What a difference a day makes. She is still very much Baba’s girl. Once in awhile I am allowed to touch her or hold her hand. She does watch me to make sure I don’t go too far. Hong Mei is testing my love and devotion. I will pass this test with flying colors. For now, Mama has been relegated to carrying packages and supervising the signing of the documents.
Hong Mei (this is the name that she responds to), slept thru the night. Yes, there are some advantages in adopting an older child. However when she awoke and saw us, she began to cry and grieve all over again. It was like she woke up and realized that yesterday was not a dream, but now her reality. The crying was not severe, so we were able to take her to the buffet to eat. She ate a lot of watermelon, some banana and a little egg. She likes apple juice. We met in the lobby again this morning and boarded the van to go back to the Civil Affairs office to officially adopt Hong Mei. I wondered if going back would cause upset, but if she was bothered she did not show it. We were able to process quickly because Vicky had us do most of the paperwork last night. We paid some fees, had our picture taken as a family. Hong Mei is now officially our own child.
Now off to Wal-mart. Vicky told Hong Mei that if she was a good we would buy her a treat and some shoes. The Wal-mart in Changsha is a multi-level building. They had special escalators that you can take your cart on to. Maybe there is somewhere in the States that has this amazing system I just have not seen it. We bought a fun Mickey Mouse Stroller to use in the airport. We bought bottled water and a few treats. For Hong Mei we bought darling bright pink squeaky sandals. For those of you who have not seen these fun shoes, they make a squeaking sound when the child walks. It is harder to lose a toddler in these shoes. Hong Mei was so pleased! Then we passed a bin with small packages containing a round, black, unidentifiable substance. Hong Mei began to gesture loudly, pointing at the packages. Curious that of all the things she could have in Wal-mart this is what she choose. Vicky translated for us. The substance was a preserved egg, Hong Mei’s favorite treat. We bought three. So in her hand she carried the shoes and the eggs to the check out. We stopped by KFC on the way back to the hotel for take-out. Once in the room she had no interest in KFC. She wanted those eggs. We opened the package expecting the worse, but not so bad; a strong vinegary smelling black egg. She ate it so fast and then gobbled the other two down, too. Baba is going to have to find some more of those eggs!
Besides an interesting taste in food we have learned a few more things about her. The most difficult issue at the moment is the language barrier. Hong Mei does not speak Mandarin, but Changsha dialect. So what little Mandarin we learned is mostly useless. This means when we leave Hunan we may not be able to find anyone to translate for us. All three of us will be frustrated then. Hong Mei is potty trained. She naps well. She is very social with other children and adults. Hong Mei is very verbal. She speaks clearly to others and is accustomed to having people understand her.&n bsp; It is frustrating to get dumb parents who do not understand Changsha dialect!! Her first English word is “Wow!!!” She understands what it is to have her picture taken.
Hong Mei often asks about her foster caregiver, “Grandma”. She still misses her very much. Grandma in her report stated that Hong Mei was funny. This is certainly true. Also Grandma mentioned that Hong Mei is messy. Tonight we left the Dolton to eat at a Chinese/Western Restaurant next to the Hotel. We went with Scott, Kelley and Mary Grace. The waiter was a cute young guy in his late teens/early twenties. He apologized for “his no English”. We apologized for “our no Chinese”. We ordered off the Chinese side of the menu. Rulon was mooing and clucking and snorting like a pig to understand what we were pointing too. This system seemed to work and our waiter was having a good time with us. Hong Mei grabbed a menu called the waiter over and ordered her self a plate of fried rice. This from a three year old??!! Our food came and it was the most delicious meal that we have had in China. Some of it very spicy, but hey it cleaned our sinuses out very well. Hong Mei took a table knife and expertly cut up watermelon on the table. She likes to use straws as chopsticks rather than regular chopsticks and soon had rice and watermelon all over the table and floor. It was hard to stop her as this is the happiest we had seen her. She was singing and smiling and food going everywhere. We were all laughing at her. Grandma was right, Hong Mei is very messy and very funny. Mary Grace is such a sweet princess girl. She sat in her chair smiling and eating daintily. As we left we tipped the waiter. Tipping at restaurants is not the custom in China, but the bill was so low for such excellent food and the mess we left!!! We gave the young man a tip. He ran off squealing for joy to show his friends.
First bath went as expected with a little crying, lotion, jammies and bed. After a full twenty four hours with this precious child we can easily see that she is kind, loving, generous and very, very intelligent.
Eating eggs!
More eggs!
Pretty Girl
For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of him. So I have also dedicated her to the Lord; as long as she liveth she is dedicated to the Lord.
1 Samuel 1:27-28
