Today we visited the orphanage that Ali came from. Another early start after a short night. The little princess woke up @ 4 and wanted to play, just like last night and of course, Mommy and Daddy were happy to oblige. We all got up and did the morning ritual of breakfast and met in the lobby for the 2 ½ hour bus ride. One of the families decided not to go, their child is almost 2, and they felt it might be more traumatic on her in comparison to the younger kids. Grandma, Jo-Ann, and Amanda also decided to stay behind and try to find more shopping.
Our bus ride took us into the outer, more rural areas of Chongqing, the highway went into the mountains and across the countryside. We saw villagers farming the rice fields, using oxen to till the land, and even saw 2 weddings on the side of the road. We finally made it to Dianjang county and it was everything you’d imagine third world living would be. There were high rise buildings, but many were abondonedand once again tons of people everywhere you turned. The bus parked and we all had to get out and walk a few blocks to the orphanage. A few people were already shedding tears, but the rest of us felt like movie stars due to the overwhelming amount of locals following us as we made our way through the alleyways towards the orphanage.
The first thing we all saw was the playground and then we were greeted by the director. We all made our way into a pseudo meeting area and the director told us how grateful they were for us to adopt and how this orphanage was the best in China. After exchanging pleasantries and leaving any gifts we had for the children, we began our climb up the stairs to the 5th and 6th level to see the facilities. I was upset because the orphanage looks a lot nicer and bigger in pictures online than it actually is, and my new little girl had to spend the first year of her life here. There were only @ 10 kids left but they were all bundled up and laying in the play room (they were all under 2). I forgot to mention there isn’t any heat either!
After our tour we made our way to the ground level for lunch, no one had any idea what to expect. It was extremely good! One of the better Chinese meals we’ve had in our week here. After lunch we took a group photo outside the orphanage and then took individual photos at the outside gate. A few of the babies in our group were found at the gates, so this moment was special to them. We all went through the crowd of curious locals and boarded the bus. We were shown around the town and we all got to see the place that our babies were abandoned. Ali was left in flowers and bushes in a roundabout in the middle of town and we took some video and photos of it. Both Ginnie and I shed a few tears to the thought of someone leaving such a helpless, beautiful child there, but then came to the realization of Finder’s keepers, loser’s weepers and the fact that if she wasn’t left there, she would never have been a part of our family. On the ride back, Ali passed out in my arms and slept the whole way.
We met up with Amanda, Grandma, and Jo and Ginne, Mallory, Amanda, Ali, and me decided to take a taxi and explore. We left our roomand out in the hallway by the elevator, the majority of the parents and kids had gotten together and were having a little party. We let Ali play for a bit then headed to the lobby for a taxi. We went to the other side of the river, the official downtown Chongqing, and ate Dinner at Pizza Hut. It was familiar, but yet so different. They had pizza with crab, squid and other seafood, and a few other non American toppings. We got a Pepperoni and a super supreme, it wasn’t like home, but it wasn’t terrible either. The cheese was a little different and they hardly use tomato sauce, but like I said, it could have been worse. Pizza Hut was attached to a mall, so we shopped after dinner, Mallory picked up some souveniers and Ginnie and I got some sweatshirts since it’s been so damn cold and we packed for warmer weather! By the way, I’m a 2XL in Chinese size, there doesn’t seem to be too many Chinese that are 6 feet tall and 200 lbs.!!!!!!!! We finished shopping, caught a taxi and went back to the hotel. Ali fussed for the whole ride and as soon as we got to the room, she got a bottle and zonked out. Mal wasn’t to far behind and Ginnie shortly after Mal. Tomorrow we go to the zoo and the historic part of Chongqing.
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