Today was truly an amazing day. We had a free morning and spent most of it at the pool. No one would ever believe that today was only the 3rd time Amy had ever been swimming - she is a fish!! She loves the pool and can swim with floaties pretty well! She and Emily had a wonderful time and I had to drag them out of the water.
Our guide met us in the lobby for the trip to the orphanage. She carefully explained to Amy that we were going there for her to show us her room and say good bye to her friends, but not to stay. We arrived early and no one was in the office so we walked around the grounds out front, looked at the playground (more of an exercise area) and took pictures of the beautiful statue in the front of the building. We found out that the main building that usually housed most of the children is under renovation and the children have been moved to another, smaller building a couple of months ago. While we were waiting we met a nanny who taught Amy Wenjie English for the last three months. She was very proud of Amy's progress and asked Amy to say several things for us. Amy complied, but I'm not sure there was much comprehension, just repetition. That's OK, it’s a start. We took pictures and exchanged email addresses as this lady will be in New York in a couple of months and we invited her to visit if she can fit it in her schedule.
We met the assistant director of the orphanage at 2pm sharp. She had the two girls we had asked to see with her. Both girls are absolutely beautiful and the director told us that the three girls are called the flowers of the orphanage. We agree. The girls were really happy to see Amy Wenjie and the four girls posed for more pictures than I can count. We asked many questions, met two of Amy's teachers and spent quite a bit of time talking. One thing that just melted me was when Amy took my hand and walked me over to her friends, pointed at me and said Mama. I almost lost it!
We then walked over to the temporary children's quarters. The four girls led the way, actually they ran ahead of us. We first went to Amy's room. Inside were four beds where the three girls stayed. I was quite emotional seeing how close these girls are. They will really miss each other. Amy showed me all her things and asked the director if she could take a couple more books she had left. The director said OK. One thing that bothered me just a bit was the fact that one of the nannies gave me the backpack we had sent Amy with two outfits in it. Amy had never seen it before. The nanny had given her some of the other things that were in it like hair clips, a brush, stickers, etc., but the back pack and outfits had never been touched. They did tell her that it was from us and were saving it for today. That was not our intention, but I won't complain as they did such a wonderful job preparing her in every other way.
We then went upstairs to the toddler room and took many pictures which I will later post on Nanjing Kids. The room was sparse and I did not see any toys. The children seemed happy and clean and one little boy wanted to see my camera every time I took a picture - he would then show which ever child's picture I took to the child. He was so excited!
After an hour it was time to leave. I expected tears and emotion from Amy, but it didn't happen. Emily was obviously concerned too, as she reached out and took Amy's hand, anticipating that this was going to be hard. Amy's friends looked a little sad, but Amy waved good bye and climbed in the van with Emily. I was a bit surprised and asked the guide about it. She told me Amy told her she was very happy to be adopted and that all the girls wanted to be adopted. My heart just aches for all these children.
After that we went to the Confucius Temple and then walked through all the shops that surround the area. We bought popsicles, magnets, and a couple of comb sets for the girls and then headed back to the hotel. Amy has been quite snuggly this evening and climbed into my lap several times. I do think this day was an emotional drain for her, but I also believe she is happy to be with us. I thank God with every fiber of my being for the gift of her and her sister and can't imagine life without either of them.
Thanks to everyone for all the emails and good wishes. We are not able to respond to all right now, but will when we get settled.
