Not a whole lot to say, but we made it through the weekend and holiday.
We finished up all of our shopping and now we just need to figure out where to put all the stuff -- I really hope we don't have to buy a new suitcase.
We're staying in this hotel through tomorrow night, then we're moving to another hotel a couple of miles away (we're hoping for better air quality where we're going). We're staying at that hotel through the week, and if we're still in town on Sunday we're going to move into the cheapest hotel that we can find in Hanoi.
We're trying new sleeping arrangements tonight to see if mom & dad can get more sleep. One key learning last night was that (I think) Will is afraid of the dark. He wakes up crying every couple of hours and we've always thought he was hungry since he'd eat a full bottle each time. Last night I left the light on in the bathroom for him after the first time he woke up, and he didn't cry the rest of the night. We actually slept until 8:30 this morning, which is the latest we've slept since we arrived. Other than Ava waking up at 4:30, that was the most continuous sleep I've had in a while.
One thing about sleeping in the Sommerset Grand: As I've said before, it's built on the site of the "Hanoi Hilton" which has been a prison for about 200 years (the French built it in the 1700's). We've all mentioned that for an all-concrete building it makes a lot of noise at night. Anyway, last night I felt someone sit on the bed and I rolled over to talk to Tami about why she was in the room (the kids weren't crying so I couldn't figure out why she was there). It wasn't Tami and I couldn't see anyone else in the room. That's when I turned on the bathroom lights that I mentioned in the paragraph above.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Happy Columbus Day!
Well, today is Columbus Day and the US Embassy here is taking the day off to celebrate. So we're going to get out and finish up all of our shopping. We'll hear something from the embassy either Tuesday or Wednesday so on those days we won't be budging from our room. Hopefully, they'll soon be giving US something to celebrate!
Friday, October 5, 2007
Today was supposed to be Happy Day
So we have the winners of our "When do you think we'll travel home" poll. It is the two people who voted that we would return home later than our scheduled date, which was today. So congratulations to you both and thanks to everyone who voted.
Here's what Will thinks about the whole situation:
Well, we're all trying to be positive. We've spoken with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's office who has sent an inquiry to the embassies in HaNoi and HCMC. Numerous friends, family, and acquaintances have called and written our congressmen. We are so moved and thankful for all your support. This will all work out. I can't bare to think otherwise.
However, once we are home, I am going to fight for changes to be made to the process here. No families need to go through this ever again. Our own embassy is disrespectful to the Vietnamese government and cruel to its own citizens waiting to go home with their children. Investigations definitely need to be a part of the process but there is no need for USCIS to conduct these investigations in the way they are doing right now. We recently found out that the Vietnamese International Adoption Office has filed an official complaint against the embassy with the Foreign Service Department because of the way they are handling this situation.
Today we plan to visit the Museum of Ethnology. It should be very interesting and I'm hoping to be able to figure out which ethnic group our kids belong to.
Please keep thinking warm thoughts and sending your words of kindness and comfort. They mean the world.
Here's what Will thinks about the whole situation:
Well, we're all trying to be positive. We've spoken with Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's office who has sent an inquiry to the embassies in HaNoi and HCMC. Numerous friends, family, and acquaintances have called and written our congressmen. We are so moved and thankful for all your support. This will all work out. I can't bare to think otherwise.
However, once we are home, I am going to fight for changes to be made to the process here. No families need to go through this ever again. Our own embassy is disrespectful to the Vietnamese government and cruel to its own citizens waiting to go home with their children. Investigations definitely need to be a part of the process but there is no need for USCIS to conduct these investigations in the way they are doing right now. We recently found out that the Vietnamese International Adoption Office has filed an official complaint against the embassy with the Foreign Service Department because of the way they are handling this situation.
Today we plan to visit the Museum of Ethnology. It should be very interesting and I'm hoping to be able to figure out which ethnic group our kids belong to.
Please keep thinking warm thoughts and sending your words of kindness and comfort. They mean the world.
This is torture
Not much happened today. One of the WC staff called us this morning and came by late this afternoon. Aside from that, there's not much action here in Hanoi.
I think that the kids are picking up on the fact that we're so upset. They have done nothing but cry whenever they aren't being held all day long. We pick them up, they fall asleep, we put them down, they start to cry, rinse, repeat.
We don't really know what's going on, other than there is an investigation. Either they're looking at the entire province and we're just waiting on the NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) or this is a routine investigation and there's nothing really wrong.
The worst part is just the waiting. It's Friday night here now, and Monday is a holiday (Columbus day), so we aren't going to hear a thing until Tuesday at the earliest (Yes or NOID). It could go even longer.
We went ahead and rebooked our flights for next weekend which is just wishful thinking on our part. The odds of us getting out of here by then aren't very high, but we just wanted to feel like we were making progress.
We've been traveling for 22 days so far, and I don't know how much longer we can handle this.
I think that the kids are picking up on the fact that we're so upset. They have done nothing but cry whenever they aren't being held all day long. We pick them up, they fall asleep, we put them down, they start to cry, rinse, repeat.
We don't really know what's going on, other than there is an investigation. Either they're looking at the entire province and we're just waiting on the NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) or this is a routine investigation and there's nothing really wrong.
The worst part is just the waiting. It's Friday night here now, and Monday is a holiday (Columbus day), so we aren't going to hear a thing until Tuesday at the earliest (Yes or NOID). It could go even longer.
We went ahead and rebooked our flights for next weekend which is just wishful thinking on our part. The odds of us getting out of here by then aren't very high, but we just wanted to feel like we were making progress.
We've been traveling for 22 days so far, and I don't know how much longer we can handle this.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
"Call Your Congressman"
We were told today by in-country staff that we should call our congressman. The panic that I saw yesterday in some of the members of our party is now starting to take me over. I just can't believe this is happening. And even more than that, I can't believe the way our country is handling this situation.
Why did they allow all these families to come to VN, begin to bond with their children, and then decide to hold us all hostage while they sort things out? What kind of country does something like that to their own people? What kind of administration would even consider sending 7 little innocent babies back to an orphanage to live out their lives? I do understand that they believe there might be a problem in Thai Nguyen (I, for one, don't at all believe that there is anything shady going on there) and they need to check it out. But for God's sake, quit bringing families here, send us all home with our children, and THEN check it out.
I know I'm ranting now but I'm really scared. I feel absolutely helpless, sitting here waiting for a woman we don't know from Adam in HCMC to make a decision that will impact us for the rest of our lives.
We have done nothing wrong. Our children have done nothing wrong. We just want to go home.
Why did they allow all these families to come to VN, begin to bond with their children, and then decide to hold us all hostage while they sort things out? What kind of country does something like that to their own people? What kind of administration would even consider sending 7 little innocent babies back to an orphanage to live out their lives? I do understand that they believe there might be a problem in Thai Nguyen (I, for one, don't at all believe that there is anything shady going on there) and they need to check it out. But for God's sake, quit bringing families here, send us all home with our children, and THEN check it out.
I know I'm ranting now but I'm really scared. I feel absolutely helpless, sitting here waiting for a woman we don't know from Adam in HCMC to make a decision that will impact us for the rest of our lives.
We have done nothing wrong. Our children have done nothing wrong. We just want to go home.
Progress
We have heard from Jenny and WC's attorneys are working to resolve the problem. Hopefully, we'll hear more soon.
One thing I wanted to make clear is that, as far as we know, this isn't happening because of WC or anything WC did. This is all being perpetrated by our own government. Which is a little surprising to me. A month ago, I was worried about dealing with the Vietnamese government. If you had asked me then which country I thought would be the caring, compassionate one throughout this process, my answer would have been wrong.
The only thing I will say is that our in-country staff should have been more proactive in responding to us when we found out there was a problem. They pretty much shut us out this entire week. I realize that they have lots of other families coming here for G&Rs and are extremely busy but I believe if they had communicated with us at the beginning of this fiasco, there wouldn't have been as much panic to set in amongst the families. Don't get me wrong -- they are wonderful, nice people. They just dropped the ball on this one. Probably because no one expected the situation to turn into the big deal that it has become.
One thing I wanted to make clear is that, as far as we know, this isn't happening because of WC or anything WC did. This is all being perpetrated by our own government. Which is a little surprising to me. A month ago, I was worried about dealing with the Vietnamese government. If you had asked me then which country I thought would be the caring, compassionate one throughout this process, my answer would have been wrong.
The only thing I will say is that our in-country staff should have been more proactive in responding to us when we found out there was a problem. They pretty much shut us out this entire week. I realize that they have lots of other families coming here for G&Rs and are extremely busy but I believe if they had communicated with us at the beginning of this fiasco, there wouldn't have been as much panic to set in amongst the families. Don't get me wrong -- they are wonderful, nice people. They just dropped the ball on this one. Probably because no one expected the situation to turn into the big deal that it has become.
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