These are the notes I took during the 20 days we spent in Armenia. I did not edit them, so they are exactly as I wrote them while away:
7/8 Depart our house at 10:00 am. Leave CVG at 12:30 pm for Atlanta and Atlanta at 5:45 pm for Paris. Smooth travels all around.
7/9 Arrive Paris 8:10 am. Fresh croissants for breakfast. Then naps in comfortable chairs at the far end of the terminal. Depart for Yerevan 1:20 pm. Arrive Yerevan 9:00 pm. It is 93 degrees F and broad daylight when we touch ground in Armenia. A delicious warm breeze is blowing. We are picked up from the airport and taken to our apartment to settle in.
7/10 Visit to Vernissage open air market (found the painting another AP wanted) and the grocery store in the morning, then a restful afternoon and evening at the apartment. Short walk to the Cascades for some exercise.
7/11 Reunion with Karen at the orphanage. He has grown and is covered in a terrible heat rash. We are not sure if he recognizes us, but he allows us to hold him and play with him outside. We are told that the bruises on his face are from auto-aggressive behaviors. We soon see them ourselves: he is hitting his head hard with clenched fists at moments of frustration and at the inability to communicate his needs and wants. Court at 1:00 pm in closed proceedings. Six people in the courtroom: judge, court stenographer, representative from the district for Karen, our lawyer/translator, Craig and I. The judge calls on me and grills me with questions for ten minutes. I cry the whole time while answering and am drenching in sweat. I tell her of Karen’s medical and developmental issues and beg her to waive the 30 day wait. When the judge is finished with me, she calls on Craig to answer three questions only. It seems like an eternity to me, but the entire proceedings only take 20 minutes and the judge says she will proclaim her ruling the next day at 5:10 pm. When it’s over, the judge, stenographer and rep smile at me and tell me I have won their hearts and congratulate us. We return to our apartment for a short rest and change of clothes and then go back to the orphanage to be with Karen. Quiet evening at the apartment follows.
7/12 Morning and afternoon visits with Karen at the orphanage. When we walk in in the morning, Karen is in the giant playpen on his belly, screaming and contorting himself like he is being exorcised. No one seems to care. I walk over to him and call his name. He stops his behavior and looks at me. I pick him up and he is instantly calm. He is doing better overall today, less auto-aggression, more babbling. We have learned already that he loses his cool when he is hungry or thirsty which he usually is 30 minutes before his scheduled meal times. He is a big eater. We have snacks for him and he likes them and then he polishes off what he’s served by his caregivers, too. The judge rules us Rex’s new parents and waives the 30 day wait at 5:10. In the evening we get a meal at our favorite restaurant across the street from our apartment and then walk to the fountain light and music show at Republic Square. People are out in droves, including children. In a way, it is heartbreaking to see so many well loved and well cared for Armenian children with their families when we also know the suffering that goes on at the orphanage just a few miles away.
7/13 We walk a 5K in the city in the morning, mostly near the Cascades. Then we wait at the apartment for our appointments which do not happen as the paperwork isn’t ready. We do some shopping with our translator, make a stop at the hospital where Karen was born and drive through the small, quiet street where his birthmother’s home is located. We see it with our own eyes: a little single family row house with a small front yard that is shaded by a roof of luscious green grape vines. The entire street looks this way. It almost feels like we are in the country in this street rather than a large capital city. In the afternoon we visit Rex. He is improving with us every day, such a difference that everyone notices in such a short time. His caregiver Rosa who hadn’t seen him since the previous week told us she noticed he was much calmer and less aggressive during her shift. She credits it to us having been back in his life for 48 hours. She’s the caregiver who has always had faith in Rex. This will be Rex’s last night at the orphanage and our last night with just the two of us. We are exhausted, so we spend it at the apartment, having a small dinner and an early bedtime.
7/14 In the morning we go to different local offices to get Rex’s adoption certificate and new birth certificate. At 3:00 pm we head to the orphanage to pick him up. We have to sign some papers in the director’s office and are told that she knows nothing at all about Rex’s birthmother other than the fact the she never called or visited. In his room, Rex is having a bath, so he can be squeaky clean for the new clothes we brought for him. The farewells are quick. The caretakers shed some tears, Rex does not. He is ready to go. We spend the afternoon at the apartment where he does amazingly well. He wants to explore everything, but it’s not safe. Craig has to go to apply for Rex’s passport and is told to return tomorrow with a corrected document. The evening is just the three of us, adjusting, learning, staring at each other. Rex goes down easy for a full night’s sleep at 9 and we are not far behind. What a day!
7/15 I don’t remember what we did exactly. Maybe we had the day off. Craig returns to apply for the passport and is told it will be ready on Wednesday.
7/16 We go in the morning to have Rex’s blood drawn for embassy required serological testing. Costs about $4.00 to run several tests. Then we make a stop at a local art market followed by an open air flea market where we buy a painting of Yerevan for Rex. It’s so hot here, we stay in during the day as much as possible. In the evening, we take Rex to Republic Square to see the fountains.
7/17 Another day off, I think. We did some walking in the morning and evening.
7/18 We pick up the results from the blood test and head to a local medical center for Rex’s embassy exam. The doctor gives me a bad vibe, she does not give Rex a chance and does not seem to understand problems of children who have been institutionalized. In the afternoon we go to MOJ to see the vice minister and pick up Rex’s Hague Letter. We wait and wait, but the minister is not in the building, so we leave. Rex is miserable and sweaty.
7/19 The translator and I return to the MOJ in the afternoon to get Rex’s Hague Letter. The vice minister is not there again, so after a 90 min wait in no AC we are allowed to see the minister who signs the document for us. We walk to the Opera House in the evening and have some ice-cream.
7/20 We take Rex to a park for his first experience of grass. Craig picks up Rex’s passport in the afternoon. His name is misspelled (Reks), but it will not be changed, so we have more corrective paperwork ahead of us in the US. Our adoption documents are dropped off at the US embassy for review.
7/21 We have nothing on the agenda. We stay in during the hot hours, but go for walks in the morning and evening.
7/22 Our embassy interview which did not go well. Consular staff is not sure if they can issue a visa for Rex as they find there’s a discrepancy between our HS approval and the results from his embassy medical exam. Makes no sense to us and seems utterly ridiculous. We are told they must get in touch with their superiors in Washington, DC and we should check back with them on Monday about a decision. I am also thinking of the reunion at Hueston Woods which starts today. Wish the three of us were there to meet everyone and enjoy the fruits of Yvonne’s and my labor. Next year!
7/23 We go to the Yerevan Zoo which is kind of sad. Funds must be lacking severely. Quiet afternoon in the apartment followed by our traditional evening walk through the city. Rain has washed the skies clear and we see a beautiful view of Mt. Ararat, Armenia’s holiest symbol, now located in Turkey.
7/24 We spend a lazy Sunday morning at the apartment, then I go for a bit of shopping with one of our translators. We have Chinese for dinner and then visit a little gelato parlor during our evening walk. Good thing we didn’t locate this place two weeks ago. I am sure we’ll be making another stop there before we depart.
7/25 90 minutes of walking in the morning. Craig runs up the Cascades (over 550 steps) Rocky-style in 3 mins 20 secs. Afterward we all take the escalators up the Cascades and have a beautiful view of Yerevan and Mt. Ararat. Then we start emailing and calling the embassy for news of Rex’s visa. Finally around 3:00 pm we get word that they will issue his visa today. Celebratory gelato in the evening. Two more days here and then finally home sweet home.
7/26 Low key day. Walking in the morning, then some rest. I run a few errands on foot by myself in the afternoon to prepare for the trip home. Rex stays up past his bedtime to watch the music and light show at the fountains in Republic Square.
7/27 One last trip to the Cascades. We take Rex up again to see the view and try to take some family pictures. Not much luck with that as he won’t look at the camera. Lunch with our translators. Then I head back to the orphanage to pick up something I forgot. Major toddler meltdowns in the afternoon… Rex can feel that something is in the air. Finish packing, last take-out dinner from our favorite restaurant.
7/ 28 Wake up at 3:15 am, leave Yerevan at 6:00 am, arrive Amsterdam at 8:00 am, depart Amsterdam at noon, arrive Detroit at 3:00 pm, leave Detroit at 5:30 pm, arrive Cincinnati at 6:30 pm, home at 7:30 pm.
During the taxi ride to the apartment, Rex was beaming with happiness in a way we'd never seen before. Notice the hills in the background. His orphanage is located on a hill on the outskirts of Yerevan.
Can you tell he has two cowlicks on the top of his head? A number of Armenians told us that this means he will marry twice.
