Babies Babies Everywhere

Today we went to the orphanage where we were greeted like celebrities.  Seriously.  they had local ...um ... celebrities there to sing and dance for us, performing a welcome ceremony to rival the academy awards.  there were locals there gawking at us all, taking pictures. My parents were particularly sought after by the paparazzi.  My dad said, sounding like a seasoned network executive, "it's the grandparent thing.  It makes a good story."

After the welcome ceremony that included the girls singing a song (twinkle twinkle little star being the only one most of them knew except for the girls from Brussels who just stood there like, "it's always the English that wins out") we went to the orphanage and spent the whole afternoon with the kids.  Oh my God.  First of all, let me reassure you, we did not slip one in our pocket.  Only because out pockets weren't big enough.  Sally was very popular and there was one little girl who wouldn't stop following her around.  She was blind in one eye but liked the badge Sally wears around her neck and just wanted to chew it.  Tony did a whole "wheels on the bus" thing much to the delight of a whole room of babies.  I saw a couple of nannies looking at him like, "get a load of the guy with all the energy"  My heart was stolen by a little girl in a red checked coat.  I got jealous if anyone else even approached her.  I honestly began having thoughts of getting my paperwork ready to try to adopt this girl, she was mine, it was meant to be.  Then I found out that she actually has a family, they just dropped her at the orphanage for a month or two while they go through some 'difficulties'.  My heart was sad. She seemed sad too when I left, giving me a look that suggested you are my mother!

We opted out of the group dinner and decided to try our luck at the western style restaurant in the hotel.  It was seriously like a game of charades ordering the simplest thing - water.  here if you order water (we know the Chinese word for it thanks to sally) they bring you hot water.  So my dad started to point to the hot water and then begin to act out 'cold' then he tried acting out 'opening a bottle' then he settled for coke.  Everyone here knows the word for coke.  And beer.  easy to get coke and beer.

I'll try to post pictures later.  We're having a great time and our day at the orphanage was a highlight none of us are going to forget for a long time.