Orphanage and Finding Place

Today we hired a van with one of the coordinators and went to Malia's orphanage. It was so awkward for me, her, and my parents. The place was wonderful. It was kept up well and the kids were all so happy but I was sad because there were so many kids there and I know we only saw a fraction of them. They all wanted to come up to us and hug and some even wanted to get picked up. They waved bye as we had to leave. We couldn't take any pictures inside but we could take as many as we wanted outside. The staff was wonderful and we even met the orphanage director. Malia did pretty well but she was holding onto my shirt for life. I had the thought to put her in the hip hammock as soon as we got out of the van so she knew I was right there and good thing I did. The one nanny tried to take her from me but figured out that she couldn't because she was strapped in... whew!! We walked through a couple classrooms with older kids that have special needs and then we got to see one baby playroom. I felt so bad because the gifts I brought were mostly for the little babies because I really didn't expect to see many older kids. I have to remember to send more when I get home. As we were leaving we heard a lot of kids saying bye. We looked up and they were at the window reaching out and waving bye. I am glad we went there but so sad that they don't place more of the kids for adoption. For some reason this orphanage has cut back on adoptions in recent years and only did 16 in all of 2006. Maybe if they see how happy Malia is now with her mom they will do more. at least we could see that the kids there were well cared for and all in all very happy.

Next we made a quick stop at her finding location. I just had my dad get out and take photos because I didn't want to upset Malia by getting out in another strange location. From the van it looked like a very nice area. According to the driver there are ~10 million people just in Guangzhou and from the looks of the area I would believe it. It is hard to know that we will never know who Malia's birth parents are but I am glad she will now be well taken care of and loved.

This afternoon is photos (red couch and group pictures). I will try to update with some pictures tonight or tomorrow morning but we have the dinner cruise (which means a later bed time) so it might not be possible. Our time here is winding down and soon onto Hong Kong for a little time at Disney. From what we can tell she will just love the people watching if nothing else. I can't wait until we are all home and I know my parents are feeling the same thing. Anything right now for a home cooked meal (not from a restaurant). I can probably do one more post tomorrow but that will be it until we return on Friday. The flight information again for those meeting us is NWA Flight 20 (Narita, Japan - MSP) arriving around 12:20. Make sure you check the flight status since there might be rain on Friday and some flights actually get in early. We will meet you at the baggage claim area (far left as you are looking at the baggage carousels).