adoption costs

We have invested $ 17,500 into our adoption. When I added it all up I had to re add it. It sounds like a lot of money, no wonder why we are broke. And we are not done yet. To travel to Ethiopia and back we are looking at spending $5000-$6000 dollars. This all depends on when we go, what day of the week we go. And once we are in Ethiopia we have to pay for housing which can vary. If we stay at the guest house they provide it costs from $30-$100 per day, or there are hotels we can stay which range from $100-$200 dollars per day. Then there are meals to consider which range from cheap to very expensive. We are told not to drink any water that isn't bottled, don't eat fresh fruits and vegetables because they are not safe due to the water, no salads for me. We are advised to eat only fresh hot prepared meals. We are also in charge of paying for taxi fare which can cost up to $170. Phones or faxes are $18 birr per minute for foreign calls and $2 birr per minute for local calls. Birr is their money in Ethiopia and the exchange is to every 11 birr is the same as 1 dollar.