orphanage

performance
this girl is learning this big harp-like instument (I don't know what it's called). She doesn't read music, her teacher hums it to her and she catches it and plays it that way.
These two are two peas in a pod :).
Kiddos.
Another performance. You will notice the heart in the background, one little girl's purpose in the performance is to hold the heart with the streamers. She must be very strong to hold it for the whole performance!

traveling around

on the way to turpan
pig truck
in front of the mosque in turpan
inside the mosque
tower at the international bazaar (a shopping experience to be enjoyed)

scenery

**Ones above taken near the An Ning station; a country outpost of the orphanage. Foster families live in this village and take care of the children. The An Ning station is where they go for education and the kids go for the school day.
Urumqi

a few pictures

the group at the windmill place.

as is glaringly obvious, I am the only caucasian and the tallest.

don't you all want to go to china now? can you believe there's worse?!
hungry kiddos
dancing 2-3 yr. olds
looking at the photobooks i brought

more will follow when i find the time.

home

after 27+ hours, 4 international airports, too many security checks to list, and some awful airplane food i made it home.
i managed to stay awake last night till after 930, and i slept till about 730 so assuming i resist all napping temptations, we should be good to go, jetlag free!! yay!
i will post more pix and info later, but i'm still kinda tired and in no way feel coherent enough to post much more... i'm really not sure if what i've posted so far makes any sense, anyways :).

one last day

this is going to be short b/c the internet is slow which means i'm on forever and i'm sick of paying for sitting here.
yesterday we visited a retirement home. 75% of the residents are christian, as are all of the staff. to put this in perspective, all of the residents are over 80 yrs old an the director just turned 70. they have no elevators in the 3 story building, and bathrooms are shared by hallway. this means that these very elderly people walk all over the place! we gave them some $ and learned that they'd been praying for some $ b/c the cost of good fruit is so high that they havent had any for a month.
we've been taking walks everyday which is a great way to (a) burn off a huge breakfast and (b) see some city/do some shopping. it also teaches one to value every moment of this life that you have been given b/c who knows when a car will come careening down the sidewalk and squish you.
this is my last post from china. i will go into more details of what we did and where your donation $ went and get some pix up when i get home.
now it's off for another walk...
best wishes.

orphanage again

i really wish i could post pictures. you will all have to sit tight till i get home!
today was a GREAT day at the orphanage. no touring, just interacting. we hula-ed with the older non-sn kids and talked with them and learned kung fu from the one boy (he's 13). then we ate lunch. after lunch, we got to play with the non-sn kids who are between 3 and 4ish. i really hope these children get on lists, they are so wonderful! they go to daycare at the orphanage and go home with their foster parents at night. the one really sad thing is that everyone is mama. that is the one thing that stands out: no matter they be the severely mentally disabled or totally healthy, all these kids have attachment disorder. the foster parents are called grandma and grandpa, and i think it's human to have to call SOMEONE mama. and that someone turns into the teacher. i didnt notice it w/the older kids, but they have more understanding of their situation.
candice & michelle v- the children LOVED the photobooks!! candice- z.w.t. was so happy to get your card. she has email, so i will send you her address. she is going to hong kong this summer for a visit... she apparently has contacts outside the orphanage. i will email you privately about her when i get home. michelle- i got to spend quite a bit of time w/g.c.c. do you know how old she is? also, w.y.y. is doing very well. lots of personality. she really enjoyed the pix.
the situation at this orphanage is very interesting. they have sibling groups. 3 little boys just arrived friday, and they are of a minority, so they dont speak chinese.
after we left the orphanage, we visited a foster care facility. this place is excellent beyond all description. there are 12 homes. each has a single 'mom'. she takes care of 8-10 kids between 2-14 (boys move to a boys-only-man-run dormitory at 14; girls stay w/mom). there are 2 uygher homes (minority group) w/uygher moms and all uygher kids. they get $ to buy what they need so mom only focuses on the kids. none of these kids are up for adoption; they get lots of love and a good education and encouragement to go somewhere: college, job, etc. also, the kids come from all over china, so i'm guessing this place is pretty well known throughout orphanage land.
well, i had better go so i don't have to pay too awful much :). i am really enjoying myself. my group is stellar. one thing that will be hard when i go home is being with people who are NOT asian (my whole group is. infact, at 5'5", i am the tallest group member) and trying to discern chinese :).
from urumqi-
(ps. father- i had steak, french fries, fruit, good bread and ice cream for dinner at the hotel dinner buffet last night. you would like this place. actually, you'd fit in too... many of the minority people here kinda look like us. have fun moving freezers... dont paralyze yourself too badly, SOMEONE has to come and pick me up at the airport!!)