Embassy Done

Today we went to apply for Mya's visa. It went very smooth. I didn't realize it was outside. There were so many people there that we stood the whole time. It was a cold and rainy day. I really enjoyed meeting other families that I knew from there blogs and emailing. It was great to hear their experience and meet their children. There are so many families here. It was nice to know that everyone is kind of going through adjustment periods ie. tantrums. In our case and some of the others that are staying with us, it almost seems as thought they feel like they have to fight or scream for food, drink, toys ect. It is sad to see. I haven't put my finger on it, but most of our problems are around eating and drinking.

Other than that, Mya is amazing. She is very loving and has the best smile and giggle. We are so in love. God has really blessed our family. Tonight, they had salsa dancing for the kids here at the hotel. It was really nice. Mya thought everyone was crazy. She just liked watching and running around mainly.

We had a hard time again today trying to change Mya's name on the plane ticket. I messed this up from the beginning. I bought round trip tickets and told them I would have an infant coming home. I would recommend not doing that. Just add your child later. See, we didn't know if we were going to be able to change her name here. They were going to tell us when we got here. We did change her name, so I had to change the name on the ticket. It took 3 trips to Avianca and a lot of waiting to get it done. Try to avoid this frustration. Also, book your round trip about 2 weeks after you anticipate coming home. This will prevent you from changing your tickets twice.

Mary, a blog friend of mine, asked if it would be wise to send a package to the hotel prior to arriving. We actually had this idea. I think it would be a great idea, but we were not told for sure where exactly we would be staying. They do not get reservations for you ahead of time. So, you will not know for sure. There are plenty of places here that you can buy anything you need. They even have my shampoo and makeup here in Bogota. Cucuta has very similar to a Walmart (EXITO) as well. Try not to over pack. We didn't need any of our dress clothes or shoes really. I wore my dress clothes for Integration and the Final Decree. Other than that, you will be walking a lot. Everyone in Cucuta wheres jeans. We were told when we were there, that people with dress pants stood out to be wealthy. You will want to be comfortable. Bring shorts also. In Bogota, people where jeans and they also dress nicely. Still where comfortable clothes. Anytime you go anywhere with Andres, you will be running.

I haven't had a chance to shop or really enjoy Bogota. I am going to the gift shop that you guys told me about. It is walking distance from the hotel. So, we will do that tomorrow before picking Mya's Visa up at 3:00. We then will go straight to the airport to catch our flight.

We are so glad that it is time to go home, but we have really enjoyed spending time in Mya's birth country. We are glad that we stayed outside of Bogota for a while and really were able to experience Colombia and spend time in the town where Mya was born.

I will blog again from the United States. YIPPEE!