Orphanage visit

First of all, no pictures in this post. My iPad is hard at work uploading every picture we took at the orphanage today, and at the rate it's going it might be 5am before its done, so I'm cranking this out quick on my phone. If you know me, you know that 9pm is my bedtime when I'm at home, and it's already after 9 here, and I'm beat.

It's hard to know what to say about today. I could write about how awesome the bullet train was. And it was awesome. We traveled part of the Beijing-shanghai line, and it's almost as fast as a plane but far easier and cheaper. But it doesn't feel right to be prattling on about technology or the subway worker who showed us pictures of her baby then proceeded to chastise us because Rose was only wearing three layers. And my first experience with a squatty potty, which happened with a baby strapped to my chest and no tissues? That's a story I'll tell you later.

Todays visit hit us hard. The first room we went into was filled with preschoolers who will probably never have parents. They were sweet little ones who flung themselves at our legs. One little girl demanded that Michael, our guide, pick her up. We walked down cold halls into rooms filled with too many kids and not enough adults. The adults who are there do a great job. It's obvious that they really love these kids, but they need moms and dads. To see room after room of babies flat on their backs, and to know that until three days ago your baby was one of them, is more than a little heartbreaking.

After that, our guide took us to Rose's finding place. We've been sheltered so far in China. We've visited tourist attractions and places like the Aqua City mall, which reminds me a lot of the Galleria in Houston. But Rose's finding place felt about a million miles away from the China we've experienced so far. We turned onto a side street, then onto a smaller side street, and then into an alley, and then we came to the spot where she was found late at night, at two days old. It's impossible for me to look at the spot without thinking what could easily have been if no one had heard her cries on that April night.

And in happier news, Rose and Eddie are quickly becoming best friends. He's rolling her around on the bed and throwing her up in the air an eliciting the biggest belly laughs. It's wonderful to see them warming to each other so quickly. She's cooing all the time and has basically perfected the art of sitting, which she wasn't doing when we got her three days ago. She delighted everyone on the train; they clucked their tongues at her and she laughed and waved and clapped her hands.

All is right with my own little world, but I'm not sure I'll sleep tonight thinking about the ones we left behind at the orphanage today.

Tomorrow Ed leaves for home. The girls and I will head to Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton), a city about an hour from Hong Kong. The American consulate is there so we'll spend five days engaged in visa-related stuff. Should be fun.

On a final note, Annie is getting used to the staring and is far less paranoid than she was three days ago. That's a good thing because her bodyguard is leaving in the morning.

Pictures tomorrow-- I promise.




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