Interactive Day???? We Met Meghan!

Our driver picked us up from the hotel at 2:30. We had just had time to check in, shower and settle a little. We were nervous. I couldn't imagine what it would be like when she met us.

This is the front entrance.

Side view.

We drove the half hour to Chung Yi. It is an obscure building, sort of a little hole in the wall. Not a stand alone orphanage that I was expecting. Small entry with a counter and two ladies behind it. Kind of run down, a little hodgepodge on the decorations, and small.

They took us out through a side door, down an alley into another building. this was more like one big room with about 6 cubicles. Linoleum floor, white. A few women were working there. There was a back room about the size of a large walk in closet. The walls were lined with bins of broken, mismatched toys. No batteries for the electric toys. There was a tiny table in the room and we sat down in tiny little chairs. They gave us another update and a sheet that had english/chinese words to use. Then they brought her in.

She was shy. She stood there looking at us for a minute and then went over to the toys. We started playing with her and then she warmed up. There were 3 other women in the room, all snapping pictures and talking in Chinese. She started to warm up to Tom. Of course, he was her silly playmate. By the end of the hour she was a daddy's girl. I know my bond with her will take longer. Right now she has a lot of "mama's" who take care of her and they said that the kids there call the caretakers mama. So it is very confusing for her I am sure. There our no Baba's so she latched on to Tom. But how is she supposed to know that I am HER Mama and not just another one here to take care of needs until someone else comes along. It will take time. I don't think she knows what a real Mama is.

So played in that little room for about an hour and then they decide we should go to McDonald's which was a HUGE treat for her. Tom picked her up and carried her out and she couldn't be more pleased. She was laughing and saying "Bye Bye" all the way there. Even in the car. She was thrilled. She asked if we were going to the airport now and the interpreter said not yet.

At McDonald's we did see some of the behaviors that we had been told about in the monthly reports come out. She is persistent in what she wants. She is NOT afraid of strangers and went up to a group of high schoolers and sat down with them. We need to work on a few things.

After McDonald's we went to a park where she wanted Tom to go on the teeter totter with her. She bonked her head on the teeter totter and I got to pick her up and console her and then she was fine. She is a very happy little girl, always laughing and full of energy.

Soon it was time to go back to Chung Yi and she didn't want to go. We had to tell her that we were coming back tomorrow and we loved her. She was sad to go but went in without any trouble.

We went back to the hotel at 6pm and I fell asleep. I was exhausted! Tom worked for a bit and then he crashed too. It is now 7:30 am and I need to go get ready for Gotcha Day. I'm not sure if I like that term but I will use it right now until something better comes along. Still having trouble with the pictures, I will work on it later.