Cami's Orphanage Visit

Cami with the orphanage director

We had a most wonderful amazing visit at Cami's orphanage - unbelievable really!  When we arrived there was a huge banner welcoming her by name across the front entrance.  We got to go in rooms of small children around 18 months to two years old.  One little girl we had seen came toddling near that room to see where we had gone.  We kept seeing her coming out the play room and think she was quite a curious and adventuresome girl.  There was one little boy who kept coming up to Cami and wanted a hug and to be picked up. There was one little boy who was albino and an infant. We learned that sometimes even after being matched with a family the children sometimes pass away because they don't get medical care soon enough. After a short visit with a representative of the director we went into the babies' room and Cami got to hold a 3-month-old baby girl. We also got to see the place where the older children (teenagers) live but most of them were at school.  We saw a few girls about Cami's age, then toured a part of the orphanage where children recuperate from surgeries. This is now mostly a special-needs orphanage so we saw children recovering from club foot surgery and other things. 

After their lunch some of the children who have foster families were taken in little carts to their families to spend the afternoon.  They will come back and sleep at night at the orphanage.  Some children live with their  foster family at the orphanage in apartments there. We met the doctor there who was there when Cami was a baby and probably was the one who first examined her upon arriving at the orphanage.  We then had a lovely lunch with the director and some staff, which was the traditional family style meal with lots of dishes on a turn table.  Everyone dishes a little of whatever they want as the center turns.  We love that style of eating and hope to incorporate it into our regular routine. We tasted most everything and then asked about a couple of the dishes we liked but were not sure of.   The interpreter started to laugh as did the orphanage staff as well.  She said, "Are you sure you want to know?"  We told her we did, and she said, "I will tell you. . . . big pause. . . . pig. . . . . organs, that is enough."  Another big laugh from staff.  I asked about a second dish we were sure was beef slices in celery, peppers, and onions.  Again a big laugh. . . this time  "It is not beef, it is pig tongue."  So we are not so sure we are glad we asked~Later in the car Cami decided it all might be making her car sick.

They asked many questions about the girls' routine in the United States and were very interested in their activities and how we live and eat.  We asked if the tan color of Cami's skin is common in this area, and they said they just thought she must spend lots of time at the beach, that it is not common here.  At Lynea's orphanage they said Cami looked like a minority, so that may be the reason.

All in all a wonderful day and all we could have hoped for!

 (They had told us we could only take pictures outside, but they did let us take one or two pictures inside. We are in Nanchang and Warren and the two younger girls are in Fuzhou.  They have the card reader, so we will have to post our pictures later.  Tried to purchase another card reader here but have not found one.  We hoped to use the computer at the business office, but it has no place to put an SD card.)