All clear! Repeat, all clear!

We spent a l o n g day at the US Embassy. But we were able to take care of everything we needed and received her visa all in one day! This morning we woke up, had a little breakfast, and called for a car to take us at 10 in the morning. An older Sikh picked us up in a minivan and drove like he was on a deadline to the Embassy. I swear, I have never nor will ever experience sheer terror the way I do when inside a car in this country. Lines whether they be white or yellow, make no high holy difference to a soul in this country. I have written about driving in a previous blog, but I do not think I can stress enough the insanity when it comes to driving. New York, HA! L.A., HA! Kolkata, HELP!!!

Anyway, the Embassy. The security runs deep throughout this place. You have to drive around barriers, go through several check points to get inside this bureaucratic web. We have spent our entire trip escorted from one place to another and inside the Embassy was no different. Into one office, out to another, stand in a line, go into another line, sit in room waiting to be called, go in another line, and then finally we leave to be raced through the streets to a doctor’s office in the city. We entered a large, oddly build office complex area to get her physical examination. We walked into a very small office area and then behind the receptionist to meet with the doctor. She was an older woman who greets us with a warm smile and quickly goes through the paperwork. She was very encouraging of our process to adopt and offered many words of encouragement. I felt at ease there and wondered how she might approach someone needing medical help. The area was so small and I didn’t see drug reps running in and out. I could imagine her burning sage and pulling out a tumor with her bare hands. You know, the way it should be. After a quick visit, we then rushed back to the embassy just in time to arrive for the staffs one hour lunch. It was one o’clock and we were all starving but decided to grab another orange Fanta and go back outside the embassy on a beautiful day and sit in the sun.

Now the difference between Kolkata and New Delhi is like night and day. Each one has a unique flavor and atmosphere. New Delhi is defiantly more cosmopolitan whereas Kolkata holds a large portion of very poor people. I want to say that I LOVED Kolkata! I feel in love with the city the moment I walked among the people. Had we gone to New Delhi first, Kolkata would have been too much of a shock for my system, but looking back on the experiences in Kolkata, we would not hesitate for a moment to go back. People lined every street in Kolkata in make-shift houses selling anything and everything wherever you turned. The smells changed drastically with every step combining the sweetest on earth to the most wretched. But it was alive. So alive. The energy was as fulfilling as it was draining. People who had nothing would smile and greet you with Bengali pride. There were a few beggars, but even those who had so little only wanted your friendship. I would dare anyone to find a city filled with more delight and wonder than Kolkata.

So we waited for the embassy staff to finish lunch and went back into the building only after a 6 year old little girl from the streets came over to us. She was dresses in rags and dirt caked her tiny face. She removed a small silver bowl and two sticks then carefully placed the bowl upside down onto the sack that carried it. She hit the bowl a few times, not worrying with the rhythm, only looking around distracted by the cars speeding by her so quickly. After a few quick beats she stood up, raised her right hand, put her left on her waist and shook her hips several times. She stopped abruptly, packed up her sticks into the bag, turned the bowl right-side up and walked directly to me with bowl extended wanting a few rupees for her performance. Now we were always told to not give money to those who begged- for others were waiting in the wings to approach you if you pulled out money. But this young girl gave the performance of a lifetime and deserved a little compensation, but steps before we walked back through the embassy doors.

After much more waiting and standing in line, we had our exit interview. Henry was at his wits end and so were we. As we were moments away from leaving Henry said, “This is not a beautiful day. This is the worst day of my life”. Poor kid. We have gone two days without a respectable meal. Only crackers and those orange Fantas. I had the car take Ellen and the kids (I love saying that now) to the hotel while I waited “twenty more minutes” to get the final visa so I would not need to come back tomorrow. The driver dropped off the family, came back to get me, and took me home to the hotel.

Basically we were able to take care of two to three days work in one day. I know other families in the process of adopting are reading this blog as well. Please know that time in this country exists within a separate reality. I finally understand the theory of multiple universes and chaos theory. They are alive and well in Kolkata and New Delhi. We have pushed ourselves and mostly Henry, to extremes this last week. Having a four year old on the trip is hard. We are constantly asking too much of him on a daily basis. But we have no right to deny him this opportunity. I sat in the bathroom with him and cried tonight. I told him over and over how proud I was for him being so strong. I assured Henry when we got home, daddy would take him to the park and play a special game of baseball, just the two of us. I could see the light come back into his eyes. I wish I could explain in terms the feelings we have experienced over the last week of our lives, yet we have not begun to create such terms, such language. It is frustrating at times to be human. Feeling all sorts of emotions and seeing your existence change over and over again in such a small amount of time. But it is happening to us right now.

Thanks to all of our family, friends, co-workers, people we have never met for coming with us. Henry is ready to present his little sister to each one of you. And thank you for your words. Just to know you are there makes all the difference. We will see you soon.