Finally. It's
done.
And now we wait.
Again.
This whole process has very much been a lesson in
patience. And just because I have a deadline to meet,
doesn't mean that everyone else (cough, cough, government!) shares that
deadline. I had these grandiose plans
that once our home study was complete, we'd burn through the rest of the
requirements and have our dossier submitted by the end of December. HA!
What a joke. Here it's now March
and I'm finally able to say that we've submitted our dossier. (happy little jig here) Along with a very large chunk of change which
couldn't have been even remotely possible had it not been for the extreme generosity of our beloved family
and friends, and also the wonderful Adoption Assistance Program at our church. You guys are truly awesome!
So, what happens now, many have asked. Our dossier is sent to our adoption agency
where they will prepare it and make sure all the necessary documentation is in
place, which takes approximately 2-3 weeks.
Once that is complete, they send it off to Bulgaria where it is
translated and they will review it.
After it's been reviewed and approved, we'll be put on the waiting
list. The last I heard, our wait is approximately
2-3 years, which is actually pretty short considering the other countries we've
heard about are in the 5+ range. This
will give us enough time to save up for the next big chunk of change.
So in the meantime, the
Schmitz family is going to learn Bulgarian!
Bram was quite excited that he already knew one Bulgarian word. I, on the other hand, was slightly
disappointed. Apparently Mama in English
is Mama in Bulgarian. (I'm guessing it
doesn't translate like Mother does, which I've since learned is “máyka”.) Meanwhile, Sam gets cool words like “bashtá”
or “tatko”. Or as I've been calling him,
Taco.
Unfortunately for us, there's no Rosetta Stone for learning
Bulgarian, and I haven't encountered many Bulgaria 101 classes at the
surrounding community colleges. Surprisingly,
Bulgarian-speaking programs don't make it onto the park district itinerary
either. I can't fathom why? But I have stumbled across an interesting
blog, written by a Bulgarian for an English-speaking audience called, Blazing Bulgaria,
detailing the various words for relatives, the Bulgarian alphabet, numbers, and
common phrases. The entire blog outlines
the culture, history, language, fun facts, etc about Bulgaria. It's actually fascinating to read, and I
highly recommend it for those wanting to learn more about the country.
So where do you turn when seemingly all hope is lost? Amazon, of course! (I mean, who doesn't, really?) And this is where we found Intensive Bulgarian Vol. 1: A Textbook and Reference Grammar, complete with Audio Supplement. Although looking at the alphabet, I don't hold out much hope for myself. After all, look at the B. That's right, that's a “v” underneath it. A “V”! Look at H and P! And don't get me started on the numb-, I mean, letter 3. And to complicate matters more, in Bulgaria when they say “yes”, they shake their heads, and “no” is indicated by nodding! Great, I'm going to end up agreeing to something that I should be emphatically refusing.
So this is going to be an interesting 2-3 years. As new developments pop up, I'll be sure to detail them here. Or if I find something particularly fascinating about the country, I'll share it with you, just to make the time go faster.
I'm immensely relieved to have finished our dossier, which took far longer than expected, but we were warned there'd be bumps along the way. It will be worth it in the end, and before long, this will be a distant memory. Everyone has been very supportive and we love that you share in our enthusiasm. We're just one more step closer to welcoming another member into our family!
