Continuing our Journey with Ethiopia and the Kleins

If you asked your #KFkinder what they did at school today, they might have said, "I had music with Mrs. Galligan and we did our Halloween song again!" (check it out in Seesaw or Instagram!).  Or they might have said, "I did my October writing sample for my writing portfolio.  I really tried hard to write a whole sentence about what my favorite Halloween costume is!".  What I hope they might have said was, "We got to see pictures of Jenny and Nate (my sister and BIL that are adopting) and their first time meeting Ellary!".  Today we continued learning about Ethiopia and adoption, but we also opened up our discussion to what an orphanage is and the process of international adoption.

Jenny and Nate left Friday evening for Ethiopia with my other sister, Becca (which many of the kinders had last year as an associate in their Preschool room!).  They flew out of Cedar Rapids to Chicago.  From Chicago they flew to Washington DC.  And from Washington DC they flew into the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa.  They are 10 hours ahead of us, so they got in Sunday morning, but it was Saturday night for us.  On Monday morning (Ethiopia time), they got to go to the orphanage and meet Ellary.  They were able to spend 2 hours with her to start the bonding process.  Ellary must have been waiting to meet Jenny and Nate as well because she took right to them.  You will see in the pictures that Becca captured that she is ready to have the Klein last name!  The emotions that they all must have been feeling were present in the pictures and opened up a lot of questions from the
#KFkinders. 

There were so many questions and take-aways from the kinders.  I don't know what you all have done as families to raise such caring and open-minded kiddos, but WOW! they are so caring!  Here were some of the questions the kinders want to ask Jenny and Nate!
*Can Ellary walk?
*What did the orphanage look like?  Did it look like a daycare? <--- This was our closest understanding of what an orphanage is.  One of the kinders actually came up with this comparison after I have an initial description of one!  Isn't it amazing how much they understand when we allow them to control the learning!
*When will Ellary get to go home with them?
*What else are they doing while they are there?
*Are there any sharks, lions, birds, or elephants there?<--- We are really stuck on the animals that live in Ethiopia! 
*Does Ellary know any words?  Does she speak like us (English) or like something else (the native language is Amharic)?   

  

Lastly, they had some take-away's that weren't exactly questions!
*I bet the orphanage workers really love Ellary and will miss her when she goes home with Jenny and Nate.
*Nate looks like a funny guy, he makes lots of faces and seems silly (they really pegged him...he is a bit of a character!).
*Jenny looks like a nice mom!
*Mrs. Fisher has big feelings too (my eyes were a little misty when showing the pictures and having this talk)!  We also talked about how happy feelings sometimes make us cry and that is okay!  We even had a few kinders with tears in their eyes...they are really digging this journey!
*Lily looked so excited when she got to FaceTime Ellary...that was their first time "meeting" too (Lily stayed back in Atkins with my oldest sister, Tracy, during this trip)!

   

We ended the conversation ready to pick up the next time we can connect with Jenny and Nate, either with FaceTime or pictures.  Isn't it amazing the power technology has!  It allows us to feel like we are right there with them!  We are excited to ask Jenny and Nate our questions, and hear more about the community Ellary is from!

One underlying theme with this whole experience is the power in storytelling.  Through story, the #KFkinders are able to travel to Ethiopia, learn about international adoption, open their eyes to what a third world country is, understand and accept differences in the world/people/communities, and realize how different families can be; but love is what binds us together.  I encourage you all to have a conversation with your kinders tonight or tomorrow about all of this and see what they can tell you in their own words!