A home for Natnael

Leah Friedman, Staff Writer Comment on this story
CARRBORO - Natnael Romaine sat on his knees, intently listening to his teacher read the tale of "The Gingerbread Man."
Natnael, 6, had never heard "The Gingerbread Man" before, nor eaten one with raisin buttons.
But most everything these days is a first for Natnael -- including Christmas.
Eight months ago, Natnael was living in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He had been begging on the streets to support his family. His father had died. And his mother could not afford to raise him and his younger brother.
Last December, she put them up for adoption, keeping their older sister with her.
Shortly after they arrived at the orphanage, Natnael's 1-year-old brother died of sepsis -- bacteria in the bloodstream.
Natnael mourned for his brother, but living in the orphanage brought some relief. There was food and nannies who doted on him.
Last spring, the Romaine family -- Craig, Susan and their children Andrew, 14, and Catherine, 11 -- was matched with Natnael through an adoption agency. Within months, the family flew to Addis Ababa to adopt Natnael.
They met with Natnael's mother, who agreed to the adoption because the Romaines promised to give her son a good education.
New experiences
In August, Natnael entered first grade at Carrboro Elementary School. He now speaks English and aces his spelling tests, including the optional challenge words, like parallelogram.
He celebrated the Fourth of July at the beach. He was baptized Roman Catholic in August. He wore a Spider-Man costume for Halloween and discovered M&M's.
At Thanksgiving, he passed on the turkey, but lapped up the sweet potatoes -- the only food he recognized at the feast.
Natnael has also learned about American football. It's now an obsession.
On a recent day, Natnael wore a Carolina jersey, Carolina shorts and a Carolina wrist band. When asked his favorite team, he said, "Tennessee" -- as in University of -- then looked at his father and laughed.
That was a little sports humor in the Romaine household: Dad is a Louisiana State University graduate, and Tennessee is like saying a four-letter word.
When Natnael bit his nails through his first few LSU games, the family knew theirs was a match made in college sports heaven.
"Every week he knew who was ranked, and he couldn't wait for the next poll to come out to see where LSU stood," Craig Romaine said.
Still loves Ethiopia
Although Natnael has embraced U.S. culture, he still has a strong affection for Ethiopia. He sings along to African music CDs in the car.
In October, the family traveled to Washington for a family reunion, and happened upon the Marine Corps Marathon finish line. Natnael saw an Ethiopian man win the 26.2 mile race and was beside himself with pride.
In a recent school essay contest, Natnael was asked how he could make a difference.
When he grows up, he wrote, he wants to help someone in Ethiopia by sending money for food, a house and medicine.
Since moving here, he has written his mother in Ethiopia five times. The first four letters were in Amharic. The last was in English, and he included photos of him being baptized and playing soccer.
His mother wrote back once, expressing deep gratitude for the opportunities he is getting. The Romaines think she's the reason Natnael takes school so seriously.
"My sense is his mother stressed how important an education is," Susan Romaine said.
But their son's past is also fading. When Natnael talks about the future, he sees himself here with the Romaines and going to college, his father said.
Some children in Natnael's school are curious about why he is black and his mother, who volunteers in the class, is white. Natnael reminds his family that skin color does not matter.
As he described a UNC-Chapel Hill basketball player one day, Susan Romaine wasn't sure which player her son was talking about. So she asked, is he black or white?
"Well, we're not black or white," Natnael told her. "We're all just people."
First Christmas
This month the Romaines prepared for their first Christmas with Natnael. They went to the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Christmas parade and rented "The Polar Express" to kick off the season.
As they decorated their Christmas tree in their Lake Hogan Farms home, Natnael hung all the sports-themed ornaments. He was less interested in the ornaments with themes such as the biblical Noah and the ark.
And, of course, the Romaines introduced Natnael to the idea of Santa Claus coming down the chimney late on Christmas Eve.
"He was on top of this in no time," Susan Romaine said. "Especially the idea of Santa leaving presents."
Natnael wrote a letter to Santa asking for a small basketball hoop, Legos and a Ben 10 wristband, like the one the cartoon hero uses to turn himself into alien creatures.
Then last week, Natnael's class decorated gingerbread men with icing and gumdrops. Natnael tasted molasses cookies for the first time. He went home and told his mother he wanted to make more.
After all the presents are unwrapped today, Natnael will have many more firsts with his new family. Another big one is right around the corner: His seventh birthday on Jan. 2.
leah.friedman@newsobserver.com or (919) 932-2002
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