The continuing chronicles of Matthew, Princess, their Mommy-O, and Oma...

We are true adventurers now…we have now gone to the supermarket across the street, bought some carved pieces from a street vendor, bought “scratch cards” for our phone minutes, called the US and walked to the ocean…and visited with folks on the beach. However, the accomplishment I am most proud of is the “pseudo-mastery” of the snap hand shake that the waiter at the Royal Hotel restaurant taught me!!! (We’ve become “buds” with some of the waiters there since that’s where we always eat, and this one remembers our drink orders and brings them when we come in! Patrick I am drinking more Coke than I ever thought possible!)

After our harrowing first couple of days, we finally worked up the nerve to quit sleeping all day in the hotel and to take the kids to the UN Supermarket across the street where Skittles cost $60 Liberian dollars ($1 US dollar)! It was an interesting mix of cultures there…very small but certainly most supplies were readily available- for a price. Princess was enthralled and Matthew, as usual, took it all in stride.

We were not bothered at all by anyone, but the street vendors in front of the hotel wanted us to look at their wares, so we did. Jackie couldn’t get the one seller to come down enough on the price of the tablecloth set, so she passed, but I bargained with the carver and bought a really beautiful carved Noah’s Ark (no Noah and only two animals!) and a set of the “Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Say No Evil” monkeys- but when I got to the hotel I realized that I have TWO “Hear No Evil” monkeys and NO “Say No Evil” monkey! LOL! So much for my bargain!

Today, we decided for Sunday Service, that we would walk to the ocean (we are actually going to attend church here on our last day in Africa, next Sunday.) It was a gorgeous day and the temperature has been really comfortable; however the humidity is so high that all of our broomstick skirts have lost their pleats! We walked down the road to “Poo Poo Beach” (called that because, YES, the locals use it for a bathroom…and while we were walking there a little boy came around the wall, dropped his pants in front of us, and “did his business”!!! At Jackie’s urging, I did not follow my first impulse of pulling out the camera!)

Princess would NOT go near the water…she was fascinated, but terrified, so she kept her distance. Matthew was a little braver and would get his feet wet, but still was scared. We walked through one section of rocks where we had to get hit by the surf and he cried…some little Liberian boys on the beach ran up and tried to carry him to help us, but that just scared him more and he clung to me then. So, we ended our beach walk with everyone soaked but Princess, who stayed on the high ledge throughout the walk. Smart girl!

Along the walk, I took photos of the boys and girls on the beach and the roads and showed them their pictures. The children were so grateful that we had taken their photo…like we had honored them. It was difficult to walk through the streets and see the level of poverty there…naked and half-clothed children lining the doorways, and dogs, lanky and starving, weaving in and out of the dilapidated lean-to buildings. The contrast is heart-wrenching- the beautiful awe-inspiring landscape of the ocean and its shore with the piles of garbage and miles, and miles of crude shacks. Beautiful structures (hotels? condominiums?) from days past are crumbling in ruin at the ocean’s edge, often made into shanty makeshift “apartments” with blankets covering the windows and graffiti naming the street or “business.” I could not help but think while I was walking that this might have been the life that awaited Princess and Matthew. I hate to think that way because I know that the hope for Liberia does not lie with all of its children being adopted abroad, but it pains me to see such little hope for success for its youth. I pray that Liberia will rise again under new leadership and that today’s children, the children of Rainbow Town, will have the hope of a future of possibilities and choices. Alright, enough of the soapbox!

So far the bonding process has gone remarkably well, although I know there will be a definite period of change and adjustment when we return home. Princess was immediately “my girl” and has remained so. She wants to go everywhere with me…she likes Jackie, too, but certainly knows that I am her mother and keeps me under watchful eye if she is not sitting right next to me. Last night at dinner, she was lying with her head in my lap and she said, “You are what I needed, and I am your Princess.” *sigh* I told her today that when we go to Rainbow Town on Tuesday, she may stay with her friends for the nights when I go to the hotel. She emphatically said, “No, I go with you!” I explained that we would not leave and would be there the next day and she said again, “No, I stay with you in the night.” Okay, settled!

Matthew has gone from calling me “Woman” to “Mommy-O”! It’s the Liberian way of speaking to add the letter O to the end of words. We found out that he had no idea what “Grandma” meant…he says “Oma” for Grandma instead! Matthew LOVES hats (sorry, Daddy!) and FOOD! He eats chicken…interestingly…and for those of you who know me well, I am easily grossed-out and Jackie and I have taken to just not watching him eat! The other day he took the well-cleaned chicken bones and tossed them on the floor of the restaurant! (Hey, it’s what he’s always done!) Both seem to finally realize that there is going to be another meal coming, so they don’t need to quickly shove EVERYTHING in their mouths! We were told before that Matthew is a “star” and now that we know him, we understand where that comes from- it seems everyone stops us and wants to talk to Matthew. The hotel staff all know his name and today he even meandered over to the table where the “Lebanese Mafia” sits and eats and pulled up a chair and visited with them! (Okay, they’re probably not the Mafia, but watching them is reminiscent of Satatore’s and the Sopranos clan sitting in front! And Jackie and I like to scope out folks at the hotel and speculate on whether or not they’re diamond smugglers! No joke, someone left a diamond mining business brochure in our room from a recent convention at the hotel!!!)