Thursday, September 21, 2006

Hello everyone,

Sorry I missed a day. I got very ill very suddenly. I’m still not sure what I have, but I had a fever of 103 this morning. I’m feeling much better now.

While I was sick, I really didn’t want to handle the baby so Tom had to do everything. He did a fabulous job and it was quite entertaining to watch. Up until this point, I had been making all of the bottles so Tom didn’t know how to do it. He was a quick study, though, and had everything under control. He took the baby for a really long walk last night and she slept right through the night and woke up at 7:00 this morning in a very good mood.

Zoe continues to amaze us with her energy. She is taking everything in. I can only imagine what it must be like for her seeing the world for the first time. She got very little outside exposure at the orphanage.

One of the families is visiting the orphanage today. We chose not to because it is a very, very long drive and we heard mixed reviews about seeing the orphanage (one father who has adopted before said that if you don’t visit the orphanage, you’ll always regret it, but if you do visit the orphanage, you’ll always regret it) Basically, he said he wasn’t going again this time because it was too depressing to imagine your little daughter spending the first part of her life in an institution.

We do have lots of pictures of the orphanage, though.

China has been very interesting. It is amazing how fast their economy is growing. Rose, our guide, was telling us that back in the 70’s, the three things a Chinese family wanted were a bicycle, a watch and a sewing machine. In the 80’s, they wanted a color TV, a refrigerator and a washing machine (girls looked to marry into families that had these three things) In the 90’s, they want a computer and a car.

We were able to visit some Chinese families in Beijing. They live in very tiny quarters with very few luxuries. To have your own bathroom is a luxury for some (some families have to use the public bathrooms) Even though their economy is growing rapidly and they are able to afford items such as TVs and computers, their living arrangements are very sparse.

Tom and Zoe are going on a trip to the countryside today and will hopefully be able to visit a family in a rural setting (I’m staying back at the hotel to continue my recovery) I can’t wait to hear about their trip (Tom has been dying to get out of the city)

I’ll let you know how his trip was in tomorrow’s update!