Sad Goodbyes

July 13

Today Charlie and I both slept till 6:30, and were still exhausted when the alarm went off. Neither of us were ready to get up, which was a first on this trip.

After breakfast we left for the orphanage, and went upstairs to see the kids. They were all playing and watching tv and were very happy to see us. One of the little girls came up to me and started doing the chicken dance like she wanted to do it again. Unfortunately we didn’t bring our speakers or anything to do the dance with them. As I was about to go into the baby room the little 10 year old boy (we’ll call him Will) took my hand and brought me out to the elevator. We went down to the 1st floor and into their playroom and kind of hung out there for a bit… but the other kids started to come down there and he wanted to be alone so we went back upstairs and watched more tv… some Tom and Jerry and a show about the monkey king, which he really enjoyed. Charlie came into the room and we were watching the show when he suddenly looked at us and said he wanted to go down to the first floor. So we went down there, but once we got to the main area he looked at Charlie and started waving and saying “bye bye!” like he wanted her to leave, then took my hand and went back upstairs. It was pretty funny. We went back and watched some tv for a little more, but one of the nannies eventually told him he needed to go downstairs and play, so we went back to the playroom.

All the kids were singing when we got there, and the nannies were teaching them things like their left, right, behind them, and front. Once they did that they all got some water and a snack, but Will wouldn’t go eat it for some reason. He just liked sitting and observing everyone. We didn’t bring any crafts to do in the morning, but I spent a good portion of the morning just playing with all the kids. The oldest girl and I played ball for awhile… she had a blast with that. Others would join in and play monkey in the middle sometimes, but she didn’t quite understand the concept.

Susan and Deena went with the orphanage director today and bought the donations for them. They were able to get a air conditioner, and they wanted to get the water heater… but the director very firmly insisted that they buy another tv for them… which we weren’t so crazy about, but they didn’t have much of a choice.

We went back to the hotel to eat lunch, and afterwards we went to the market to get some chocolate to leave with the nannies along with the other gifts we’d brought for them. Bliss also bought some shoes for some of the kids who were outgrowing theirs.

We met in the hotel lobby to go back after lunch and we had to wait for Lily because she was getting pictures developed for the kid’s frames we made earlier in the week. Katie ran down to a store and bought two pairs of shoes she’d wanted while we waited for her.

When we got back to the orphanage we went back to the baby room, but they didn’t have my favorite baby there because she was sleeping L I saw another one of my favorites though and we played for awhile and I got to feed her. When I went back downstairs they had already decorated the visors and they were all wearing them very proudly. We got the pictures out to put in the frames… Will’s picture was of me and him and he loved it when he saw itJ They hung all the frames up on the wall with stickers… they all loved the idea.

Susan and Katie brought out the face paints to do with the kids and they all thought it was funny. Katie was quite the artist with them. The kids laughed when they saw what they looked like, and while they were getting painted most of them thought it felt really weird. But the end result was fun for them.

While we were face painting a mother and her daughter from Chicago came in the room to see us. They were visiting the orphanage because the girl was adopted from Chenzhou in 2000, and they came to see what it looked like. There was a whole group of them traveling together to different orphanages from Chicago, but they came to CHenzhou by themselves to see the orphanage.

When 5 o’clock rolled around we went outside and lined the kids up on the steps and we took their pictures and we got our pictures with them and the orphanage directors. We said all of our goodbyes, and we were all very sad to leave. The director wanted to take us out to eat that was walking distance from the orphanage. We started to walk down the hill with them when the oldest girl and Will ran up behind us and held our hand and started walking with us. They ended up coming to dinner with us.

When we got there they were so eager to see everything. We walked in and the girl immediately looked at me and held her hands up to her face and made camera sounds like she wanted us to take pictures of the fancy room. They were both so excited to be there. While they ordered the kids played with Hannah and noticed every little detail they could. The tea came out and Will looked at me like he was very excited. We poured some and he drank it right down. Eventually we sat down at the table and they brought out Pepsi, and both the kids eyes got huge when they saw it! It was the cutest thing. Once it was poured they kept holding up their glasses to ours like they were giving us cheers. It was so funny. The food came and they were both eager to try all that was there. I don’t think Will stopped eating the whole time the food was out. Every time a new dish came out he quickly pointed to it like he wanted it. I felt like the little mother of them both (they both sat on either sides of me) because they kept asking me to get them food and I barely had time to eat myself! Will loved all the food… he literally ate like a king tonight. The little girl ran out of her Pepsi, so she pointed to the sprite they had there and said “Shui” (Chinese word for water) so I poured some for her… her face was priceless when she tried it and found out it wasn't water!

After we ate and were about to leave the director told us how grateful she was that we came all this way to play with the kids. She said that even though we had not been there very long, just a few days, she could see how the kids had changed. And she said that in China it is very strange for them to show their love, they are very reserved… so for us to come was very good because we showed the kids how to love. We told her how much we loved it, and we wished we could stay longer… and we wish we could just take them all home! But that we would be able to help them find a home, because we know all their personalities and tell the families how great they really are, especially the special needs kids. After we said that the director said that she was very thankful for that because they really want them to have good homes, and then she said that it would be okay for us to put pictures up on the internet so that families could see more than just the picture on the waiting child’s list, and could see how fun they are. So, with that being said, pictures will surely come when I get home! The director gave us all a silk hankerchief for coming which are very beautiful.

When it came time to leave we walked outside and said goodbye to the two kids. We all gave them hugs, and Lily talked to Will and he said he was very sad. I gave him a big squeeze and a kiss. It was so sad to leave….. I’m going to miss all of them so much, but especially him. We had become such good little buddies… By the time we left the restaurant I’m pretty sure we all were crying, or at least had tears in our eyes.

I really wish that we could stay longer. Life here isn’t that bad… I’ve gotten used to the food and I can live with sleeping on what feels like a piece of wood to stay with those precious kids. I’m going to miss seeing their smiley faces as we walk in the doors and when we give them the attention they need. I think we all figured we should do this again next year…. And there’s actually a trip in the fall to Chenzhou! Haha. I also think that we all have grown so close as a group, that even leaving everyone in Beijing is going to be hard. I’m going to miss having our breakfasts in the morning and joking around with everyone now that we know each other.

But… all things have to come to a close. Maybe someday we’ll come back and visit… hopefully in the near future! For now, I need to get some sleep because we have to leave for Beijing at 7 am tomorrow morning. Thank you all for your prayers today! They really meant a lot.

A little note for Ann T: I asked the nannies about your son today. Unfortunately blogger is blocked here (my mom has been posting on my blog) so I was not able to pull up pictures of him from your blog, otherwise I would have loved to show the pictures and I'm sure they would have loved to see them... But they all said they remember him being a good boy, but that he did not have just one nanny. They all sort of switch around with the kids. I noticed while I was there that they all had different jobs during the day... like one nanny would be up with the babies one day and the next playing with the older kids. They all sort of switch around what they do. They were very happy to hear that he is doing well though and is in a great home where he is loved. All the nannies smiled when I told them that he was doing great. :)