Our day at the orphanage...

We are so thankful we spent time at the orphanage on Monday. We found out so much that was helpful. When we arrived, we were shown pictures on the wall of children from the orphanage that have been adopted and their families. Next to that, we were told about how this particular orphanage has been at the forefront of encouraging children to be placed in foster families. Of the 238 children under the care of the orphanage right now, only 41 are currently in the orphanage. There are approx 168 in foster families and the rest are at the boarding school in Chaoyang (where Zach spent his last year). We are able to take pictures, but were told to make sure we did not take pictures of children.

We were then brought to the nursery. There were 6 babies and 2 caregivers. the room was bright and clean and the nannies seemed very loving and compassionate. One of them brought Zach over to a drawer and she pulled out some baby lotion and put it on his face He has some very dry patches that look like eczema on his face It is hard to buy things here without our guide to help us find what he needs. We thanked her and asked through Maggie if there is anything else we need to know about Zach and his health. We were amazed at the answer.

First of all, they said his eyes were a little crossed and he is a little nearsighted (we had already talked about getting his eyes checked when we came home, he gets really close to things to see them). Then she told us he had broken his leg (we think they said femur) when he was 4! Such important information which may help explain his "slight limp." When he walks, he does have an unusual gait at times, but not always. It will be interesting to see if the leg healed well, or if it was simply relearning how to walk after the cast came off that caused him to "limp." Maggie said something about "surgery" for it, but we find no scars. There is also no indication of any skin problem with his legs.

We were then brought to a school room, again very bright and clean. We saw the washroom, the dining area, the play areas, and another room with more children, mostly toddler/preschool age. We saw the little boy that was with us during the adoption process in Shenyang. We were able to tell him that we had "met" his parents on line through a group set up for parents with children from this orphanage. We told him they are very excited to come get him. He just beamed and gave Zach a thumbs up.

As for the titles of the people we have met, I am confused. The woman we have spent many of our last days with is apparently the Director of the orphanage. We were introduced to another woman, who seemed very kind, who was called the Leader of the orphanage. Then we met a gentleman, Mr Liang, who is the President of the orphanage. He invited us to a special lunch with him in our honor.

We went up a hill to a play area and saw the location of Zach's referral photos. It is prettier in the spring, but it is lovely. There was a play area there. After a while, we were called back down for lunch. It was a very traditional Chinese dinner, complete with fish served whole, shrimp served with the head, eyes and antennae, and chopsticks. Steve had never experienced a meal like this (we have been on our own for meals and have not ventured too far into Chinese cuisine). It was all delicious, and Steve managed to eat with his chopsticks!

We were thanked several times for adopting the children. The president addressed most of his conversation to Steve, as the only man there. We were still with Nancy who is adopting Hannah (among the last single women allowed to adopt), her cousin, Ellen, and Nancy's son, Andrew (adopted 4 1/2 years ago from China). Mr Liang asked where we were from and which NBA team is in our area. So, they talked basketball for a while and Mr Liang said the kids all love to watch the games in the morning.

He then asked Steve for a personal favor. Since the kids all love the NBA, he asked if we could get autographs for all 238 children in the orphanage. He preferred Kobe! But said any would do. We agreed to see what we would do, and we will certainly give it our best try. Anyone out there with connections??

It was a lovely time, and Mr Liang told us to consider this our second home...