Ethiopia? Why there?

The following is something I posted to my other blog at the end of Nov., on the eve of receiving our referral. Although this was written a while ago (and I didn't actually get to see Lucy while in Addis), I still think it is worth posting. Why Ethiopia? Here's why:


Nov. 29, 2007
The following is part of a conversation I had with a(n) (uneducated) woman a about a month or so ago at a training for school I attended. She was from a small town in IN, so I know I won't ever see her again! Anyway, here goes:

She asked me where I was adopting from. I said, "Ethiopia." She crinkled up her face and said, "That's a weird place to get one from, don't ya think?" To which, I replied, "My husband and I don't think so." She (wisely) shut her trap after that. It was the only intelligent thing she did the entire two training days.

If that's not special, I don't know what is! But, it is a question I know people will at least think if they aren't as rude as this woman was. After all, although transracial adoption is becoming more mainstream, that doesn't mean that everyone understands it. (A and I do, and yes, I do know that's all that matters.)

Bottom line, short answer to the question: Why Ethiopia? is simple: It felt right. Adopting from Africa was a suggestion made by my mom (soon to be my girl's Mimi-- I love it!), and once she said it and we found that AGCI had an Ethiopia program, A and I looked no further. We were hooked.

This is not to say that it was a rash decision or an uninformed one. We researched it, thought about it, talked to our friends and family about it... and to our extreme joy, we found that everyone we love also loved us and our idea of this international Ethiopian adoption. We know very well that there will be challenges, and we are ready and eager to take them on. We are certain that our daughter is currently waiting for us and that the 3 of us are meant to be a family.

After we decided that our little daughter would be from Ethiopia, we started to learn more about the country... And, the thing is, the more we learned, the more we loved it. The people there are beautiful, inside and out. Family is so important in Ethiopian culture, and the Ethiopians believe the Ark of the Covenant resides on an island in the center of Lake Tana there. (How cool is that?) Ethiopia is also considered the cradle of civilization, and the Queen of Sheba is from there. Oh, yes, coffee is from there, too! Not to mention, I definitely plan to see the bones of the oldest human ever found, Lucy, at the National Museum when we are there. Plus, the pictures I have seen of my daughter's native country are so, so beautiful. My daughter is going to come from a country that has such a rich history and culture, and like her Aunt H said, our lives are going to be so enriched by having her in it. What a blessing!

So, I guess the only question left to ask now is:

Why NOT Ethiopia???