| Day 5 - 2/8/2012 |
What a difference a day makes. What a difference sleep makes.
And after our visit to Vivian's orphanage we got a little insight into
the possible reason why she throws a fit every time we come
back to the hotel room.
Vivian woke up early and seemed fine the entire time we were in
the room before breakfast. She was her usual congenial self.
Then we went down to breakfast. After breakfast we quickly went
back up to the room to collect our things before heading out to
the van. The minute we walked out of the elevator on our floor
she started crying again. Then when we left the room she
seemed OK.
We left the hotel early at 7:30 in order to head to Yangzhou and
Vivian's orphanage. It was a 2 hour drive out into the suburbs of
Nanjing to Yangzhou. On the way we passed lots of industrial
areas and crossed the 3rd largest river in the world, the Yangtze
River. Some of the areas had lots of deserted newer houses
and some houses looked deserted, but were full of people. Lots
of the houses had the colorful red and gold banners for the
Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival still up around their
doorways. We also passed Sun Yat-Sen's mausoleum on the
way out of town. Yangzhou is a bustling city northeast of Nanjing.
A tad less big city-ish than Nanjing, but still full of people, tall
buildings and hotels.
Most of the trip Vivian had been pretty talkative, at points
screaming with delight. As we got closer to her orphanage she
suddenly got very quiet. I wasn't sure if she was getting ready to
cry or just tired. Once we were in the orphanage she was really
quiet and reserved. Based on her reaction I was fully expecting
her to cry either during our visit or as we were leaving. The
orphanage was recently re-built within the last 5 years and pretty
modern. Everything was somewhat sterile-looking and there
And after our visit to Vivian's orphanage we got a little insight into
the possible reason why she throws a fit every time we come
back to the hotel room.
Vivian woke up early and seemed fine the entire time we were in
the room before breakfast. She was her usual congenial self.
Then we went down to breakfast. After breakfast we quickly went
back up to the room to collect our things before heading out to
the van. The minute we walked out of the elevator on our floor
she started crying again. Then when we left the room she
seemed OK.
We left the hotel early at 7:30 in order to head to Yangzhou and
Vivian's orphanage. It was a 2 hour drive out into the suburbs of
Nanjing to Yangzhou. On the way we passed lots of industrial
areas and crossed the 3rd largest river in the world, the Yangtze
River. Some of the areas had lots of deserted newer houses
and some houses looked deserted, but were full of people. Lots
of the houses had the colorful red and gold banners for the
Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival still up around their
doorways. We also passed Sun Yat-Sen's mausoleum on the
way out of town. Yangzhou is a bustling city northeast of Nanjing.
A tad less big city-ish than Nanjing, but still full of people, tall
buildings and hotels.
Most of the trip Vivian had been pretty talkative, at points
screaming with delight. As we got closer to her orphanage she
suddenly got very quiet. I wasn't sure if she was getting ready to
cry or just tired. Once we were in the orphanage she was really
quiet and reserved. Based on her reaction I was fully expecting
her to cry either during our visit or as we were leaving. The
orphanage was recently re-built within the last 5 years and pretty
modern. Everything was somewhat sterile-looking and there
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were a few babies hanging out in their cribs. The director said they would get out for a couple hours
each day for play time. It was actually pretty depressing. The great thing was the director said some
of them were going to be adopted soon too. We couldn't go into the room as they had just sterilized
everything since they have a couple of sick kids. In Vivian's old room there were just a couple of they
had put her in a toddler bed, but they were worried about her falling out. So she went back into a
crib. Personally, I don't think they were worried about her falling out. I think they were worried about
her not staying in bed. She does have a sort of restless personality. They told us that she always
hated going to bed and preferred to stay up and play outside. Now that makes sense why she
keeps freaking out when we get back to the room. She equates it with having to go to bed. We only
stayed for something like 20 minutes, which may seem like a short amount of time considering it
took us 2 hours to get out there, but I'm not complaining. It was FREEZING! There may not have
been any snow on the ground, but there certainly could have been. There was a puddle in the
parking lot that had frozen over in the cold. And amazingly, the orphanage was just as cold. Now I
know why they bundle the kids up so they can barely move.
When we left the orphanage Vivian went back to her usual vivacious self. No outbursts. No tears. I
was shocked, but also pleased. Even after the rough day yesterday she wanted to go home with our
family. When we got back to the hotel she whimpered a little bit, but stopped pretty quickly. She was
pretty content all afternoon which was great. This evening had a little drama, but it was definitely not
as bad as yesterday. We're really looking forward to the trip to Guangzhou for 2 reasons, it means
we're halfway done the trip and we're growing tired of the scenery around here. I think a change of
scenery and may be just what we need.
each day for play time. It was actually pretty depressing. The great thing was the director said some
of them were going to be adopted soon too. We couldn't go into the room as they had just sterilized
everything since they have a couple of sick kids. In Vivian's old room there were just a couple of they
had put her in a toddler bed, but they were worried about her falling out. So she went back into a
crib. Personally, I don't think they were worried about her falling out. I think they were worried about
her not staying in bed. She does have a sort of restless personality. They told us that she always
hated going to bed and preferred to stay up and play outside. Now that makes sense why she
keeps freaking out when we get back to the room. She equates it with having to go to bed. We only
stayed for something like 20 minutes, which may seem like a short amount of time considering it
took us 2 hours to get out there, but I'm not complaining. It was FREEZING! There may not have
been any snow on the ground, but there certainly could have been. There was a puddle in the
parking lot that had frozen over in the cold. And amazingly, the orphanage was just as cold. Now I
know why they bundle the kids up so they can barely move.
When we left the orphanage Vivian went back to her usual vivacious self. No outbursts. No tears. I
was shocked, but also pleased. Even after the rough day yesterday she wanted to go home with our
family. When we got back to the hotel she whimpered a little bit, but stopped pretty quickly. She was
pretty content all afternoon which was great. This evening had a little drama, but it was definitely not
as bad as yesterday. We're really looking forward to the trip to Guangzhou for 2 reasons, it means
we're halfway done the trip and we're growing tired of the scenery around here. I think a change of
scenery and may be just what we need.