Today Ginger, Victoria, and London visited the orphanage where Sydney came from. We did not want to bring Sydney back there because sometimes the children have negative reactions. In some cases the children were given special attention and they are very glad to see their caretakers, but then there are tears and sadness again when you have to take them away again. Additionally, the Shaoguan Welfare Institute (the orphanage) is 3 hours away. So I stayed home with Sydney all day while the girls went to the orphanage.
I'll let Ginger and the girls put into words their experience...mine was not nearly as traumatic. They left around 9:30 this morning and I just played in the hotel room with my new little angel. We had a very good time together. We played with blocks and paper and bags and anything else that took her fancy. I brought a bunch of Community Coffee individual brew packs and she loves to play with those (once I take the coffee pack out of course.) However, Sydney will probably have a subliminal desire for Community Coffee when she gets older because there is still coffee oils on the inside of the pack. After she plays with them for a while her hands smell like dark roast (I hope caffeine can't be absorbed through the skin...Ginger may not be too happy with me tonight)
It rained a lot today so we couldn't go out and walk the streets much. She really likes being walked on the streets to see the sights and the people. Around 11:30 we went down for lunch. We shared a plate of Guangzhou fried rice...she really likes rice (I wonder why?) After I ordered we were sitting there talking to each other and all of a sudden she stared at me kind of funny and her face got red. Then came the grunts and I knew I was in trouble. I wasn't sure whether I should run up to the room and try to change her, or just wait for the food. We were both hungry so I just waited for the food to come out. The restaurant was just about empty, but they decided to put a Chinese family right next to me.
By this time Sydney was smelling pretty ripe. There is a saying about the Cantonese that they will eat anything on 4 legs except a table, and anything that flies except an airplane. This worked to my advantage because what they were eating at the table next to me smelled pretty strong and I don't think they noticed Sydney's diaper. We made it through lunch and went up to the room where I changed her amid much screaming and crying. She is a sweetheart though and she got quiet in a hurry. It just melts my heart when she reaches up for me. She is really comfortable now with all of us...she'll reach for us and smile when we grab her up.
She was so cute today...while she was drinking her formula in her sippy cup she was showing off for me. She'd hold it with her teeth and balance it and giggle as she looked at me to make sure I saw how skilled she is. She's also very cute with shoes. She loves to have us put on socks and shoes. She'll hold her feet up for us to put the sock on, then hold the other foot out for us to put the other sock on. Then she'll do the same for us to put her shoes on. Today she was trying on Mommy's shoes and tried to shuffle around in them. I've heard of playing dress-up...but this is starting pretty early isn't it?
After the poop-fiasco she was pretty well worn out. I walked her around and tried to get her to sleep, but she was looking at everything and wanting to get down. Thankfully the drapes are thick and when I closed them it got dark as night...immediately she lay her head on my shoulder and sacked out. All of this cuteness and Ginger had my camera!
Well...it's 10 PM and Ginger just got Sydney to sleep. She had a bad night (well...more like a bad couple of hours.) She was crying and pitching a fit at the drop of a hat...maybe something to do with Ginger and the girls being gone all day. We're not sure, but Ginger is exhausted so her account of today's travels will have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry for the delay, and for the lack of pics/vids. I should have some time on my hands tomorrow and hopefully I'll pick up the slack.
OK...I haven't had as much time today as I thought. Ginger went shopping and left me with Sydney again; at least this time she left the girls with me....more on that on the Day 13 page.
Here are some of the photos that Ginger took on her visit to the orphanage. Here are a few shots of the surrounding country side as they were driving into Shaoguan City:
As you can see it is a very green and lush area. As I mentioned before, we are about as far from the equator as Cuba so it's a very hot and humid climate here.
Along the way Ginger had to take a picture of a poor Chinaman's misfortune. The axle on his truck broke and his load was shifting precariously. He was driving very slowly because it was a very hilly and windy road. Victoria said that when they passed him, the driver was biting his nails and looking very nervous!
Here are the girls posing in front of a field at a pit stop. Notice the bamboo fence.
Here are a couple of street shots in the city of Shaoguan. It's very sad to think of it, but Sydney's birth mother might be in one of these pictures and we'd never know it. We hope and pray that her fortunes have changed for the better and that she somehow finds out that her little girl is now in loving hands.
They arrived at the orphanage just after noon. They saw why they would not have been able to go had it been raining. Ginger said they were on an extremely bumpy dirt road that looks like it had seen its share of flooding. The dirt road abruptly ended and they were met with a nice concrete drive and a very modern-looking building:
The care-takers were all very friendly and seemed to truly care for the children. But the enormity of the task of caring for so many children with 6 caretakers was hard to miss.
Thankfully one little crib is empty now...this is where Sydney spent much of the first two years of her life
The caretakers were disappointed that Ginger and the girls had not brought Sydney, but Ginger explained that it was too long of a ride for her. Ginger did bring some pictures of Sydney that we had taken of her laughing and playing with us over the past few days. They really seemed to enjoy those:
Ginger was able to give the children a few cookies and the girls were able to play with some of the kids. All the children gathered around as Ginger sorted some medicines that she brought for the orphanage.
Here's a shot of the girls standing by the little toy that was behind Sydney's referral picture.
Here's one with Sydney's caretakers (including the one that dropped her off to us last Monday) with Ginger and London
Here are a couple of sad pictures...this is the street where Sydney was found. She was found August 6th 2003 and it was determined (by her umbilical cord stub) that she was born the previous day. At least it was before winter, but it may have been raining. Who knows how long her little hoarse cries echoed up and down this street before someone found her.
After they visited the spot where Sydney was found, they did a little shopping to pick up some items that the Shaoguan area is known for. One of the things it is famous for is its tea. Here are the girls picking up some tea at a market:
Then they went to a basket store and bought some very nicely woven baskets and some other items that were woven from bamboo strips. The farmers out in the rural areas made the baskets and sold them to the shop keeper, who in turn made a profit by selling them for only $1.20 U.S. currency.
After shopping they headed home. Here are a couple of shots from the return trip:
And here's something that may look familiar to our northern friends:
On the way home they stopped off at a "truck stop" and used the "squatty potty":
Ginger said that there was about an inch of water in the above picture...they stepped softly so as to avoid splashing...yuck!
Then on the way out of the bathroom, they stopped by the convenient free-flowing water hose to rinse the muck off of their shoes! (By the way, bring your own toilet paper because they don't provide that either!)
It was very meaningful for Ginger and the girls to have the opportunity to go to Sydney's orphanage and to personally thank the workers for their care for Sydney and for all the children there. God is so amazing! He chose Sydney; protected her; and provided our home for her to live in and to learn about His love and His salvation! He had all of this worked out before He laid the foundations of the world. We feel very blessed to be a part of His plan. Only He knows what good things lay in store for Sydney. I have a feeling that the changes He has wrought in her life, through us, will have a ripple effect that will touch things eternal in the lives of many others.
