Chenzhou CWI

*I'm going to be updating our travel blog, and posting these as if they were actually done on time while we were in China. Didn't want to confuse anyone :)

Today was the day we got to see where Kalia has spent the last 18 months of her life. We were excited to see where she was living...who was taking care of her...how was she cared for... We were also a bit nervous at taking her back. How would she react? Would we be totally confusing her...thinking she was going to have to stay?

The day started bright & early (of course, most days anymore start bright & early. Unfortunately Kalia does not believe in sleeping in :) ) We ate some breakfast then met Amy in the lobby, and settled in for the LONG ride (4 hours each way!)

It was raining when we left, but cleared up about an hour out of Changsha. There was some pretty cool scenery along the way....some rice paddys, cool farmhouses, bamboo growing wildly, and some mountains as we got closer to Chenzhou (which sits in the valley).

The assistant director & orphanage doctor was waiting for us when we got there, and offered us some fresh fruit & water. I had an apple, which I shared with Kalia (very yummy!) and they sent the rest back with us.

They took us up to the 4th or 5th floor (can't remember which) to where Kalia's room was. There were approx. 20 babies in there, aging between approximately 6 months & 2 years. The asst. director said there were approximately 100 children in their care, with it split pretty evenly between SN & NSN.

We were able to see the crib where Kalia has slept for the past 18 months, along with ALL of her nannies (which is pretty unusual, since they have 2 nannies for days & 2 at night...the night nannies just happened to be around). They gave Kalia some noodles for lunch, and we were able to ask some questions. We learned that she was very spoiled & loved very much. They said Kalia learned early on how to demand their attention, and they were more than happy to give it. She was carried pretty much all the time (which is evident in the lack of core muscle strength & leg strength). I was very relieved to know that she received all that attention. You could see in all the nannies' faces how much they loved her.

In the end, we were very glad we made the long trip to see the orphanage. Kalia had no problems going to the nannies, but wanted to make sure I was in her sight at all times. She had no problems leaving them when it was time to go (the nannies had a hard time though...they were all crying). It sounds crazy, but I was really glad to see this b/c to me it just shows how much they cared about her.

We were at the orphanage for about 1 1/2 hours, then drove around town for a bit...just to see more of the town where she lived...then stopped by a nice local park for a few minutes. The driver stopped at a really nice restaraunt for lunch, where we had some YUMMY food. Our driver really liked Kalia, and took her for a bit so we could finish eating. They walked up by the front of the restaurant, and when they came back she was holding a package of cookies he had bought her (she can wrap anyone around her little finger in NO TIME FLAT!!!)

On the way back, we all made it about 1 hour before we had crashed out. It was a very long day, but well worth it.

Next up....Silk Factory, 1st McDonald's spotting, and our 1st time left to navigate Changsha on our own!