Day Four: Zhanjiang

This morning was a day we had all been anticipating. It felt so good to finally be at a place where we would be unloading a lot of our things. Many brought gifts for the children.

We got on the bus for a short ride to the orphanage. I couldn't believe that they took the buses down the narrow street of Nong 2 Lu, but we did. As we got off the bus, we heard music playing in the courtyard. We entered the gate, and there were the children waving flowers at us beneath a huge red banner that read "Welcome Home." We were immediately surrounded by people, who instantly grabbed our children's name tags looking for ones they recognized. I saw many tears, and hugs, and smiles. It was the most incredible thing I've ever witnessed. The most poignant was the group of foster moms--approximately twelve--who were eying the older girls. They came armed with photo albums, and several were reunited with "their" kids.

We were led to stools in the balloon- and brightly-decorated courtyard, in front of a huge stage, again with a banner welcoming the children home. Behind the stage, in front of the banner, were risers where many photos would be snapped. Again, photos would make this so much easier to explain. Perhaps other blogging parents are having better luck. Be sure to scroll down to look for the "Blogging Families" post for those links.

A woman in a lovely red dress was the hostess for the event, and she introduced Dir. Su, as well as SWI directors from miles around, including Dongguan, Maoming, Dianbai, and a few others I recognized but forget. I'm hoping they got a good impression of this wonderful event and will allow families to return with great ceremony as ours was allowed to. The student-aged children from the SWI danced and sang for us, and then several local children's groups also did so. They did a lion dance and then invited those that wanted to, to try.

Our oldest adoptee group member, Cory, gave a lovely, moving speech. Vickie also gave another speech and did a wonderful job as she received a donation from BLAS for ZKO. How wonderful! When the speeches were over, the children lined up to give their gifts to the director and children. Many things were given that the children will be able to use. In return, the director gave each of the children Zhanjiang pearls and a mother-of-pearl pendant, each with their Zhanjiang names inscribed on the back. It was so incredibly touching.

THEN it was time to go up to the eighth floor to see the babies. How fun. Some babies tolerated it, others not so much. Adam, a dad in our group, got a giggle and huge smiles out of his little one. The children looked wonderful, and we're so grateful to Amy, the director of the Open Arms room for her job in leading the aunties. She takes her job seriously, and when I expressed my gratitude to her, her tears overflowed. The language barrier was nonexistent--something I would witness over and over as the day wore on.

We went downstairs to the room off the courtyard, and they had a humongously long table set up for us for lunch. Along with local fare, they had vegetables, baskets of bananas and oranges, and yes, TURKEY wings and a pumpkin dish. They remembered that today was our Thanksgiving. They did not miss a single detail.

After lunch, we went out in the courtyard to play. Gloria had brought along a Thanksgiving poster/sticker activity. It was good she brought sixty of them, as everyone got in on it. All the kids mingled, helping one another decorate them. After the stickers were done, then the mayhem started...one dad got plastered with the paper outlines of the sticker, by two of the little Zhanjiang boys. :o) Again language was not a barrier. We played jump rope and Dir. Su got in on turning the rope and even jumping. The man is amazing. Just amazing. Then it was time for tug-of-war, a three-legged race, and then a form of tag in which the children hold on to the shirt of the one in front of them, while the leader tries to keep an "it" child from catching the ones on the tail. It was a bit like crack-the-whip. We had such a great time. The children mingled freely with one another, and all the kids ran their legs off. The little ones on the tour were carried around by the older girls from the SWI. It was simply adorable to see them doted on. The afternoon wore on, and we stayed longer than scheduled, but it didn't seem to matter. The kids from the SWI were thrilled to have a day off school, and we look forward to spending Saturday with them.

After leaving, some families chose to go to a park, others with younger children elected to go back to the hotel.

It was one of the most incredible days. It was far more than I ever expected, and has nothing to do with the many cameras and newsies that were there to capture it. It was in the private moments with real people who share our love of our children: in the aunties who recognized the children--the ones who knew them by name, in the affirmation of their genuine goodness, generosity, and affection. What a day.