August 1, 2010
Speaking of Accfa… I don’t know how Lauren and I started this conversation while we waited out the rain in our little hotel room in Lupac. I somehow started talking about adopting a child from the Philippines. I’ve made this comment several times… mostly because I’ve given up on meeting someone to start a family with and that I’ve never really seen myself with a “traditional” family. Some friends have joked that I could be the Angelina Jolie of public health, minus the Brad Pitt, and adopt kids from the countries where I work. Lauren has worried about my mental health in the past few days… from this comment and agreeing with my supervisor to try to stay here for another 3 months to see this project through. She isn’t serious, but does wonder since it is tough here. We talked about this thought of adoption… she asked me if I would want a baby or an older child… I figure 3-4 years old would be a good fit for me. And then I said I wanted a child from Accfa. Now Accfa is hell… it is a tough place. But I’m starting to feel comfortable there and see the good through all the bad. Then I bring up a conflicting feeling about adopting a child of another country… could I offer a better life in terms of opportunity? Yes. But is it fair to take a child from their culture, regardless of the benefits? That is a tough one. Lauren told me about working in Guatemala and at the hotel many Texans were adopting Guatemalan babies, yanking them out of their culture. And from the conversations she overheard and watching the adopting people interact with the staff, they would not be sensitive to culture in which the child was born. Lauren suggested keeping my home in Albuquerque and having a second home in Makati, which we haven’t visited yet, but it is where all the Americans seem to live in the Philippines. The thought is a little crazy. So, yeah…this was the hour long conversation we had while waiting out the rain. Now I don’t really expect to return home with an Accfa child, but should I ever decide to adopt… I’d consider this. Me with an Accfa child…
August 4, 2010
So it takes days to post posts due to internet and working… but we are going to conduct the RCA for Accfa today… I’m praying they pass. They vaccinated 147 defaulters last month. That is a great number and they have come so far… I think I’ll cry either way. But I’m hoping it is because they pass… Ate Nel was praying when I left them this morning, I’m surprised she didn’t have her rosaries on…
