Adoption News, Blogs, and Stories
Preparing for Magic Kingdom Camp, Wed. July 1st
Wednesday, July 1
We went out for breakfast this morning—while wonton soup might be an unusual breakfast back in Boston, it is a perfectly reasonable breakfast here. Afterwards LinJing went back to her translation work, and I went to Vivian’s room so she and I could sort out the mess made by our second move. This time we were able to organize things even more than the first time. Vivian was on gluing and sticker duty while I looked over the materials and supplies we brought to see if we had what we needed for each activity. We decided that I would make a mural of photos we brought, a project for another day. Some of the decorations may or may not work—we still don’t know, for example, if we will be able to get a helium tank for all the balloons we brought or if we will be allowed to put tape on the walls. We have not yet been able to see the room we’ll be in (one of the conference rooms here at the hotel) and have yet to meet with the representatives from the orphanage. We expect that seeing the room will help us figure out what we will need to do to ready the room (including how we are going to hang a piñata!) and that meeting with the representatives from the orphanage will help us figure out what we need to do for the children and the orphanage personnel to make our program work.
Although we have yet to see the room, we did have the pleasure of meeting the vice-director of the orphanage this afternoon. She seems to be a very caring, knowledgeable woman, and I think we will work together well.
Vivian and I had a number of questions for her, and some of the answers surprised us. She told us that there were TWO THOUSAND CHILDREN as part of the Shanghai Social Welfare Institute, with SEVEN HUNDRED living at the orphanage and the rest in foster care situations. The children are all ages, including some who attend the university. The children who reside at the orphanage are in rooms that may have anywhere from 3 –20 children. When we asked about how the deaf children communicate, she said that most of the children know sign language. That made us feel very good. She also said that the children are very excited to come to the camp, that they are all hoping to be adopted, and that she didn’t think the children would be afraid to be around people who looked like Vivian and me. That, too, was nice to hear. As it turns out, the orphanage is only a 20-minute bus ride from our hotel, so it will be an easy trip for the children to come here Monday morning.
Some of our other questions will be answered by CCAA officials, who will arrive over the weekend. But at least it was a start. The information she provided for us led us to re-think some of our preparations and activities. Although we know that we will need to be flexible and adapt as the camp unfolds, we do want to be as prepared as we can be.
LinJing was able to email some of the translated documentation. It is great to know more about these children than just their problems and difficulties. For example, we now know that a ten year old girl who arrived at the orphanage five years ago “is modest, shy, and strict with herself,” that she has “a shy personality” and “is gregarious with her classmates.” We also know that a four year old boy who arrived at the orphanage as a baby “can sing lots of songs and nursery rhymes” and “is a smart, bright and pleasing little boy.”
We took a taxi to a restaurant for dinner. We have not yet seen much of Shanghai, but will try to get out a little tomorrow. We still have a lot of work to do, but will try and balance our time with seeing some things while we are here. Because of the health situation, we will not stray very far from our hotel in Shanghai, but even if we stay nearby there is much to appreciate here in China.
With warmest regards, Vivian, LinJing, and me (Renee)
(Note - I have posted this for Renee Lubowich, as she is having trouble accessing the site from China - Bonnie E)
We went out for breakfast this morning—while wonton soup might be an unusual breakfast back in Boston, it is a perfectly reasonable breakfast here. Afterwards LinJing went back to her translation work, and I went to Vivian’s room so she and I could sort out the mess made by our second move. This time we were able to organize things even more than the first time. Vivian was on gluing and sticker duty while I looked over the materials and supplies we brought to see if we had what we needed for each activity. We decided that I would make a mural of photos we brought, a project for another day. Some of the decorations may or may not work—we still don’t know, for example, if we will be able to get a helium tank for all the balloons we brought or if we will be allowed to put tape on the walls. We have not yet been able to see the room we’ll be in (one of the conference rooms here at the hotel) and have yet to meet with the representatives from the orphanage. We expect that seeing the room will help us figure out what we will need to do to ready the room (including how we are going to hang a piñata!) and that meeting with the representatives from the orphanage will help us figure out what we need to do for the children and the orphanage personnel to make our program work.
Although we have yet to see the room, we did have the pleasure of meeting the vice-director of the orphanage this afternoon. She seems to be a very caring, knowledgeable woman, and I think we will work together well.
Vivian and I had a number of questions for her, and some of the answers surprised us. She told us that there were TWO THOUSAND CHILDREN as part of the Shanghai Social Welfare Institute, with SEVEN HUNDRED living at the orphanage and the rest in foster care situations. The children are all ages, including some who attend the university. The children who reside at the orphanage are in rooms that may have anywhere from 3 –20 children. When we asked about how the deaf children communicate, she said that most of the children know sign language. That made us feel very good. She also said that the children are very excited to come to the camp, that they are all hoping to be adopted, and that she didn’t think the children would be afraid to be around people who looked like Vivian and me. That, too, was nice to hear. As it turns out, the orphanage is only a 20-minute bus ride from our hotel, so it will be an easy trip for the children to come here Monday morning.
Some of our other questions will be answered by CCAA officials, who will arrive over the weekend. But at least it was a start. The information she provided for us led us to re-think some of our preparations and activities. Although we know that we will need to be flexible and adapt as the camp unfolds, we do want to be as prepared as we can be.
LinJing was able to email some of the translated documentation. It is great to know more about these children than just their problems and difficulties. For example, we now know that a ten year old girl who arrived at the orphanage five years ago “is modest, shy, and strict with herself,” that she has “a shy personality” and “is gregarious with her classmates.” We also know that a four year old boy who arrived at the orphanage as a baby “can sing lots of songs and nursery rhymes” and “is a smart, bright and pleasing little boy.”
We took a taxi to a restaurant for dinner. We have not yet seen much of Shanghai, but will try to get out a little tomorrow. We still have a lot of work to do, but will try and balance our time with seeing some things while we are here. Because of the health situation, we will not stray very far from our hotel in Shanghai, but even if we stay nearby there is much to appreciate here in China.
With warmest regards, Vivian, LinJing, and me (Renee)
(Note - I have posted this for Renee Lubowich, as she is having trouble accessing the site from China - Bonnie E)
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