Orphanage Visit

I've been procrastinating writing this post because of all the emotions that comes with it.  I (Angela)  visited Sydney's orphanage today.  Scott stayed at the hotel with Sydney.  She is doing so well that we didn't want to have any set-backs and did not want to upset or confuse her any more than she already is.

Her orphanage was about a 3-hour drive from Fuzhou.  I went with our guide and a driver.  Nanping is in the mountains, so it is cooler than Fuzhou. It is beautiful there with mountains and trees and a river that runs through the city.

We arrived at the orphanage and I was shown into a meeting room.  There they gave me a snack of some locally grown fruits.  They had tiny little oranges, about the size of a ping pong ball and you eat the whole thing,  skin and all.  It had a very mild orange flavor.  They also had little tomatoes and bananas.  The assistant director then gave me a tour of the orphanage.  They have many therapy rooms for the children with developmental and physical delays.  They have special education rooms and play rooms.  The older children were off site at school, so I only saw the younger kids.  The grounds were beautiful with a pond and statues;  and was set up against the base of a mountain with large trees and lots of greenery.

We then went to where the children sleep and I saw Sydney's room and her bed.  It looked like she shared a room with 3 other children who slept in cribs.  I had the pleasure of meeting Sydney's nanny,  Weng Xue Mei.  This is a women who lives at the orphanage and has cared for Sydney since she came to them at 6 weeks of age.  She was disappointed that Sydney didn't come, but I was able to get a picture with her and was able to thank her for taking such good care of Sydney.  At this point I had tears streaming down my face and Xue Mei took my hand and thanked me for giving Sydney a home.

We went back into the meeting room and I was able to ask questions that I had.  They had given me the top 40 questions that parents ask with the answers to the questions on Gotcha Day, so most of what I had been wondering had already been answered.

The assistant director then took us to lunch at a local restaurant.  She ordered for us so I had no idea what kind of food was coming.  This is a nightmare for me because I am such a picky eater!  The first thing to come out was soup with tofu and vegetables, both of which I do not like.  But I had to be polite and try it and it was surprisingly good.  Even the tofu was good!  The waitress kept bringing dish after dish of food and for the most part it was really good.  I had sweet and sour pork and steak.  Then they brought out rice cakes.  These are not rice cakes like we think of;  they are made from rice that is made into a paste, then cut into rectangle pieces.  It is similar in consistency to the tofu that tastes just like rice!  I tried that too and was pleasantly surprised that it was very good.  The only things I did not end up liking was the chicken that was flavored very different and looked like they took the whole chicken and just chopped it up, bones and all into bite size pieces.  And I didn't like the mushrooms.  One of the things that I have learned is that most Chinese people eat a lot!  At lunch, we ate a full hour straight, continually refilling our plates.  I was so stuffed!  I learned how to say "I'm full" in Mandarin!

Once I got back to the hotel, Sydney was very excited to see me.  Scott said that she was looking all over for me and was upset when she couldn't find me.

I'm glad I went to see where Sydney has been living and to get pictures for her, but it was a very emotional day.  The assistant director asked that I not share on the internet any pictures with the children in them, so those I will have to share in person once I get home.  Otherwise, here are pictures from Nanping City and from the orphanage.

Nanping City

Nanping City

Nanping City

Orphanage street

Orphanage street

Baby safety shelter at gate

Orphanage office building and therapy rooms

Playground

Playground

Entrance to office & therapy building

Orphan housing building

Angela & assistant orphanage director

Sydney's room second floor at far right

Sydney's bed

Sydney's room

Angela with Sydney's favorite nanny

Sydney's finding place outside the orphanage gates

Orphanage sign

Inside baby shelter

Inside baby shelter

Nanpine City