A funny story about the hotel. We have been asked to be prompt in the morning. The welfare house picks us up from the hotel in a converted ambulance that still has the medical markings on the outside. The hotel we are staying in is a very nice hotel and they do not want the bad publicity that might occur by having an ambulance waiting around each morning! So, we are prompt!
This morning we arrived at the welfare house and 12 kids and several nannies were already waiting in a bus to go on a field trip.
This was my little seatmate. He was soooo interested in watching out the window. The nannies originally shut the shades to keep the sun out (tanned skin is seen as an indication of a lower class so Chinese ladies try to protect their skin from the sun at all times.)
The bus ride was a hoot! The nannies brought songs for the kids to sign. As we are rolling down the streets in China, we were singing the ABC song, Old MacDonald, You are My Sunshine and several others that I hadn't heard in years!
These kids do not get to leave the welfare grounds often so this was a real treat. We went a botanical park. We have yet to see other westerners in this city so our very tall American team draws a crowd on our own. Add in 12 disabled children and we were quite the sight! The kids were so excited to be out and I was SOO proud to be with them.
Once at the park, we paired up with kiddos. This little boy was my partner. He kept a iron grip on my hand at all times and was fascinated by texture. He needed to feel the walls, the stones, the tiles, everything. Because I had carried my backpack with me, he could put his bottle of water in the side pocket of my backpack. He was so protective of that bottle of water and carefully took it out and put it back in each time he wanted a sip of water. (How my kids take for granted that I will cart their drinks on outings.)
This is one of a few non special needs children in the welfare home but he is not available for adoption at the time as the authorities are searching for his parents. He is a doll baby!
Lara and "the Mayor" (a nickname given to this boy by a previous visiting team). Yesterday he was a bit unkind to Lara but today he ONLY wanted to be with her. In fact, on the bus ride home, I was placed next to him and he made it quite clear that he could only have one friend today and I was NOT that friend! :) But we had fun with the situation and he got to sit next to Lara at lunch and the remainder of the bus ride home after lunch.
This was the only girl with us today. No one in the team remembers seeing her in our interactions with children yesterday and we hope to learn more about her throughout the week.
The nannies take such loving care of the kids. That has become so clear in our interactions and eases my mind as an adoptive mom. While these kids would do better in a family, they are being treated well by nannies who care deeply for them.
Does the young man above not have the greatest smile in the world?!?! Walking looks difficult for him but he pushes forward with this "can-do" attitude.
One our way back to the welfare house, the kids were in for another treat. We took them out to lunch! Again, we were quite the sight and took up 3 large tables. The kids enjoyed delicious food and some special treats. Jason tried to teach his new spinning game to his table. (Sorry, Becki!)
One thing I'm loving about the Chinese culture is REST TIME! After lunch, everyone takes an 1.5-2 hour rest time. We are brought back to the hotel to rest and freshen up. It's hotter than blazes here right now and we melt just walking outside. You spend any amount of time outside doing anything and you are instantly a hot sweaty mess. So, we clean up and reapply deodorant during rest time as well. :)
After rest time today, we split up into 2 small teams. Lara and I helped in a therapy class. I'm guessing these children have CP. The teacher did a great job leading them through exercises to work their tight muscles. Each child worked so hard. We sat behind the children and assisted them. Once class was over, we got to play with them.
The little girl in the bottom of the picture is the first child we met yesterday and has been the baby I feed each day. I don't know much about her story except that I was very surprised to see her grouped with these children. She does not have any signs of CP that I can tell.
This boy!!! Oh my stars, this boy!!! He lives in the room next to the girl I feed. The younger children eat meals in the room in which they sleep. We are not permitted to take any pictures in these rooms. We break into smaller groups and often wait in the hallway for the other group. I've peeked into this boy's room a few times and he breaks out the biggest grin you can imagine. We've played hide-n-seek just using the door frame and seeing his smile just melts my heart. I saw him work so very hard in the therapy class and he did a great job! He clearly has a strong spirit in that tiny little body of his.
And this boy!!! We met him the first day and he lives in the same room as the boy above. He, too, has a terrific smile that lights up the room. Today he was intent on building the blocks as high as he could. We got every block we could find on his tower and he was ecstatic!
After playing with the kids we were treated to another amazing meal at the welfare house. No meal has been the same as a previous meal and each one is DELICIOUS! We were told some teams struggle with food while on these trips but that has not been the case for us. I may come home 10 pounds heavier than when I left the states!
During dinner, the topic of Chinese medicine came up. This beautiful woman is the director of the children's unit. She started showing us some techniques to relieve tension and pain. I think this was the first time the entire trip that Jason wasn't speaking. She said her teacher, Mr. Wang, was in town and would be willing to teach us more about Chinese medicine.
Mr. Wang met us at our hotel and it was quite the treat. He showed us several things we should be doing every day to help improve our overall health. We were also given some tea to drink by the welfare house that has special properties to improve our health. So, I'm feeling very relaxed having worked out some kinks and enjoyed a cup of the wonderful tea.
That's about it for today. Another great day spent with the kids and staff. Jason leaves us tomorrow to film in Ethiopia. His fun personality will be missed by all. Please pray for his traveling safety.
Other than Jason leaving us, I'm not really sure what tomorrow holds.
So when you come home you will teach us the techniques you were taught for you health!?
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