Thursday - Visiting the Orphanage

Zhu Hai City is about two hours from Guangzhou. David is such a good guide. He points out all the places of interest. The universities and convention sites. He has been to Zhu Hai City 10 times. It is one of his favorite places to visit. The drive along the sea is beautiful. I can't imagine how pretty in the summer sun. There are sidewalks along most of the seaside in the city so you could walk forever. How lovely.

We were allowed to drive into the orphanage. They were expecting us. We were introduced to the staff. The Director and assistant directors. They even brought teachers over to introduce to us. We were given hot tea (wonderful on another cold day)to drink and asked to stay in the office.

Alison would come in and out and I was a bit nervous to have her out of my site. We came with a bag of chocolates. I gave it to Alison as we left the car and a little older girl came and took it from her. She showed someone her bubble tape and they took that as well. Not sure how this transpired. We never saw either again. She was given a yo-yo and she kept that.

There were 4-5 girls around us most of the time Ai Li was one of them. We took several pictures but were told not to take pictures of the orphanage and no children who are not being adopted. David told us one little girl in a blue jacket has said she does not want to be adopted so she is not leaving. I felt very odd in that place. Alison was talking to everyone and more animated that just with us but not overly so. She ran in/and out of the office freely. I was ready to leave after only about 20 minutes or so. We came and Alison got to see her friends but she was ready to go as well. At the end of our visit, Alison took my hand and took me toward the playground and where her pictures were taken. I think she wanted me to see where she was because we have looked at those pictures a few times.

They said Alison was found outside the fence so we walked that short distance and took a picture. This isn't the story that was sent with her bio but it doesn't really matter.

The orphanage is moving after the new year. Their new facility is ready for them. Kind of sad the old place won't be there for her to remember if she returns. They are leaving the old folks behind and only the children are moving. This facility holds 100 children and you can see they are bursting at the seams. The end of an era here. They said she would be welcome to come back and visit in the future. Lynn asked if any children had returned and they said no but they have only been in the adoption program since 2005.

We stopped by the sea and walked out to the Pearl lady statue. It was sooooo cold out there. One begger was out on the rock. What a miserable, cold spot. We were not out there long and then ran back to the car.

David picked up KFC for us for lunch. We ate in the car. About half way back, I thought a movie would be good. So I put in Lion King in the DVD. She watched for sometime and then looked more and more out the window. I thought she might be getting bored. Well, about 20 minutes went by and I knew the problem. She kind of gagged and I told Lynn to get a bag from my purse but we missed most of it. Poor thing. Did this mom know she gets car sick? Yes, I did but she had been doing so well that I thought they might have been mistaken. I felt so bad for the driver, he has a mess in the back of his very nice van. We offered to clean it up but David said he told him to take it in to be cleaned and we would pay for it.

Can I digress a bit? It is true there isn't heat (portable heaters in the hotel room only) in any of the buildings but the Chinese do not use car heaters either. As a matter of fact, they leave the windows open a lot. So to say we have had cold outings... well driving in a car is a very cold outing. My feet were frozen by the time we got back here. I just got into bed and took a short nap.

Alison has been playing mostly with the yo-yo today since we got back. No Leapster since we got back. We went to dinner around 7PM and she ate fine. She is very decisive about what she wants to eat. Tonight it was a Quesadea and French Fries. They served the Quesadea with salsa and she ate that by itself with a spoon. The french fries she dipped in ketchup. I think our ketchup consumption will go up at our house. I had some hot tea again tonight. Oh was that good.

We are back in our room relaxing and watching movies. Friday is a free day. Saturday is Alison's physical. Sunday is a free day. Monday is the consulate but we don't go to the appointment...only David. He asked us to be in our room from 11-12 and to meet him for a cruise at 5:45PM. Tuesday is the zoo and Wednesday is home. David has business in Hong Kong Friday thru Sunday so a colleague is helping us on Saturday.

Alison has now started refusing to hold Lynn's hand when we walk. He is very disappointed and feels like we are digressing. I don't think so. I think she is feeling comfortable enough to express her wishes. She acts like she doesn't understand the translator at all. No response when we use it. She won't speak any English even to say "Hello David" or "Goodbye David". Her shyness is quite apparent. We will just have to be patient. I am not discouraged. This is such a major change for her. We are ok.

That is it from this side of the world....Brenda