immunizations

On Thursday, Alexia and I took Ian on an adventure. We took a taxi to the grocery store, and then walked to the Verizon store (yes, you have to go in person to pay bills). From there, we walked to the hospital to get the rest of Ian's immunizations. The two of us stand out quite a bit here, especially when they see us carrying a black baby. It's ok though because they all are drawn to Ian's quirky sounds and gestures and it makes them laugh.

Anyway, once at the hospital (which is not air-conditioned), I realized that I had forgotten his immunization form at the house. Ahh! It's kind of a big deal to go and leave the house, because everything takes so long and Ian takes naps throughout the day. So, my forgetting the one form that we really needed for these errands was no good. I tried talking the woman to letting him get his shot regardless, but she wouldn't budge.

Another woman that was there inquired about Ian; I told her how he had been abandoned and was malnurished and that we were trying to find a family to adopt him. Her eyes lit up because friends of hers wanted to do just that thing.

I tried talking in the best Spanish that I could to tell her that I was not over the responsibilities of finding a family for him and how there has already been interest amoung other families, as she continued to talk about this couple. We ended up talking for a while, and since we had to go back there the next day since we were not able to get the immunizations then, she said she would be there with the couple to see him. This was not really a problem at all, it is just humorous how forward Dominicans can be.

So the next day we ventured out again after Ian's afternoon nap, immunization form in hand, to the hospital. Though we were early, we were greeted by the couple, the wife's mother, and the friend we had spoken with the day before. Ian was anything but friendly to them, which was envoked by his shot in the leg.

They insisted that we go to their house so he (and we) could see the atmosphere there. We agreed. They are a really nice couple and farely well off. The husband in originally from West Africa and now does business in Italy. They have been married for nearly 30 years and have no children. Ian opened up some to them and they were greatful. You could see how excited they were to have a baby in the house. We stayed longer than we had planned or wanted, and eventually left when Ian was fussy.

I don't see this being a family that we would pursue for Ian for certain reasons, but we sure did have a big adventure those past couple of days!