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Wednesday,
September 15, 2010
XUZHOU ORPHANAGE VISIT
Sorry this post is so late. We had a broken camera, and a long
day yesterday, which resulted in a very tired mama and baba:).
Today was a long, hot and busy day! But not in a bad way:). It
was an amazing day, and we are so thankful we were able to to
visit Qwinn's first home. We have heard many things about it,
but seeing it, is completely different. We were able to thank
all of their caregivers, and learn about Qwinn's finding spot.
We left the hotel at 8:00am to catch the 9:30 train. The train
station is much like an airport terminal, but with a lot more
people! Very busy. The train was much like an airplane, but tad
more leg space. Qwinn did very well today, he is quite the
trooper. Whenever we leave the hotel, he gets a little quiet and
reserved, but once he knows where we are going, he is happy. The
ride there, he took a nice long nap. It as a 2 1/2 hour ride.
Our guide said the train was very cold last time she rode, so we
had him in pants. Even in the summer, the Chinese put long pants
and shirts on their children, and the heat doesn''t seem to
bother them. For us, it was an oven, all day long. Plus, Qwinn
decided that today was his BM day, 5 of them, up his back! Not a
pretty day:). When we got to Xuzhou, Ms. Tang greeted us with
driver and a helper, who was taking pictures of us all day long.
Which ended up being FOR us after we dropped our camera. Ms.
Tang graciously said she would email them to us. THe first stop
was lunch. We ate at a very nice restaraunt, eating traditional
Chinese, which was delicious. Nothing like it in WA:(. Next stop
was Qwinn's finding spot. It was at a very busy intersection in
a walk through in front of a Agriculture Center, and kiddy
corner from the best hospital in Xuzhou. I asked Ms. Tang if
they do newborn hearing evaluations there, and she said yes. She
agreed that it was posible he was abandoned because he failed
this test. There was not a note left with him. We can only guess
that his parents were very traumatized with their decision to
give up their baby boy. Special needs children are very
expensive to care for, and they don't have extensive services
and medical insurance like we do in America. We feel very
blessed to be able to care for Qwinn, but on the other hand, we
are very sad his parents could not. It was a very emotional
moment for us both.
Finally, we arrived at the orphanage. The entrance and entire
campus was very nice. It includes many buildings, including a
nursing home. They actually recently broke ground for a new
building, it is going to be so nice. It will also for even
better care. Xuzhou is already considered the best orphanage in
the province. Ms. Tang wanted me to send a message to all the
other families that have adopted from here. You are are all
personally invited to the grand opening next September. She is
very excited about this new building. She is a very sweet woman.
We found out she is also a nurse:). She really does have a heart
of gold. When we got inside, she took us to a very nice, and
very cool waiting room with fruit and green tea. We were
welcomed by a very sweet boy I have come very familiar with:)
His parents are going to get him next month! Yay!! He helped us
eat fruit, and spoke chinese with us. Yes through a
translator:). We still only know 3 words, Chinese is very
difficult to learn. We then went into the toddler rooms, baby
rooms, and infant rooms. The toddler play rooms had about 8 kids
in them. The crib/baby rooms had about 30 cribs lined up next to
each other. Unfortunatley, the babies spend a lot of time in
their crib until the age of 12 months. We didn't ask how much, I
don't think we really wanted to know. The caregivers are very
kind and loving, I think they must go from crib to crib doing
exercises and attending to each of them from their crib.
So you all must be wondering, how did Qwinn do? He did
beautifully! He has bonded with us better than we could ever
imagine. We had prepared for the worst, and got the best case
scenario, as far as we can see. It has only been 3 days, and he
has shown us every inch of his being. He is so much fun, and
such a toddler. I will tell you more about that in a minute:).
When we got there we held on tight, secretly hoping nobody would
want to hold him. He had 2 people reach out, and 2 times were
denyed! Although we felt bad, we wanted to keep the confusion
down to a minimum. We let him play in his playroom, which he
completely rules. He hoards the toys, but does share. Except
with one little boy, who is also deaf. He doesn't give them back
to Qwinn, so he avoids him. Our little boy is very smart! We
also put him in his crib, he giggled a little, and then that was
it. He was done, and it seems very ready to be adopted. He is a
very busy and smart boy, and has loved all the attention, toys,
and food that we have. As we left the building, not a whimper,
not a tear, and not a look back. He is definately ours in many
ways now. As we said before, we are so thankful we could take
this trip. Not all orphanages allow visits, ours is very special
in many ways.
Now, the train ride back. This was fun, and a big reality check
for us both. We have a very active toddler, and how we are in
love! He entertained the many people around us and next to us.
This might be a good time to list the many things that impress
us and make us love him so much. |
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~he is very vocal, all day long. happy talk:)
~very determined. wants to do and master everything we do.
~mimicks everything we do after one example.
~has quickly improved his unsteady walking, climbing, drinking
from a cup, use his hands to eat, spoon to eat
~loves bathtime and splashing
~loves all foods, especially new ones
~reaches out with the biggest smile for his mama and baba, many
times a day
~has a contagious laugh, we hear throughout the entire day
~has lots of energy, the kind that makes the parents nap too.
Love,
Ben, Shawna and Qwinn |
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