Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Eric's giving Nola a bath. Thank goodness she loves the
bath. It's a great bonding, happy time. Lots of big smiles all
around.
Today was a good day. A bit tough...but good. We had the
opportunity to go to the Guiyang Children's Welfare Institute
this morning. Nola didn't spend very much time here, but it was
a good visit nonetheless. It's a very impressive facility and
provides a home, education and therapy to about 200 children.
Most of the young children in this province are in foster care,
so there were mostly older and special needs children. All
beautiful and sweet.
Then we went souvenir shopping. This region has many ethnic
minority people and the Miao people are well known for their
batik, embroidery and silverwork. We saw some beautiful, and old
needlework. One costume was made entirely of a silk felt, which,
we were told, is made from the actual cocoon of the silk worm.
It had the texture of homemade paper. So we browsed and picked
out a couple of handicrafts that would remind us and Nola of
where she comes from, including a few small carvings made of a
local stone with our Chinese zodiac symbols on them.
We went to Nola's finding place this afternoon as well. I'm
still trying to process that one, so I can't say too much about
it. We saw a lot of babies today, and it seemed like they were
all boys.
Nola is grieving a bit harder today. For much of the day she was
sullen and stubborn. Her fits of grieving are heart-wrenching in
a way that I find hard to describe. It's an incomprehensible
despair that comes from a place so deep inside of her. She's the
strongest person I've ever known and she has taught me more
about love and sadness and need than any little girl her age
should know.
But after a good cry this afternoon, she brightened up. We took
a nice walk around the neighborhood and gave much cause for
staring. And more staring. Even when you're prepared for it, the
staring can be disconcerting. We dined outside of the hotel
(thanks to Kelli and her Chinese menu cheat sheet!) and I
decided that I won't be dining at any roadside affairs in this
region. No need for details here...
Oh, and I had a birthday today. Our guide Michael (thank
goodness for Michael) told the hotel it was my birthday and they
ordered up a froofy birthday cake. It was great! So we
celebrated by eating a couple slices of cake (Nola had the fruit
off the top) and sticking bath beads to our bellys. Yee haw!!
Well, my babies are out of the bath now. Time to get a little
room service, have a meltdown, and grab some shut-eye.
Thanks again everybody for your wishes and blessings in our
Guestbook. We really enjoy waking up and reading them. |
Good morning Nola
Happy Nola
In front of the Guiyang Children's Welfare Institute
Happy birthday to me |
