn't work the nannies tried to pry her from my arms and I couldn't take it. So I told them that I would bring her back later and we left.

We took her back to my guest house so Meg could use the internet since she didn't have access at the BFAS guest house (Notool). Sifan and Berhane had a FABULOUS time because the New flower has a large courtyard for the kids to play in and the BFAS guesthouse does not have any room outside for the kids to play. We kicked a ball around and Berhane explored with her grandpa. We all enjoyed some much needed fresh air. And the most fabulous thing happened. Sifan started to respond to her name and she started to try to speak English by copying me which she would not do before. And Sifan opened up and laughed and joked in Amharic and laughed at herself again. She is a true joy! She is going to enjoy Noah, Carter, and Wubi with her sense of humor, she laughs easily and is very ticklish! I can't wait to be home!

So when the taxi came back again to take us back (1 hour later) we loaded up and Sifan got the sad look in her eyes again. When we reached the Care Center shewas completely silent and looking down at her little hands. This time I did not pick her up but held her hand as we walked up to the nannies. At Meg's dad's urging I left quickly. I heard her protests and burst into tears but climbed back into the car. Meg's dad and I cried until we reached his guest house.

I returned to my guest house and sadly watched the other families from other agencies happily playing with their children. They have the same embassy date as us and will be leaving at the same time.