Visit to Annalisa's SWI...postdated!

At the hotel getting ready to visit the orphanage!

Annalisa's Foster Mom!

Foster Mom and Forever Mom!

Back in her crib...she didn't like it!

Her jolly nanny!

Here is an excerpt from my diary about the visit to Annalisa's SWI and meeting her foster mom:

Today was a very emotional day. Annalisa and I endured a long bus ride to the Yihuang Social Welfare Institute to meet her foster mom and her nanny. We left the hotel around 8:00. John stayed behind, he wasn't feeling well. We were told that the ride would be 2 - 2 1/2 hours each way.

As we were leaving Nanchang we got stuck in the middle of a protest. A family whose father was killed in a hit and run on that road had created a human chain and laid down in the middle of the road to stop the traffic and draw attention on the problem. It was very emotional. Everybody was yelling, crying, horns were blasting, cars trying to get through any way possible and the family members laying down in front of the cars. The bus driver and our guide went out and finally convinced one of the family members to let us through. As we drove by I saw family members crying in the street, lighting up fireworks and pieces of paper. The burned paper was to represent money to wish the dead family member a prosperous afterlife.

If that was not enough of a commotion, we got lost. We ended up on this dirt, muddy, flooded road. The road had so many pot holes that the bus driver barely got us through. When we finally hit paved road we all cheered and laughed.

We finally made it to the orphanage. The foster moms were waiting for us. They came in one at a time. Annalisa recognized her foster mom right away and reached for her. They had a happy reunion while mom was trying to hold back the tears. Annalisa was happy to see her and viceversa. I tried to give them a few minutes to catch up. Annalisa was hugging her and touching her face and the foster mom started to cry. I lost it too at that point and we all had a good cry (well Annalisa was fine). I gave her a present and asked our guide to thank her and then we visited the nursery.

They showed me Annalisa's crib and I met her nanny. I put Annalisa in her crib to take a picture of her and she started to whale. I think she might have been thinking that I was going to leave her there and she didn't like it. I managed to take one picture and scooped her back in my arms. We went outside where the other children were playing and visited for a while. I put Annalisa in a walker and she took off right away. A little girl kept following her and playing with her, she was about Isabella's age (my niece) and the two of them seemed to be friends judging from the big smiles they were giving each other.

The trip back was not as eventful as the trip there but we still managed to nearly kill two dogs, a chicken and an old lady.

We are back at the hotel now and Annalisa doesn't seem to have any problems. She is back at being her happy self, eating cheerios and giving mommy and daddy lovey doveys. She is sure glad to be out of that bus and able to crawl around the room.

At the end I am glad I made the trip. It truly gave me, Annalisa and (hopefully) the foster mom some closure and a chance to meet each other and say thank you. I am drained, hungry and tired but happy to put this day behind me.

In retrospect, I am really glad we went to meet her foster mom. I could have done without visiting the SWI, it all seemed very staged plus Annalisa didn't care at all for her nanny. It was interesting to see the surrounding areas around the SWI and the town where it is located but as much as I was dreading meeting her foster mom it was an incredible experience.

The foster mom was not at all what I had imagined. I thought she would be younger. She seemed about 60ish to me and her face reflected a hard life. If I had just met her without bringing Annalisa I don't think I would have been able to see her human side. She spoke a local dialect. Our guide didn't understand her. We had to communicate through two different translator so whatever we said to each other really got "lost in translation" but seeing how much she longed and cared for Annalisa and how much Annalisa liked her truly told me how much she loved her. The official visit was only about 30 minutes and she pretty much held Annalisa on and off most of the time. We said goodbye to her and visited the orphanage. Annalisa showed absolutely no interest in her nanny. It didn't even seem like she recognized her. When we went outside to play I put Annalisa in the walker and as I was taking pictures I noticed that her foster mom was outside the gate staring at her and calling her: "Guo Hua, Guo Hua!". Of course Annalisa went straight to her again and they touched each other through the gate. As we were leaving the foster mom was outside hoping for one last hug. I let her hold one more time, I thanked again and got on the bus. I don't think I could have bared taking Annalisa from her arms one more time.

I am now Annalisa's mom but in reality her foster mom did all the hard work for me and I am now reaping the rewards of her labor. Annalisa is doing so well because she was taken care of so well in her first few months and obviously loved very much. She won't sleep in her crib. I can put her down in it but she'll wake up after about 1/2 hour, screaming. She wants to be in bed with me. Last night I had a revelation! Sleeping in the crib reminds her of the orphanage; sleeping in the bed with us reminds her of her foster parents (her foster mom told us that she slept with them).