7/10/14

Our flight was scheduled to take off at 9:30 am on the 10th. That sounds reasonable until you consider that we needed to be there 3 hours early. So we were out the door at 6:15. That meant I was up at 4 wondering what I forgot in my 3 hour packing marathon the previous day that I had to buy a third suitcase for. I packed everything pretty tight ( including Arequipa and hot chocolate)  so squeezing in the last little things in took some muscle.  Rene was just a bit early but that was OK with me, we were ready. The drive to the airport was normal. Rene parked and walked in with us to show us the ropes. First we went to the tax exemption window where we showed that I had a stamp in my passport  so that could get another stamp in my passport so that I would not need to pay a penalty tax for not having the first stamp. Wow. Then to the Delta line to check-in and drop off bags. We were able to cut to the head of the line because of Diego. I had to show our passports to several people and the cover of the US immigration packet to one person. Then it was on to the Colombian immigration line. Rene could go no further with us so I payed him 60,000 pesos and said good bye. Thanks to Diego's youth we moved to the fast lane and very shortly we arrived at a desk where a man took our Colombian immigration folder and read a good bit. He also compared the passport numbers and names on the documents to verify that I was me. It took 10 min of wrestling Diego for the man to send us on to security. Security was a breeze compared to the US. Shoes on, liquids are OK and no X-ray, just a metal detector. The duty free area is always strange. This one had the hotties standing in front of fancy perfume shops. That stuff has never made any sense to me. We were destined for the very end of the concourse so we had a long way to go but lots of time, about an hour until take off. We had good seats in row 11 next to a young American lady who had been teaching in Colombia. She was very nice and let Diego climb across her to look out the window many times. Tantrums were substantial but not excessive.  Take off was scary for Diego but we made it without a huge deal. We ate lots of snacks (read treats) and I tried to get Diego to watch TV, that did not work. So we wrestled and played until our 6 hours ended in Atlanta. After landing in Atlanta we had about 1 1/2 hours to get to our connection. The long walk to customs was OK because Diego needed to move his legs. At customs we tried to use the computers to go through but it did not work. So we waited in line to talk to the customs agent.  The conversation with the first customs guy was brief, he checked my papers then sent us to another desk for Diego's immigration packet. The agent was VERY slow. We waited in line for what seemed like 2 hours, there were only 2 people in front of us. Why is it that we can't take photos of immigration and government functioning? Once we made it to the agent he took his time (moved in slow motion) explained some things and sent us on our way. Wow I just love government. I don't want you to think that Diego sat quietly waiting for me without any complaints. The entire time was nuts. Diego spent  most of the time running screaming and showing off. Many of the people were very kind. One US immigration worker held Diego for a bit so I could fill out some papers.  Anyway the experience took way too long and was all of what one would expect in every way. Finally I thought, we can get to the next plane. Wrong. Customs was next. I had to go collect the luggage. I tried to move 3 roller bags one backpack and a 3 year old down the hall but it did not work. I was wondering what to do when an airline worker suggested I get a luggage cart.  Great idea! I did that and we were through customs quickly. We dropped our bags back to the airline then went through security again. We emerged into the airport with 24 min to get to our gate and feed Diego. So we ran until we could see the gate then stopped to get food. The only thing we could get quickly was frozen yogurt. We arrived with 15 min before takeoff time. Wow. The flight was essentially the same as the first with the exception that we had a window seat so we opened and closed the windows 3 times per mile while trying to look out. The flight landed and we were at the pickup roundabout with family in 15 min. The drive home was uneventful.  Wow it is nice to be home!!!

7/9/14

Down day. It rained all day. We spent the time buying souvenirs. I let Diego walk and run and play as much as possible. The pics are of our last trip to the mall.

7/8/14

Soraya picked us up at 9 am to go to the doctor's office for the medical paperwork needed for the visa. For some reason one must have the passport to get the medical paperwork for the visa. Then we went to the ICBF office to get some more paperwork for the visa. As usual we walked through the metal detector then had our bags glanced at. It is strange that the metal detectors always go off but nobody cares. At the ICBF office we met the ICBF director. She was enchanted with Diego, then Diego turned on the charm and was rewarded with candy. She was very nice and thanked us just as much I thanked her. I filled out a survey about the ICBF adoption process. Then Soraya took us to meet the ICBF representative that worked on Diego's case. She had never meet Diego before; she was rewarded with his great charm. The U.S. embassy was next but we were early so we went to "Crepes and Waffles" for lunch, yum.  We walked to the embassy from lunch, cut to the front of the line then entered the visa area of the embassy. It was a strange place. A large open outdoor area mostly covered by sorts of pavilions there were lots of people in mazes and lots of chairs. We walked to the far side of the area from the entrance to window 1. There Soraya picked up a phone that no one answered so we waited then waited some more. After 15 min or so a gentleman came and talked to Soraya over the phone. She gave him lots of papers  then we were told to wait. 20 min later the "interview" started. I picked up the phone at window 2. I was asked where I live, if I knew the child had some medical issues and some other stuff. It took 3 min. It was about 1:30 I was told that the visa printout takes about 2 hours so it should be done before the embassy closes at 4. After another 20 minutes they called us back up to ask us what one of the papers looked like. We showed them; they found it and we went back to waiting. All of the waiting was filled with playing and running and chasing. Diego's favorite activity was chasing the pigeons. There were lots of fat pigeons and upon seeing them take off he would say WOOooW stop dead in his tracks and marvel. His eyes were as big as dinner plates. He made friends with the cleaning ladiess and security ladies who began to help him chase the pigeons. They and he had a ton of fun!!! It was very fun to watch!  Another 20 min and we were holding the visa! I called Crystal as soon I as we got to the car. That night I found a flight home on the 10th.

Diego Playing at the US embassy.