Doug meets Elina...and Rodney...

Doug and Rickson - dinner at the Tide Table

So Doug had a great first day that he said was an incredible experience. We spent the morning walking around downtown Majuro and showing him some of our favorite places. It is so beautiful here and Doug is able to appreciate the beauty amidst the poverty and sadness just like I am. So we walked and explored and then had lunch. (Chris we found a beautiful cemetery with access to the ocean that you and I somehow missed). After lunch we took the suitcase full of clothes and presents to Elina and her family.

We arrived at Elina's and I had forgotten to remind Doug that little kids are afraid of Ribelle men. Several of the little girls cried when they saw him. He got out his camera and started taking pictures and it only took them a few minutes to warm up to him. We sat outside at Elina’s and he got to experience being eaten by flies, ants and other bugs. We sit without acknowledging this is happening because we know it is what they live every day and we respect them. Elina showed us the new necklaces she is making for everyone back home. She asked when Doug was going to leave and then the question came…did I know when I was leaving, yet, or could I stay with her on Mili (and we laughed). I then told her that our papers were on their way. The papers are in Guam. I think they will be here this week and then I would leave on Saturday with Doug. With shock she said “this Saturday”? When I nodded she gasped and grasped her heart. It was heartbreaking and all I could do not to break down in tears. I sat and watched her hold her child, knowing it is only for a few more days. She spoke to Rickson in Marshallese and nuzzled him and I know we witnessed a private moment with her youngest son. I will never forget these moments.

We then spent some more time with Elina and many, many of her neighbors who had joined us. Elina then got up and asked if we would eat rice and fish. She wanted to sweep her house out and then would cook for us. She invited us in and we sat and ate. I watched Doug and silently laughed knowing what he was experiencing, having already gone through this several other times. You are in her little house and feel like you are in a baking oven. You are eating food that you might not otherwise ever eat and telling her how wonderful it is while she smiles. All the while more children than you can count are sitting next to you, on top of you and all around you. They all watch us eat. When we are done, they eat any leftovers on our plate. It is a wonderful experience that I wish I didn't have to leave behind.

After dinner we say goodnight to Elina and head back to the hotel telling her we will see her again soon. It is getting a little more emotional each and every time knowing there is an end point now.

When we got back to the hotel we saw some of our friends (other adoptive families) and walked down the hall with them to get ready for our other dinner at the Tide Table. My friend Robin and I simultaneously saw “Rodney” the name we all somehow have ended up calling the large cockroaches. Rodney was headed straight into my room as Doug was unlocking the door. We are both yelling at Doug “Rodney, Rodney” and he is just staring at us with a blank look on his face. We then realized he didn’t know who Rodney was. As he stepped on the cockroach the size of his shoe, he was quickly introduced. Later at dinner even Doug was shocked to know you sometimes have to brush Rodney’s friends off the dinner table. We all laughed. This is familiar territory to all of us by now.

Looking forward to another wonderful day tomorrow.