orphanage day 1

to complete yesterday: we went out for chinese here in the hotel. we had pigeon, a coupla veggie dishes, a beef dish and, of course, xi gua. also this good cucumber stuff w/garlic. then we wandered around outside for a while, bought a few things, went to bed. one place we did very well at was kind of a chinese catch-all-dollar-store type place. everything was 3 yuan (= about $.25). mother: i found trace a sword!
this morning i had the most amazing blueberry waffle for breakfast. i am definately going to have one every day i am here from here on out!
today was orphanage day 1. it is so nice being in a small group. besides, we have 2 people in our group who are fluent in both languages, so we dont miss anything in translation. a couple of the older kids and workers recognized me from last year. also, they have a picture from our group's time here on their wall in the conference room. i recognized several of the kids.
michelle v- i saw y.y. and g.c.c. i will bring the photos on wednesday. both 'sightings' were just in passing, though.
we got to play w/the kids and then we went and visited foster homes. there is an appartment complex near the orphanage, and it is mostly inhabited by the elderly (retired). it is full of babies. since the elderly dont have to go to work, they become foster parents. one couple has a 12 month old, 8 month old and 6 month old (when rosa was here last july, the couple had 2 kids under 1 year. one has been adopted, the other- who has a mental issue- is in foster care in beijing). brave, brave people. many couples have 2 kids. it was interesting, b/c by the time we were leaving, lots of the kids were coming home. the orphanage is kinda like preschool. most of the kids have minor-ish needs; needs that will go INSTANTLY on american wc lists. kids generally stay in foster care till they're about 12, then they move into dormitories at the orphanage.
urumqi 2006-ers: remember the little girl who had the sores all over and had to be bathed several times a day w/salt water (her foster mom was the big tall lady w/glasses)? she has been adopted. i will post more on the urumqi group later w/specifics on some of the kids.
tonite we are going out to dinner w/someone from the orphanage, and then to the bazaar. yay for more shopping! now i have to worry on how exactly i will manage to get it all home!!
from urumqi---