Monday, March 2, 2009
GOTCHA DAY!

It’s the 5th of March today and I am just now entering all the happenings of the week. It’s been quite a whirlwind of emotions and events. To start off with the day we met Micah…

Upon entering the Civil Affairs office we were sent into a frigid room with nothing but a ping pong table anxiously awaiting his entry. Then they said, we need to head downstairs to another room. Scrambling to get the video camera set up we walked slowly into a room that looked like a conference room with a giant wall decorated in red and the Chinese flag in the corner. As we entered the room, to the right of the room stood 3 little boys all dressed in white sweaters and what looked like snow pants and matching brown boots. One buy one the turned around. We didn’t quite know for sure which one he was until he turned all the way around. I could tell by his stocky stance that Micah was the one in the gray pants. They were all eating some kind of Chinese cracker snacks. When I knelt down to talk to Micah, he walked shyly away to stand next to his little friends and keep there snacks close by so no one would take them. As we tried to talk to him, he looked scared and had a runny nose from crying a bit. I knew this introduction was going to be rough. So, out came all the toys trucks to help us communicate to him that we come in peace. Immediately he became enamored with this particular yellow truck that made noise and went rolling along after you revved it up. He began to spill his crackers and I tried to help him turn the package around. This was a big mistake. He thought I was taking them away and began to cry. The orphanage director tried to offer skittles as a way to calm him down. It worked. But we ended up giving him so many that he began to drool several colors all over his nice white sweater. After a bit he began to sit on the floor with all the trucks we had given him and pushed them close so no one could take them away. When we tried to pick him up he began to cry again and pushed us away. He didn’t stop crying for the rest of our time there in the room. The other two boys sat quietly on their parents laps without a sound. We wondered how in the world we are going to bond. About the last 10 minutes I forced Micah to sit facing me on my lap, with all his trucks still in his lap. If one truck fell the tears would abound again. He was really fighting us hard for some reason. I sat there holding him close as he and I cried and we finally started to bond. As we got up to go I wasn’t sure how I would carry a flailing child. Amazingly he stayed calm after choosing which coat he wanted and getting a sucker, off we went to the cab ride. No more tears after leaving the building. He was transformed into another child as we exited the building. I was amazed as we came back to our hotel and the room and still no tears. I walked into the hotel room and we began to show him all his toys. I placed the reds hat on his head and his first big smile came and we cheered with joy. He was so happy and such a pleasant easy going child. Every moment was exciting to see each expression and each giggle. Next we began our feast of American food. He sat in my lap and ate everything in site. He especially liked the French fries. We are not sure if he had ever had them before but he loved them very much. He dipped them in water and in chocolate ice cream. He also ate his usual rice congee. It’s a bowl of hot water with mushy white rice in it. It’s sort of like oatmeal. Anyway, after eating, I thought it best we took a bath since we were all covered from head to toe with food. Hope, Micah and I all got in the bath tub. Micah was a little hesitant to get into the tub since it was already filled up. So he stood for most of the bath until the last part where he sat on my lap. After the bath it was nap time. We dressed him in his new jammies and all headed to the big king size bed for a nap. It was 1:30 by the time we fell asleep. We were all smiles and loved to cuddle with Hope in the center of the bed. He slept like a rock after the rough time at the civil affairs office. After we awoke, we went down to dinner at one of the restaurants in the hotel. With our guide we went out to the Korean restaurant next door for a feast for the family. This was interesting food as well. We ordered the regular beef barbeque and all the sides. When it came, they cooked it in the center of the table. When it was ready to be eaten, you roll it up in a lettuce wrap and drizzled the toppings. Next came a big bowl of soup. I hate to ask what was in it, but it did taste good. In the center of the bowl was a raw egg a top some clams. It was interesting. Micah ate some of everything cut up small and a big plate of rice. That boy can eat. We have to be careful not to present him with too much because he will eat it all. Then, our first night together, he slept perfectly, like a rock.