Day 5: Second day with the kids

When we arrived at the orphanage this morning, we did the exercises and games outside with the older kids again. So much fun! After that, we split into groups and went into the rooms to play. I was in a room with toddlers this morning, where I met two more favorites—a little girl with Down syndrome and a little boy with Down syndrome. They are both about two or three years old. I played with the little boy a lot. He was very cute and playful. He loved playing with cars! The little girl was doing some great pretend play—pretending to cook and feed her “Snoopy” toy. At lunch time, I helped feed some of the same kids I met yesterday. There was a little boy with CP and another little boy who we were told was blind. Both of these boys appeared to be older—seven or eight and were non-verbal. After lunch, I sang to them and they seemed to love it. I held the one with CP and rocked him. Because he’s older, I don’t think he gets much cuddle time. He really seemed to enjoy it and need it. He just looked at me and smiled. He held my hand and didn’t want to let go when it was time for me to leave. We ate lunch at the orphanage again today—fried rice! Yum! One of my favorites so far! After lunch we went back to the hotel and decided to walk around and see the city bit. We went into a couple of small stores (sort of like convenience stores). They had all kinds of interesting, different snacks. I bought Oreos. Ha! Thought I would stick to what I know.

We didn’t stay out long because the city was a bit…um…wild, you could say. We went back to the hotel to rest. I was able to take a nap. Yay for sleep! Now I will be able to stay up a little later (hopefully) and perhaps sleep a little later (fingers crossed)! When we returned to orphanage in the afternoon, we got to do a craft with the older kids. We paired up with a buddy and painted flowers from our hand prints. We painted their hand and made the petals, then painted our own hand to make the leaves. My partner was 12 and he had Down syndrome. He appeared to be pretty smart. He even knew some English. He said “Hello. How are you?” He also asked about how to say different body parts in English, pointing to his mouth, eyes, nose, etc. He wanted to know my name, too. He was very social! He then told me (in Chinese, the director interpreted) that he “hungers for a family…he wants a mommy and three brothers.” He repeated that he wanted three brothers two or three times. He was very adamant about that part! He also tried to teach me some martial arts! It was very fun! After painting, we went outside with this same group of kids and played some games—the Chinese versions of “London bridges” and “Duck, Duck, Goose” and a game called “Eagles and chicks.” We had so much fun playing with the older kids. The nannies are so great with these kids and have so much enthusiasm! For dinner, we, once again fed babies and toddlers. My little guy did not like me! The nanny had to take over. But on the bright side, I got to hold a tiny baby instead. My favorite little guy (the one with Downs and Cleft lip/palate) was in this room. I hadn’t seen him all day. He was in the crib already. I guess he was going to sleep because I asked if I could hold one of the babies…I was going to get him if they would have let me, but they pointed to the other baby and said I could hold her. Some of my team members did have the chance to see him and play with him this morning and said he was very interactive. The little baby I held had some physical deformities with her hands and feet. She was 13 months old and tiny! I was told that she was premature. She was so sweet and smiled at me when I went to pick her up. I just held her and cuddled her and she laid her head on me. It was precious! We had dinner at the orphanage again tonight. Pork, greens, and more shrimp. Oh, the shrimp! With those eyes staring back at me! While the food has been delicious, I am beginning to miss American food a bit. A cheeseburger and fries would be divine right now! But it looks like we will be eating lunch and dinner at the orphanage for the rest of the week. Tomorrow morning, we are taking some of the older kids to the park. This will be a treat for them because the only time they get out of the orphanage is when a group comes to visit because they don’t have enough staff to chaperone them all on a typical day. The park is near the ocean, we are told. I am looking forward to this outing! And Thursday, we were asked to teach the kids how to make “biscuits”, which are really cookies…at first we thought we were making real biscuits. Oh the disappointment they would have had if they received a biscuit rather than a cookie. Good thing Jennifer thought to ask! And for your viewing pleasure…come along with us on a ride in the van! Traffic jams and crazy driving!!