| Day 11- 2/14/2012 |
After a leisurely morning at the hotel we set out around 2 pm for
Tyler's orphanage about 45 minutes outside of Guangzhou in
the town of Foshan. Tyler seemed pretty excited about the trip.
When we got there we asked Tyler if he remembered it at all and
of course he said yes because he had seen pictures from our
last visit.
Unfortunately the director, Mrs. Tang, was not there to meet us.
She was out of town on business. There were a few nannies
still there from 7 years ago that remember Tyler. One of them
commented that he was so dark skinned now and that he was
much fairer as a baby. We explained that he loves being
outdoors so he gets a lot of sun. At first, it seemed like the
building had changed to me. I recognized a few landmarks, but
as we got up into the baby rooms my memory came back to me.
I think what threw me initially was the new play structure out front
of the orphanage. That was not there the last time we visited.
They said that there are about 140 children at the orphanage
and about 95% are special needs, mostly Down's Syndrome. A
few of them were just waiting for their new parents to make the
trip to China to adopt them. It seems to me that there has been a
major shift in the Chinese orphanages from healthy children up
for adoption to children with special needs, which may be one
reason for the long wait to adopt now.
We meandered slowly through the orphanage. We were able to
take more pictures in the baby rooms than we were the last
Tyler's orphanage about 45 minutes outside of Guangzhou in
the town of Foshan. Tyler seemed pretty excited about the trip.
When we got there we asked Tyler if he remembered it at all and
of course he said yes because he had seen pictures from our
last visit.
Unfortunately the director, Mrs. Tang, was not there to meet us.
She was out of town on business. There were a few nannies
still there from 7 years ago that remember Tyler. One of them
commented that he was so dark skinned now and that he was
much fairer as a baby. We explained that he loves being
outdoors so he gets a lot of sun. At first, it seemed like the
building had changed to me. I recognized a few landmarks, but
as we got up into the baby rooms my memory came back to me.
I think what threw me initially was the new play structure out front
of the orphanage. That was not there the last time we visited.
They said that there are about 140 children at the orphanage
and about 95% are special needs, mostly Down's Syndrome. A
few of them were just waiting for their new parents to make the
trip to China to adopt them. It seems to me that there has been a
major shift in the Chinese orphanages from healthy children up
for adoption to children with special needs, which may be one
reason for the long wait to adopt now.
We meandered slowly through the orphanage. We were able to
take more pictures in the baby rooms than we were the last
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time. I don't know if it was because the director wasn't there or because they are more lenient now.
They said that quite a few adoptive families have come back to visit, at least 1 every month. All along
the hallways they had pictures of children and their families who were adopted from the orphanage.
The assistant that walked us around took our picture in order to add it to the wall as well. We
brought a few gifts for them which seemed so trivial given the huge gift they had given us. We had
put together a photo book for them of Tyler over the years and Tyler signed it which the nannies had
a great time pouring over. For the kids we had gotten a few small Lego sets and a few onesies. A
box of Ingeborgs chocolates for the director and Mortensen's cookies for the nannies rounded it all
out. I wish we could have given them more, but space just wouldn't allow it. Hopefully we'll be able
to visit again when Tyler gets older.
After walking through the orphanage we spent some time outside in the play area where Tyler and
Vivian had a ball running around and getting some pent up energy out. Vivian loved watching her
brother run around like a mad man and had fun sliding down the slides. As they played Tyler had a
bit of an audience as the nannies watched him play from the balcony above. I think they loved
seeing how active and well-adjusted he is. When Bill caught them watching and tried to take a
picture I think they were a little embarrassed at being caught.
We're so grateful that we were able to go back for a visit. It was nice to give Tyler the experience and
for us to share with the orphanage the joy that Tyler has brought us.
They said that quite a few adoptive families have come back to visit, at least 1 every month. All along
the hallways they had pictures of children and their families who were adopted from the orphanage.
The assistant that walked us around took our picture in order to add it to the wall as well. We
brought a few gifts for them which seemed so trivial given the huge gift they had given us. We had
put together a photo book for them of Tyler over the years and Tyler signed it which the nannies had
a great time pouring over. For the kids we had gotten a few small Lego sets and a few onesies. A
box of Ingeborgs chocolates for the director and Mortensen's cookies for the nannies rounded it all
out. I wish we could have given them more, but space just wouldn't allow it. Hopefully we'll be able
to visit again when Tyler gets older.
After walking through the orphanage we spent some time outside in the play area where Tyler and
Vivian had a ball running around and getting some pent up energy out. Vivian loved watching her
brother run around like a mad man and had fun sliding down the slides. As they played Tyler had a
bit of an audience as the nannies watched him play from the balcony above. I think they loved
seeing how active and well-adjusted he is. When Bill caught them watching and tried to take a
picture I think they were a little embarrassed at being caught.
We're so grateful that we were able to go back for a visit. It was nice to give Tyler the experience and
for us to share with the orphanage the joy that Tyler has brought us.
One last little tidbit - Vivian the imitator in full force - Her new favorite person to imitate is Daddy.
One of the few Chinese words we have picked up is "no," pronounced "may yo" in Chinese. She's
heard us say it so many times that she has started imitating our stern voices. She does Bill very
well, but it also means he has lost all credibility because he laughs whenever she does it.
One of the few Chinese words we have picked up is "no," pronounced "may yo" in Chinese. She's
heard us say it so many times that she has started imitating our stern voices. She does Bill very
well, but it also means he has lost all credibility because he laughs whenever she does it.