April 8th

Today marked a very awesome and happy day for us as we returned to Naomi’s hometown, Zhuzhou. We headed out at 8am and met our guide Helen in the lobby of our hotel. We all crammed into a car (at least it had AC) and headed to the “fast driving highway” as Helen called it. The trip took a mere 45 minutes and we arrived in the city around 9am. We headed to the supermarket, where we purchased cans of baby formula and bags of fruit to donate to the orphanage on behalf of some of Naomi’s sisters. We had a hard time spending all the money because things were so inexpensive.
We arrived at the orphanage and were welcomed by one of the 14 year old residents of the handicapped ward. She smiled and welcomed us in English. We headed to the meeting room, where we met the director and the head nanny (whom we found out had chosen Naomi’s chinese name as a wish to her that she would be happy throughout life). We were welcomed with open arms and it was nice to chat with them through the translator as we delivered messages and photographs of some of Naomi’s sisters. The staff were delighted and even remembered a photo I had sent earlier. One nanny walked into the room not expecting to see us and recognized Naomi right away. It was a very nice welcome. Meanwhile, the 14 year old continued to hang around and the director spoke to her for a moment then went to one of the bags and handed her an apple. The girl was delighted and said thank you over and over again. It was worth the cost of every apple in the store just to see the pleasure on her face. Of all the things we take for granted . . .

We then headed up to the room that Naomi stayed in. We got several suprises as we ventured up. One new thing is a play area at the top of the stairs with several toys, bikes and walkers. It’s all enclosed with glass so that the children can’t fall down the stairs. The other surprise we received was that Naomi’s room no longer contains 17 babies, now there are only six. In fact there are 100 fewer children there now than in August 2003. One of the babies was crying when we arrived and Naomi went right to her crib and started talking to her. She then went from crib to crib saying hello to the babies, rocking their cribs if they cried and trying to make them smile. It was so unexpected from my girl who has no regard for dolls, but so heartwarming. Her aunties were delighted to see her and took pleasure in how much she has grown. They commented on her activity level during her stay there and inquired as to her life now. We held a few of the babies and as we did so, I couldn’t help but think that this was someone’s baby that they were still waiting to hear about. Most of the children in this room were 4 – 12 months old.

We then travelled to the handicapped children’s ward, where we visited with children who Helen reported would have no opportunities for adoption. Their special needs ranged from minor defects, to cerebral palsy and down’s syndrome. The children were happy and enjoyed the visit. Joel became pals with a little guy in a walker who was smiling and giggling. He kept going back to him to play and say hello.We asked our guide what would happen to them as they got older, she commented that they would stay in the orphanage their entire lives. If they are able to, they will work in the orphanage. We were introduced to two women in their 20’s who have spent their entire lives as residents and were now working there.

As we left the site, it was apparent that our visit was welcomed and that the people who cared for our daughter had obviously enjoyed seeing her again. We were told that Naomi is welcome there whenever she wishes and to tell her sisters back home in Canada that they wish for them happy lives.
Our next stop was the Zhuzhou Train Station, Naomi’s finding spot. It was incredible to be there. I’ve seen photos of the area, so being able to put each building in it’s appropriate place was an ah-ha moment for me. We were able to go into the ticket hall and take photographs. There were many many people there and we garnered many looks and many hello’s as people wanted to try out their english skills on us.

Our guide enquired as to where we could post Naomi’s flyer announcing her adoption, as well as that of another of her ZZ sisters who was found there. We put them on an information board and immediately a crowd formed around it. Many people looked over to Naomi and crowded around us. One woman offered Naomi a bracelet made of red thread and had bells on it. She wanted Naomi to have it as her wish for her future and to protect her. It was a beautiful moment and I couldn’t help but think of the red thread that had brought us to this place. Our guide was fantastic and translated for us as people asked questions. By the time we had to leave, there was probably 100 people lined up on the steps and surrounding area. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were thinking about.
For me, this day brings a sense of closure. While I know that Naomi and Lilah will someday have questions that I cannot answer, I know that we’ll have some that we can as well. We may not know who her birthfamily is, but we do know that they left Naomi and Lilah to be found. Both their finding places were busy and full of people. There are many police around in Naomi’s, so her birthparents must have taken great risk in leaving her in the safest place possible. There is no doubt in my mind that each girl’s birthfamily wanted the best life possible for her.

We arrived back at the hotel around 1pm and started the task of packing. Our checkout time was 3:30pm. Lilah had a nap, but Naomi was could not fall asleep. Probably still processing her day. It is so hot today that it’s hard to get motivated to do anything. Some of our group members are commenting that they don’t know how we did it in August, but personally I find this season worse because there is very little AC turned on in the spring. At least we could escape the heat in the summer months. In spite of the heat, Hunan is a very beautiful province with magnolia trees and flowers just beginning to bloom.

Since our flight did not depart until 8pm, we headed to a local restaurant for dinner and to celebrate Phoebe Littlejohn’s birthday. The food was delicious and we were stuffed by the time Lily brought out a birthday cake for Phoebe. Poor girl though had fallen asleep before dinner and didn’t even see her cake let alone mess around in it. Naomi took care of blowing out her candle.

By the time we got to the airport the babies were getting pretty fussy. Most of them go down around 7pm, so we were working on borrowed time and hoping that they would sleep on the plane. For some that worked, but for most the bright lights and loud noises were too stimulating for overtired babies – Lilah included. Naomi had fallen asleep on the drive to the airport and slept for about 2 hours till I had to put her in her seat for takeoff. Halfway through the very turbulent flight, she looked at me and vomited all her dinner over my pants. Poor girl, she felt so awful. By the time we arrived in Beijing at 10pm, all of us were weary and feeling like this flight time was a terrible choice. Most of us would have rather flown out the next morning with all travellers more rested.

Beijing welcomed us with 5C temperatures and rainy weather. The temperature was a welcomed relief from the humidity in Hunan. We arrived at the hotel and checked into our rooms. They are smaller but cleaner and more modern. We have rooms beside the Meredith family from the Guangdong group. Apparently their babies have been very ill and hospitalized. One family is still in Guangdong with their new daughter in the hospital. Immediately when Naomi and Mya (3yrs old) saw each other their eyes lit up. I think Naomi for one will have more fun on this leg of the trip with a partner in crime.

Tomorrow we’re doing paperwork in the morning and heading to the Yashow clothing market in the afternoon. Photos for this entry will come later today, I’m still trying to unpack and I can’t remember what bag the camera is in!