Our New Apartment

We’re in our new apartment. It’s not as quaint or traditional as El Solar which was an old hacienda converted to apartments and full of antiques. But what the new place lacks in charm, it more than makes up for with the great neighbors, generous light, and a very pleasant outdoor space.   So far, we’ve met people from Norway, Guatemala, and California. The folks from the US that we’ve met are down here going through very lengthy adoption processes. Apparently, the Guatemalan government used to be fairly liberal with adoptions but has recently made the process much more arduous. Some of these families started the process thinking it would take a few months. They are encountering one hurdle after another requiring more than a year to resolve in most cases. One couple has had to get three different DNA tests from both the birth mother and baby to prove the child was not kidnapped. And that’s only the beginning. I feel for these families, but they all agree that if they have to be “trapped” someplace, these apartments in Antigua are a good place to be!