Yesterday morning we went to Carrefour (French Wal-mart) to buy some strollers. We also found some Ritz crackers and Skippy peanut butter! Lunch was at Pizza Hut on the way back. Shameful, but necessary for me!
The last two days, Yao Yu has has taken about an hour to go down for his nap! Once asleep, he sleeps well. He still cries out a few times a night, but goes right back to sleep when comforted. Today he learned how to say "hello!".
Yesterday afternoon we took the boys to the MInoiry Museum. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, which is a shame, because there is so much amazing embroidery. Yao Yu spent about 40 minutes running around betweens two racks of embroidered clothes, laughing his head off when we would suprise him around a corner, and working up a serious sweat, as did those of us who chased him. Poor Tripp took care of the boys while Mom and I got a mini tour, and shopped! Many of the items on exhibit are for sale, and if interested in a particular piece, you just ask if it is available. The prices are very good, because the museum gets them directly from the minority groups. Eighty to ninety percent of the proceeds go back to the minority groups, so we were happy to spend! I found two beautiful Imperial Jade Maple leaves, and a small piece that looks like an urn, about 1.5 inches long, that was traditionally worn by babies, around the neck on a red thread, or around the ankle, to keep them safe. I of course had to have that! I also found a sort of snuff bottle, painted on the inside through the hole in the neck (incredible!), with a pattern of adult pandas looking after baby pandas. Had to have that, too! But the piece de resistance was a beautiful embroidered silk painting of a country village in Yunnan, meant to be a sort of Shangri-La. It was just so beautifully done, and so grabbed me. Even though Yao Yu was found in the heart of Kunming, he could have relatives in a village like that.
Speaking of where he was found, we visited the orphanage this morning. There are supposedly about 180 children there at a given time, and about 600 more in the foster village! We certainly didn't see 180 children; in fact, it seemed quite empty, but it was spacious, and very clean, with very new-looking equipment. One room had about 8 babies, with almost one staff person per child! It is still amazing to see how bundled the children are kept. They have so many layers on that their arms are perpetually akimbo, and when you pick them up (yes, I got to hold a tiny baby girl!), all you feel is fabric! One little boy in his crib gave me the most beautiful smiles. The very disabled children are the ones that remain at the orphanage, while the healthy ones go to the foster village, but the babies in this room, in their cribs, were so beautiful and perfect, it was just heartbreaking to imagine their moment of abandonment, and what led up to it. One of the babies had just been found the day before.
Photos to come...out of time!
Jen
The last two days, Yao Yu has has taken about an hour to go down for his nap! Once asleep, he sleeps well. He still cries out a few times a night, but goes right back to sleep when comforted. Today he learned how to say "hello!".
Yesterday afternoon we took the boys to the MInoiry Museum. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, which is a shame, because there is so much amazing embroidery. Yao Yu spent about 40 minutes running around betweens two racks of embroidered clothes, laughing his head off when we would suprise him around a corner, and working up a serious sweat, as did those of us who chased him. Poor Tripp took care of the boys while Mom and I got a mini tour, and shopped! Many of the items on exhibit are for sale, and if interested in a particular piece, you just ask if it is available. The prices are very good, because the museum gets them directly from the minority groups. Eighty to ninety percent of the proceeds go back to the minority groups, so we were happy to spend! I found two beautiful Imperial Jade Maple leaves, and a small piece that looks like an urn, about 1.5 inches long, that was traditionally worn by babies, around the neck on a red thread, or around the ankle, to keep them safe. I of course had to have that! I also found a sort of snuff bottle, painted on the inside through the hole in the neck (incredible!), with a pattern of adult pandas looking after baby pandas. Had to have that, too! But the piece de resistance was a beautiful embroidered silk painting of a country village in Yunnan, meant to be a sort of Shangri-La. It was just so beautifully done, and so grabbed me. Even though Yao Yu was found in the heart of Kunming, he could have relatives in a village like that.
Speaking of where he was found, we visited the orphanage this morning. There are supposedly about 180 children there at a given time, and about 600 more in the foster village! We certainly didn't see 180 children; in fact, it seemed quite empty, but it was spacious, and very clean, with very new-looking equipment. One room had about 8 babies, with almost one staff person per child! It is still amazing to see how bundled the children are kept. They have so many layers on that their arms are perpetually akimbo, and when you pick them up (yes, I got to hold a tiny baby girl!), all you feel is fabric! One little boy in his crib gave me the most beautiful smiles. The very disabled children are the ones that remain at the orphanage, while the healthy ones go to the foster village, but the babies in this room, in their cribs, were so beautiful and perfect, it was just heartbreaking to imagine their moment of abandonment, and what led up to it. One of the babies had just been found the day before.
Photos to come...out of time!
Jen
'
Hotel Play Area
Pizza Hut
Old Chinese Gate Next to KFC
In Hotel Room
Kunming Children's Welfare Institute
(No photos allowed inside)
2 comments:
You all look wonderful - I especially love the pics of Sebastian and YaoYu - they look they are having a great time together. So glad things are going well!
What happy kids they are. So glad things are going so well for you and your family.
Enjoy!!!!!!
Lisa (AH/Heritage)
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